Need to Know - taking swing arm off for PC

[SEQX34]

I'm thinking about powder coating the swing arms. before i take them down, got a couple ??? for you all:

this is all for a 93 600

-> How difficult is it to install/un-install the swing arms? (1-10 = 10 being hardest)
-> Do I need to replace some parts while im at it? (no idea what parts are in there, i'll guess a bearing and some rubber seals maybe?)
-> Tools (I got the a socket wrench set , allen wrench and some other basic tools) do I need anything else? any special tools?
-> anybody know a place where I can get Powder Coating from in Chicago?

thats about all I can think of right now. pls. feel free to speak up if you got any info you would like to share that others may have forgotten. Thanks KR

[soccersteve]

here we go man....this is up my alley. i don't know about a 93, but i have an 04. i just took mine off like a week ago to get mine PCed. what you're going to need is some relatively big sockets. like 17mm ish. i'm not quite sure the measurement of it. but you'll also need a breaker bar. especially if you've never taken the thing apart. i know i had a heck of a time getting my dogbones off. if you're unfamiliar with a breaker bar, its just a long pipe you slip over a rachet, i used the pipe to my floor jack. one mine anyway, you didn't have to replace any seals. but you will want to keep in mind that there will be some pieces that come out of the swingarm when you get everything off. remember where these go!!! its not that hard of a project, just get someone to help hold the bike and/or hold the other side of the nuts when you're getting your dogbones and other tough bolts out. you can even put the bolts back where they came from when you take the arm off. if you have any other questions, let me know, PM me. i should get my parts back tomorrow. if you wait, i'll post some pics so you can figure out if thats what you want to do. but if you have more ??s, just ask. oh yea...i'd say that taking it off was about a 6.5. it wasn't hard, just bolts were in there good. good luck.

[Mr. Clean]

You will need a fairly large (read: goes up to 76 foot pounds) torque wrench to put it all back together. While you have it all apart I would replace the bearings, it would be a good idea since your bike is 12 years old. You will need the old bearings press out and the new ones press in. Change them AFTER you get the powder coating done.

[Mojoe]

What kind of bearing are in the 93 600? I know the 1100 uses needle bearings as opposed to sealed roller or ball bearings. Also, the 1100 has a swingarm clearance adjuster which requires a special wrench. Not sure if the 600 has this as well.
As Mr.Clean said....change the bearings while you are at it. You will need to take them out before powdercoating anyway. Not likely they will even consider PC'ing them with the bearings in. If they did something that stupid, good luck getting them out after. Anyway, the haynes manual strongly suggest replacing the bearings with new ones once you remove them...so it looks like you will be doing that anyway.