it's anodised, so you really can't replicate the finish in spots. do as little as possible, or redo the whole lot. you could get it painted to make it look the same-ish.

 

What about using something line motip alu zinc spray? Need to check if that exists in a touchup bottle.

 

I'd spray it on a test piece. Not sure it's going to give the finish you're wanting. The original finish was brushed and then anodized.

 

dunno.

 

What was the the swingarm rubbing on to cause that?

I went through a similar thing with my 1993. Mine was cracked at the pivot which allowed it to contact the back of the exhaust when it flexed under load in corners.

As @belter pointed out it is coated. I still don’t think it’s anodized but primed and painted as mine clearly had more than anodizing applied. It took ages to polish once the coating was stripped away.

 

I had a similar issue with the pipe... a freaking pebble wedged itself in there and messed things up. Thankfully nothing deep, and was able to blend it out with some scotch brite. Yes you can still see it but it doesn't look like complete ass anymore. As for the staining... I would not try any mechanical methods of removal since you will only mess up the finish. I would experiment with different solvents and cleaners.

 

The rubbing was caused by custom pipes made for custom high exhausts mount. It was not done very well. And then probably the guy put the bike on its left side and made things worse.

What solvent are you guys thinking about? What would be safe to use on the swingarm?

 

I can only speak of my own experience. I work in aviation and have in some way, shape or form for most of the last 35 years.

I’ve seen plenty, and I mean plenty of anodized parts. The swing arm I removed from my 900SS definitely did not fit into any shape or form of anodizing I’ve ever seen.

It was painted silver, likely with a brush to mimic a brushed aluminum finish. It had some sort of primer under that paint. Possibly powder coat. Also maybe a clear coat over it.

Anodizing is done to bare metal. Definitely not what was done with the swing arm I removed.

The scuffing on my swing arm^^^

Below, the finish on my swing arm after steam cleaning:

The worn spots from the chain guard are clearly the same coloration as the pivot surface. There are a few spots where the paint is thin and a darker primer can be seen through it. All had to be bead blasted to remove the finish for crack repair.

No way in hell is a solvent going to remove scuffs that are ground into a surface. Adding some quality paint of the correct color will hide the scuffing particularly if it isn’t too deep. That’s probably the best solution without stripping the entire thing back and repainting or polishing.

 

I can only speak of my own experience. I work in aviation and have in some way, shape or form for most of the last 35 years.

I’ve seen plenty, and I mean plenty of anodized parts. The swing arm I removed from my 900SS definitely did not fit into any shape or form of anodizing I’ve ever seen.

It was painted silver, likely with a brush to mimic a brushed aluminum finish. It had some sort of primer under that paint. Possibly powder coat. Also maybe a clear coat over it.

Anodizing is done to bare metal. Definitely not what was done with the swing arm I removed.
View attachment 1041314

The scuffing on my swing arm^^^

Below, the finish on my swing arm after steam cleaning:
View attachment 1041315

The worn spots from the chain guard are clearly the same coloration as the pivot surface. There are a few spots where the paint is thin and a darker primer can be seen through it. All had to be bead blasted to remove the finish for crack repair.

No way in hell is a solvent going to remove scuffs that are ground into a surface. Adding some quality paint of the correct color will hide the scuffing particularly if it isn’t too deep. That’s probably the best solution without stripping the entire thing back and repainting or polishing.

Great info. I just picked up two of the revised swingarms for my Superlights and was looking into restoring them. I too assumed the swingarms were clear anodized. I would never have thought they were painted. How could paint be so durable and realistic looking to mimic bare metal?

BTW, that is one serious crack, the worse I have seen. It a miracle the swingarm didnt snap and throw you off the bike!

 

Great info thx. I think I’m going to try light spray paint. Get something colormatched with a spectrometer maybe.

 

Color match is the way I’d recommend. If you can get it in an epoxy paint, even better.

I’m pretty sure the paint Ducati used on the swing arm is to protect from battery acid and is brake fluid resistant.

Also, touch up style in a small bottle with a brush may work better than spray can style.

 

I rode it about 50 ft after buying it before tearing it down. That was from where I pulled it off the truck across the parking lot to the stall at my old shop.

That crack went down the full height of the back side of the pivot where it faces the engine, across the full width of the bottom and 3/4 across the width of the top.

I pulled probably 20 shims out when I tore it down. After getting it welded properly I only put a total of 4 shims in on assembly going by the manual. I don’t know how all those shims fit in before…..or if they were the cause of/result of the crack.

I was so concerned I literally measured both the 900SS engines in my garage to make sure the swing arm pivot boss was the same width on both.

This is after the repairs:

Entire swingarm was bead blasted, crack was V-grooved out and TIG welded. My welder said he ran 3 beads, 2 side by side and then the wider bead you see in the pics.

Pre and post weld heated before allowing to cool in stages. He didn’t want it cracking again if I were going to ride it at anything close to the speeds I ride my other bikes.

You’d have no idea it was ever cracked without taking it apart and steam cleaning it. I’d literally used a toothbrush and mineral spirits on it before sending it through the steam cabinet and not seen the crack.

 

I assumed they were anodized as well. I retrofitted an early 2000's swingarm to my 1995 ss and tried a few different strippers and sanding to clean up the finish before I finally gave up and just took it in for powder coat...whatever was on there originally was a tough finish.

Honestly I preferred the original brushed look. But if you are going to go the paint route I'd take the extra step and just powder coat it.