False swing arm mod... a possible problem ???

Having just had my shaft and rear drive unit off of the bike to be greased up...... and bearing in mind that I've done the swing arm mod of removing the left lower part(cosmetic?) to clean up the rear end........... it became apparent that now all I have attaching the rear drive unit to the bike is 3 smallish studs and dome nuts !!!! If you got bumpy roads like around these parts, this could be a problem !
Upon further inspection it appears that the removed frame piece is actually a support piece for the rear drive unit .... and not cosmetic engineering at all !
I think I'll be re-attaching mine in the near future !
Sooo Guys and Gals have a good look at your bikes and see if you also reckon this to be the case !!

Hear from you all soon .............

Well you have really got me thinking now mate, I was planning on doing mine over the next few weeks. I have just been looking at mine and at first your concearns do stand up well but I am not so sure that it's as much of a concearn as we might at first think (or is it).
The bikes from what I understand were untill recent years (not sure when) actually designed in affect exactly as you have it now, as the earlier bikes actually had a, as the modification name would suggest, a false swing arm that was actually made of plastic.
The reason they changed from a false swing arm made of plastic to a metal swing arm is one that is to me at least unclear. I have read a hell of a lot of threads on various sites with regards to this matter and have never read of an issue that has resulted from it's removal. However you have me thinking hard now and lot's of research will be done by me at least, on this over the coming days to see if I can find any issues that may have been posted over recent years.

Twelve views an only your reply Dave !.................... reckon they're all out in their garages ..... ???

Hi Exile first I would like to say that this is my opinion only I have had this mod done for some time now and no apparent damage caused,I ride my bike most days as it is my only form of transport.I feel that it is only a cosmetic piece of metal,and I am sure that the shaft the way it is engineered is certainly strong enough to stay in place,you only have to look around at many other bikes with shaft drives the set up is mainly without the cosmetic support.I am not saying to anyone else take theirs off,that is up to them.

( Today at 10:10 pm
Twelve views an only your reply Dave !.................... reckon they're all out in their garages ..... ??? ) the topic is less than an hour old,give people a chance to read the post.

I have searched at least 100 threads from different sites and can't find anyone that has had an issue with this mod.
I can see why you think there could be a possible issue buy I personally don't think there is one so it will stay on my to do list
Glad you pointed it out tho' gives people a different percpective

Just spent another hour researching the False swing arm and I can still find nothing that would even make me think for a minute that it is anything but a false swing arm.
First off the bikes rear end has a very solid offside & with the support that is left on the near side I believe the rear end is as solid as a rock!
I have found nobody that has had an issue after doing this mod but I have found lot's of people who have done in excess of 20,000 miles since doing the mod and one that has reported of 30,000 miles since the mod.
From my understanding the original false swing arm was made of plastic as it was infact not needed but was simply there for esthetics but was replaced with metal from 2004 because the plastic swing arm was giving none engineering type riders the Heebie Jeebies as a lot of people could not get their heads around the fact that the rear end was solid without the false swing arm but there was a pretend one there.

This is my findings and I am convinced that it is no more than extra weight that needs to be removed, you may very well feel different. If you can find some info that disproves this or raises any concearns then please post it.

If Mr. I has not come up with any negative comments then it would seem there is no problem. If anyone has any concerns maybe an email to Suzuki asking their view would be interesting. They should be able to comment if something is for practical or 100% cosmetic purposes. But if you are still in doubt, leave it be! When I am unsure I usually ask a bike mechanic I trust for their opinion. Mind you somethings on bikes are down to personal preference - I was told by a Suzuki mechanic recently that my bars were way too far forward. To which I replied that for me they were just right end of story!

I was talking about this today, with Exile, and I think Suzuki would just say 'We would not advise this mod'. I think this is all we could expect, as anything they say could be used for compensation in court, if the worst happened.
'Suzuki said it was fine, and here is the letter/e-mail', etc ...

I really don't think Suzuki would comment at all about this mod, and I'm certain they would'nt say it was ok even if they know it is, for the reason Badger has pointed out people might try to sue them.

Right I for one have made a decision on this.... while the bike is stripped down in Runabout mode , as it is now I'm gonna leave the part off ...for the look .... and it seems that there is NOT any issue with this... as many riders have done 1,000's of miles , with no probs (No substitute for road testing ... what!!)
But when it gets put back to Rally mode .. ie rear pegs ,pillion seat, backrest,rack,pannier supports and panniers go back on... and poss pillion passenger.... and associated rally equipment !
Then I'll bolt the frame part back on. Partly for peace of mind .. and no-one will see it with all the gubbins on the bike anyway !!
Well that's it ...decision made, time to forget about this one now!!
Thanks for all the input guys ..and there is another positive to come out of this thread............. it ain't 'arf put my post count up!!!

^^^^^^ What he said .