I have a question for people who have made a swingarm locknut tightening tool by cutting down an existing socket, or who are using the bicycle / BMX / "parktool" as mentioned in this and other threads.
I bought a similar tool and it certainly works to remove and tighten the locknut on the left side of the swingarm.
However, the problem I am having is that once I tighten the right swingarm pivot bolt to torque spec, then the left bolt to torque spec, and then try to use this BMX tool to tighten the locknut to torque spec, I am able to thread the locknut fully onto the left pivot bolt but then the locknut seems to go from being finger tight to being impossible to move within just a quarter revolution or so. This does not feel normal / right. In most cases when I tighten a bolt to torque spec, especially a high torque like this locknut demands, it takes multiple revolutions of the nut on the bolt to reach the torque spec. To me, it feels like the locknut is binding up on something.
To clarify: the locknut is fully engaged on the swingarm pivot bolt thread and I have double checked that the threads on the locknut and bolt are not stripped or damaged. I am confident that the swingarm bearings are properly seated and that the bolt is properly in the swingarm bearing race. The locknut does not appear to be binding up on the swingarm itself, as it is easy to remove.
So what I have been doing is tightening the locknut as much as I could. I checked and there is no side to side play in the swingarm, and the up/down movement of the swingarm feels normal and smooth.
However, I suspect the issue may be that in the factory / clymer / haynes manuals, they all say to "hold the left swingarm pivot bolt stationary with the 17mm allen key while tightening the locknut to torque spec". Unless I am missing something, the problem with the BMX tool I bought, and the home made tools made by cutting down sockets, is that they prevent you from being able to "hold the left swingarm pivot bolt stationary with the 17mm allen key" while tightening the locknut. This is because the BMX / home made tools cover up the 17mm allen socket on the bolt when you use them to tighten the locknut. In contrast, the honda factory tool has a hole in it big enough to allow you to put the 17mm allen socket into the pivot bolt while tightening the locknut to torque spec.
I am guessing what is happening in my case is that as I tighten up the locknut with the BMX tool, it is also causing the left swingarm pivot bolt with the 17mm socket to turn at the same time, which is somehow making the locknut go from finger tight to impossible to move in a very short distance. If this is what is happening, it suggests that it results in the left pivot bolt being tightened above its torque spec as I tighten the locknut.
Obviously many people have had success using the BMX and homemade tools and I can't see any posts from them saying that their swingarm fell off or their bearing failed prematurely. So I guess I should not worry about it.
But I'm interested to know whether other people find that the locknut goes from finger tight to impossible to move within about a quarter revolution?