extended my '81 R swingarm....susp. probs now..need advice

[brokdown]

I feel kind of dumb for this now....but here goes. I had my uncle extend my swingarm 6". (Had to buy another swingarm for the tubing. not the best looking job, but it was free and it's all straight) Before we did it, I didn't think of the shock mount moving. Now my lower shock mount is 6" farther back than it used to be....needless to say, I have to move something now. My question is, do I move the bottom mount forward, the top backward, or both. I'm scared if i just move the bottom mount forward, the spring won't be strong enough because of the extra leverage behind it. What do I do. Pics below....(bike isn't too pretty right now)

[brokdown]

couple more........thanks for any suggestions

[Trikeaholic]

whoops, thats a bad blunder! I would put the bottom mount back where it goes, then try it out, you can always get a stiffer spring or have the shock rebuilt or something.

[Xowner]

Where did you get that pipe?



Thanks

[Dirtcrasher]

Ooops, I guess you should've extended it after the mount not before. It looks like moving it back where it belongs you'll be hitting the cross brace. I give you lots of credit for doin it yourself!! Why did you go so long though?? Don't mess with the top mount because then you could need a frame. You can always find another swingarm and restore it back or change the way you did it. Somebody here has to have one for about 20$ Good luck!

[brokdown]

Thanks guys....Looks like everyone agrees on moving the bottom forward...so i'll do that. The brace shouldn't be a problem because the front of the L shaped mount originally started about 3/4" behind that. Only reason I went 6" is because I don't plan on riding it too much other than at the dunes here. Hopefully it'll keep me from bringing my 125 out there.....although that nasty paddle does look sweet :twisted: (was on there when I bought it)

BTW what do you guys think of my bike so far? It was a total POS when I got it in Nov. Motor was even locked up.....money pit money pit...(almost $800 so far, doing all the work myself) Been a long resto. can't wait to ride it one day

and I bought that pipe from a local shop $89

[84250r]

Hey brokdown is that the seat i sold you?? Did it work out for you ok then? Looking good so far! :)

[Jeb]

I know very little about those first generation 'Rs, but I was looking at the pics of your swingarm. I was noticing on the shock mount area below the swingarm there looks to be a couple or three different places where the shock could mount, thus raising and lowering the rear end. I would figure stock 81-82 r's only had one place to mount the shock to the swingarm. This leads me to question if you didn't cut up and extend an aftermarket racing swingarm, maybe a WestCoast Swingarm, that was probably already extended 2 inches over stock. This could also explain why your tubing from your second stock arm you used for the extension is bigger than the tubing on your original arm. What color was the swingarm when you got it? If it was white, chances are it was a WestCoast. And judging from the Aluminum rims and the low profile rear tires, I'd say that someone spent some bucks on that R back in the day either for racing or playing.

Another option you might try is use a longer dirtbike shock to reach from your moved back swingarm mount to the original frame mount. Then you can say you did it for more suspension travel. :-D

[brokdown]

84250r - yep, that would be it. looking at the old piece of plastic that used be plastic, the bolts aren't the same, but I can make it work. Especially considering what was on it before(consisted of plywood, some foam, and what I suspect of being wallpaper lol) This bike was a total wreck when I got it, I think anyone else would've parted it out.

About the swingarm; I think i sandblasted through 3 or 4 colors of paint before I found metal under there, so I'm not sure. And about the 3 holes, I don't know, I asked someone about it that has an 81 and he said it wasn't adjustable, so it's possible. I'd like to know if someone knows. And with a longer dirt bike shock I think the geometry would be wayy off, it would probably bend it I think.

When I got it, the bike sat really low, like 5 inches off the ground. And I've got 3" axle extender blocks that was on it. It might have been flattracked back in the day, don't know any history on it except it was beat to death lol