DIY swingarm protector

[Zero600]

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

[Landshark]

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