Howdy Damen und Herrn from toasty Wyoming.
I have undertaken mods to my 81 Special -- which I swore I'd never do -- but alas winter, cold, and cabin fevery have gotten the best of my resolve and judgement.
I took a shining to the look and style of the Triumph Bobber, but wasn't about to lay down that much coin for something that still lacked the redneck engineered je ne sais quoi, which I knew I could recreate in fine redneck fashion, once I became willing to start hacking up a perfectly good frame...
So --
See pics.
The monoshock swingarm is from an 80s 400 Maxim, so as to preserve the brand inbreeding. I bought it on an informed whim off eBay, knowing that even though it was unlikely to be a drop-in fit I possess the skills and tooling necessary to threaten and intimidate it into any shape and form I desire. The length is a tad shorter, but the "pivot tube" is the same diameter, so it'll be an easy mod.
Shock and upper mount point, you ask? Keep asking, I haven't got that far yet, but once I get the swingarm fitted I'll be able to accurately measure for the mount bracket. I may try to mount twin shocks, a la the Janus 450s, but nothing firm yet.
The replacement subframe is tacked in place while I grok the look, feel and alignment, but I think it's a go (yes, the tubing is chrome plated -- scrounged .120 wall tubing from a medical device of some sort). I still have to fab the bobbed seat loop, but all in due time. I also need to take it outside once it warms a bit to cut and grind off all the unnecessary tabs etc (can't grind or weld in my basement because cobwebs are flammable
).
I decided to document this ill-advised effort mostly due to the dearth of monoshock swingarm conversion projects out in the Internetosphere. Someday someone will get pointed to this thread on a search and be glad I was able to educate them on all the reasons to or not to pursue a similar project.
I chose not to add a superframe to the stock swingarm to avoid the complexity and effort. If I can't get the Maxim swingarm to work I'll revisit the stock swingarm.
Enjoy the tomfoolery! Hopefully I'll finish before the snow melts.
I have undertaken mods to my 81 Special -- which I swore I'd never do -- but alas winter, cold, and cabin fevery have gotten the best of my resolve and judgement.
I took a shining to the look and style of the Triumph Bobber, but wasn't about to lay down that much coin for something that still lacked the redneck engineered je ne sais quoi, which I knew I could recreate in fine redneck fashion, once I became willing to start hacking up a perfectly good frame...
So --
See pics.
The monoshock swingarm is from an 80s 400 Maxim, so as to preserve the brand inbreeding. I bought it on an informed whim off eBay, knowing that even though it was unlikely to be a drop-in fit I possess the skills and tooling necessary to threaten and intimidate it into any shape and form I desire. The length is a tad shorter, but the "pivot tube" is the same diameter, so it'll be an easy mod.
Shock and upper mount point, you ask? Keep asking, I haven't got that far yet, but once I get the swingarm fitted I'll be able to accurately measure for the mount bracket. I may try to mount twin shocks, a la the Janus 450s, but nothing firm yet.
The replacement subframe is tacked in place while I grok the look, feel and alignment, but I think it's a go (yes, the tubing is chrome plated -- scrounged .120 wall tubing from a medical device of some sort). I still have to fab the bobbed seat loop, but all in due time. I also need to take it outside once it warms a bit to cut and grind off all the unnecessary tabs etc (can't grind or weld in my basement because cobwebs are flammable
).I decided to document this ill-advised effort mostly due to the dearth of monoshock swingarm conversion projects out in the Internetosphere. Someday someone will get pointed to this thread on a search and be glad I was able to educate them on all the reasons to or not to pursue a similar project.
I chose not to add a superframe to the stock swingarm to avoid the complexity and effort. If I can't get the Maxim swingarm to work I'll revisit the stock swingarm.
Enjoy the tomfoolery! Hopefully I'll finish before the snow melts.
