swinger costing power

[stroking]

I was told that the longer you make the swing the more power you lose!!

 

now i'd like to know if there is any truth to this........one guy said you lose 3-5 hp for every 3"s you add to it.

 

if this is true i have a +12 thats probably costing my alot of power.

 

what do you think?

[firebanshee]

I was told that the longer you make the swing the more power you lose!!

 

now i'd like to know if there is any truth to this........one guy said you lose 3-5 hp for every 3"s you add to it.

 

if this is true i have a +12 thats probably costing my alot of power.

 

what do you think?

You lose traction not power. I have a 12 inch arm but have 12 paddle extreems to help get the traction back. Its all in how you have your bike is set up. My front end still comes up but i mainly drag.

[shawn941]

I was told that the longer you make the swing the more power you lose!!

 

now i'd like to know if there is any truth to this........one guy said you lose 3-5 hp for every 3"s you add to it.

 

if this is true i have a +12 thats probably costing my alot of power.

 

what do you think?

well whoever told you that is an idiot,,,think about it,,,the only way you would lose power from a longer swinger is the added weight,,,and if every 3"s of swinger is gonna make you lose 5 hp from extra weight is total bullshit,anyways, most aftermarket swingers arent that much heavier than stock,,prolly lighter. so according to your buddy,,,you are losing 60 hp,,,,,,lmfao. if your running a +12 swinger,,, i hope you have a bad ass motor to go with it because that is massively long man......

[rb0804]

the more chain you have the more drag you have. O-ring chains take more power to turn then a standard chain due to the extra drag of all those little orings. the x-ring style chain robs slightly less power. You also have to pull the extra weight of the arm. I know of builders that run a stock length swinger with a bar and a smaller tire on their drag bikes.

[SlowerThanYou]

I was told that the longer you make the swing the more power you lose!!

 

now i'd like to know if there is any truth to this........one guy said you lose 3-5 hp for every 3"s you add to it.

 

if this is true i have a +12 thats probably costing my alot of power.

 

what do you think?

 

Hmmmmm, I heard this question on another site a couple weeks ago. The answers seem to be the same over hear also.

[firebanshee]

the more chain you have the more drag you have. O-ring chains take more power to turn then a standard chain due to the extra drag of all those little orings. the x-ring style chain robs slightly less power. You also have to pull the extra weight of the arm. I know of builders that run a stock length swinger with a bar and a smaller tire on their drag bikes.

When you are out in the dunes dragging you can't run a bar so i run a long arm. When i go to the track i strut my bike and run a wheelie bar.

[rb0804]

Hmmmmm, I heard this question on another site a couple weeks ago. The answers seem to be the same over hear also.

 

Is that all you have to say Brian? No controversy? I am sure that you have an opinion. lol. Good to see you back.

[jlevasseur]

A longer swingarm has way more advantage's then a stock swing arm in the sand as far as racing goes. Getting a good holeshot is key when drag racing. No, as said before the longer the swing arm is, the less weight transfered over the tires you start to loose traction. Going to more paddles can help. At the track most people run rigid frames and the rear tires are pretty much set right under you for more traction, but they don't need a longer swingarm because the wheelie bar takes over that resposiblity. The swingarm will help you launch with out having to let off the throttle to keep the front end down. If the myth is true about every 3 inchess is about 5 hp (from who ever told you that), then that would mean for every three inches of swingarm would weigh about 40 lbs givin that people say every 7 lbs is 1 hp. Not sure if the 7:1 ratio is true but that gives you at least a reference point... Good Luck.

[SlowerThanYou]

Is that all you have to say Brian? No controversy? I am sure that you have an opinion. lol. Good to see you back.

 

I voiced my opinion on the other site, not going to waste my keyboard again. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong on this one. LOL!

[rb0804]

A longer swingarm has way more advantage's then a stock swing arm in the sand as far as racing goes. Getting a good holeshot is key when drag racing. No, as said before the longer the swing arm is, the less weight transfered over the tires you start to loose traction. Going to more paddles can help. At the track most people run rigid frames and the rear tires are pretty much set right under you for more traction, but they don't need a longer swingarm because the wheelie bar takes over that resposiblity. The swingarm will help you launch with out having to let off the throttle to keep the front end down. If the myth is true about every 3 inchess is about 5 hp (from who ever told you that), then that would mean for every three inches of swingarm would weigh about 40 lbs givin that people say every 7 lbs is 1 hp. Not sure if the 7:1 ratio is true but that gives you at least a reference point... Good Luck.

 

The problem with the longer arm and more tire is that you have to 'pull' that larger tire on the other end. Now your pulling the extra weight of the arm, the extra weight of the larger tires and the fancy o-ring chain is still robbing horsepower. You can run a smaller tire and a shorter swingarm with a little clutch tuning.

[sheefreak]

The problem with the longer arm and more tire is that you have to 'pull' that larger tire on the other end. Now your pulling the extra weight of the arm, the extra weight of the larger tires and the fancy o-ring chain is still robbing horsepower. You can run a smaller tire and a shorter swingarm with a little clutch tuning.

 

It is funny that for the last 10 years I have been going to the dunes the fastest bikes on the dunes have the longest swingarms. This is real simple. As already mentioned, w/a longer swingarm you get more weight from the swinger, more rotational mass from having to run a longer chain, and maybe some more resistance from more chain. You also get more resistance on the big end from having to run more paddle to make up for the loss of traction from the longer swinger. Sure, if you were to put a longer bar, more paddle, etc. on a motor that doesn't require it, you are going to be working against yourself or slowing down. But on a big motor, it doesn't do much good if you can't keep from flipping over backward . Even running a bar, if you run too little of swinger w/too much power you will hit the bar too hard on launch and unload the back tires loosing all traction. Just like everything else in the sport it is a compromise. You wouldn't run a stock swinger on a 20 mil DM and you wouldn't run a +14 on a stock port 350!

[stroking]

It is funny that for the last 10 years I have been going to the dunes the fastest bikes on the dunes have the longest swingarms. This is real simple. As already mentioned, w/a longer swingarm you get more weight from the swinger, more rotational mass from having to run a longer chain, and maybe some more resistance from more chain. You also get more resistance on the big end from having to run more paddle to make up for the loss of traction from the longer swinger. Sure, if you were to put a longer bar, more paddle, etc. on a motor that doesn't require it, you are going to be working against yourself or slowing down. But on a big motor, it doesn't do much good if you can't keep from flipping over backward . Even running a bar, if you run too little of swinger w/too much power you will hit the bar too hard on launch and unload the back tires loosing all traction. Just like everything else in the sport it is a compromise. You wouldn't run a stock swinger on a 20 mil DM and you wouldn't run a +14 on a stock port 350!

 

 

this is a very good answer!!

 

and it stands to reason that a longer arm can and will cause a power loss....though the loss may not be what i was told,there is still a loss.

 

and i only run pavement.

[stroking]

It is funny that for the last 10 years I have been going to the dunes the fastest bikes on the dunes have the longest swingarms. This is real simple. As already mentioned, w/a longer swingarm you get more weight from the swinger, more rotational mass from having to run a longer chain, and maybe some more resistance from more chain. You also get more resistance on the big end from having to run more paddle to make up for the loss of traction from the longer swinger. Sure, if you were to put a longer bar, more paddle, etc. on a motor that doesn't require it, you are going to be working against yourself or slowing down. But on a big motor, it doesn't do much good if you can't keep from flipping over backward . Even running a bar, if you run too little of swinger w/too much power you will hit the bar too hard on launch and unload the back tires loosing all traction. Just like everything else in the sport it is a compromise. You wouldn't run a stock swinger on a 20 mil DM and you wouldn't run a +14 on a stock port 350!

 

 

this is a very good answer!!

 

and it stands to reason that a longer arm can and will cause a power loss....though the loss may not be what i was told,there is still a loss.

 

and i only run pavement.