VJ22 Banana swingarm

[Yamavarna]

I found a place in the Netherlands that sells old oem Japanese bike parts and it all makes sense now looking at the pictures, I ordered a chain guide, 2 adjuster plates, 2 adjusting nuts and a new axle we will see how long it takes to get here. In the meantime I am trying to figure out how to get rid of these dings and dents;

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I was going to get them welded but it’s paper thin and you can even see some spots on the axle lugs where they blew threw it when they where manufacturing it

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I was going to try and use this aluminum brazing rod I bought but my buddy said just to use jbweld, my concern with this is: will it affect the Powdercoat? So back to the google!
I need to really get going on this build but I won’t be able to ride this year anyway because of Scaphoid surgery so I may as well have patience and do it right

[MK]

If you think that is thin as paper, what would you say to stuff that's really thin?
Seriously: For a welder that's a piece of cake.
I'd use 2 mm AlMg5 rods, pre heat the whole swingarm and start a bead on the desired location with low amps.
If you're from the Netherlands and fancy a trip to Germany, feel free to drop in for a welding session.

Only issue is that if you grind the weld down and polish everything, it may show different color/shine. If you're coating it, that'll be ok.

Powder coating is a process, where static electricity is used, so it needs to be an electrical conductor. I don't think that epoxy based fillers will to that job.

PS: Almost all Suzuki swingers and frames I came across had such horrible aluminum welds. Seems they hire trained monkeys instead of skilled staff to save costs.

[Yamavarna]

Well MK,

It’s off to the welder (and he echo’s your opinion) I really appreciate everyone’s opinion and I will definitely have a better finished product than if I wasn’t on this forum

Charlie

[RuZty]

The Tuning Works is a good place to find OEM parts and some aftermarket stuff, https://www.thetuningworks.co.uk
The RGV Forum is a good resource with a for sale board, that's where I got my swingarm, http://www.rgv250.co.uk/forums/
I bought CNC axle pullers from someone on the RGV forum to replace the stamped steel stock parts. They are around if you look, maybe Tyga or Titan Classics.
I've bought parts from CMS before as well, they are reliable and stock new parts if you don't mind paying dealer prices. As they buy obsolete stock from dealers you might find something they didn't have before if you keep looking. If you want to have a smile about the cost of restoring a rare bike look up the parts they have available for the Honda NR750.

[Yamavarna]

Thanks for the help RuZty, I’m really going to need it: I have 5 vintage Yamahas and I just bought an 81 rd350lc today, not to mention Honda’s and Suzuki’s. I am all about this ypvs right now though and I can hardly wait until it looks like yours!

[JonW]

I would defo weld any parts like that to have a much strength as possible. You can also get the welder to fill those small dents at the same time and grind back so powder is easy to do after.

JB Weld isnt structurally strong like welding, but it does make a decent filler lol.

FWIW You can powder coat over JB Weld, it just takes a bit more effort than a normal powder coater will want to do as you need to pre heat the part. The finish will be the same.

Check the underside welds on any RGV arm, they can crack. If you look at my 421 build on my site I think I show the crack I had.

I have bought CNC RGV pullers as well, they are lovely. The OEMs do come up nice when zinc plated though, clean up any burrs from broken chains first lol

[Yamavarna]

Does anyone know where to get swingarm bearings for the rgv250 banana swingarm besides the Netherlands? I just put in a big order from CMS and while they have what I need they are expensive and then there is the shipping, duty, DHL fees and of course our taxes. I am going to the local bearing supply house tomorrow hoping for a surprise.

[JonW]

The main swinger bearings are nothing specialist so you can get them from a local factor, if you clean up and look on the edges you should see the numbers.

EDITED: I checked my website for my build and looked through my old emails and the ones i bought for the P model arm Im sure are the same, but you should see if you can check yours. I found this:

TA2530Z -25x33x30mm