400ex front end conversion help

[Dan229]

I have a 300ex I am building from the ground up and went with a complete 400ex front end on it (400ex plus 2 plus 1 a arms) and the issue I have run into is it appears that I need longer upper ball joints in order to get the front wheels straight up and down. Has anyone else run into this? Anyone know where I can get 4 inch (threaded part) upper ball joints?

[Tri-valleyracin]

if your building a mx bike you want your wheels like this / \ so when u turn it goes like this / | or | \ . it makes the quad more stable but on a 300ex conversion you want to run it more strait up but still angled a tad.

[300ex_#387]

If your nut for the balljoint is on the inside of the a arm, go ahead and get it where you need it and put it on the outside of the a arms. Here is a pic to help you. Mine was the same way, but we just put the nut on the other side.

[honda965]

300ex_#387 ...........you did a 400ex aarms and shocks correct? i did as well but mine seems to sit really high and i seen ur picture, wat did u do different

[Pappy]

dan, i got your pm but havent had a chance to see if there are any BJ that have a longer shaft

we had no issues with ours

[300ex_#387]

Originally posted by honda965
300ex_#387 ...........you did a 400ex aarms and shocks correct? i did as well but mine seems to sit really high and i seen ur picture, wat did u do different

I used 250r shocks and 250r a arms. Same exact thing as the 400ex. My shocks are ZPS, so that is why it sits lower. I'm also not running a bracket relocator, and I am running a 250r long travel a arm.

[Dan229]

Originally posted by 300ex_#387
If your nut for the balljoint is on the inside of the a arm, go ahead and get it where you need it and put it on the outside of the a arms. Here is a pic to help you. Mine was the same way, but we just put the nut on the other side.


I have two nuts between the ball joint and the a arm with the locking nut on the outside and that still isn't enough to get it straight up and down.

Here are a few pictures to better explain it.

[Dan229]

Close up picture

[Dan229]

Originally posted by Pappy
dan, i got your pm but havent had a chance to see if there are any BJ that have a longer shaft

we had no issues with ours

Thanks Pappy. If you have a sec, take a look at the a arms in the pictures and let me know if you think the uppers are not the correct ones for the lowers. They are Burgard plus 2 plus 1 or that is what I thought I bought at least :confused:

[300ex_#387]

I don't think you have to have that nut on the inside of the a arm. That could give you a little more to adjust. Might want to make sure with someone else though. Your also using the 400ex spindles, and I don't think Pappy ever switched to those. I am running 250r spindles, and I did have to take the nut off on the inside of the a arm.

[Pappy]

looks like the lower BJ can go in a bit more, they need to ALL the way in

have you actually measured your camber?

also, id double check to make sure you have the upopers on the correct side, in the one pic it appears your spindle is too far forward at the top

[Dan229]

Thanks for the tips Pappy. I am building this 300 out of parts from the ground up with no prior sport ATV experience at all so it would not surprise me if I have something installed incorrectly, especially since there are parts and pieces from 4 different Honda ATV models involved. From looking at the pictures that have been posted, it looks like I have the uppers on upside down and backwards…maybe that is the issue. Anyway, I got the motor to fire up yesterday once and now it is completely dead (will not turn over, etc…) so I have a good deal of work to do before this thing is good-to-go but I am enjoying building my first sport quad even though I am sure I will make quite a few dumb mistakes, etc…

[WildWestRacing]

Hello Dan,

This is Bill West, Josh's Dad. I met you at Zak's funeral.

Anyway, it is possible to install the a-arms on the wrong side. I have done it myself. We have Burgaurd 400ex +2 +1 on our bike.

If you want I can send you some pics of ours.

We didnt have any problems with ours as far as the angle of the wheels.

Actually I will try to post a few pics on here.

Bill

[Dan229]

Originally posted by WildWestRacing
Hello Dan,

This is Bill West, Josh's Dad. I met you at Zak's funeral.

Anyway, it is possible to install the a-arms on the wrong side. I have done it myself. We have Burgaurd 400ex +2 +1 on our bike.

If you want I can send you some pics of ours.

We didnt have any problems with ours as far as the angle of the wheels.

Actually I will try to post a few pics on here.

Bill

Hey Bill, I would greatly appreciate some pictures and any other tips on building this thing.

Thanks,
Dan

[Pappy]

dan, they are not updside down

[WildWestRacing]

Dan,
I think your a-arms are installed correctly like Pappy said.
However you have an extra nut installed between the balljoint and the a-arm. That will reduce your adjustability. You only need two, one on each side of the a-arm. Also make sure you have the lower ball joint seated all the way in the a-arm.

I'm out of town right now but I'll try to get my wife to snap a few pics and e-mail them to me so I can either post them on here or send them to you directly.


Bill

[Dirtblast]

Bill,
Give me a call when you get a chance. I want to ask you some questions about the 300ex.

Thanks.....Gus 478-955-7958

[Dan229]

Originally posted by WildWestRacing
Dan,
I think your a-arms are installed correctly like Pappy said.
However you have an extra nut installed between the balljoint and the a-arm. That will reduce your adjustability. You only need two, one on each side of the a-arm. Also make sure you have the lower ball joint seated all the way in the a-arm.

I'm out of town right now but I'll try to get my wife to snap a few pics and e-mail them to me so I can either post them on here or send them to you directly.


Bill

No rush on the pictures Bill, I will be out of town for a funeral the next couple of day (been to way too many of those lately!).

Maybe it is just my unfamilarity with a sport bike that is making me think something is wrong but if the uppers are adjusted to what one would think would be "normal" the tires lean inward worse than any sport atvs I have ever seen...

[Pappy]

dan, spindles are on upside down and on the wrong sides! the tie rod flag should be up, not low like they are

[WildWestRacing]

Here are a few pics of our 300ex with Burgaurd +2+1 a-arms
Sorry about the dirty bike.

Bill


http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc026.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc025.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc024.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc023.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc022.jpg

[WildWestRacing]

Why didnt my pictures come up?

[WildWestRacing]

Let me try again.http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc022.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc023.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc024.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc025.jpg

http://http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o71/westmxracing/misc026.jpg

[WildWestRacing]

I see I got one of them to come up. I dont know why it came up and the others didnt. I did them all the same way.

[300exOH]

Originally posted by Pappy
dan, spindles are on upside down and on the wrong sides! the tie rod flag should be up, not low like they are

I think pappy is right. You just need to swap the left and right spindles.

[Dan229]

I fixed the spindles issue thanks to all the input. They were on the correct side as indicated by the L and R inside the spindles but they were on upside down. I also fixed my electrical issue and my project bike is now running but I have a long list of things to get worked before it is running good but I am making progress on it.

Thanks again for all the help with the front end issues.

Dan.

[300exOH]

Glad you got it figured out. Judging by the pic you posted it's going to be a sick 300. Be sure to post pics when you get it completed.

I'm curious how well the flex bars work on the 300 too