How hard is it to replace a broken swing arm? The monster is a 2004 S4r with a single swing arm. Bike has obviously been in an accident and swing arm is bent out of shape.
Is this worth doing? And if replaced, would it be safe to ride? Anything else I should be worried about since the swing arm is bent?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Not too difficult, but before I spent time and money I would thoroughly check the frame on the bike. It takes a good shot to bend that swing arm.
I'd check the engine cases as well.
Yep, particularly at the rear engine mount.
The swingarm is easy to swap.
If your S4R swingarm cracked on the weld line on the outside bend -- common area for it to do so as the welded HAZ affected area is "soft". Most crack and won't actually bend!
Also look very closely (with flashlight or extra lighting) at the engine case area within the frame where the frame/engine bolts go through from left/right. The frame itself might look perfect from the outside, but the engine case at the bolt holes can crack with crash damage. If there are any indications of cracks, they can be welded up by a professional welder if needed.
The swingarm / engine pivot bolt area usually will NEVER crack even with heavy crash damage. Take a look though to verify of course from above and from below.
Thanks for all the valuable advice everyone! One of my major concerns is that there is frame damage. The rear wheel is bent out about 25 degree's from where it should be. How can I tell if there is frame damage and where can I go to get it fixed?
I've been thinking that all the rest of the parts like bars, levers, etc are easily replaceable so i'm not too concerned about them. Should I be?
You may want to price those items. Things suddenly get expensive when they're listed for a Ducati.
There is a company called GMD Computrack that can check your frame. I have no FHE, but many have used them.