I started out trying to find some arms to fit my 87 Tecate. After taking measurements on several different quads, it turned out my Quadracer was the closest match. Then I discovered the z400/kfx400/dvx400 are spot on for the Quadracer.
The saga begins by scoring some good, used Lonestar +2 arms and tie rods for an 05 z400. They bolted right up to the frame, but Suzuki uses the goofy slotted lower ball joint and these have the threaded auto style. I read banshee hubs will work, so maybe their spindles will too. I fitted my LT hubs on my 95 banshee to check. Good, but the calipers didn't fit.
On a guess, I got some 87 banshee j-arm spindles because their calipers mounting holes looked closer. I know, should have just gotten the newer style spindle and thrown some YFZ450 brakes on there. But I was trying to swap arms on the cheap. The j-arm spindles were close enough that I could open the holes and mount the stock LT calipers on there. They also had to be shimmed out about 1/2" with washers because the LT hub didn't sink flush on the spindle. Then I had to bore out the spindle holes for the ball joints to accomodate the larger shafts. When trying to get everything fitted, I discovered the caliper was just barely bottoming out on the rotor before I could bolt it on. My rotors are junk anyway, so I just put them on a lathe and had a 1/4" taken off all the way around to make them a smaller diameter.
Next, I got a surprise on the exhaust side. The Lonestar upper arms wouldn't work because they hit the FMF header. I was already comitted, so I ditched the FMF for a stocker. Problem solved. Maybe some other aftermarket pipes will still work, but I don't have any to compare.
After getting the front end back together and adjusted, I verified that I would in fact need extended brake lines. I took one look at the stock front master with it's slave setup and promptly ditched that for a Z400 master. I used the 2-piece steel speedlinez from there.
I think it turned out pretty good. You might tell from the pics that the front shocks are just slightly more slanted than stock. Of course, I'd like to have better front shocks when the funds allow. Probably some YFZ450's. And I haven't ridden it yet and don't plan to till spring, so I can't comment on the handling or any possible issues. I just hope it's an improvement over the bus-like turning of the stock setup.
More progress and the final product.
Oh, and I wouldn't suggest this to others. Unless you're already planning on replacing your front brake system, you like grinding, or you don't wanna deal with Burgard or spend $600 on some Avengers.
And after getting side tracked, I picked up cheap a set of new Magnum +2 z400 arms for the Tecate. It should go a little quicker beacuse I'll get to use the stock spindles, even though Kawasaki used the goofy slotted lower ball joint too.
Looks good! I just went through a similar quest with my zilla. I already had custom tubular A-arms but wanted to convert over to Z-400 spindles & hubs. After many hours of cutting & tacking & breaking tacks & re-welding, I finally got my front end together. Which leads me to ask, why didn't you go with the complete Z-400 spindle, hub, & brake set?
Nice swap.
Z400 spindles might not have you extending the upper ball joint out so far in the upper a arm?
Thanks for the comments. El, I set out to just swap arms, so I was trying to get away with changing as little as possible. Also, I thought the z400 bolt pattern was different, so if I changed hubs, I wouldn't have any front wheels that fit. Dez, the upper joint does look bad, but there's at least 1" of thread in the tube. The problem is not in the spindles, it's that z400 lower arms are that much longer than the uppers because the Z has a narrow lower frame.