Correct
Issues with Misaligned Swing Arm 06 Mastiff
- Thread starter Jay Dawg
- Start date
HMAN
I just like my Freedom
A wise man on this forum once commented "cool aint cheap" and it totally applies to Dogs. Most of us have WAAAY more than book value in these bikes. Its an additiction.
Correct. I do have a HF press on the bench. I do not recommend using it to change bearings. I was lucky and HDM had a decent hub left for the Pitbull. Its cheap to fk em up but $$ to fix.
Jay Dawg
Member
So I now have the OMT bearing puller/installation tool. Have you used this kit to replace the bearings?
Jay Dawg
Member
Thanks I will check it out!
Jay Dawg
Member
Well its been a VICE GRIP GARAGE kind of day. I worked for hours today getting this 2006 Mastiff’s swingarm off, both pivot bolts were seized, pivot shaft seized, frame adjuster seized, it took hammers lots of vice grips, heat, 3 foot long breaker bar, impact tools and lots of effort. For anyone putting this stuff back together again make sure you use anti-seize I found none and that’s why everything was seized up. And now I know my frame is threaded for the frame adjuster, I did not think this is what I would find. It was a battle, i’m done for the day, my next move will be to clean everything up measure out all the new parts, mock it up, using a lot of anti-seize. Just for future reference anybody doing this if you’ve got AN-6 caps they fit our oil lines oil and tank and helps keeps debris out of the lines and tank.
Mastiff Rider64
Well-Known Member
Man, if your pivot shaft was that tight then oh my god no wonder your swingarm wouldn't move. It is only suppose to be hand tightened to the bushings. That thing must had been pushing out on the swingarm and then the frame adjuster being over tightened also had to had the bushings in a bind. Not sure if you know or not but Erik has the frame adjuster piece in stock. You could have it powered coated to match your frame color. I hate you're finding all these issues with your bike, but once you get it all done it will be a smooth ride for sure.
Jay Dawg
Member
It’s definitely been an education. Yeah I had already received one of the frame adjusters from Eric, I’m gonna send it back and ask him to give me the one with the flats, the one I’ve got completely round. I had a couple of threads they were messed up on the frame and I was able to use a thread file and get them all straightened up, whoever put this together used no anti-seize that led to the problem. I can’t imagine owning one of these bikes not not doing your own work, taking it to the shop every time you had an issue might be a very expensive proposition.
HMAN
I just like my Freedom
These are 2 wheel hotrods n need the extra tlc n attention just like 4 wheel versions.
God Bless ya Brother. You will persevere. Keep pushing & your BigDog will pay you back with amazing rides. Try to make it to Tennessee in May 2023 for some great riding & great BigDog friends.
You are absolutely correct Jay. I found out really quick that some guys will tell you they know about these motorcycles & they don’t know shit. 1 trip to the local shop that specializes in custom bikes & I thought they should have hired me to wrench for them. Fucking idiots
Jay Dawg
Member
Hahaha, yup take your money and fuck up your bike.
Jay Dawg
Member
I‘m not giving up, just taking it slow and working on the mastiff when I can. Yeah that would be great to meet in person so many of the people on this site, looks like everyone had a good time at this most recent get together.
Jay Dawg
Member
I don't mind the wrenching, although I will be happy to be riding again.
Lots of work! Nobody said anything yet, but I bet that bike was shaking a lot missing 2 of those transmissions bolts. It's actually not super uncommon to see bolts missing.
If you ever feel the bike really shaking on the foot controls it's usually because of the trans bolts. When you put them transmission back in don't assume the original shimming was correct, I have never seen one shimmed correctly. It's a simple process bolt the inner primary on the motor and the trans and before you put any bolts in there check the gaps with a gauge and shim appropriately.
Not sure how the shocks are frozen, remember these shocks are PULL style, NOT PUSH. So it dampens as the swingarm pushes up, or PULLS on the shock. It's why almost all Harley Shocks won't work, they only did that hidden swingarm deal in the late 80's - 90's and why there isn't many aftermarket options. Not enough bikes on the road. Not sure if you did it at one point when you were messing with them but if that's how they were when you got the bike whoever adjusted those suckers didn't adjust them correctly one's longer than the other.
If you ever feel the bike really shaking on the foot controls it's usually because of the trans bolts. When you put them transmission back in don't assume the original shimming was correct, I have never seen one shimmed correctly. It's a simple process bolt the inner primary on the motor and the trans and before you put any bolts in there check the gaps with a gauge and shim appropriately.
Not sure how the shocks are frozen, remember these shocks are PULL style, NOT PUSH. So it dampens as the swingarm pushes up, or PULLS on the shock. It's why almost all Harley Shocks won't work, they only did that hidden swingarm deal in the late 80's - 90's and why there isn't many aftermarket options. Not enough bikes on the road. Not sure if you did it at one point when you were messing with them but if that's how they were when you got the bike whoever adjusted those suckers didn't adjust them correctly one's longer than the other.
Going back to the shocks, can you take a picture of the underside of the left side frame rail? I want to see the transmission mount on that side that goes to the frame rail. If you can get the inner primary in the picture.
Jay Dawg
Member
That is how I found the shocks, I could raise the bike with the OTC jack and drop it to the ground and the swing arm would not move even a fraction of an inch. I thought the swing arm was seized, it moved ok once I got the shocks off. Although the swing arm was not aligned properly and the pivot shaft, pivot bolts and the frame adjuster were all seized, it was not the reason for the lack of suspension travel, it was all shocks. You'll probably never again ask me for photos, but here you go. There is no shock obstruction, even double 422's would probably fit the way this bike is currently "set up". Notice one of the empty bolt holes that it appears something is in the hole on the transmission side "broken bolt?"
Jay Dawg
Member
I never had any unusual shaking with the bike, it shifted well and neutral was always easy to find, clutch pull was a real bitch, about 45 to 50 LBS. After I removed the clutch cable found I could not pull the cable through the sheath, so that was probably the majority of the problem there.