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Efe 'arm swap.


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Bandit arm is easier.

Which ever swinging arm you decide on you will need to make new upper and lower mounts for the shock and linkage. When i got my efe these had been done but not to a good standard so i used the dimensions and made newer better braced ones. 

The bike had a GSXR arm in it which was a shit fit. Its slightly narrower than the original arm but not so much more narrow that you would easily get a spacer in. Also the pivot on a gsxr is a solid spindle at 17mm. The Efe is 16mm so yes it'll go through but it'll be sloppy. Mine had a bunch of play because of this. Also GSXR arms do not have a mount for torque arm for rear caliper. Mine had been bodged onto the frame kinda like the GSXR should of been but way too shit 

I binned that arm in favour of a bandit set up. Bandit arm has a mount for the torque for the brake so that kept it simple. Bandit pivot spindles if i remember right are 25mm with hollow spindle. And the pivot point is narrower. So i made up some top hat spacers that sat inside the bandit pivot bearings sleaving it down to 16mm and also take up the width to the frame. I can't remember the dimensions of them unfortunately but i'm sure someone on here will. Or you'll just have to wait till i get round to my 1100ET project with bandit arm as i think they are the same width at pivot as EFE even though they are twinshock bikes.

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Thanks for that info, great help. Where I'm also concerned about is the angle of the arm and which shock is best for the job as I don't want the questionable handling to be any worse.

The alternative would be to leave the existing arm and fit a 5.5inch gsxr wheel in that, I have a wheel is this a straightforward fit?

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 Everything from the 80's has questionable behaviour (and i include myself in that statement)

If your efe is totally stock atm and you are looking for simple budget friendly upgrades then a GSX600f front wheel will go in standard efe forks with new spacers as its a narrower wheel at the hub. And if you space the discs out (get a machine shop to make one complete spacer up and use longer disk bolts) you can use GSXR slingshot front calipers, they'll bolt straight up to the efe forks. That's what i had on mine at 1st.

Then i went to GSXR slingshot yokes with gsxr 1100 forks and wheel re using the slingshot calipers i already had on the bike. The head bearings and stem are a perfect fit just make new steering stops. That was a RWU front end. USD look cool but cost more and you lose a bit of steering lock. Used 1100 fork legs as they are longer.

Rear end i'm sure a gsxr slingshot 4.5 rear wheel is fairly straight forward into stock arm. Which would give you a 160 rear tyre. 

I was always under the impression that 5.5 wheels were too wide for stock arms but i seem to remember someone on here making it work. I just can't for the life of me remember who it was...

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1 hour ago, eddiegsx said:

I have a gsxr1100m  front end and a bandit 600 back wheel, would that setup work with the standard arm or would the front tyre be too wide and upset the geometry? Cheers.

Is it a complete front end? Not sure about your front fork and wheel or the eventual Geometry, but have a look at this excel with the headbearing size for changeability: https://oldskoolsuzuki.info/archives/744

Your bandit wheel should fit, I'm in the prosess of fitting a 600 Bandit to my own bike. Just waiting for some spacers, but you will need to machine down the sprocket carrier so the rear sprocket doesn't hit the inside of the swinger and an offset front sprocket.

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2 hours ago, Not_so_Evil_Lloyd said:

I was always under the impression that 5.5 wheels were too wide for stock arms but i seem to remember someone on here making it work. I just can't for the life of me remember who it was...

I had a 5,5" wheel in my EFE arm. And so does @Rene EFE.  And a few others probably.

Issue is not the wheel, but a 180 tyre which just fits, or just doesn't fit, depending on the tyre brand.

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Thanks again guys, very helpful and gives me plenty of options to think about.

I have quite a few parts hanging around including a complete efe in bits that have been collecting dust for a while.

Now got a bit more time on my hands with this lockdown thing, so just tidying up my fairly standard efe ready for the big escape and making plans  for the above. 

Im a slow mover but will do a project thread when i get organised.

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