The swingarm is a part of a motorcycle or bicycle frame that attaches the rear wheel to the main frame while allowing it to rotate up and down. Various designs exist, and the single-sided swingarm is commonly used today. Earlier versions were prone to failure, but improvements led to the single-sided swingarm.
A swingarm is a part of a motorcycle or bicycle frame that attaches the rear wheel to the main frame while allowing the rear wheel to rotate up and down when hit or bumped. Various swingarm designs exist, and the single-sided swingarm is commonly used on motorcycles today. Earlier versions featured a bar on each side of the wheel that was attached to an axle that ran through the wheel at one end of the arms, and attached to the frame at the other end by an axle that went through bearings, bushings, or both.
The first motorcycles had no rear suspension at all. Rigid frames would have to absorb the shock of road vibrations and other types of impacts, which meant frames broke frequently. The swingarm made shock absorption more efficient, although early models were somewhat clunky and prone to failure. Plunger systems allowed the rear axle to ride up and down two vertically mounted posts, and while this system worked, it wasn’t always the smoothest shock absorption system. The rebound after a shock was absorbed could alter the way the bike handled.
The rocker fork was another type of rocker that improved on the plunger design. Parallel bars that joined the main triangle at one end and the axle at the other were attached to a pair of shocks, one on each side of the bike. The shock extended from the swingarm to the bike’s seat rail, providing a near-vertical shock absorption system. This allowed for more plush shock absorption, but also added weight to the system.
A cantilever version of the swinging fork also became common. This variant used the same parallel bar idea as the original swinging fork, but the shocks were not mounted between the swinging arm and the seat rail; instead, the shock was mounted towards the front of the swingarm and attached at the other end to the main triangle of the frame. This allowed the use of one shock instead of two, and improved the motion in which the swing arms could travel, thus improving the motorcycle’s handling. From this design, the single-sided swingarm was born. This design works similar to the cantilever shock system, but instead of using two parallel bars to connect the rear wheel to the frame, only one bar is used, and it mounts on only one side of the wheel.
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