Making own A-arms

[dannyco09]

I am going to make some a-arms in my welding class. The a-arms are for an 06' trx 250ex. I'm trying to replicate these a-arms (http://www.amstarmanufacturing.com/images/Fixed_Ball_Joint_A-Arms.jpg) . I have all the materials for the a-arms. I'm going to use 1" thick steel pipe. Do any of you have any suggestions on the length? Maybe 2'' longer than stock? What should I weld it with, mig or tig? Is this actually a good idea, or will the a-arms be too weak? I would appreciate any advice.

[mcracer]

Sounds like a fun project! Make sure you are using good material and if you widen them make sure you keep the geometry right for your shock length. Maybe call some aftermarket companys like Houser and tell them what you are doing and they may be willing to give you some tips. Have fun and post pics when finished.

[dannyco09]

I hope I make the a-arms right, it will be a challenge making them exact. I just hope they come out good. Some welding teachers are making a sand rail in the class. They already made the frame and mounted the engine. I saw the sand rail a-arms and wondered if I could make some a-arms too. I asked my welding teacher and he said that he would help me. I just hope it doesn't take too long.
If he can make sand rail a-arms, there is no reason he can't help me out with some atv a-arms. I just need to know how much longer I should make them.

would it be possible to extend the stock a-arms? Cut them and put tubing inside then outside an inch or w/e you want more and weld it up? Or would it be too weak in that spot and break or bend easy?

[dannyco09]

I don't know about extending the stock a-arms. I imagine that they would bend or break, considering the trx 250ex stock a-arms are pretty thin. But since I will use 1 inch thick steel tubing, I think it will be strong enough to make them a couple of inches wider. Maybe extending the a-arms on a quad with thicker a-arms would work. But since I have all the material and tools to make the a-arms, I guess making thicker ones would be best.

[dannyco09]

I started making the arms. I have all the materials ready and have already bended some tubes. I already bought some hiem style ball joints from american star that I'm going to use. I'll post some pics later.

[300extreme#8]

make each side +2 or +3, i think it would almost beat the cause of making some a-arms if your not trying to improve your ride;)

[dannyco09]

Yeah, I'm going to make the a-arms 2.5 inches longer than stock. I'll have to buy some new tie rods though. Almost got the two top ones finished today. I'm going to work on them more later.

[Young_Gun1]

just be careful with the shock mount location as it will determine alot of things
especially with how stiff your shocks are

[dannyco09]

I was thinking about buying some trx 400ex shocks, but I have not found any cheap ones. I know there is a thread on this forum where I can find some, so I might look into that. It would be possible to use the 400's shocks, wouldn't it? And would the ride be too stiff?

[dannyco09]

Never mind, mounting the 400 shocks on the 250 would be impossible without the diamond j customs shock conversion kit.

[dezertfreak]

In your first thread you said you are gonna use "pipe". Do not use pipe, use tubing. Pipe will bend because it was designed to flow liquid through it. It was not deisgned to be a structural material.

And I hope your teacher is not using "pipe" to build a sandrail.

[dannyco09]

Originally posted by dezertfreak
In your first thread you said you are gonna use "pipe". Do not use pipe, use tubing. Pipe will bend because it was designed to flow liquid through it. It was not deisgned to be a structural material.

And I hope your teacher is not using "pipe" to build a sandrail.

I meant to say tubing. The material is pretty strong. I would say it is way stronger than the material used for the stock a-arms.

[Swiper77]

I would recommend chromoly not mild steel you will be disappointed!

[dannyco09]

Here is the progress so far. I haven't had a lot of time to work on them. I just tacked the bottom ones, so they're not close to being finished because I still have to add the shock mount, but the top arms are welded. I just need to do minor details to the top ones, and they'll be done.

http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss338/danny42582/042809_18571.jpg?t=1240971908

[Colby@C&DRacing]

From here they look pretty good

[Scro]

Definately better than what I was expecting...good job.

[crablaster]

looking good nice job

[dannyco09]

It's taking a while because I can only work on them in class, but they are looking pretty good. I had to buy some heim joints, threaded tubing, and tie rods, but it's still way cheaper than buying some a-arms.

[jcs003]

nice work. start taking orders for other bikes???

[dannyco09]

This was just something to do in my welding class, but several people have asked me to make some for them, which I have considered, but doing this takes a lot of time. Maybe if I had all the equipment I could make some in a weekend, but since I'm using the machines from the college, they take a while to make.

[jordan 23]

hey man i sent you a pm but you have never replied

[dannyco09]

I test rode my quad this weekend, and it felt way better than before. I took it to a desert track that I had been to when it was stock, and the improvement was 100% noticeable. It handles beautifully and looks great too. Before the quad would always bounce back and forth on the whoops, but now it handles great. I also jumped pretty big and not once did I bottom out, even though I have the same shocks. I tried to give it as much abuse as I could, but the arms passed the test. Now the front is wider than the back by like 4 inches, but I still have the stock balloon tires. I'm going to get some new tires, but I don't know what to chose, ITP Holeshots, or Maxxis Razr. I also don't know if putting rear wheel spacers will be such a good idea. But if it looks wide enough with the wider tires, they won't be necessary. I'll post some pics up later to show how they came out. But I might wait until I get the new tires, (so the balloon tires won't ruin the look).

[jcs003]

you must of did a good job:) you should get an aftermarket axle to accentuate the better/wider front end.

[TAZ450r]

nice!!
now when you are done whit the aarms, take it to the next level and build a quad from scratch....http://www.atvforum.se/Forum/index.php?topic=11482.0
it's awsome!!

i have started to considering building longtravle arms for my 450r, but ther is so much work now so i don't have the time:ermm:

[SET THE STAGE]

holy ****. reading this thread i was thinking "man, not another kid wanting to rig his bike to be wider" but those look hella legit

props to you, sir. keep it up. it'd be very easy to make some extra cash on the side building those if done right. just saying

[dannyco09]

Here of some pictures of the finished project. It was +5 inches overall. Front went from 39 in. to 44 in. I also need to widen the back and get new tires.
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2495/dsc00254y.jpg
I hate those rear balloon tires!
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/277/dsc00253m.jpg

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5977/dsc00255n.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9208/dsc00257.jpg

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4959/dsc00256.jpg

[SET THE STAGE]

wow! that is incredible. mad props to you.

[dannyco09]

Thanks. It was pretty fun actually making something in my welding class. Now that I'm finished, I have nothing to do.:(