Swing Arm Pivot Bolt Stuck

I called up my Mechanic friend Dave at D&S Motorsport in Woodland Park, CO and took it to him after I spent 2 days beating on the thing, two days using PB Blaster to try and free it, which I was able to do from the engine case so it would spin, but no movement with a small 4lb mini sledge. I read so many horror stores online I figured I spent $30 on MISC items to try and get it out that I rather cut my losses now instead of some post I saw where people spend hundreds and still had to take it to someone for hundreds more.

It is safe to say the previous owner did ZERO swing arm maintenance. So I ordered the bearing kit ($70 from Motorcycle Superstore with shipping), and obviously new bolt, nut, washer, and castle nuts...and a new chain slider too as it was wore pretty dang good from (ronayers.com). Plus as the brother in-law pointed out I have a small kick starter oil seal leak so I told the mechanic to do that too...easy fix but I figured if it is in I might as well let him dirty his hands. Plus he is a great guy and independent so I'm sure it will not be all to much...he said worst case is he cuts it out.

Sorry for no pictures I was to frustrated spending 6-8 hours for two days messing with it to even consider pictures.

So what was the result? I've had mine apart a couple of times and never had that bolt even stick much less what you had happen--any idea where it seized?

First job i did when I picked up my pig was to pull all the linkage and swinging arm pin apart greasing it up with waterproof grease.
The swinging arm pin on most dirt bikes will seize where it passes through the engine if it is not greased up on a regular basis.
I have previously had to cut the swinging arm off a bike with a disc grinder to get the pin out which is why I did the pig straight away.

Hope you have solved it now.

Its at the mechanic still, I dropped the new bolt and nut off to him. It is not seized in the engine case after I was done with it. Although it was before, but after two days it would spin pretty easy. However it is seized in the spacers on either side of the engine case. Mechanic said seeing as I started to drill out one side. he will just drill it out, and push it out of the case. He has the tools to do this, my 14v DeWalt drill was starting to not like going up in drill bit sizes.

He said he will try and get this done by Friday, but no hurry as the dang bearings I ordered from Motorcycle-Superstore will not show till Friday. Long story but I do not recommend them now.

So worst case I hope he will be done early next week. At least it will have new bearings and I will pull the bolt every 6-months as its not a big deal to do, and add good Moly grease to it. I'll post the cost and results when I hear more.

Picked the bike up today, damage was only $120, he is a good guy so I gave him some extra cash (call it a tip).

Yep, he lubed everything up really good. He started to drill and it was not going fast so he decided to try the torch and a large hammer and on the 10th swing it moved and next one it popped right out. Then he pressed out the old bearings and pressed in the new ones and greased it all up nice and good.

He showed me the slider, it was a ball of rust...LOL

I then borrowed some bead sealer, I got a small over night leak on the Tubliss front rim (I reused a new but already mounted tire, so I think the bead was dented in). Can not beat a guy that loans you supplies...LOL Try that at a dealership.

Is till got to put the chain back on and a few screws that hold the hoses as I did not bother taking him that stuff.

Hi,

I see here are hard things to remove XR650R swingarm bolt. It was so for me too.. After many attempts and many days of different methods of bolt removal - here are the things what you must do to remove xr650R swingarm bolt. Hope it will help you, because it helped me .

1.) Try to turn the XR650R swingarm bolt.
It must be done, when all other engine bolts are removed. If it's not possible to turn the bolt with usual tools - try to turn with pneumatic tool. ( such tool which are using in all car services to remove car tires. These ones has big power to turn bolts. ). If not successfully - go to another car service, they will have different power pneumatic tool and ask for help to turn the bolt with that pneumatic tool. It must help.

2.) If the bolt is not turned - don't even try to beat the bolt with hammer - it will not help. Go to another car service.

3.) After the bolt is turned ( maybe a little or maybe more if you are lucky ) start beating the bolt with big hammer.

4.) To beat the bolt successfully - you need:

a) Lay motobike on the side ( do not beat in upright "normal" bike position, the hammer will not have enough power then )
b) When bike is on the side, place some hard wood under frame - a few centimeters away from swingarm bolt.
c) Find something to insert into bolt ( some metal bolt 5-10 cm in length or something - BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO INSERT IT INTO SWINGARM BOLT CENTER HOLE !!! ) Why it's important? - because of hammer power! if you will not insert that metal "thing" into swingarm bolt center hole - you will lose hammer power and will not remove the bolt.. IT IS IMPORTANT !!!

5.) After bolt moved - open beer and feel happy

regards,
ccholio

im upthere right now

thnkz for the advice tips

i tryd some hard hits with the hammer but no luck yet, i greased all since i got the bike 1 year ago but now is the time to remove the bolt.
my swingarm needs some welding and i got the new bearingset comming.
i wil try it again like you say and let ya know if it worked out fine (i hope i can tell)

greets & cheers

The Netherlands vs Japan 1-0

job well done

i got the bolt out verry easy so im lucky, it was a bit rusty but np to hit it out with an old 17mm axle

the bearings are still intact without any look of damage so i leave them in and clean & lubricate them good.
the new bearings set i keep for later.

Super! You are lucky!

Is there a way to put a grease fitting there? I have one on my steering head.I have to try to take mine out n see if it's possible.If so i will.

Hi guys,
What's the story putting the swinging arm bolt back in with the fancy castle nut arrangement do you need special tools to torque the first nut up then to tighten the second nut ?, or do you guys have some hidden secret ?.
Pulled the XR250 swinging arm pin out every 3 months to keep it clean and well greased but not tackled the 650 yet, any advice welcome

Have a look at this link.

http://www.xr650r.us/preload/

Saw this few weeks back but was wondering what everyone on here does ?, looking at the settings the first nut the pre-load nut has very little torque applied to it then the outer locked against it ?.

Mauser wrote:Saw this few weeks back but was wondering what everyone on here does ?, looking at the settings the first nut the pre-load nut has very little torque applied to it then the outer locked against it ?.

This is what I did. I found an old 1/2" drive socket that was about the same diameter as the castle nut and found that using a good blade in the hacksaw I could cut it. I filed it to the finished size.
Once this was done I dismantled my swinging arm.
I found that the little grease that Honda had put in the bearings to start with had emulsified but I was in time as the bike had had no off road use and there was no wear or rust.
I cleaned the bearings out with a degreaser dried them off and rebuilt it with waterproof grease.
When it came to torquing the swinging arm bolts up. I tightened the inner one up to the correct torque and marked what position it was in. that is 1 o'clock. I then tightened the outer lock nut up to the correct torque and rechecked the position of the inner bolt.
It had not moved. Job done

The design is to prevent the aluminium frame being bent/stressed to clamp the swinging arm. It looks as if steel frames can take it but they did not want to take the chance with this one.

Good luck, I hope yours is as easy as mine was to remove.

If you struggle get in touch before you resort to drastic measures

Cheers for the reply, I did the XR250 which was tight but after a bit of effort that came out, before I sold it I pulled it out every few weeks and re-greased it just to make sure it stayed free.
Seen some right horror stories of people cutting swinging arm off to get their's out lol.
Will have a think about taking mine out once I get rid of these damned SuperMoto wheels

It was completely seized , bike 8 years old ,never taken out .
my solution .


Lots of penetrating oil , give it time to work day or so, i had it soaked about 2 weeks lol , i wasnt in a hurry.
1/2" brass punch with vice grip to hold it .
tip the bike on the side on a palette or wood.
apply heat to where pivot bolt has contact with a heat gun until oil starts to smoke little.
With a 5lbs hammer Smoke the pine out !
worked for me . bearings in swing arm were completely rusted out ,broken ,in dust ...

DO NOT CUT THE SWING ARM off lol , U idiots . new pivot bolt is 30$

Hope this helps

Update I pulled mine out without any problems a few weeks back now, just slackened the nut and then tried un-doing the pin....it moved then after a short while it came out, I think this was the first time it had been removed in over 10 years but I don't think the bike has seen much rain in it's life
Re-greased and it slides back in now dead easy, i don't think I would ever go down the chopping route, just takes time and careful thinking

Quick question, and maybe this is a dumb one but...

Once the 27mm swingarm pivot bolt nut is removed on the left side, you can ideally just whack it out from the left? The castle nuts don't need to be loosened to remove the bolt correct?

As of now, it was some work just to get that nut off, and the bolt isn't budging. It's soaking with some penetrating oil, but before I really get to work on it, just wanted to confirm I wouldn't be pounding without forgetting something.

Thanks for the feedback in advance! New bearings on are on their way. Bike is a 2003 and I get the feeling they've never been swapped.

- Scott

HI Scott, welcome to the forums; yes once the left nut is off it "should" tap through....
Looking at yours it looks like a tough job is ahead .....does the right side turn ?. When I did my 250R first thing I did was getting it turning then start to see if it would start moving outwards....get it well soaked in penetrating fluid. Important don't ever hit the spindle thread directly, always put the nut on and get plenty of threads engaged before you start belting it.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately it's not rotating right now. Time to get dirty.

Mauser wrote:HI Scott, welcome to the forums; yes once the left nut is off it "should" tap through....
Looking at yours it looks like a tough job is ahead .....does the right side turn ?. When I did my 250R first thing I did was getting it turning then start to see if it would start moving outwards....get it well soaked in penetrating fluid. Important don't ever hit the spindle thread directly, always put the nut on and get plenty of threads engaged before you start belting it.

[quote="scottpargett"]Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately it's not rotating right now. Time to get dirty.

Mine was not turning what so ever, I even had applied penetrating oil for almost a week, and managed to strip the bold on the right side. I was completely seized. I was applying heat, with a heat gun to the local area and was smoking it with a brass punch. It eventually came out. If not mistaken that bolt has to be lubricated once a year, to prevent that exact situation. Best of luck.

Pretty sure it seizes between the pivot bolt and the actual engine, the part where it is stationary as such the normal dissimilar reaction takes place and the bugger seizes in.

When you say smoking it with a brass punch are you just saying you pounded it? Can't tell if that's an expression or a technique I'm unfamiliar with it.

jeronimo wrote:

Mine was not turning what so ever, I even had applied penetrating oil for almost a week, and managed to strip the bold on the right side. I was completely seized. I was applying heat, with a heat gun to the local area and was smoking it with a brass punch. It eventually came out. If not mistaken that bolt has to be lubricated once a year, to prevent that exact situation. Best of luck.

Lol. Pounding or Hitting as hard as possible. Must be an expression from back home or something. Maybe there's a better expression?