Is it worth it, or best to just go with an aftermarket one.

I've got an 88' TRX250R and just had the motor hopped up by MP Racing.
I ride dunes only, and like to hill climb.
I'd rather not spend the extra dough for a completely new swingarm, but if its not worth it to extend the aluminum one then...........

Anyone with personal experience on this??[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Unless you are going to strictly drag race in the dunes, why would you want to extend the axle? The wheelbase you are currently at is actually perfect for all around riding including the dunes. The 88 and 89 swing arms on the R's were shortened 1" compared to the 86 and 87. This gave a more balanced feel to the R. It was so good, all the aftermarket frame makers have copied it!!

 

Well when you have more power it will either cause more wheelspin or more wheelies, in the sand they hook up good with the right tires so I'm betting he's having trouble wheeling too much.


If you jump the dunes then definatly get the aftermarket swingarm (you might find a good used one on Ebay)

 

briansgi;
I want to extend the SWINGARM, not the axle. The 88-89 length may be perfect for mx, but it is definately NOT perfect for duning. This thing wheelies wayyyyyy easy with the stock motor not to mention what its gonna do with this new hopped up motor I'm about to throw on.

I like to launch in 2nd gear, and climb really steep dunes at Florence, and Winchester Bay Oregon.
The front end really wants to climb, and many times I have to literally lean over the headlight to keep her from flipping.

KILLER250R;
You got it! I run 9 paddle haulers, and this thing hooks up big time! That with the combination of the lighter aluminum swing-arm, and this thing points skyward![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

I've seen some companies offer the servive of extending your aluminum swingarm (Arizona I think?), but I've heard that the aluminum welds are not the strongest. Being a machinist myself, and having had to weld aluminum before, I know how tricky it can be to do correctly, and how easy it is for something to go wrong![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

Now, I'm not going to do it myself, but I was just wondering if anyone else has had their aluminum swingarm welded, and what the results were.

I do some jumping, but nothing like you see on the videos. I'm not THAT crazy!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

I understood you were asking about extending the swingarm, not the axle. I missed your point about hill climbing, that's pretty hard to resolve unless you get pretty extreme with the extension. We ride the dunes all the time with an ESR310 and don't have problems with the front end coming up unless you want it to. But we don't drag race up the dunes much, mostly drags at the drag strip. You're going to find it will be alot cheaper to take off your stock swingarm and have someone add to it rather than buying an aftermarket one. What I would do is pick one up off Ebay for $50 or so, there on there all the time and take it to someone and have it extended, save you some major $$'s.

 

2fun. Don't do it. I'm a welder and extending an aluminum swingarm would not be a good idea. To get it welded with enough strength to take the abuse you are gonna give it would be very hard and it would not be cosmetically beautiful. Just buy one and save yourself some grief.