xjr swing arm

[Millietant]

So another FJ owner asked a me question about this swap and sent me the link to this old thread.

I've read it, and read it, and re-read it...and I can't find any mention of how to make the FJ rear suspension linkages fit the XJR swinging arm......there's a side-mention of a "little bit of welding", but mounting the 4 locating bosses on the underside of the swinging arm, and in the right place for the geometry seems a little bit more complicated and specialised than is indîcated in the text.

Does anyone still on here have any more info or thoughts on this swap - putting a XJR swinging arm into a FJ 12 ?

I'd be really interested to hear !

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Dean, taking a twin shock XJ swinger and welding on the dog bone mount bracket seems like a lot of work to me....this is in addition of assuming the XJ pivot shaft is the correct length to fit into the FJ frame (9.372")

Here is the mount bracket (with bearings) you will need on the XJ swinger:



Why even mess around with a twin shock swinger when there are better candidates out there?
Are you familiar with the YZF1000 TAce swinger mod?
http://www.fjmods.co.uk/MarcRittner.htm

[Millietant]

Yeah Pat, I'm familiar with all of the usual rear end swaps, especially the Thunderace (Marc was the inspiration for my FJ mods, I was in touch with him over on an Aprilia forum before I realised it was his FJ - what a first class engineer that man is  ) and FZ1 swaps, and for the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would want to go to the trouble of fitting a XJR swing arm - but in the text of the posts, from "back in the day" on this thread, the writer says it's an easy job, you just need to "weld a bit".

TBH I thought i must have been missing something, because that's not a swap I would ever think of doing - there are so many easier/better options in my mind.

Someone sent me a link to this thread as they read it and thought it would be a simple swap - I disagreed, so thought I'd ask here  

[Pat Conlon]

Ok, we're singing the same tune.

If you find out anything, let me know. I'm curious. Too bad the photos are gone.
Because the XJ/XJR were never imported in the USA, the origins of this mod. would probably be in the EU.
Perhaps your UK FJ blokes have info.?

The OP (fj11.5) has not posted since 2013 and 5xb Benny from Denmark in 2014.

[Millietant]

The couple of people I spoke too had the same view as us..........I just don't understand what those guys were talking about back then  .......that's a lot of trouble to go to to swap a swinging arm !!!!

[ribbert]

Does anyone still on here have any more info or thoughts on this swap - putting a XJR swinging arm into a FJ 12 ?

I'd be really interested to hear !

Dean, I recall one of those guys was looking into this conversion as a solution to sprocket alignment after fitting an XJR motor to his FJ, no other reason.

I also remember an enquiry from someone who just thought it would make a cool looking retro mod. I think he lost interest when he realised it would take more than an hour and more tools than the FJ tool kit.

Other than the guy looking for a genuine solution to his alignment issues, this conversion for the sake of it belongs with such things as cable operated front calipers, cable operated clutch (different guy) fitting a kick starter, converting from fuel pump back to gravity flow, spoked wheels, single carby, fitting a six speed box, punching engines out to silly capacities, water cooling and even a drum brake conversion. We've had enquiries about them all over the years and probably some I've forgotten.

The XJR swinger conversion is IMO a mod without merit.

Noel

[fj1289]

I would like to do an XJR swingarm swap - but still attached to the XJR frame!

[Millietant]

    You guys have restored my faith !!! Thought I was losing my mind for a while.

[Xfrogman]

Hello All,
I read the front shock and rear swing arm upgrades, and 12 years ago decided to do this. As we all know work, life, kids and marriage all tend to get into the way. Amazingly enough once I got divorced I was actually able to finish some of my projects. One project I was able to get back on the road is my 1986 FJ1200. Still has a lot of details to finish up and I cant tell you how much fun this bike is to ride.

My cousin (he has a 1983 Seca 900 as seen in the pic) and I rode up the coast from (California) Burbank to San Jose along Hwy 1 and 101. We had to avoid the closures from the fires but all in all the weather was about perfect and the smoke was minimal. My cousin was very helpful in the final assembly. I had to get the carbs rebuilt, new wind screen, master cylinder issues, GPS Speedo and various other details. To be honest I did about 70% of the work, but I was intimately hands on involved in the processes.

Going off memory - the swing arm length of the R1 swing arm is much closer to the original which is what I wanted to keep close to, I have noticed that other swing arms seem to bring the rear wheel closer in to the bike according to the pics I have seen. Maybe its an optical illusion but it gives the bike an odd look, how the shorter swing arm rides i have no idea. What I can say is my set up is very forgiving, the bigger breaks, tires and new shocks really make the bike feel like i have so much control. I obviously cant speak for how the bike felt before and after with detail because its been so long since I rode it the stock but I do not remember the confidence going into corners with a heavy 1200 that I have now. I have only put on 500 miles so far but it is awesome.

I went with a 2002 R1 front end and swing arm. Please note that the fabrication work was done over 6 years ago and I will do my best to answer any questions. I also had a superior motorcycle fabricator as a close friend to help me with the machining. He makes custom single sided swing arms so his technical knowledge of lining up gears, dog bones and his "show quality" aluminum welding made the process much less painful.

I plan on posting some close up pics of the different points of interest on my upgrades. For now I will leave you with these.

[Xfrogman]

Photos for above