All 2st Swingarm Water Retention

[shawbagga]

after having the chain adjuster bolt seize solid & snap off in my 300's swingarm(s%#t) i siliconed up exposed holes in swingarm(where chain guard was & some other crap i ripped off) to try keep water out. plugs will still let small amount of water in during creek crossings & washing. drilled two 4mm holes in bottom of each side of swingarm about 10mm forward of weld near adjuster area. about 50ml of water came out of each side thats otherwise just sitting in there causing electrolysis(yeah ya right that did sound a bit la di da, apologies-rust/corrosion/badness you wont see until its too late!). sprayed a heap of wd-40 in each side should keep it sweet. just a heads up

 

[Gotlabs]

I do the same thing. I pop the plugs out occasionally and let it dry out then spray wd on the inside. I use antiseize on the adjusters.

 

[guscycle]

Having worked on many offroad brands,this is not uncommon .I can't tell you how many bikes I had to repair for this but procede with caution...there are a few fixes for repair but please take the time and center punch the broken bolt and use a extra long drill bit(available at Ace Hardware,etc.)drill slowly and keep the bit aligned..don't force the bit-the "LAST" thing you want is to break the bit off .Be sure to buy bits in small increments....so you take off a little at a time and the bit won't jam(or break!)
Everone should pop off their wheels on a regular schedule..pull out the adjuster bolts,clean up the threads(make sure if there is water inside-let it dry out before proceeding) and apply anti-seize compound.

Have a good day,
Guscycle

 

[JPinNC]

I do the same thing. I pop the plugs out occasionally and let it dry out then spray wd on the inside. I use antiseize on the adjusters.

will taking the plugs out occasionally be adequate to dry things out?

 

[ohmygewd]

Antiseize grease on the adjuster bolt is always great prevention...make a habit of when changing a tyre, unscrew the bolt and reapply antiseize grease.
Otherwise, you'll be investing in the Pro-tek Swingarm buddy kit as guscycle point's out, the alternative is a long drill bit, slow and very steady in drilling the bolt out.
PS. I've snapped an ezy-out in there and it wasn't pretty

 

[Aviduser]

Swingarm is aluminum, therefore no need to worry?

I don't know much about oxidization, but I don't think its nearly as bad as rust.

 

[ohmygewd]

Aluminium +stainless+moisture=galling.

Thread galling with stainless and aluminium is quite common if you don't use a anti-seize compound...or you have patiences and screw and unscrew very slowly as heat is generated by rotating too quickly causes the threads to expand and lock and more commonly, the thread's themselves are rough so if you crank it up with the ratchet, the heat generated cause a bind, then you apply more force, the threads are now frozen or coldwelded, then SNAP.

 

[Gotlabs]

will taking the plugs out occasionally be adequate to dry things out?

I take the plugs out, compressed air and let it sit for a day or two. Im sure it gets most of the moisture out then I apply a liberal dose wd 40.

 

[shawbagga]

i grease every steel to ally insert bolt now! was a prick of an exercise getting it out-punches, drill bits snapped! s/s insert in there now. i hadnt ridden my bike for several weeks/month when i drilled the swingarm drain holes & water still in there then-nowhere to go! middle of summer here too-mid 30s celsius so wasnt evaporating in a hurry, bike in garage.

 

[JPinNC]

I take the plugs out, compressed air and let it sit for a day or two. Im sure it gets most of the moisture out then I apply a liberal dose wd 40.

thanks, that is what I will do