Jump to content
Yamaha Tenere 700 Forum

DIY swingarm protector


Zero600

Recommended Posts

Knowing that I will certainly drop my bike on the right side (and the left 😉), and afraid that I might forget to straighten the muffler and damage my swingarm, I decided to make a swingarm protector.

 

Materials:

  • 12"x12" sheet of adhesive backed silicone rubber, 1/25" thick.  I chose silicone because it is heat-resistant and pretty tough.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SWBGMSJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
  • 2"x10" piece of thin sheet steel, 0.008" thick.  Made by K&S Precision Metals.  I found this at my local hardware store.  I would have preferred stainless, but I wanted steel for sure.  I included the metal to give some additional abrasion resistance if the silicone wears through.
  • Double-sided tape. I happened to use Fastedge Ultra Bond SpeedTape.

 

Remove the muffler and the hose guide on the swingarm. Clean the swingarm thoroughly with alcohol.

 

Next, use the double-sided tape to secure the metal to the swingarm.  Start by attaching it to the flat center of the swingarm.  Then bend it down on the top and bottom and use a rubber mallet to shape it to the contours.  Try to get a nice, tight bend in the metal.  The tape helps keep it down as you work it.

 

IMG_7190.JPG.76dead1869e3ec6558aab90d111a8df5.JPG

 

Next, trim the silicone sheet to fit around hose guide mount at the top/front.  Then apply the silicone sheet, starting from the top edge.  Remove just a bit of the backer, attach the top edge, and then work your way down, peeling off the backer and pulling the silicone tight to avoid any wrinkles.  When you reach the bottom edge of the swingarm,  use scissors to cut it to size with about 1" of additional material that you can then wrap around to the bottom.

 

If/when I do it again, I'll make a few refinements.  I'll slide the silicone sheet forward a bit so it overlaps the metal more at the front - I advise 1" of overlap on every side to make sure the metal stays down.  As shown here, there is only about 1/4" of overlap at the front.  Also, I'm not sure the guard needs to run so far forward on the swingarm.  Perhaps some folks who have suffered swingarm damage can advise on the areas that need protection.

 

I hope never to test it, but if I do, I'll report back.  For $12 and an hour of my time, it seemed worth trying.

 

 

IMG_7199.JPG.90b508193602c86aa7c8f4a19575be1f.JPGIMG_7198.thumb.JPG.90dc2fc22a2c49fd6895866ea3c08bb4.JPGIMG_7194.thumb.JPG.113ef202c89d6bb4effc8881fccc617f.JPG

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good Job!  That looks like it should work for you.  And not that difficult to accomplish.  Thanks for sharing that mod.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

@Zero600 - how's this holding up 2 years later? I was just doing some maintenance and noticed some wear marks on my muffler and swing arm. Bike has never been down and I have Touratech luggage racks protecting the muffler.  The marks just showed up after the Touratech Rally where I was riding it harder than I have before. Maybe I'd never pushed the rear suspension that hard. Still - I'd assumed the muffler would at least clear the swing arm unless it'd been bent before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Our Friends

Tenere across the USA

Tenere 700 Forum. We are just Tenere 700 owners and fans

Tenere700.net is not affiliated with Yamaha Motor Co and any opinions expressed on this website are solely those of ea individual author and do not represent Yamaha Motor Co or Tenere700.net .

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.