Brozz Swingarm Upgrade??

[brianjmt]

I sure thought that looked like shitty alum. The wields look horrible, shit even one side looks off by a 8th of inch. Ive seen posts that say this swing arm is alum. LOL. Funny how a little bit of paint can fool so many.



Question it looks like a simple item. WHat would a fab shop charge to do one in alum.? If chinese 10yr olds can weld up these surely a fab shop could make one pretty reasonable and better.



Question on suspensions does anyone actually know what size USD forks is on the brozz and the actual rear shock size? In all of these posts no one ever quotes a damn actual spec of what is on the bike, just what they say they changed to. Plus none of the dealers even list sizes. DO they not know or just choose not to list the sizes? I suspect they dont know.LOL Hell even on the csc site they dont list any exact sizes. Unbelievable.

[Wild Dog]

I don't want to sound rude, but that swingarms, looks like a downgrade more than a upgrade.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by brianjmt

I sure thought that looked like shitty alum. The wields look horrible, shit even one side looks off by a 8th of inch. Ive seen posts that say this swing arm is alum. LOL. Funny how a little bit of paint can fool so many.

Question it looks like a simple item. WHat would a fab shop charge to do one in alum.? If chinese 10yr olds can weld up these surely a fab shop could make one pretty reasonable and better.

Question on suspensions does anyone actually know what size USD forks is on the brozz and the actual rear shock size? In all of these posts no one ever quotes a damn actual spec of what is on the bike, just what they say they changed to. Plus none of the dealers even list sizes. DO they not know or just choose not to list the sizes? I suspect they dont know.LOL Hell even on the csc site they dont list any exact sizes. Unbelievable.

The welds are honestly no prettier than most of the welds I have seen on the frames of any of these bikes. As long as they are structurally sound, then how they look is secondary. A strong weld doesn't have to be a pretty weld.

How much would a fab shop charge to replicate this arm in aluminum? Easily a few hundred dollars. It would be much cheaper to find a donor arm from a Honda model like an old XR or CRF and have a shop fab up and weld a shock mount on to the top of the cross brace to copy the original design. Or have tabs welded to the frame in order to use the Honda shock and linkage for their progressive setup.

I do agree that some suspension specs would be nice to record. There aren't that many active Brozz memebers on here, and even less of them are as into modification.

Originally Posted by Wild Dog

I don't want to sound rude, but that swingarms, looks like a downgrade more than a upgrade.

Not rude at all, just your opinion. It would really depend on what you are after and what you started with. In my eyes it is an upgrade in the adjuster style. Otherwise, probably not much difference there.

[NzBrakelathes]

Originally Posted by brianjmt

I sure thought that looked like shitty alum. The wields look horrible, shit even one side looks off by a 8th of inch. Ive seen posts that say this swing arm is alum. LOL. Funny how a little bit of paint can fool so many.



Question it looks like a simple item. WHat would a fab shop charge to do one in alum.? If chinese 10yr olds can weld up these surely a fab shop could make one pretty reasonable and better.



Question on suspensions does anyone actually know what size USD forks is on the brozz and the actual rear shock size? In all of these posts no one ever quotes a damn actual spec of what is on the bike, just what they say they changed to. Plus none of the dealers even list sizes. DO they not know or just choose not to list the sizes? I suspect they dont know.LOL Hell even on the csc site they dont list any exact sizes. Unbelievable.

Made in China 2019 and no one knows or says (nearly every bike or everything in life), THAT always is the case.
No it wasn't a 10 year old welding it but a grown man with a brain of a 10 year old (ask me how I know! I see it daily)

[Megadan]

I just received the swing arm today. A quick look over it does reveal some positives in the design over the rectangular tubing of the Hawk that would give it a slight edge in rigidity. There was at least one or two things that were a slight disappointment as well, but I guess that is to be expected.
I wont have the time to test fit it today and I am waiting for the axle to arrive. I should be able to try and test fit it next Friday. I may make a small video later today going over it and trying to show some more detail.

[Megadan]

[NzBrakelathes]

I actually have a XRE300 frame & some parts and that has a 3 point linkage and differnt swing arm/shock set up etc.
Wonder if that can be modded and weld the extra dog bone link mounts to the frame etc.
XRE300 is a newer version/style of a Hawk like Bike

Also I have a free to pick up USD front end for a Hawk no wheel FREE for collection near Chengdu airport

[OneLeggedRider]

I can tell by the video it is a much stronger piece and would definitely be an upgrade. And on the fb groups I have seen 2 Hawk swing arms that have folded up.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I can tell by the video it is a much stronger piece and would definitely be an upgrade. And on the fb groups I have seen 2 Hawk swing arms that have folded up.

I have seen those same pictures/posts. Being launched into the air is not really what these bikes were intended for, so it doesn't surprise me. These are road bikes with a little off road capability more than they are dirt bikes.

[wedooit]

I wonder if it will fit the BMS250crp that I have, that now has a dead battery....go figure....haven't had a chance to even put on some miles.... back to SWINGARM, I might see if the dimensions are the same, and I will report. Thanks all for the info!

[Megadan]

I had a full day of heavy maintenance on the Hawk - pulling all the parts off, detail cleaning, greasing, etc. - in celebration of its first 1000-ish miles.

More on that in my actual bike thread if interested, including shock related stuff with this swing arm, here: http://chinariders.net/showpost.php?...&postcount=148
The short version is you WILL need a shorter shock if you choose to use the mount location of the Brozz swing arm - unless you want about a 2 inch lift.

Anyway, moving on to details about the rest of the fitment.

On the frame side of things - more or less the same with one minor difference in the width of the two pivots. The Brozz swing arm is a bit less than an 1/8th but a bit more than 1/16th inch narrower than the Hawk unit. There could be a few factors at work here, including variances in manufacturing, and I only have one data point to go off of, so results may vary. This doesn't concern me very much as it can be easily solved by a thin washer/spacer or two inside the dust caps to take up the slack. So the fitment here is good.

The length from the pivot to the axle is more or less the same, so no worries there.

Wheel fitment: This is with the Hawk wheel and caliper bracket and the Brozz axle and wheel spacer. The Hawk wheel spacer is actually a little bit longer and will not work.





The only thing I am unsure of is the locating tab for the rear brake caliper of the Brozz swing arm is not a round pin like the Hawk, but instead has machined flat surfaces top and bottom. The Hawk bracket does work just fine but has a bit of play in it. It would be nice to be able to compare the dimensions of the Brozz and Hawk rear caliper brackets to note any differences, if any Blue Eagle owners are willing to humor me.

Unlike the Hawk swing arm, this arm is not splayed open. The spacer and caliper bracket are a very snug fit between the adjuster ends of the swing arm. It is so snug in fact that I may sand down the caliper bracket side just a tiny bit so that it can slide a little more freely.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I had a full day of heavy maintenance on the Hawk - pulling all the parts off, detail cleaning, greasing, etc. - in celebration of its first 1000-ish miles.

More on that in my actual bike thread if interested, including shock related stuff with this swing arm, here: http://chinariders.net/showpost.php?...&postcount=148
The short version is you WILL need a shorter shock if you choose to use the mount location of the Brozz swing arm - unless you want about a 2 inch lift.

Anyway, moving on to details about the rest of the fitment.

On the frame side of things - more or less the same with one minor difference in the width of the two pivots. The Brozz swing arm is a bit less than an 1/8th but a bit more than 1/16th inch narrower than the Hawk unit. There could be a few factors at work here, including variances in manufacturing, and I only have one data point to go off of, so results may vary. This doesn't concern me very much as it can be easily solved by a thin washer/spacer or two inside the dust caps to take up the slack. So the fitment here is good.

The length from the pivot to the axle is more or less the same, so no worries there.

Wheel fitment: This is with the Hawk wheel and caliper bracket and the Brozz axle and wheel spacer. The Hawk wheel spacer is actually a little bit longer and will not work.





The only thing I am unsure of is the locating tab for the rear brake caliper of the Brozz swing arm is not a round pin like the Hawk, but instead has machined flat surfaces top and bottom. The Hawk bracket does work just fine but has a bit of play in it. It would be nice to be able to compare the dimensions of the Brozz and Hawk rear caliper brackets to note any differences, if any Blue Eagle owners are willing to humor me.

Unlike the Hawk swing arm, this arm is not splayed open. The spacer and caliper bracket are a very snug fit between the adjuster ends of the swing arm. It is so snug in fact that I may sand down the caliper bracket side just a tiny bit so that it can slide a little more freely.

For whatever it is worth, I consider the stock Hawk swing arm the poorest single part in the whole bike. This simple, but not cheap, change will mke a considerable improvement in the bikes off-road performance, and very likely better on road as well. ...ARH

[Hancadam]

Good deal imo, I just ordered one. Thanks Jeff.

[Hancadam]

I put the Brozz swingarm on our hawk today. This is just a bolt on addition, no change in rear shock. So it lifted the rear some, but I like it. Seems to make it wheelie easier.

Over all, I think it stiffened the bike up. The hawk, compared to my brozz, seems to have side to side "shimmy". This helped. Obviously the front end is another element.

Installation was very easy, no modding needed at all. Everything lined up perfect for us.

[Megadan]

Yeah, I did it for the slider design as well as the better design and the adjuster style. It is just a better design overall.