The Bruiser: Alloy Swing Arm

The later GS1100 and Katana ('81 up) came with a neat fabricated alloy swingarm that looked a lot like aftermarket swingarms made during the 1970's. It weighs about 8 pounds less than the steel one (seriously!) and it's a lot stiffer. One would look just right on the Bruiser, giving it a touch more of that "Superbike" vibe.

There's nothing wrong with the stock GS1000 swingarm, and if I was doing a factory restoration I would leave it in place. However, I like to do easy mods when I get the chance, and this is definitely an easy mod. It's also reversible as long as I keep the stock swinger around.

I traded an extra set of Progressive fork springs that I got (long story) to a nice guy named Dennis in Connecticut for the swingarm. With the bike in pieces and lots of parts on order, there wasn't a better time to make the swap.

It's a bolt-on mod, or rather should be a bolt-on mod. My bike didn't quite have enough clearance on the left between the passenger peg bracket and the swinger. No big deal, I just used my trusty Craftsman trolley jack to push the peg brackets a little (like 1/8") further apart. Now they're perfectly even.

The other modification I made was to the original GS1000 chainguard - it's a nice plastic piece in comparison with the GS1100 swingarm's steel guard. The front hole is in a different location but it was a simple change. I drilled a new hole in the proper location and added a stainless bolt from the backside and a locknut on the outside.

I took the opportunity to grease the pivot needle bearings, re-route the brake hose and adjust the chain tension again. I also cleaned the back of the motor and bottom of the battery box since this area is normally obstructed by the swingarm.