alloy swingarm swap- 851 style /early 900 alloy to 2000 frame, questions remain

[Rudemouthsky]

Hey folks

The searching left me with a few unanswered queries;

I'm considering an alloy swingarm from a 94' Monster 900 to my 2000 frame. What I'm still unsure of is the compatibility of the parts within the swingarm itself, as it's a bare swingarm, nothing else. So of the following parts I need, what will swap over:

- pivot/mounting pin?
- slider blocks?
- end caps?

I'm already aware that the chain rests/ sliders and caliper mounting pin will have to be sorted. I'm a little concerned about the availability of the end caps and sliding shoes, and whether or not my pivot will work more than anything.

Just trying to get an idea if this is worth pursuing after having already invested heavily into my steel sa. 94's seem to be somewhat rare as they have the bracing of the 851/888 swingarms and generally seem to be the most desirable. Anecdotal forum posts seem to indicate the additional stiffness will be a noticeable improvement. I don't think I'm nearly fast enough to tell the difference but, you know how it is...

[thorn14]

No idea for those older swingarms, but as a word of caution I guess... I did an aluminum swingarm swap on my fuel injected bike (so different swingarm setup) and the axle, adjuster caps, pinch bolts, adjuster plates, and chain sliders are all different. I was pleasantly surprised 

[Speeddog]

I've checked model year 2000 parts catalogue, between steel and aluminum swingarm applications, and it says:

Pivot shaft is the same.
Pinch bolts for the pivot shaft are the same.
Slider blocks for the axle, and end caps, are different.
Chain slider pads are different.
Special bolts for attaching the hoop heim joints are the same.
Upper fenders are different.
Aluminum swinger has a lower fender, steel does not.
Aluminum swinger has a small steel channel-shaped washer that goes under the nut on the shock attachment bolt.
Rear axle is different, slightly longer for the aluminum swinger.
Adjuster plates are different.

Stuff that the parts catalogues don't tell you:

You'll need to get either:

The caliper bracket stop pin from a non-floating brake configuration, 851 or M900S of appropriate year.
Dunno years of non-floating M900 application.

The complete full floating brake setup; caliper bracket, inner and outer bushing, special caliper bolt, pullrod with heims, hose bracket (that goes in the same hole as the stop pin) and attachment bracket.

The axle from a steel swingarm will work, it comes a bit below flush on the nuts.
So you can't just slap it together with your eyes closed.

The chain sliders are positioned to align with the 5.5 wheel sprocket carrier.
This setup aligns (more or less) with the symmetrical front sprocket used on (some/all/? of) the 900ie.

I swapped an aluminum swinger onto my M750 from an '00 M900Sie I parted out.
So I had all the bits, except the axle, which I sold in a befuddled moment, and the stop pin for the caliper bracket.

I was told that the stop pin for the caliper bracket is a discontinued item.
Some of the dealers are connected to a web database and can tell you which dealer has the parts.
IIRC, I got mine from AMS, but that was ~ 1 year ago, so YMMV.

[Rudemouthsky]

I've checked model year 2000 parts catalogue, between steel and aluminum swingarm applications, and it says:

Pivot shaft is the same.
Pinch bolts for the pivot shaft are the same.
Slider blocks for the axle, and end caps, are different.
Chain slider pads are different.
Special bolts for attaching the hoop heim joints are the same.
Upper fenders are different.
Aluminum swinger has a lower fender, steel does not.
Aluminum swinger has a small steel channel-shaped washer that goes under the nut on the shock attachment bolt.
Rear axle is different, slightly longer for the aluminum swinger.
Adjuster plates are different.

Stuff that the parts catalogues don't tell you:

You'll need to get either:

The caliper bracket stop pin from a non-floating brake configuration, 851 or M900S of appropriate year.
Dunno years of non-floating M900 application.

The complete full floating brake setup; caliper bracket, inner and outer bushing, special caliper bolt, pullrod with heims, hose bracket (that goes in the same hole as the stop pin) and attachment bracket.

The axle from a steel swingarm will work, it comes a bit below flush on the nuts.
So you can't just slap it together with your eyes closed.

The chain sliders are positioned to align with the 5.5 wheel sprocket carrier.
This setup aligns (more or less) with the symmetrical front sprocket used on (some/all/? of) the 900ie.

I swapped an aluminum swinger onto my M750 from an '00 M900Sie I parted out.
So I had all the bits, except the axle, which I sold in a befuddled moment, and the stop pin for the caliper bracket.

I was told that the stop pin for the caliper bracket is a discontinued item.
Some of the dealers are connected to a web database and can tell you which dealer has the parts.
IIRC, I got mine from AMS, but that was ~ 1 year ago, so YMMV.

Hmm. I think I'll be retracting my ebay offer, sounds like a huge P.I.T.A. Although a floating rear brake with carbon rod and titanium heim joints would be sweeeeet.

What is this "lower fender" you speak of?

I would have referenced the parts diagram myself but the swingarm I'm looking at is from a '94, online parts diagrams don't access that far and according to Ducatitech.com Cagiva was still using up the leftover 851/888 swingarms with the additional bracing, so the newer ones may or may not apply.

The bracing seems to be the best practical reason for doing the swap...I wonder if there's even a point beyond aesthetic otherwise.