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krakatak · August 13th, 2011, 07:38 AM

So, I bought a '09 250r a little while ago and the first thing I did was to put on some swingarm spools. Or try to.

Here's the story:

First, I bought some 10mm spools from cyclegear. Nothing special, but whatever. The left one goes in with no problems...threads perfectly...done. I go to put in the right one, and after a couple turns it starts to bind.

I try restarting my threading (crossthreaded? no), switching bolts (problem with the bolt threads? no), examining the threads in the hole (brand new and perfect looking), and just brute force (maybe the paint on the threads is making it a tight squeeze...start stripping threads real quick). I even buy a tap and die set to try to retap the hole...no go, starts binding real quick.

Finally, the eureka moment. My shiny new tap and die kit has a pitch depth gauge. I KNOW that the depth is 1.25mm, because that is what the left one is (and what everyone on the internets says), but when I throw the 1.50mm gauge in there, the depth matches perfectly. So, I run the 10mm x 1.5 tap through from the inside to clear out all the threads I've f*****d up, buy a new bolt from Ace, and voila! I have swingarm spools.

Now...wtf? Has anyone every heard of something like this? I haven't seen any postings like this. There always appears to be some general confusion about what bolts are the right ones, but cooler heads prevail and the answer is always 10mm x 1.25...except now for ONE of my spools. I have a solution so it's no longer a problem, I just don't understand!!!

My only theories are that 1) Kawasaki's supplier got a batch of the wrong threaded stock and never even noticed, 2) my bike was built on a Friday and the guy on the assembly line is messing with me, or 3) the spool mount is not stock and the person that replaced them is/was an idiot...but if it's not stock, it's a perfect weld, it matches the left spool mount, and matches the paint elsewhere on the swingarm perfectly.

August 13th, 2011, 07:38 AM	#1
krakatak ninjette.org member Name: Josh Location: St. Louis, MO Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250r Posts: 41	Mismatched swingarm spool thread pitch? So, I bought a '09 250r a little while ago and the first thing I did was to put on some swingarm spools. Or try to. Here's the story: First, I bought some 10mm spools from cyclegear. Nothing special, but whatever. The left one goes in with no problems...threads perfectly...done. I go to put in the right one, and after a couple turns it starts to bind. I try restarting my threading (crossthreaded? no), switching bolts (problem with the bolt threads? no), examining the threads in the hole (brand new and perfect looking), and just brute force (maybe the paint on the threads is making it a tight squeeze...start stripping threads real quick). I even buy a tap and die set to try to retap the hole...no go, starts binding real quick. Finally, the eureka moment. My shiny new tap and die kit has a pitch depth gauge. I KNOW that the depth is 1.25mm, because that is what the left one is (and what everyone on the internets says), but when I throw the 1.50mm gauge in there, the depth matches perfectly. So, I run the 10mm x 1.5 tap through from the inside to clear out all the threads I've f*****d up, buy a new bolt from Ace, and voila! I have swingarm spools. Now...wtf? Has anyone every heard of something like this? I haven't seen any postings like this. There always appears to be some general confusion about what bolts are the right ones, but cooler heads prevail and the answer is always 10mm x 1.25...except now for ONE of my spools. I have a solution so it's no longer a problem, I just don't understand!!! My only theories are that 1) Kawasaki's supplier got a batch of the wrong threaded stock and never even noticed, 2) my bike was built on a Friday and the guy on the assembly line is messing with me, or 3) the spool mount is not stock and the person that replaced them is/was an idiot...but if it's not stock, it's a perfect weld, it matches the left spool mount, and matches the paint elsewhere on the swingarm perfectly.