Yet how cool is the guy to let me use some of his work area in his shop, and have one of his employees assist me in getting the finished swingarm on my bike, despite their busy schedule? I could've done it myself, but I actually needed Rob's expertise to break apart my chain, then put it back together once the swap was done, which is something I had neither the tools or experience to do.
Andy, one of Rob's techs, lending me a hand
and his workbench to swap the swingarms.
Off the bike, Rob's welding and smoothing came out ten times better than what anyone could have expected, even despite the imperfections from the powdercoating, considering this was Rob's first shot at it. Once we got the swingarm on the bike, it was very clear why I wanted a swingarm like it. I've personally always thought that a bike's swingarm, if beautifully done, further makes an outstanding looking bike look even more extraordinary.
Rob throws a shocker, cause even
he was impressed.
Couldn't even help himself,
and had to spit-polish it.
Just as a reminder, this is how it looked original from the factory:
And here it is after the fabrication:
Not bad for less than a handful of benjamins, considering an authentic Superbike swingarm for this bike from the UK would've tallied over $4k in costs.
Just because my R1's also a daily beater (more or less), doesn't mean it can't look like a world-caliber championship contender.
Whoever said you can't have your cake and eat it too never met me.
