I have decided that I will try and make this build thread as informative as possible in an effort to assist others who are new to this type of thing and are thinking of taking on a project. So even though this will seem like pretty standard stuff to many of us I still find that I can always learn new tricks and tips from what others do. So with the frame sorted my focus turned to the swing arm and wasn't that a challenge. During disassembly of both bikes i had to remove the swing arm and shock as a complete unit because i couldn't get the shock to swing arm mounting pin out while still in the bike. What I didn't realize was how hard it was still going to be once removed and with better access. So with this in mind I can't stress enough the need for regular maintenance which means applying grease/ anti seize lubrication to all pivot pins as well as bolts that pass through any spacers as part of suspension pivots such as swing arm and linkage bolts and also axles for wheels etc. And note this doesn't just apply to old bikes as often this doesn't happen when new bikes are assembled so if ridden in harsh conditions they can suffer from the same problem even though they are only a few years old. I found this when I tried to remove a swing arm bolt on a
2 year old KLR650. So even though it was so young the bolt had already began to seize in place due to a lack of lubrication when assembled.
Anyway so here is how it went down -
The shock to swing arm pivot pin passes though 2 steel ferrules that are pressed into the alloy swing arm and this is where the problem lies as without any lubrication they rust together and create a very strong bond. On both I heated the alloy and ferrule with map gas to expand it and sprayed the pin with freeze release spray numerous times but it still took an awful lot of force to press the pin out and in both cases the outer ferrule came with it which I then had to remove separately in the press. Also I had to cut the end of one of the pins off as it had already been damaged by someone else trying to get it out.
Anyway here are some pics
Here is the swing arm and pin with ferule still attached.
And here is how the swing arm looks now.
For the finish on the swing arm I started off by trying to cleanup and restore the natural aluminum look but after much work with a wire brush on a drill and sanding with wet and dry I realised that I wasn't going to get the result that I wanted so i decided to paint it just like I have for all the steel ones that I have done. So after preparing it I painted it with a quality etch primer and then over coated with epoxy enamel.
