Cover the sides of your swingarm with duct tape while you do this project, it will keep you from scratching it up.
This is what it starts out looking like, and it becomes this: (ZX14 front end is a different conversion)Parts you will need:
RSV Swingarm, Pivot bolt, rear axle (ZX7 one may work, they are the same diameter)
Parts you will need, the bearings and stuff in the swingarm should be in it if you get one off a bike. (Most likely you won’t have to source the parts: 10,11,4,9,26,3,12,18,19, or 20)
You will need the chain guard ( part 7) and adjustment blocks (21 and 22)
For the wheel, you will need to source a Aprilia wheel or you will have to machine down your rotor to fit. You will need the rear brake caliper and parts : 17 and 14 and part number 1 (It holds the caliper hanger in place.
Step 1:
Take off your old swingarm and shock. If this is a puzzle to you, you need to stop now. This is not changing your sparkplugs, this is real work and if you mess it up you can really get hurt or killed (all great things have risk). That is my only disclaimer, you may want to read it twice just to make sure you get it.
Okay, the next step is to make up your new pivot bolt. The 7 pivot bolt is 25mm in diameter and the RSV is 20mm. Since the RSV spacers are made of hardened steel and the bearings are all correct, it is better to use the RSV pivot bolt and make spacers for it to fit into the 7 frame. The7 pivot bolt can be bored out so the RSV pivot bolt will fit into, but this is what you want to do (Remember this is NOT for a P model pivot bolt, so don't mess up yours and then complain. You have to make the proper adjustments)
Part 1 is the 7 pivot bolt nut, part 5 is the RSV pivot bolt (note the left end had the hex part ground off, you may want to keep this for the P model conversion. It may fit inside the P model pivot bolt.)
Now it is a matter of getting the RSV pivot bolt to go into the 7 pivot. I had the hex part of the 7 pivot removed so it was flush and only had the lip. You do not want to bore the whole thing out, just about 60mm into one end. Your 7 pivot bolt is going to become parts 2 and 3.
I removed the hex part that is in my fingers and made it flush and then bored the center out to 20mm and went 60mm deep into the 7 pivot bolt. ***You do not want to bore the whole thing out***
The P model pivot bolt (top) and the L model pivot bolt (bottom) are different, the same technique could be used on the P model with minor modifications. Unfortunately, I don’t have a P model to experiment with. The information here could be figured out by a mechanic on how to get it to work. I specifically would keep as much of the threaded part as I could to make adjustments from side to side with screwing it in and out of the frame to move the swingarm once it is on. you will understand why later. The bolt end of parts 1 and 3 are on the brake side of the bike, this set up will allow you to follow along with a P model.
Once the end of the 7 pivot bolt was bored and the hex removed, I had it cut to 38.3mm. This was the width of the frame on the shifter side. I am not sure if frame measurements vary at this point, so you may want to put it through the frame and mark the length and then cut it. The hex end of the pivot bolt became part 2 in the picture.
Part 3 you will have to cut threads into the end of the pivot bolt. This is going to be the spacer/adjuster for the end of the RSV pivot bolt. First take the left over section of the 7 pivot that you have left over after making part 2, then you are going to cut threads inside the end that has threads on the outside (the part that goes on the brake side) You will need a metric tap ( Thread size 20 x 1.50mm) and you will tap into the end of the 7 pivot bolt the at least 50mm. This is slow going and use plenty of cutting oil to lubricate it to get it to work. (for those of you who have never cut threads, you have to turn it in ¼ turn and then out ¼ turn, then in ½ a turn. This keeps you from ruining the tap and the treads and keeps the tap cutting surface clear of metal shavings)
Once you are done cutting the treads you want to put the nut (part 1) on the end and tighten it down all the way. Now put the pivot bolt though the hole on the brake side of the frame. Remember you cut the other end off so it shouldn’t have any thing that won’t fit through. Mark it where you will cut it so it is flush with the frame then add 5mm and cut it. Since you tightened the nut (part 1) all the way down you now can make minor adjustments side to side by threading the bolt on and off the 7 pivot bolt. Once cut you now have part 3. You will have to remove some of the internal thread from part 3 so the RSV pivot will go into the part before hitting the threads. I ground this out with a Dremel tool and then ran the tap through to clean up any damaged internal threads.
On the brake side I still had to put a 5mm spacer on the RSV pivot bolt between the frame and the swingarm, because I cut my part 3 just a little too short. It worked out fine though.
When the pivot bolt is in the frame it should look like this,
You will note that the RSV bolt is inside the 7 spacer (part 2) that fits into the frame. On the side with the nut if you look carefully you can see the nut then the 7 spacer (part 3) and then the RSV pivot on the inside. I think I left part 4 out as it was an adjustment spacer, but I can’t recall.
Once you have the pivot bolt in you are ready to start with the swingarm. I worked out the wheel first to make sure it would work, it did so then I moved on to the pivot bolt. Here is a picture of the rear wheel on the swingarm before I put it on the bike. I think you can use the stock axle, but I wanted the RSV one because I like the look of the adjustment blocks, plus you would have to make new ones to fit the RSV swingarm and the 7 axle. The shock came next.
The reservoir on the P model shock will hit the braced part of the swing arm so you will have to go with another one. The stock L model shock and the Ohlins shock will work and the M shock should work too. I think that you could get a newer one with a reservoir to the side, rather than to the back, to work. I don’t know what you would do if you were converting to a P model. I went with an Ohlins.Now came the tough part. Lining up everything that didn’t match once
the swingarm was in. (Everything looks a little cockeyed and crooked because it is not tightened up)Since the shock linkage was wider than the swingarm linkage attachment, there has to be something to adapt it. You can see that the dog bones are wider than the attachment area but other than that they line up. I had a ZX12 linkage and I pushed out the hardened bearing sleeve and put it in the RSV swingarm. It fit right in there and is the same length as the 7 linkage is wide. (You could use a zx9 or zx12 or any linkage sleeve as long as it fits in the RSV swingarm)
This acts as a spacer and a hardened sleeve for the bearings in the RSV attachment. I was going to put a cover (aluminum tubing) over it to protect it from the elements, but have not had one made yet. Once the shock is hooked up I tested for lateral movement and found none. There is some vertical (5-10mm) movement but it is not noticeable on the bike.Hook everything up and check twice, thrice and a fourth time to be sure you did it all correctly and everything is tight and operable. *** This is crucial, remember there are no specifications for what you are doing. Messing this up can get you KILLED!!!***
I broke my chain and put in a new master rivet master link so it would go through the swingarm and fed it in.
Oh, you have to remove your front sprocket and just turn it over. The front has a lip on it and if you slip the sprocket it will align it up with the rear. It was good fortune that this worked. (*Note* you may have to flip it back or make a spacer for other wheels, RSV, ZX10.)If you use the 7 wheel and rotor you will have to machine it down to the same diameter of the RSV rear rotor. You will have to remove 5mm from the radius (10mm from the diameter) from rear.
Okay, so now you have the whole thing together and from the bottom of the shock linkage it should look like this. The picture is two pictures lined up to show the linkage and the shock. You can see the sleeve around the bolt where the dog bones connect to the swingarm.
Now you may have to move some of the electrics, I moved my battery so I can route the pipe up the swingarm hole and under a different tail section. The RSV has a section of exhaust pipe through there so it should be okay. Now bleed the brake and make sure that everything is working properly. I was a little hesitant to just put the RSV axle nut on, (I had a clip on the ZX7 axle) so I drilled and safety wired it so it won’t come off. I figure it looks cooler too. You can see the safety wire just about the bolt and going to a small hole that is drilled in the trailing edge of the swingarm.
Final look with swingarm on. The ZX14 frontend with radial calipers and ZX14 front wheel is a different conversion.
