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Unread 04-11-2008, 08:07 AM
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So my last little surprise I found among the wreckage I call my APrilia!

I did a nice lowside a couple weekends ago and once I removed my pipe I noticed this little ding hiding behind it.



Looking down the swingarm leg from the rear it shows not a bit of alignment problem. I'm riding the damn thing. I see no chance of any problems because of it. The thickness of the aluminum must be REALLY thin because the Ti exhaust can showed NO damage to the inside that was facing the swinger. I had to go back and closely inspect it and one of the rivets just barely shows a scratch. Those swingarms are super thinwall material. There are swingarms for sale all the time and price isn't the problem. Replacing it is a pain in the ass though!!

I didn't even see the dent for a while after my little slide off the road. I was pretty bummed when I removed the pipe! It's all good though. I'm not stressing it. I can get another one anytime I want but I'm just going to ride the damn thing!! It ain't some collector motorcycle or anything.



This is a great excuse for a single sided conversion but I just got those OZ rims!! So I'm kinda screwed cause I can't use the rear Futura rim and a front OZ. That would be nasty.

I am thinking of building my second Aprilia Mille Chassis to fit my 3 cylinder Kawasaki 500 engine in sometime this summer though... If I could put a single sided swingarm on that one and the stock RSV front Brembo rim on the front that would be cherry... Ok back to reality. Dent or no dent I'm riding this damn thing soon. The nice weather is killing me without my Aprilia to ride.
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Unread 05-12-2008, 06:33 AM
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The new Akrapovic exhaust doesn't hid the dent as well but it surely will distract people from looking at the blemish.

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Unread 12-29-2008, 09:31 AM
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More on the swingarm dent if you are wondering how my dented swingarm testing has gone:

Yes, I dented my swingarm pretty good and there is no way I'm going to spend a few hundred on a new one just to make it look better. I measured the arm in a few different spots to make sure the axle and wheel were located where they should be, not skewed or angled in any way. So I know the wheel is straight. I have put mine through some very fast use in the last year since the dent and it's rock solid. No one has ever seen the dent as the can covers it up and I have long forgot about it. The swingarm is a big pain in the butt to change as you need a special tool and lots of time. Not worth it IMO if yours is fine. Mine took a really good beating, a little more than a slide like your bike sustained. If anyone is contemplating if they need to replace theirs just measure the axle and wheel placement and if it's dead straight you will be fine. The swingers are stronger than you think. If you look at it you will see grey circles of epoxy type stuff and that is used to cover the holes that are created when the horizontal stiffeners are welded in them. The swingarms aren't just sheets of aluminum pressed into form. There are pieces welded inside that dramatically increase the strength of the arm.
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