Lobo II, Laeger Pro-Trax, Or Walsh

[atvmx14]

Lobo II, Laeger Pro-Trax, Or Walsh Front ends for 450R ?????

What would you buy if you had the money!!

[QuAdEr 317]

walsh i think next would be pro trax

[Tommy 17]

pro trax... best front end on the market but its also the most expensive

[seven]

Pro trax is the best:macho

[muff]

the pro-trax is sweet, just a little to much imo. I'd go with walsh :cool:

[JRDrider22]

Walsh, theyre known for some best products.

[Yamahauler_04]

Honestly you will no complaints with any of them.

But here are my opinions anyway.

1. Walsh: Great stuff, no bad comments at all

2. Roll: See Walsh comments

3. Laeger: See other 2 add "Is the protrax really necessary with the geometry of the new R, or are you just paying more to say you got the Pro Trax?"

I personally would go Roll, but I have connections to make the cost a little more reasonable, nothing to do with the quality of the others.

[CTmxyfz]

Walsh:D

[roostin_dale]

As nice as the Pro-Trax is, it would be my last choice! Not sure why but i have never been happy with Laeger.

I have always been a Huge fan of Roll, so I would have a hard time choosing between Walsh and Roll..

[TC426EX]

Laeger Pro Trax all the way...

If you ahve the money there is simply no front end setup like it!!

[nacs400ex]

I think Laeger ProTraxx and Walsh are the best. IMO ROLL is crap. Not their quality, just due to the fact they overcharge you for what your getting.

[TBD]

I agree that your paying a lot just for the name with the Roll arms. They are a nice part. The Pro Trax front end is also nice. The only thing I do not like with them is that they are high maintenence as for as the bushings in the spindle. If the Walsh arms that everyone is talking about are the ones with the hiems in the lowers at the frame pivots then I definently do not agree with that design. Hiems are not designed to be used in that direction. The other thing is that there is no need to adjust the lower arm and the fact that hiems normally will not last as long as a bearing or bushing pivot.

none of the three.

[CTmxyfz]

Originally posted by TBD
I agree that your paying a lot just for the name with the Roll arms. They are a nice part. The Pro Trax front end is also nice. The only thing I do not like with them is that they are high maintenence as for as the bushings in the spindle. If the Walsh arms that everyone is talking about are the ones with the hiems in the lowers at the frame pivots then I definently do not agree with that design. Hiems are not designed to be used in that direction. The other thing is that there is no need to adjust the lower arm and the fact that hiems normally will not last as long as a bearing or bushing pivot.


Its funny that mine are holding up fine after a year already??? Walsh has alot of R&D behind his products. That and he welds alot of the pieces himself. I think its a great setup. What if you need to change the camber and caster? whats the point of trying to pop the balljoint out of the spindle to twist it a turn of two and put it back in when you can do everything on the other end in less time. Base your comments on things that you know and experienced rather than bashing stuff. With the heim joints at the bottom, it allows the spacers seen in the pic, able to move the front end +1 inch foward for better rear wheel traction. it lengthens the bike and helps it perform alot better. I even tried it on my bike and agreed, +1 is the best.

[Dave400ex]

GNCCer, what would you choose?

I think I would run the Walsh for MX.

[dsracer666]

if TBD is who I think he is, he knows his stuff! but so does walsh!

like I've alway said, if I had the money it would be walsh/PEP:D

[Dave400ex]

I believe TBD is Timmy Boy Designs...

[Sandsjbyz22]

I run a Protrax front end and love it, I just dont trust running a front end that uses stock spindles, I love the look of walsh's stuff and I heard it handles awesome but I would rather spend the extra money knowing that Im not going to have to worry about spindles breaking.

[TBD]

Originally posted by CTmxyfz
Its funny that mine are holding up fine after a year already??? Walsh has alot of R&D behind his products. That and he welds alot of the pieces himself. I think its a great setup. What if you need to change the camber and caster? whats the point of trying to pop the balljoint out of the spindle to twist it a turn of two and put it back in when you can do everything on the other end in less time. Base your comments on things that you know and experienced rather than bashing stuff. With the heim joints at the bottom, it allows the spacers seen in the pic, able to move the front end +1 inch foward for better rear wheel traction. it lengthens the bike and helps it perform alot better. I even tried it on my bike and agreed, +1 is the best. I'm sorry if I worded that post to sound like I was bashing the Walsh arms. I definently was not trying to do that. I've seen a lot of Walsh products and do agree he makes a qaulity part. I was just stating that I wouldn't agree with the hiems in the lowers. I didn't realize the fact that you could move them forward by changing spacers around. That is a great design. As far as things that I know, I've been designing and building suspension components for 15 years.

[QuadRacer041]

walsh all the way

[CTmxyfz]

Originally posted by QuadRacer041
walsh all the way


Lou, they just won't learn.:rolleyes: :D

[QuadRacer041]

:devil:
thats ok it will alway keep US ahead of THEM, lol

[CTmxyfz]

:muscle: :muscle: :muscle: :uhoh: :bandit:

[muff]

Originally posted by TBD
I was just stating that I wouldn't agree with the hiems in the lowers. I didn't realize the fact that you could move them forward by changing spacers around.

the heims are nice because if you tweak your frame or bent the a-arm a little bit you can adjust it out. the heims hold up much better than most people seem to think, but yea they do wear out just like everything else

walsh is now makin +3s with solid lowers for the yfz. if that makes you happy :p


as for worrying about spindles breaking, i know i'm not worried about mine. its not the spindle itself that fails, just the stud. which walsh also sells :cool:

[Sandsjbyz22]

as for worrying about spindles breaking, i know i'm not worried about mine. its not the spindle itself that fails, just the stud. which walsh also sells

Well dunk switched to a protrax front end on his walsh hybrid after breaking a spindle cost him a race, I still would rather spend the extra money for a completely aftermarket machined spindle.

[racerx573]

Originally posted by Sandsjbyz22
I run a Protrax front end and love it, I just dont trust running a front end that uses stock spindles, I love the look of walsh's stuff and I heard it handles awesome but I would rather spend the extra money knowing that Im not going to have to worry about spindles breaking.

EXACTLY!! And Pro Trax has the smoothest steering, but you WILL need a stabilizer because it's so sensitive.

If you want Roll at a good price, get JRD...

[muff]

Originally posted by Sandsjbyz22
Well dunk switched to a protrax front end on his walsh hybrid after breaking a spindle cost him a race, I still would rather spend the extra money for a completely aftermarket machined spindle.

I was just talking about the yfz spindles. I've managed to snap a couple 400ex ones. Walsh was machining yfz spindles but he said he stopped because it was to difficult to do for what he was askin for them.

[Sandsjbyz22]

Im sure it was very expensive to machine them. I think thats the reason Lone Star never realesed there spindle. I believe Jeff Seegot was the only one to ever have them.

[Badger_Skid]

I have worked with all of the above products and have seen all of them perform. All of the above products are good. There are however a few questions that everyone needs to ask. What kind of riding do I plan on doing? How much do I have to spend? But the most important question people need to ask than any of the above companies is what makes your products better than anyones else's?

If you can 't find someone to answer this last question, move on, find a manufacturer that can and base your decision on good sound facts. One major problem I see in the skidplate industry is that it's all about cost. Mama said that you get what you pay for but that doesn't mean to go out and buy the most expensive. My experience is that people need to be educated in materials, strengths and weaknesses, stress issues in materials, and a good knowledge of how welding processes affect all of the above. There are bigger issues than price, color, and good looks. Make as many calls as you can and if you truly don't know some technical aspects of these products, ask. This first time I welded two pieces of metal together it warped like a pretzel, I asked my Dad why that happened and I have learned thousands of things since asking that simple question like what if I welded like this instead? Only one dumb question, the one that isn't asked.

Now, what would I buy? Hands down no question, Roll. Give them a call and ask for Doug Roll, ask him why his products are better and how he addresses material issues such as stress and welding processes and how the processes he uses makes better products. Doug and I have talked for hours and he is the only one to give me the right answers to the questions I ask based on 25 years of fabrication.

Ask questions until you get the correct answers, if you don't know all the technical aspects, ask for help. Too many guys get burned buying a product that failed and never know why. Then they go out and buy the next coolest expensive/cheapest product.

Deric

[QuAdEr 317]

Originally posted by dsracer666

like I've alway said, if I had the money it would be walsh/PEP:D

same here

[atvmx14]

Thanks for all the support on this topic guys keep it coming..

To clarify the walsh lower heims. They're not doing that anymore its solid just like stock just like muff said...

[atvmx14]

This should have been a POLL

[racerx573]

Like ya'll were saying about the cost of spindle machining; that is why the Pro Trax is so much. The spindles alone are over $1200 for replacements. The a-arms themselves are about the same cost as the regular Laeger's LT a-arms. Then add in the stem, and all the hardware you get; and it all adds up. WELL WORTH IT! With Axis shocks of course... :p

[bradley300]

i have heard some really good things about the JB/PEP frontend lately, one guy actually said he liked it more than his protrax/axis set up he had on the same bike the past season