Suzuki Quadracer HQ
LT250R Quadracer => LT250R - Body / Chassis / Suspension => Topic started by: QuadDave on October 01, 2012, 09:52:31 am
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Lol I know it will be tough at times but I think I will manage to get a little aside for it.
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Twins.. Dam your not gonna have any extra money for that quad. LoL
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Pulled my bike apart a few days ago to do the camber mod. The closest washers I could find were 7/8 and Iam not sure if my bike has different ball joints or not but I went to fastenal and ordered the bolts they are 14mm by 1.5 pitch thread. Matched up perfectly. I got 40 mm long bolts and will be running 3 washers on each side. It's not together yet so once it is depending on how much it's cambered I may take one out of each side. I didn't go with the camber kit because money is a little tight at the moment and may be for a little while as my wife and I are expecting twins in a few months so most of our money is being dumped into the house and being saved for the babies.
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What size washers have you guys been using? And how did you judge your bolt length after grinding the ball joint locks off? I been trying to figure out a way to do this without grinding the a arms and or ball joints like maybe cutting and welding washers together so the ball joint will still lock in place.
http://www.suzukiquadracerhq.com/index.php?action=store;cat=23
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What size washers have you guys been using? And how did you judge your bolt length after grinding the ball joint locks off? I been trying to figure out a way to do this without grinding the a arms and or ball joints like maybe cutting and welding washers together so the ball joint will still lock in place.
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very easy mods to do
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GOT IT! After some close examination of my friends 3:22:25 PM to see whats going on i realized that previous to me owning the bike someone has bent the tie rod brackets at a terrible angle upward. I bent my brackets to match my friends flipped them around and voila! It works perfect. Thanks everyone for the advice and help. Its great to have ppl to bounce ideas off and ask questions.
Thanks
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Dave: i actually saved ur pic to my phoine and made sure i did it the exact same way. Without tie rod hooked up the wheel can turn back and forth no problem. As soon as you hook a tie rod up you can turn it hard to the left. I only have one tie rod right now as other is broken. Is it possible the head of the tie rod isnt on the proper angle and is stopping the steering?
SmokinOrBorken, Can you post up a pic? That would help in trying to figure out what's going on. Try and get a pic of both ends of the tie rod. I agree with Maxxh2o, you may be binding up or something, but it's difficult to say without seeing it.
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did you flip and rotate the brackets that the tie rod mounts to
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Try and loosen the tie rod ball joint lock nuts and find a happy spot so they will not bind. Once you are all set then lock them down. The binding could be coming from the tie rod ball ends. my .02
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Dave: i actually saved ur pic to my phoine and made sure i did it the exact same way. Without tie rod hooked up the wheel can turn back and forth no problem. As soon as you hook a tie rod up you can turn it hard to the left. I only have one tie rod right now as other is broken. Is it possible the head of the tie rod isnt on the proper angle and is stopping the steering?
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So the camber mod is done. And i did the bump steer hooked up the tie rods and wasnt able to turn the wheels. I was told this is because i maxed the tie rod movement. Does this mean i need plus 1 tie rods? For now ive gone back to stock steering but would rather bump steer if possible. Any input appreciated.
Thanks
You have stock a arms dont you.If you flip the knuckles from left to right side and right side to left side their shouldnt be no prblem you have to reset your toe in after you do this..,.I have after market tie rods but mine stock ones work just fine after i done the mod.
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So the camber mod is done. And i did the bump steer hooked up the tie rods and wasnt able to turn the wheels. I was told this is because i maxed the tie rod movement. Does this mean i need plus 1 tie rods? For now ive gone back to stock steering but would rather bump steer if possible. Any input appreciated.
Thanks
Check the pic at the beginning of this thread. Make sure when you flip the steering brackets that they are pointing in towards the bike. In the stock position, they are angled up and after you flip them, they should be angled down. I may have to put together some pics showing the steps and how to fine tune once they are flipped to minimize bump steer.
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I done the bump ster mod about 1 year ago.But Finally done camber mod today.I couldnt believe the difference in how it handle.Wish i would have done this along time ago.Really let my aftermarket shock work good. The bolt size for the lt250 is 14mm 1.25 thread so if you want to go more then .200. Best 4$ i ever spent.
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Pictures??
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So the camber mod is done. And i did the bump steer hooked up the tie rods and wasnt able to turn the wheels. I was told this is because i maxed the tie rod movement. Does this mean i need plus 1 tie rods? For now ive gone back to stock steering but would rather bump steer if possible. Any input appreciated.
Thanks
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if you tighten it up they wont move, and yes the 2 tabs that hold it in place are what you grind off.
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Has anyone had any problems with the steering knuckle/ball joint spinning after this mod?
You do have to grind down the tabs on the lower a-arms right, don't those keep the knuckle/ball joint secured in place?
I did this mod to my LT250R, but haven't rode it yet, trying to find a way to make sure it's safe.
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@Julie74, The bump steer mod puts the steering arms into more of a similar plane as the a-arms. This greatly reduces the toe-in/toe-out condition as the front suspension goes through it's range of motion making the handling much better.
@stpltn250r, There are several camber gauges that you can buy online.
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well ive got one side done. brafasco didnt have more then one bolt so going to another store today in a different town to pick the bolt up. heres how it looks so far
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How doy yoy guys actually check your camber? Tape measure? How do you guys knoe how far negative it is?
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Thanks Brian
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What does the bump steer mod do to the steering?
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I'm not near my bike.
What is the ball joint to a arm bolt thread pitch & length needed? For a Zilla thanks
12 x 1.25 according to my cheap chinese metric tap & die set.
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Oes anyone else have stock ball joint bolts with a hole drilled from one end to the other? Just wondering what this is for. Any input would be great
Could be there so you can safety wire them so they don't loosen up and come out.
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Oes anyone else have stock ball joint bolts with a hole drilled from one end to the other? Just wondering what this is for. Any input would be great
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Im wworking on this mod right now. Will take pics as soon as im finished. And ill probably do the bump steer mod too
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I have a beauty thread pitch checker with the metric hole sizes aswell. Does the trick. Metric thread pitch can almost allways be described as being course or fine thread thou. the hole size most important.
Armadillo or similiar has ball joints that fit our bikes and they are adjustable width and look a little better than stock in my opinion. Im not positive that the design is as stong as stock ball joints as they have alot of metal between the joint and the mount compared to the skinny looky armadillo's. I am thinking that only 2 are needed and should perhaps be mounted on the upper aarm not the lower, if the strength is notr there.... Rockymntatv sells them for around 25 apiece :)
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I'm not near my bike.
What is the ball joint to a arm bolt thread pitch & length needed? For a Zilla thanks
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el diablo: have you started this mod yet? ;D
Don't need to if I go with custom A-arms.
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Good to know Iceracer!
Tie rod mod would make a good how to thread guys. One for the 250 and similar mod for the 500.... just saying :D
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el diablo: have you started this mod yet? ;D
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You mean that the tie rod bracket would be pointing out toward the wheel?
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you flip the tie rod bracket thats on the spindle from the other side. so left goes to right
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what is the bump steer mod if i may ask?
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This camber mod, combined with the bump steer mod (flip flopping tie rod spindle brackets) is one of the best and low buck improvements you can make on a 250. Glad I did it!
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For the record If you get longer bolts you can go more than. .2"
I Think I went .375 to get the wheel to be @ 2 deg negative. I used some Cromolly tubing I cut on the lathe.
I don't know why I never thought of that, that is a great idea and I think I have the right size tubing. Just need to find the longer bolt.
I'll post pics when I get it done.
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I doubt it I did it on mine before I went to Burgard arms That was probably7+ years ago. All my stuff is Yfz 450 based now and has been for a few years. I think I gave all my oem a-arms away. If I still have a set I can mock it upagain but don't hold you breath.
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For the record If you get longer bolts you can go more than. .2"
I Think I went .375 to get the wheel to be @ 2 deg negative. I used some Cromolly tubing I cut on the lathe.
Got any pics?
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i did the same as iceracer and have had no problems
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For the record If you get longer bolts you can go more than. .2"
I Think I went .375 to get the wheel to be @ 2 deg negative. I used some Cromolly tubing I cut on the lathe.
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Yes, 500's can do the same camber mod.
(http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n135/rogue1970/1989%20Suzuki%20Quadzilla/Untitled.jpg)
Same mod as the 250. Grind down the ball joint lock tabs, find some washers that are .200" and install them. Once complete, reset your toe and your good to go.
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Wasn't this the flamed wonder bike that was for sale?
Key word "was".
Keeping it for my 2-stroke fix until the hybrid is done.
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Wasn't this the flamed wonder bike that was for sale?
This mod goes for the 500 too.
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I think most everyone knows this modification, but if not, here it is.
All LT250's were originally built with positive camber. Positive camber is when the top of the tire is tilted outward.
When turning, this allows the tire to roll over on the side wall making the handling less than desirable.
Here's the fix:
1) Remove the lower ball joint from the lower a-arm.
2) Grind the 2 "flats" on the lower arm that locate the ball joint FLUSH.
3) Find or fab some washers/spacers approximately .200" that have the same ID as the ball joint OD.
4) Slide the washer over the ball joint and reinstall. (Note: use an adjustable wrench to hold the ball joint from turning)
5) Re-set your toe-in alignment.
Note: do not go over a .200" spacer/washer as the ball joint bolt will not have enough thread "bite" into the ball joint.
Here's a small photo showing the finished setup (note: I machined down a blue hex nut instead of using washers)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8043987811_a19cf96873_z.jpg)