Analog Kanboard Printing Status Blog Impressum
While I was treating the frame of my SuperTenere for rust, I noticed the main swingarm pivot. Firstly, I realized the cap was missing. Normally, the thing would be covered with a rubber cap. But mine isn’t. Most likely, it disintegrated at some point in the last thirty years, and the previous owners didn’t bother to replace it. After realizing that the pivot bolt is hollow, I tried cleaning out mine with an old bike spoke and fount, to my dismay, quite an amount of mud. That’s not good and smelly. I cleaned the passage with water, alcohol, and WD-40. Afterward, I designed caps for the pivot bolt in solvespace (solvespace is an open-source 2D/3D CAD programm). While I was at it, I also designed new caps for the motor mounting bolts, which were also missing.
I printed both in black PLA. It took a few tries to get the fitment right. But Now it seems to fit with a little encouragement with my hammer.
Maybe I should print it again in PETG or ABS. From experience, I can say that Black PLA and direct sunlight don’t mix. But ABS also decays slowly under UV exposure.
The addition of a small tab to get behind with a screwdriver for removal would also be handy, but also an opportunity for dirt to get in.
I’m also thinking about packing the hollow tube with grease. So no water can get into it in the future. I might add a greasenipple for shits and giggles. But packing it with grease could also encapsulate anything that is left in the pivot which is also not great.
pivot cap solvespace project download