POLL: what color to paint the swing arm?

[savagehenry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2049801961&feature=iv&src_vid=u6d8eKvegLI&v=MEWYOt3bxNI

Yeah, wot he sed...

[AndyH]

I like the red pillion pad cover... there's a thought. Looks great without the hugger but in the UK you need something to keep the crap from flying about at the back (gets kind of wet here, certainly over last couple of years).

[Admin Jaap]

black +1

[sp838]

"I like the red pillion pad cover..." yes, forgot to mention that. Gonna steal that idea too   

[SCole]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...or something like that.  I stole the idea off the internet somewhere

[ballistic1]

I'll go with red...

If too flashy anthracite grey...

But hey it's an Italien bike... need to be flashy...!!

[Anders]

I would go for the same red paint as the frame.

[sp838]

99.99% decided on red for the swing arm, red for the pillion cover a la SCole, anthracite for the hugger. I'm going to trim it down, there's much more plastic there than necessary. Gonna take some cues from the carbon fiber Stucchi Luigi hugger when I trim it:

 

http://www.mgcycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=1842

 

Thanks for the input!

[Anders]

Be sure to post some pictures please!

[ChrisPDX]

Hi folks:

I recently refurbished a 2001 Greenie and went through the swingarm color and rust repair process.  Thought I'd share my results. 

Version 1.0, I had the wheel off, and planned to re-grease the swingarm pivots.  In doing so, I discovered a bit of rust and a notchy bearing, and...so it began.  At first I went cheap, with just a wire brush to the rust, and rattle can black to match the stock color.  And that looked...well...better than rust.   

So commence V2.0 - and only after giving myself a stern talking to about...finish what you start, young man.  I took the swingarm, pork chops, rear subframe and battery basket off and powdercoated all.  I figured they really should be done at the same time due to color matching issues, and if not perfect, at least they would match each other.  Plus, I had chips/scratches on all, and once I saw those, I couldn't un-see.  Last, it was a chance to sand off any original welding splatter, the helmet lock spot, and so on, cleaning things up visually.

After consideration, I went with red, red, red, and am SO happy I did.  The color isn't an absolute 100% match to the original, but that's OK (to me) because the spine frame at the front of the tank is separated from the rest of the red bits.  The new paint is just a bit more orangey-red, but not that far off.  And let's agree, what I painted is the EASY part to get to :), which I considered enough.  

I've permanently removed the rear tire hugger and plastic swingarm end covers because I really think the braced swingarm looks great, and the hugger is of questionable function/appearance.  More in another post about the simple replacement fender system I made, inspired by others on this forum, that works well and was super cheap.

Attached are photos of the powdercoat result.  I really do like how the bold red now runs the full length of the bike.  But that's a matter of opinion, of course.  In any case, you now have these photos to refer to when considering your own situation.

[Lucky Phil]

Swingarm....satin black. It's an agricultural piece on a V11 you don't want to be highlighting it.

Phil

[guzzler]

Yeah, I'm with leaving it black too...