Specialty tool for Swingarm nut

[davemik]

So, I'm in the process of reassembling my ride and I have need of a socket to torque the castle nut on the left side of the swingarm. Went online and the best I could do was $56 with shipping and a week to get it. Then, I got to thinking I could make one out of a piece of pipe and weld on a handle. No way to torque it and no pipe that's exactly the right diameter. Then I thought, sockets come in graduated O.D.'s and they are hardened steel. IO found a 28MM socket was exactly the right size. I held the nut against the socket and marked the lands and grooves with a Sharpie. I used a cutoff wheel in the 4" grinder to slot the grooves, and a thick grinding wheel to cut out the slots and adjust the sizes. Just go slow. Grind a little, check the fit, grind a little, etc.

28 MM socket: eight bucks
Time to make it: 30 minutes
Having a Swingarm socket tonight: Priceless!

[WingAdmin]

I did the same thing (useful also for the triple tree castle nut) to build mine from a socket.

However there is a cheaper alternative: This is actually meant for BMX bikes, but it fits ours great, and it's only $14:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A ... UTF8&psc=1

[davemik]

Thanks, WingAdmin! I'll keep it in mind 'cause the next time I need it I'm sure it will be lost!

[Erdeniz Umman]

I think it was made from a 36mm socket for the steering head bearing.

[Fatwing Chris]

Mark the swing arm bolt to make sure it doesn't move when you torque the lock nut.It'll change your preload(make it higher) if it moves.The factory tool holds the bolt while you torque the lock nut.The preload is more important than the lock nut torque.You had the right idea with your original design.A piece of flat bar and a piece of pipe.Use a holesaw to put a hole in the bar the same as the inside dia. of the pipe or a bit smaller.Make a square 1/2" hole in the other end.I scribed out a 1/2 square,drilled a small hole in each corner,drilled a 1/2" hole and then used a small square file to clean out the bits in the corners.Doesn't have to be pretty you just need your 1/2" torque wrench to fit in it.Cut the notches in your pipe and then weld pipe to bar over the big hole.Now you can set your preload with your allen socket,your tool will fit over it and then you can torque the lock nut while holding the bolt where you set it.I used a 2"x 4" x 1/4" piece of flat bar and made my holes 2" center to center.I've never had the factory tool in my hand to measure the center to center but pretty sure 2" in pretty close.That torque spec is not really that critical.I'd post a pic but photobucket is acting stupid.Pretty sure I posted one here before.

[davemik]

I just set the swingarm a few hours ago. Preset the torque on the left side swingarm fitting @ 14 ft./lbs. I marked the nut and used my socket to torque the lock ring to true 71# torque. The preset didn't budge at all. Before I set the preload, I fiddled around with the setting. I found that you had to go about half a turn to go from 14# to 15# preload, so not really critical.
p.s. Know the recommended torque for the ring is 65 ft/lbs, but that takes into account the fact the factory tool has the socket square drive off to the side, which affects the true torque value.

[kerravon]

I did the same thing (useful also for the triple tree castle nut) to build mine from a socket.

However there is a cheaper alternative: This is actually meant for BMX bikes, but it fits ours great, and it's only $14:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A ... UTF8&psc=1

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?