ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Energica => Topic started by: Pard on June 22, 2023, 02:03:52 AM
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The Rebelle swingarm has this handy hole in it that catches a ton of road debris. Changing the rear tire today, I decided to vacuum it out with a shop vac.
Will be closing that opening with some duct tape.
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Contents of swingarm catch can
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Smart member of the facebook group is already on this fix. He produced a 3D printed plug .
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4709218?fbclid=IwAR0yh40qTjQmR8t8q1ngsSOLEa4ajPlZZTZ-R_qwCVMQ_oo7jLdYjAU6U6c
https://www.facebook.com/groups/energicaownersgroup/permalink/1437778430352924/
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This
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Thanks a lot for pointing that out! I have not looked inside yet.
What I noticed, though, is that also on the upper side of the swingarm moisture and debris collect in the screws and holes there.
For example, look at the screwholes where the gear mudguard is fixed. The standard screws are just normal zinc plated steel and were already corroding (at least at my bike).
Plus at some point there might be too much dirt collected in the screw grooves to insert the 3 mm allen key.
So I decided to exchange them against titanium hex screws with a large head (allowing a 4 mm allen key), that should adress the problem somewhat.
BTW that corrosion problem is immanent for all of the M5 mm screws at the bottom of the bike where moisture ends up e.g. by driving on a wet road. E.g. the three screws holding the chain guard. As most of them are not under high mechanical stress (just holding fairings) they can be exchanged easily. I ordered titanium for those screws as well via Aliexpress.
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4001304759889.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.3.274b7be64pwaqs&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.291025.0&scm_id=1007.13339.291025.0&scm-url=1007.13339.291025.0&pvid=5aa64b0d-2747-4806-a790-7d2100fb8c88&_t=gps-id%3ApcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller%2Cscm-url%3A1007.13339.291025.0%2Cpvid%3A5aa64b0d-2747-4806-a790-7d2100fb8c88%2Ctpp_buckets%3A668%232846%238107%231934&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21EUR%2113.69%2110.95%21%21%21%21%21%40211b442216875011569316349ef429%2110000015678320511%21rec%21DE%21&gatewayAdapt=glo2deu
I recommend that for everyone who is riding on wet roads.
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Great idea to switch the hardware. I too noticed the corrosion on my swingarm hardware. Was not inspired to change them out, but now I am! Thx!
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Did the same. Here's another place to get quality fastners.
https://www.ebay.com/str/speedyfasteners
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Im going with stainless.
The swagelok guy owes me some favors :D
Aaron
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Im going with stainless.
The swagelok guy owes me some favors :D
Aaron
Aaron, I am not too sure if stainless is the best material choice. Here in my part of the world they put salt on the streets in wintertime. Those chlorides are going to corrode stainless steel as well as normal steel. That's why I chose the titanium bolts.
As an recommendation for all: That screw indicated in the pic (lower fixpoint of the chain guide) was already corroded on my '22 bike, the zinc plating totally gone.
If you are not keen to exchange this screw, at least put a thick glob of chain lube on it, that should provide at least some protection.
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I forget my numbers, its been a long day but some decent 304 or 316 should hold up decently.
We don't have road salt but Florida has plenty of I guess you could call it ocean salt in the air.
Stainless is super readily available to me, Titanium, im sure is too if I were to look around but im looking more at immediately available.
Stainless we use for our air systems extensively because of it's corrosion resistance, even on the acid systems we use it so Id hope it would last a few years at least.
Aaron
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I forget my numbers, its been a long day but some decent 304 or 316 should hold up decently.
We don't have road salt but Florida has plenty of I guess you could call it ocean salt in the air.
Stainless is super readily available to me, Titanium, im sure is too if I were to look around but im looking more at immediately available.
Stainless we use for our air systems extensively because of it's corrosion resistance, even on the acid systems we use it so Id hope it would last a few years at least.
Aaron
Hi Aaron, to my knowledge the 304 will not hold long in maritime ambience, the 316 is better for this. Please also look for the proper strength class. The 'usual' special steel bolt they sell you is 304 with a strength class below of a normal steel nut.
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Appreciate the input, Ill have to do some research and might just get the titanium. Or Inconel, or Kovar, or ..or. just spooge some sealer on it so it don't rust and leave it as is. Nothing is more annoying than corroded stuff tho, and with my luck, no matter how careful you are it always snaps :(
Aaron
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As @Pard did, I vacuumed the swingarm during the weekend. I was a bit frightened about what to expect (dead animals, used condoms, chewing gum... ::)) but in the end it was exactly the same stuff as Pard found.
Interesting, that apparently only a certain size of material is collected. My theory is, that the airflow around the swingarm produces some sort of suction into the swingarm where the heavier stuff falls out and the fine fraction is carried out with the airflow. Tried to ducttape the opening but on some point during my two rides it came partially off and functioned as flypaper.
So I think, I need to get the 3D-printed cover.
The inventor on Thingiverse states that his design is only a first draft to be improved over time - has anyone already installed this plug and can suggest improvements?
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Indeed, keep us posted if you used the covers. I am still using tape.
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Wad up a brown paper towel, shove it into the shaft so it's about even with the outside, fish it out with a pair of needle nose, there stuff in swingarm shaft averted :D
I wonder if a cork could be used too, like one of those rubber ones you use when brewing, gently snug it in, cut flush and you are good! paint it / sharpie it to make color match better.
Aaron
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A colleague printed the Thingiverse plug (as posted by@Pard) using light gray filament. So I covered it with black wrap. The two printed clips did not appear very sturdy to me, so I applied some silikon glue to the edges before putting it in. Dimensions of the plug were totally OK, so I am happy now and I can recommend this.
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Awesome! Appreciate the review.
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Thanks @Pard for making us aware of this.
Added a pic to my former post for everyone's education ;D
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That looks great! What about the opening on the other side of the swingarm facing the wheel? Debris gets in from that side as well.
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@Pard, TBH I noticed that wheel-side opening the first time yesterday ::) and thought 'DAMN - work not done yet!'
What I also noticed is, that this part of the swingarm appears to be totally closed on the underside. I would have expected some opening to help collected water flowing out, because one can easily imagine that during rain the rear wheel will shovel gallons of water inside. But I cannot say bc am a sissy dry weather rider - it would be interesting if anyone confirm standing water inside the swing arm.
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dry weather rider or not, you WILL sooner or later, get caught by a storm and enjoy rain that feels like hailstones :)
Good points though, but even running thru a puddle on the road from someone's sprinkler etc can pull water up.
Aaron
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What I also noticed is, that this part of the swingarm appears to be totally closed on the underside. I would have expected some opening to help collected water flowing out.
There is a drain hole in the bottom of the swingarm for evacuating water.
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Aaron, your ‚wish‘ came promptly true. On my commute home I ran into a strong rainshower. ::)
After drying myself I looked what the bike was doing. In the swingarm was water standing! During cleaning the bike I also sponged the underside of the swingarm and suddenly there was water dripping! With a nail I opened the drain hole @Demoni just mentioned, apparently it was completely clogged. About a small glass full of muddy water ran out.
Judging from this the front hole plug does not very much for keeping the swingarm free of water and debris. Secondly, it‘s advisable to check from time to time if the drain hole is unclogged.
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Anytime you get a drain hole ANYWHERE you MUST frequently check it for plugging. Dirt and debris will clog them quickly. Given they will tend to frequently be wet / damp, they act as dirt magnets and will collect dust to form mud and an eventual plug.
Bugs are a problem too. We tripped a 500 MW generator one day because a mud dauber decided to build a nest in one of the legs of a furnace draft transmitter, (the open to the atmosphere one). Small holes plug easily, bigger holes attract bugs looking to nest. Check frequently and clean as needed.
Aaron
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After the 'water incident' ::) I decided to cover up the wheel-side hole in the swing arm as well.
Off-topic: If anyone askes themself, why these holes are in the swing arm, the answer is: probably because it's a casted part. Designing casts is quite tricky and even more so for intricate parts.
The hole itself is 60 x 80 mm with radii of 30 mm. So is designed a cover with 5 mm overlap and 5 mm thick for 3D printing. The bottom part is made with reduced thickness to create a narrow opening against the body to allow for aeration. I avoided clips or anything complicated and just fixed the cover with Sikaflex (silicone glue for outdoor conditions).
Admittedly the cover is totally flat and does not hug the curvature to 100 % but I did not want to make it more complicated than necessary - in the end it's hardly visible anyway and the gap is filled with silicone.
Let's see if that will work.
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Beautiful job!
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Thx @Pard for the praise :)
As a conclusion to this, after another rainshower yesterday I can confirm that the cover appears to be working. No water inside the swingarm anymore.