Swing arm failure

Anything to do with the 1200 GranPasso series
MysterG
Posts: 31
Joined: 15 Oct 2022 07:06
Location: Salisbury/England

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by MysterG »

I have pictures where someone did do that I've also heard that might weaken it because of the heat but I don't really know the outcome from it , there was no follow on post
Painter
Posts: 129
Joined: 12 Nov 2015 20:57
Location: Birkenhead uk

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by Painter »

Hi mysterG
I have been talking with an aero space engineer friend today and it seems it’s possible to weld our swinging arms for additional bracing and to repair existing ones . I am going to get mine crack and dye tested first just out of interest. Really only bracing with 3mm 620/720 alloy plate to beef up the existing welds will give peace of mind.
I have showed the photo of the break to an expert alloy aerospace welder and he thinks the parent metal might be issue as well as the welds, also your weld at the top shows some porosity.
Early days but I am going to remove mine and sort it, will keep you posted, this process will take a few months I think .
MickeyMoto
Posts: 2431
Joined: 22 Nov 2008 17:41
Location: Even further oop North

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by MickeyMoto »

When I bought my Scrambler in 2018, the factory had changed the manual to slacken the chain. I do wonder if the single shock is also a problem.
norbert
Posts: 752
Joined: 15 May 2007 15:15
Location: Lübeck/Germany

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by norbert »

Afriend of mine had this problem with another model (Scrambler?) on the motorway leavin the tunel in Hamburg. He was lucky not to fall. There has been a long long dicussion in the german forum also with specalists envolved and invetigacton in the labatory of an university (not ofically of course) It seems to be that the pieces were not properly prepaired before welding. Some have changed to the steel one of another model.
MysterG
Posts: 31
Joined: 15 Oct 2022 07:06
Location: Salisbury/England

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by MysterG »

That would be good to get to the bottom of it once and for all, Mickeymoto if you could keep me informed with the progress that would be great, I would defo get it checked out and strengthened piece of mind n all, too late for me but if it saves others ,
mikebbikes
Posts: 73
Joined: 05 Oct 2017 14:07
Location: Upton Wirral

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by mikebbikes »

Thats not good reading. I am 12 months in of ownership of my GP, and after repairing bodge after bodge after bodge, this is concerning.
My mates constantly take the pis* and joke that will kill me one day. After reading this, its probably not a joke after all.
Painter
Posts: 129
Joined: 12 Nov 2015 20:57
Location: Birkenhead uk

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by Painter »

Yes it is , but there is light at the end of the tunnel, I am bracing mine so will report back .
User avatar
ogr1
Posts: 33
Joined: 11 Jul 2020 12:31
Location: UK
Location: Lancashire UK

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by ogr1 »

MysterG wrote: 08 Oct 2023 20:55 20231007_152730.jpg
Holy sh@t :shock:
Carpe Diem Nil Desperandum
User avatar
ogr1
Posts: 33
Joined: 11 Jul 2020 12:31
Location: UK
Location: Lancashire UK

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by ogr1 »

Painter wrote: 08 Oct 2023 17:05 Hi Ogri
I have just had a dig around, you might have a thermostat malfunction, its staying closed and not allowing the full flow and consequently the correct fluid level /amount, there is a coolant sensor on the body which will still give you a temp reading but will shut the engine down if it gets too hot. Mine does it every time I hit London traffic, or at least I think this might be a the problem.
my engine restarts, but if you have low coolant then the block sensor and inline temp sensor would shut your motor down to protect your head gaskets etc.
Moto hub might know what the codes are as I have no diag software.
hope this helps.
Back to original thread

pics of my swinging arm, can we build up a gallery which might save someone a nasty crash..

Yes, heard of thermostat malfunction, @ will consider.
I've heard it's off a KTM, but not sure which model.
The abbreviated 'rc' that showed briefly on the dash.
Is that related to the rad & block temp?
Carpe Diem Nil Desperandum
User avatar
corsaro chris
Posts: 1162
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 21:28
Location: Berks, UK

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by corsaro chris »

All;

Sorry to hear of the breakage, and glad that you got through it in one piece.

The earlier model was probably the 9.5 / 11.5 which had a simple welded up steel swing arm. The Milano has a multi-part welded solution and may have a different geometry.

The Factory advised running the bike with a slacker chain, doubling the stationary free play to 40 - 45mm, and as commented on earlier there was a huge amount of traffic on the German site about this problem some seven years ago. The image below is taken from the revised update and my copy file was dated 2016 related to a 2014MY Gran Passo.

Keep us in touch with progress, all...

CC
Attachments
GP chain.png
GP chain.png (43.81 KiB) Viewed 3295 times
"I'll use the Morini"
User avatar
hombre
Posts: 627
Joined: 09 Apr 2006 16:15
Location: Amsterdam/Alessandria
Contact:

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by hombre »

Oow that looks scary, fortunately you got away safe with this... I'll check mine before the next ride, a 2010 Scrambler. Anyone have any idea from what years the bad ones are? Btw, I've done 50k kms now without any serious troubles.

A thought: when tightening the wheel nuts I noticed that there's way more space than the wheel-spacers can fill, so I moved one from the outside to the inside. Isn't there too much unnecessary tension causing them to snap?
User avatar
corsaro chris
Posts: 1162
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 21:28
Location: Berks, UK

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by corsaro chris »

Hi Hombre;

It's a good point.

Just looking at section 18 of the parts manual for the GP there looks to be only one spacer, which locates the brake calliper correctly with the disc, plus a washer (not spacer) between the wheel nut and the swingarm. I am presuming that the two are similar - Scrambler and Gran Passo.

Good riding,

CC
"I'll use the Morini"
User avatar
hombre
Posts: 627
Joined: 09 Apr 2006 16:15
Location: Amsterdam/Alessandria
Contact:

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by hombre »

I got those two confused (my English teacher never explained me the difference ;) ), I moved the washer to the inside. The (chamfered) spacers on my bike are different, the thickness varies.
günni
Posts: 42
Joined: 01 Mar 2013 23:30
Location: germany
Location: germany

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by günni »

corsaro chris wrote: 12 Oct 2023 09:58 there was a huge amount of traffic on the German site about this problem some seven years ago
yes, here the german thread
https://www.ital-web.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=5641

and here the italian on granpasso.eu (account needed)
https://www.granpasso.eu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2169
https://www.granpasso.eu/forum/viewtopi ... forcellone

You could try to read with google translate
sbarazzino 98, corsaro 125, corsaro 150, corsaro 1200, scrambler
Painter
Posts: 129
Joined: 12 Nov 2015 20:57
Location: Birkenhead uk

Re: Swing arm failure

Post by Painter »

Hi all
After some thought and discussions with various experts in aluminium welding, it has been decided not to brace or reinforce, the welds on my swinging arm, they appear to be perfect and the chain tension issue I believe may have contributed significantly to the issue. I am right back where I was in 2016.
Having just completed 8 k in just over 2.5 years of ownership and my second GP making a total of 16 k without any real issues I think from personal experience I am going to carry on riding and enjoying my bike and not get paranoid over this issue.
It does concern me but there is little I can do without significant expense, and that would make the bike not really viable
Financially so I will Meet it when/if it comes.
I have just returned from my trip to Ireland incident free where fellow motorcyclist whom I met where always very complimentary and impressed by the big morini.

Has anyone spoken to Ben at motohub re this issue, what does the factory say....
Post Reply