Anyone else with BVC 350x swingarm issues?

[devilman]

Not sure why it posted double pics. Having issues with the BVC swingarm. Shock spring is only .022" from left arm and the bolts for the carrier housing are as tight as they will get. Look at that gap. These aren't the only issues I have had. More pics later.
Anyone else running one of these or attempted to?

[J!m]

So, is the shock at an angle then, or the arm is made/bent/tweaked off to one side? I don't like how close it is either, but I don't fully understand the problem(s).

As to the clamp- I agree the gap is huge and will collect all sorts of unpleasantness. And the bolts are way too long, which looks sloppy to me. Factory has a rubber gasket there for a reason...

[Red Rider]

Shock spring is only .022" from left arm and the bolts for the carrier housing are as tight as they will get. Look at that gap. These aren't the only issues I have had.

I agree, as long as the shock isn’t making contact with the swing arm, there isn’t any issue. It’s definitely closer than stock though. I’m assuming you got an extended swingarm, with the 450R style rear carrier? If it’s the 450R style rear carrier, the side rails will be closer to the shock because of the swingarm’s taper, and the narrower 450R rear carrier.

Also, has your shock been resprung? Is the spring possibly wider than the OEM spring?

As for the gap at the pinch bolts, that’s normal for the 1988+ style, Honda swingarms. I would make a gasket out of some, whatever thickness you need, rubber, and put that in there, then clamp it down.

As for BVC, I did have several issues with their 86-87 Tecate products, but their bread and butter seems to be in the Honda products, so I’m a little bit surprised you’ve had problems, but not totally surprised. They were very good about rectifying any issues I had, but I felt like I was doing the R&D on their products, rather than BVC doing it before hand.

[devilman]

Yes, sir. +2 w/450r carrier. So from the beginning. The lower bracket (shock link) would not fit between the lugs. I had to remove the powder coat from the lug area. I get it, powder adds thickness. Once removed, I got the bracket to fit between the lugs but the alignment was way off, as pictured. The way the lower lugs where welded on, the bracket would not rotate, at all, which it should have been able to move up or down in the elongated holes. I sent the swinger and two of my brackets to them. The bracket in the pics above has a better bushing, so I wanted that one to fit. BVC trimmed the bracket to fit, so I assume too much was taken from one side and not the other. Hard to know what to grind off if you don't have the shock and frame to get it centered. So I will have to get another bracket and trim to fit properly. As far as the gap, that is ridiculous. I don't know if BVC means for it to be that big. If so, they should provide the rubber gasket or something.
The point of this is that for as much as these things cost, it should be near perfect/ better than oem fit. Their communication sucks. I asked about the gap, quieter than crickets.
It is a great looking setup, but I shouldn't have to put this much work/time into it.

[Red Rider]

I sent the swinger and two of my brackets to them. The bracket in the pics above has a better bushing, so I wanted that one to fit. BVC trimmed the bracket to fit, so I assume too much was taken from one side and not the other. Hard to know what to grind off if you don't have the shock and frame to get it centered. So I will have to get another bracket and trim to fit properly. As far as the gap, that is ridiculous. I don't know if BVC means for it to be that big. If so, they should provide the rubber gasket or something.
The point of this is that for as much as these things cost, it should be near perfect/ better than oem fit. Their communication sucks. I asked about the gap, quieter than crickets.
It is a great looking setup, but I shouldn't have to put this much work/time into it.

I agree their communication sucks. It seems they’re too busy making videos touting their products, when the time would be better spent refining their products. That’s total BS that they modified the OEM bracket to fit their product, when they should have modified their product to fit the OEM bracket. I know I will never purchase from them again.

If the pinch bolt spacing is the same as a 450R’s, you might be able to run a Honda gasket back there.

[devilman]

Looking at pics of the gasket/seal on ebay, I don't think it would be thick enough. Might have to stack 3 of them to fill the gap
Does anyone have a seal they could measure for me?

[Red Rider]

Looking at pics of the gasket/seal on ebay, I don't think it would be thick enough. Might have to stack 3 of them to fill the gap
Does anyone have a seal they could measure for me?

How wide is the gap? Looks to be about 5/16 - 3/8”?

[devilman]

How wide is the gap? Looks to be about 5/16 - 3/8”?

You nailed it. 3/8"

[Red Rider]

If you search around, you might be able to find some 3/8" thick rubber, or neoprene, and make a gasket, to fill that gap. I looked in my stash, but I've only got 1/4" thick neoprene.

[devilman]

I shouldn't have to do that, but it has crossed my mind. I will be sending BVC one more email, not expecting a reply, about my displeasure and how I will not recommend them to anyone. Like you said, they care more about youtube than customer service and making a great product. I guess they don't sell many of these 350x swingers. I asked another guy who had recently built a nice 350x with this swinger, if he had any issues, no response, even though he replies to all kinds of other Facebook comments. No response=must have had issues.......

[Red Rider]

I shouldn't have to do that, but it has crossed my mind.

No, you shouldn't have to do that, but unless you're returning it, you're stuck with that gap. The gap didn't seem that excessive to me initially, but I just checked the gap on my '88 TRX 250R swingarm, and it's around 1/8", but sealed with an OEM rubber gasket. Despite the high price for aftermarket parts, mods are unfortunately frequently necessary.