X-Pect Backroad Development

China Rider 27 · 11-22-2021, 02:40 PM

The question is, "Why do you break down and rebuild these bikes?" The answer, at the minimum, is to identify problems such as the following and correct them.

These are pictures of the swing arm attachment pivot point and bearings, left then right.

The swing arm spacer

The seals

The Swing arm pivot and all components. The distance between the frame mounting points is 8 and 7/16 inch.

The swing arm tub bolt attachment section is 8 and 3/16 inch wide. The bearing diameter is 20 mm.

The spacer/bolt tube is 8 1/4 inch with an outside diameter of 19.84mm. The inside diameter is 14.13mm.

The Swing arm bolt is 10.5 inches long and 14 mm in diameter (odd size) The bolt head is 18 mm and nut 21 mm. Popular sizes on this bike.

The shock is 12 inches center of bolt to center of bolt. The coil diameter is 13.33 MM and about 77mm at the widest point. The bolt is 3 1/8 inch long with a diameter of 12mm, with a 15mm bolt head and 18mm nut. There is a part number.

The Chain guard is well designed with good rubber. Hawk owners, you see anything different about this design?.............Notice where the guide rib starts in line with the chain movement. So the easy fix for the HAWK chainguard? Cut off the errant rib section so it aligns like this one. I had to throw the HAWK owners that something from the Xpect.

Another observation. Look at the detail on that chain guard! Collets that fit in the plastic for the bolt to mount!

instagram bookmarklet

Discussion: No grease whatsoever inside the swing arm, the bolt, the bearings, or the outside of the spacing tube! Looks like it was put on the seals and maybe the bolt threads for torque. When I took the spacer out of the swing arm it sounded like sand falling back into the tube. All the rust seems to be from the spacer.

The design of the swing arm attachment point, bearings, bolt tube, and gaskets is very good. If you look at the bearings they have dimples in the bearing surface all around where grease can be caught and retained for lubrication and they are removable. The seals are good and it was torqued in there tight so I wonder if and when water could get past those seals? but I wouldn't want to find out if it did. Takes little to imagine what this would be in a year or two. The design is the best I have seen on a China bike but it was POORLY executed.

Few things 1) This bike was manufactured in 05/2021 so it didn't have much time to sit around and get like this. In fact, I have seen no rust anyplace other than the gas tank and the swing arm spacer so that tells me those parts sat in a poor environment for months or years until they were put into production. 2) Any alarmed Xpect owners, we don't know that your bike looks like this or has a problem or that this is common. This issue could be just to this bike, to this day of production, month, etc.

I always planned to drill and tap the swing arm for a ZERT and that will happen next weekend.

11-22-2021, 02:40 PM	#11
China Rider 27 Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: PNW Posts: 982	Xpect Swing Arm Shock The question is, "Why do you break down and rebuild these bikes?" The answer, at the minimum, is to identify problems such as the following and correct them. These are pictures of the swing arm attachment pivot point and bearings, left then right. The swing arm spacer The seals The Swing arm pivot and all components. The distance between the frame mounting points is 8 and 7/16 inch. The swing arm tub bolt attachment section is 8 and 3/16 inch wide. The bearing diameter is 20 mm. The spacer/bolt tube is 8 1/4 inch with an outside diameter of 19.84mm. The inside diameter is 14.13mm. The Swing arm bolt is 10.5 inches long and 14 mm in diameter (odd size) The bolt head is 18 mm and nut 21 mm. Popular sizes on this bike. The shock is 12 inches center of bolt to center of bolt. The coil diameter is 13.33 MM and about 77mm at the widest point. The bolt is 3 1/8 inch long with a diameter of 12mm, with a 15mm bolt head and 18mm nut. There is a part number. The Chain guard is well designed with good rubber. Hawk owners, you see anything different about this design?.............Notice where the guide rib starts in line with the chain movement. So the easy fix for the HAWK chainguard? Cut off the errant rib section so it aligns like this one. I had to throw the HAWK owners that something from the Xpect. Another observation. Look at the detail on that chain guard! Collets that fit in the plastic for the bolt to mount! instagram bookmarklet Discussion: No grease whatsoever inside the swing arm, the bolt, the bearings, or the outside of the spacing tube! Looks like it was put on the seals and maybe the bolt threads for torque. When I took the spacer out of the swing arm it sounded like sand falling back into the tube. All the rust seems to be from the spacer. The design of the swing arm attachment point, bearings, bolt tube, and gaskets is very good. If you look at the bearings they have dimples in the bearing surface all around where grease can be caught and retained for lubrication and they are removable. The seals are good and it was torqued in there tight so I wonder if and when water could get past those seals? but I wouldn't want to find out if it did. Takes little to imagine what this would be in a year or two. The design is the best I have seen on a China bike but it was POORLY executed. Few things 1) This bike was manufactured in 05/2021 so it didn't have much time to sit around and get like this. In fact, I have seen no rust anyplace other than the gas tank and the swing arm spacer so that tells me those parts sat in a poor environment for months or years until they were put into production. 2) Any alarmed Xpect owners, we don't know that your bike looks like this or has a problem or that this is common. This issue could be just to this bike, to this day of production, month, etc. I always planned to drill and tap the swing arm for a ZERT and that will happen next weekend. Last edited by China Rider 27; 11-26-2021 at 09:32 PM.
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