GL1000, Final Drive shock attachment/can i flip 180

[Thunderdome74]

So i am currently building/bobbering/breaking a GL1000 in my head as well as collecting items for the build.

One of the things i have planned is running swing arm supports underneath the swing arm and i would like the end arms to attach with bolts to the position of the current shocks (only they will be on the bottom)

Can this be positioned 180 deg (down instead of up) without major machining?




I hope this makes sense?

Any help is this pre-cutting stage is really appreciated

Cheers
Thor

[olchris]

Why? ... is it to lower the back end... I dont understand!... Not to mention the "acute" angles you will impose on the driveline... Flip it Where are you going to fit the driveshaft!!

[Thunderdome74]

Hi. Im not looking to flip the swingarm. Just the shock mount on the final drive housing180. I wish to weld supports underneath as i will be mounting the shocks closer to the swingarm pivot(i know they will then have alot more force upon them)

Hopefully this will be a better idea of what I'm hoping to do

[bladredhead]

I think it'll physically rotate but I don't recall if that hole pattern is symmetric. If it isn't symmetric it'll only install in one position. I have a spare final drive if the shock mount is still on it I will see if what you're proposing works.

[Thunderdome74]

Thanks mate, i can only get to the bike in a few days. I ask as i remember looking at it a while back and seem to remember it had some kind of teeth/dogs inside?
If it's a hassle dont worry as i can always take a look in a few days.
I suppose if the bolt holes are not symmetrical i will have to get one machined up or welded on the bottom of the existing one.

[ericheath]

I did this for a monoshock and used it in the top of the swing arm. Check out HOTT's build "Ol' Sparky" for another option. I think I tried rotating the plate on mine as you are suggesting, but I think there was something stopping it from working--it's been four years and I really can't remember what it was. Ric and others have simply spotted all along the swingarm. It takes very little to twist this swingarm: you can do it with bare hands. Anything to strengthen it will help. Not properly welding a little on each side at a time can throw alignment off. Don't ask how I know that. Somewhere here there are pics of the inside of the swingarm near the bearing mounting points. IIRC, the tube which the races are in for the bearings, doesn't go all the way through, so there is only thin metal on the outside in the middle section. I suggest adding something that spans the distance to give strength.

A monoshock might suit you better. Any from a 600lb bike will probably suit it. Cyborgs "Raptor" build has some good pics of how he did his. I copied his for the most part.

[CYBORG]

What I did works very well. But I also re=enforced the swingarm, to prevent flexing

[Thunderdome74]

Cyborg/Eric thanks for the replies.

I was planning on going the Ol Sparky build (amazing work) and have studied his build in depth., i even went and ordered the ultima narrow body shocks,
a few things made me shy away from that route after much thought.
I don't know how good the ride will be (very hard?)imagining, a little better than a hard tail ?
Also i dont like the idea of cutting and offsetting the frame on the LHS? allowing room for the shocks where they mount to the engine

Also i really like the look of the twin shock system and it really seems to fit with the project i have in mind.
Now there was build called Warbird that inspired me so any advice you guys could give or pointing out the errors I'm making will really be appreciated



To my mind (and I'm no engineer) where the circle in green is is an extremely weak point considering where he has mounted the shocks, so i was planning to bolster it up with additional bracing (red)
I would be using the air shocks from a 1100, which hopefully would do the job in that position (even with the additional leverage) as using the air system i can customize the shock resistance to some degree,.
Also the weight from the back end would have been lessened , so i am hoping that will help offset the added leverage.

The reason for flipping the final drive shock mount 180, is that it will allow me to remove the drive if need be.
(on the other side of the swingarm i will weld another underside "shock" attachment.)

If you see anything glaringly obvious , please call it out.

Thanks so much
Thor

[ericheath]

I'm also no engineer, and never even noticed the "Warbird" had dual shocks. I thought it was a monoshock. The 1000 swingarm is much weaker than the 1100 or 1200 and it's more oddly shaped than the others to easily reinforce. I agree with weak point area. I used an L-shaped piece of angle iron that simply sat on top of the swingarm but was around 2"x 4" x 1/4" thick. It's probably too much, but it tied the tubes which make up the holders of the swing-arm bearings to the rear extension arms of the swing arm.

Looking at your drawing and at the Warbird, it seems to me like there is a great deal more mechanical advantage of the swingarm to lever the shocks. I'm thinking about principals of a lever. The softtail shocks must take a similar load, but have leverage out further on the arms. On mine, I should moved my rear mounting point as far back and as close as possible to the rear tire. Mine rides nice one up, but has too much travel. I could only guess at it. I still may move mine back more if I decide to add room for a rider.

I don't recall reading how the Warbird rode. I wonder if he'd answer a pm?

[Thunderdome74]

Heres a clip i found whilst looking around regarding ride...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y8StRNO1io

@Eric, so you have done the under slung shock? And the ride is overly plush if i'm reading correctly?
Good to know(future reference), do you perhaps have a build thread or photo's?

Or did you do a mono shock on top of the swingarm?

After reading yours and Cyclops replies i will definitely be adding a half pipe around the swing arm attach points/pivot.
That i tend to move quite slowly on my builds is an understatement(here's looking at you cafe racer of 10 years and still building...)

Do you guys have any suggestions for keeping the swing arm from warping whilst welding?

Here is some work i'm busy with on the tank(foam plug to get a mold).



It will be glass fibre, with the actual tank inside the frame rails, looking for 10 lit res or so... still to be
worked out.


Cheers
Thor

[ericheath]

I did the monoshock on top, and modelled it after Cyborgs. I can't acces my pics, but will send a pic later. My build is Schizoid. Page six has some of my shock setup. http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic. ... d&start=75

[bladredhead]

Yiu can flip the shock mount. The holes are symmetric. There are possibly other pitfalls of course.

[Thunderdome74]

Fantastic news, Tx mate