Swing arm pivot bolt caps

One of mine fell off when cleaning the bike and it wasn't pretty in there. The bolt itself looks ok but the socket/recess in the frame, around the bolt, is a right rusty mess. I was able to pick out lumps of rust with my fingers! Not good. (rest of the bike is fairly rust free).
The teeth round the edge of the chrome cap are buggered too.
I've noticed a lot of CB's don't have these caps. Maybe they get lost or folks just take them off because all the cap seems to do is trap water in there - bad design.
Anyone else got this?

Yep. I lost one and there's corrosion on both sides, just as you say. On removal of the other side, I was greeted with broken teeth on the cap. I plan to clean 'em up, smear with grease and fit VFR800 caps; simply because I have a pair.

Hmmm those caps are vaguely on my 'to buy' list, after I took apart and greased my swing arm bearings about a year ago and noticed they were missing. But they're eleven quid each!! I put some ACF50 on the bolts and they still seem fine. I'm on 145,000 miles with the original swing arm bearings. I reckon the caps are largely or even purely cosmetic.

I did actually replace mine a few years ago and the new ones are a really tight fit.

Lost one of mine a few years back. Got another from from David Silver, think it was something extortionate around the £8 mark. Sod's law, I broke it trying to put it on. So I just filled the void with grease.

I just cleaned all the rust off & will prime and hammerite it. Don't think there's any point getting a new cap as there's nothing to hold it now

One of mine was missing when i bought bike and there was loads of rust in the cavity. I used one of these from screwfix to clean it out, hammerited generously and it looked a lot better.

I have to agree its a bad design and the teeth on the cap are lame.

Funny, today if noticed I've got one missing on both bikes, both on the same side.

Both mine were pinched when I was parked in London, thieving barstewards   

If you are not concerned with appearances a good dollop of grease in there will do wonders to keep the rust at bay, in fact, even if you do buy new caps a good dollop of grease would be a good idea...

My off-side one fell off a few months ago cos some of the retaining teeth had broken off - probably during a prior removal. A previous owner had somehow glued it back on (there was the remains of old glue around there). Which is of course exactly what I did. It's a shame they're made of such brittle plastic - if they were only a bit more flexible/rubbery they'd be great. Not sure what to do now. I'm toying with the idea of trying to ahem "fabricate" i.e. bodge some of my own black covers out of some old plastic, but I can't quite think how to, well, how to do it. Ehh.

Hmmm, this sounds like somewhere I haven't yet cleaned...!

Should the caps just prise off?

trevor machine wrote: Not sure what to do now. I'm toying with the idea of trying to ahem "fabricate" i.e. bodge some of my own black covers out of some old plastic, but I can't quite think how to, well, how to do it. Ehh.

If you can get it off again without wreckin it, why not just clean any rust out, prime & paint it, good dollop of grease like has been said above and then refit? Or, if it's beyond saving, just get a new one - after doing all of the above
Item 17 below


http://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_motorcycle_parts_selection_pfk.php?block_01=13MY52I1&block_02=F__3000&block_03=1589

sullivj wrote:Hmmm, this sounds like somewhere I haven't yet cleaned...!

Should the caps just prise off?

They should but...the teeth that hold the cap on are weak and if any rust has happened in there (and I bet it has cos it's just a water trap), good chance it'll bend/deform the teeth, causing them to just snap off.
Good luck with the cleaning!

Thanks. I'll give it a go when I'm feeling brave and report back.

jonny10 wrote:

trevor machine wrote: Not sure what to do now. I'm toying with the idea of trying to ahem "fabricate" i.e. bodge some of my own black covers out of some old plastic, but I can't quite think how to, well, how to do it. Ehh.

If you can get it off again without wreckin it, why not just clean any rust out, prime & paint it, good dollop of grease like has been said above and then refit? Or, if it's beyond saving, just get a new one - after doing all of the above
Item 17 below


http://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_motorcycle_parts_selection_pfk.php?block_01=13MY52I1&block_02=F__3000&block_03=1589

Well, I had this vague idea that I could make a better covering - out of plastic that is far more durable. Of course, it wouldn't be the nice "chromed" stock kind. Instead it would be black (whether by painting or simply because that's what colour the plastic was that I managed to fashion one from). My problem with this idea is thinking how to make "teeth" to retain the cover. But yeah - I will inevitably just end up buying some.

Good find.   

Haven't had chance to measure yet but I'm guessing between 40 and 50mm - and I see they do one of those caps at 45mm.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-Plastic-Black-Blanking-End-Caps-Round-Tube-Pipe-Inserts-External-Diameter-/221124356712?pt=UK_BOI_Metalworking_Milling_Welding_Metalworking_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item337c09ea68

Okay - I've tried a slightly more systematic form of measurement, and although I'm still not 100% certain what the precise diameter is I'm currently thinking it's slightly less than 45mm.

The correct measurement obtained by vernier caliper is 39mm

Good find! Has anyone ordered or tried them yet?

I'll get some tomorrow, hopefully.

hey guys I bought these after seeing this, will post a pic when they arrive...

thanks

I wonder if these will fit?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unissued-Unused-USGI-40mm-Bofors-Rubber-Barell-Protection-Cap-/360745371271?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fe198687