[CiscoSanJose]

Can one of you Grom owners check with a magnet to see if the swing arm is steel or Aluminum, I'm going to do more prep work before my Grom comes in and need to know if the swing arm is steel/metal or aluminum.

Thanks again for any info.

Ride safe allilleak:

 

[mad8vskillz]

i don't have any good access to my grom right now, but here are my thoughts:

it's too thin to be aluminum
also, someone welded an extension to it. and aluminum welders are kinda rare now.

 

[CiscoSanJose]

was told it was steel, dam I was hoping it would be aluminum

 

[chye]

i believe i read elsewhere it is steel.

 

[mnnthbx]

Steel. For reference, steel is magnetic, aluminum is not. Aluminum will always be thicker. The two will sound vastly different when tapped on as we'll.

 

[mad8vskillz]

Steel. For reference, steel is magnetic, aluminum is not. Aluminum will always be thicker. The two will sound vastly different when tapped on as we'll.

however stainless steel is barely magnetic.
Is stainless steel non-magnetic?

 

[mnnthbx]

Steel (carbon) and stainless are different animal. You can get high carbon stainless that's mildly magnetic, but you're correct, most is not. Nobody's going to have a stainless swingarm though...

 

[Grommer2]

Are you sure about steel being stronger than aluminum? My Zero motorcycle has an aluminum frame and swing arm made from aeronautical grade aluminum. It is twice the thickness of a soda can.


Yes, the Grom swing arm is steel.

 

[mnnthbx]

Steel is stronger than aluminum, given the same thickness. Are you sure about your statements? A Grom swingarm is far thicker than twice a soda can, and if it were aluminum, I wouldn't want on it. That said, I never looked a Zero over good, but from pictures, it looks heavily braced and far thicker than the soda can reference....

 

[HardRacing]

Are you sure about steel being stronger than aluminum? My Zero motorcycle has an aluminum frame and swing arm made from aeronautical grade aluminum. It is twice the thickness of a soda can.
.....

.


" The misconception arises from the partial truth that there are aluminum alloys that are as strong as, or stronger than, steel. It’s more accurate to say that there are some aluminum alloys that are stronger than some steel alloys.

One of the most widely used high-strength aluminum alloys is alloy 6061 with T6 temper. Pound for pound, 6061-T6 is stronger than some steel alloys, but not as strong as others. The fact is, for any given high-strength aluminum alloy, there are higher-strength steels that outperform aluminum in strength-to-weight. Factors other than strength and weight eventually dictate which material is a better choice for a particular application. "

Did you know that Bamboo is actually stronger then steel.
At least has a higher Tensile strength.

.


.

 

[GromGuy]

from what i read much earlier before everyone got theirs was that it's steel.
i believe aluminum is softer so in that case it's weaker, but much lighter

 

[mnnthbx]

So much of material selection depends on production and manufacturing spec. Aluminum can be cast, formed, extruded etc, to meet more specific design goals, but in the case of the uber basic Grom swingarm, there's no touching the cost effectiveness (a major design factor for a $2900 bike) of a simple steel tube construction.

 

[mad8vskillz]

Bamboo swingarms?!!!!! that would be rather cool

 

[chye]

remove it and weigh it. that'll tell you for sure.

but im pretty sure its steel.

 

[Hotrod_Hell]

It is indeed just normal mild steel. Im the one that extended the stock swing arm.

 

[CiscoSanJose]

Thanks for all the great comments and answers great minds make a product better or cost more or educate others.