New Arens EX/CRF Frame!

[Dave400ex]

I got this picture through email from a member on here. I talked to John Arens and he said to post it and he would say if it was really his or not. If it is, it looks very nice!

[d-14 rider 27]

thats kinda wierd. its not a crf frame, i can tell by the bottom motor mount, and the head stay is in the wrong spot. it looks to be for a 400ex motor, but then again the upright tubes are positioned just like mxbubs made his yz frame to make room for the rad. and what are those extra bolt holes below the pivot bolt hole??? i guess we gotta wait for john to let us know

[Dave400ex]

I'm not sure if it's for the CRF also or not. John told me to call the thread New Arens EX/CRF Frame so I did. I can't wait to see what he has to say!

[d-14 rider 27]

me either

[dawzie]

Dang - it's been almost two hours and no reply from John yet. I really need his Ex/crf frame by March to have it ready to race by the end of March !!

[Glamis400ex]

Relax Dawzie,

He doesn't live on here like the rest of us.

Glamis

[Dave400ex]

He will reply soon enough. Just keeping it at the top so he doesn't miss it!

[Sparks425Ex]

It looks a little weird!!!


Keeping it at the top.

[d-14 rider 27]

bump

[Jnine]

Hello guys:

How do you guys find some of this stuff? Guess there are no secrets in cyber space!

That is the new frame we are working on. I know some of you have speculated on what this frame will fit, and I promise you it WILL FIT both the EX & the CRF motor. The angle of the drawing doesn't give away all the secrets, but it is modeled off the stock 400EX frame. I wanted all those components to fit because most of us already have them, and the price is very reasonable compared to the 250R stuff. We did have to make room for the radiator, and that is why you don't recognize some of the tube locations. You will like the finished product however.

Talk to you later.

[QuadTrix6]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :cool:

[Sparks425Ex]

Very Sweet.

[jmoney45]

If it fits both motors put me on the list for one of those! I am dying to start a project.

[Dave400ex]

That is great news! If we buy it now we could still use the EX motor, but then when everything else just starts killing it at the track and we are to slow, we could just buy the CRF. Great idea. When are the Frames going to be done?

[dawzie]

This news is better than hot cocoa with marshmellows !! Where do I send a check ??

[Mxbubs]

John, the stem mount will bend like this,I know. Maybe bring the gusset all the way up? Also, I would feel better about shock tower gussets. Also, that is a guess where the radiator mounts would go.

I know what you are going to say "The frame is made great, it doesnt need gussets".......

I know you know, that has been said before. Anyway, great frame, if the price is right, and I can shove a yz motor in there, count me in.

[dawzie]

In a earlier post I think he said NO yzf's :(

[Dave400ex]

Yeah I think he said the YZF won't fit in this frame. Well at least they are not making the frame to fit the YZF. Maybe he will make a frame just for the Yamaha!

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

The frame will probably look very much like the CAD file you see here, and this image is about a week old. There have been a few additions to what you see here. As for the gussetts, remember that the stock frame is a very low grade of mild steel, and the mechanical capabilities of the material we are using is more than twice as strong. (In some cases 3X) When you see the frame in person you'll understand some of the things we've done. Actually we used some of the knowledge we gained from 250R's, and since we've made over 500 of them we have a pretty good idea of what works & what doesn't. Nice how you could draw the gussetts in however.

Talk to you later.

[Mxbubs]

Originally posted by dawzie
In a earlier post I think he said NO yzf's :(

If a 400ex or cr450 motor will go in there, a yz will. The top head stay mount will need to come back about 2" and the bottom center mount will need to come back about 2".Thats welding I can have done very easy. If he utilizeds the stock oil rezzy off the 400ex, which it looks to do,and if he uses the stock radiator dimensons, this will work awesome.

[dawzie]

MXhubs - I beleive you are right. I think there is something about the swing arm bolt. I know when we had our Lonestar EX frame modified for the YZF there where some shims and a special bolt if I remember right.

JRD makes a awsome oversize "R" radiator, maybe that will work in this frame also.

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

We did make this frame to accept the stock 400EX oil resevoir. About the radiator though, we are checking on several options, including making our own. It all depends on cooling capacity. On top of that, we're not going to pay somebody $300 for a radiator. Before we do that we'll make our own.

[dawzie]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I like the way you think. I know with our YZF, a stock "R" radiator didn't give us enough cooling on hot days. Just a little input here. We also had a hard time rigging up the oil cooler lines. Kinking, bending a adapting is a hassel. Air box is the next biggest hassel. If we are able to use the stock air box, we need to be able to puchase a air tube that will go from the carb to the air box when we use bike motors.

[Mxbubs]

Originally posted by dawzie
Ohhhhhhhhhhh, I like the way you think. I know with our YZF, a stock "R" radiator didn't give us enough cooling on hot days. Just a little input here. We also had a hard time rigging up the oil cooler lines. Kinking, bending a adapting is a hassel. Air box is the next biggest hassel. If we are able to use the stock air box, we need to be able to puchase a air tube that will go from the carb to the air box when we use bike motors.

Did you see my airbox setup? As I am sure you know dawzie, the airboot to carb setup can be a HEADACHE if not done right. To this day, mine has never came off or given me any trouble. Also, did you see the way my oil lines are done? To this day, I have not had ANY leaks.

John, what I meant was I hope you use the stock mounting points, so us guys that already have bought 300$+ radiators can still use them. There is a company called griffinrad.com that can custom build a radiator to fit a quad for around 300$ retail. Im sure those guys can cut you a deal since you are a dealer.

The swingarm pivot bolt on the yz motor is slightly bigger than the EX and R bolt. To use the EX or R bolt on this setup, I knocked out the pivot bolt bushings (there are 2, its a split bushing) in the yz motor bolt hole, and replaced them with a single bushing with a tighter OD.

I highly reccommend an oversize radiator for they YZ or CR motor.

[dawzie]

Hey MX, give me a link to the pic's of your set-up. I thought I saw them some where's, ohhhhh, I just remembered how to find it.

[Dave400ex]

John do you have any news on the Long Travel A-Arms?

[Jnine]

Hello guys:

I will be working on the radiator issues this week, and we have several options to try for this one.

You are right about the swingarm pivot bolt fromt he YZ. It's been at least a couple years since I built one, but I am quite sure that is a 17mm pivot bolt. I think I made a sleeve for it when I did that project.

Back to the long travel stuff. We will probably be making the ball joints and some of the other machined parts this week. Thats the plan anyway. It is going to be a fair amount of machining however since I am going to make 1000 of the ball joints to start with, and tons of the other parts as well, including the machined pieces for the frame you see above.

Talk to you later.

[d-14 rider 27]

is the crf frame ready other than radiator situation? did you decide to go with 19" shocks on the long travel setup?

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

Both the CRF & EX Frame setups like you see in the drawing are about 95% ready to go. There are a few things that we have to do for manufacturing, but thats it.

As for the shocks on the new A-Arm design, we finalized that Saturday, and we have a design for the standard length shock, and one for the Long Travel shock. In fact, our long travel shock goes through more stroke than any other design on the market. That's very good for valving!

Talk to you later.

[forum]

jrd's rad is made by griffin. I just bought one

[forum]

pic

[DirtDiggler]

John told me in a pm that he's going to offer a kit to go from ex to crf and it requires no cutting or welding.

[Dave400ex]

Well good to hear the Frame and A-Arms are about done. I would like to get a LT setup next Fall/Winter, if all goes well. Isn't Elka working with you to setup the Shocks better?
Also that will be awesome to be able to just buy the Conversion and bolt the CRF right in when the EX is just to slow!

[Jnine]

Hello again:

Elka will be working with us on the suspension for the new frame and the A-Arms. That includes the standard length A-Arms and the Long Travel stuff. Basically we had to get the design details finalized first. Saturday we completed the desing and now we can forward that data to the guys at Elka, and they can calculate valving based on that info. In fact, we're going to have a specialist is their shocks here for service and techincal info, (we'll probably even offer new shocks as well) and he will be heading up there in a couple weeks to work with them on the new stuff and learn their system. No more guessing! It will be the best way to offer the riders a total package.

Talk to you later.

[forum]

SO i take it elka is your shock of choice. well built they are(yoda voice)
so john what machine(s) do you ride?? whos your favorite engine builder?

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

What do I ride? A clapped out 87 Suzuki Lt230 Quad Squeaker with the sideways kick starter! (LOL) We called them "Quadsqueakers" because every time the rider hit the brakes the rotor would make such a high pitched sound all the neighborhood dogs would start barking. (No vents in the rotor for dirt to get out)

Just kidding! My main quad is an "R" that I built everything on. I did race that this past spring, and then it went to a NASA research facility for some exhaust & silencer testing that we're still working on. (We're working on more than frames!) It's a pretty nice ride! After that I raced a Cannondale, and an EX this summer. The Cannondale was probably the best I have ever been on, (At least for me) and the suspension was awesome. This spring I'll probably be on an LTZ400 for Cross Country, then back to my "R" for motocross. I like riding a little bit of everything.

My favorite motor builder... I've never had a Duncan, TC, or Sparks motor, but I know they all have their strong points. I do have to say that the current motor on my "R" is an LRD motor. I'm pretty happy with that one. I also still have an 86 200X three wheeler in great shape that I like to ride through the woods. It's a fun trail bike

Talk to you later.

well what about the set-up for other shocks. theres no way elkas will ever touch a quad i own. i have seen them set-up wrong way to many times. i am gonna be running pep long travel shocks and herrmann a-arms. but since your frame will be stock geometry it shouldn't effect the original valving for the stock frame right.

[Dave400ex]

Well hopefully with Arens and Elka working so close the setups will be pretty much dialed in when they leave the factory. You really should give Elka a try...

i can't..once they are on my list theycan't come back. that also includes hyper wheels,anything lsr besides their axle. i have more but i am to tierd to think.

[Dave400ex]

Yeah Durablue and eveything LSR but the axle is on my list. Not real happy with my K&N filter either.

yep. dg too. i might run the frame guards. the ones that go by the foot pegs. but i dunno yet

[jgfarmsracer]

hope you put tubes instead of flat iron on the top stem mount

[Mxbubs]

Originally posted by jgfarmsracer
hope you put tubes instead of flat iron on the top stem mount

I was thinking the same thing.

[Jnine]

Hello guys:

I'm not sure where you want tubes instead if "flat iron", but remember that the materials we are using have 3 times the strength of the original stock material, and it has much better elongation. (The ability to bend before failing)

If you are talking about the top of the frame where the stem bolts on, don't worry about it. We have two of the best riders in Michigan working on this. These guys can push an EX frame as hard as anybody, and they have not seen a failure there yet. It will hold as designed. Besides, it is very easy to over design a frame and actually make matters worse. In fact, when I look at some other frame designs on the market (Not just EX) I know why they have troubles. We've worked to hard and long to give them a free education on that however.

[d-14 rider 27]

but remember that the materials we are using have 3 times the strength of the original stock material, and it has much better elongation. (The ability to bend before failing) I was thinkin the same thing. small stuff like that, you can find a tig welder and have it done yourself. John, you should have one more person on your crew, i can wreck ***** too :D

[Foxrage]

You guys to have more faith in john we all know he knows what hes doing but extra safty precautions are good.

[Mxbubs]

Its not the riding hard I am worried about. Flip the bike over one good time, and that part will bend backwards. Im 10000000% sure of this John. If you do it like the EX frame with a flat piece, instead of a piece of tubing, it will bend, even chromoly.

How do I know this? I have conducted some test of my own. Take your 3/16", or 1/8" chromoly piece you intend to use, set it up in a vise so you can put some pull on it with a scale, and see how much weight it will take before it bends.

[Jnine]

Well that sounds easy enough to fix.... Don't do that!

[d-14 rider 27]

guys, dont worry about it, i know john personally. he is a perfection nazi, and he knows what hes doin, if he releases it, itll be good. if you dont like the design, lsr sells the same thing if you think they're better.

[Ben]

Guys, John knows exactly what he is doing - he isn't the most respected and trusted premium chassis builder in the industry for nothing ;)

Ben

[Dave400ex]

Yeah I'm sure John does know what he is doing. Also I have flipped my 400 backwards down a hill and over many times and so far the only thing happened was bent Bars and a barely bent Stem. Once we see the final product I'm sure it will be the best EX frame out for sure. I know I would not run a LSR frame on my 400....

[bongwater200]

Originally posted by Mxbubs
Its not the riding hard I am worried about. Flip the bike over one good time, and that part will bend backwards. Im 10000000% sure of this John. If you do it like the EX frame with a flat piece, instead of a piece of tubing, it will bend, even chromoly.

How do I know this? I have conducted some test of my own. Take your 3/16", or 1/8" chromoly piece you intend to use, set it up in a vise so you can put some pull on it with a scale, and see how much weight it will take before it bends.


WTF, dude........... You've been watching too much "Bill Nye the Science Guy!" Don't worry about Consumer Reports calling you any time soon to do product testing.

Oh, and by the way, Seth, try not flipping the bike over. Your lap times will decrease tenfold.

PB

[Sick0]

I think whats john is saying is if you make that part of the frame too strong another part of the frame will bend or break thats alot harder to fix.
If you gusset the steering stem too much it will bend the main tubes in the frame which is a lot worst then the steering mount.

[Mxbubs]

Originally posted by Sick0
I think whats john is saying is if you make that part of the frame too strong another part of the frame will bend or break thats alot harder to fix.
If you gusset the steering stem too much it will bend the main tubes in the frame which is a lot worst then the steering mount.

If the stem mount doesnt bend, the bars will. Ill take a bent set of handle bars over a bent frame. The question is "Why not gusset it, or use tubing?" There is NO logical answer other than it will cost the builder a few bucks more. Im telling you guys, I knwo what I am talking about on this one.:eek:

[Mxbubs]

Like this.

[Sick0]

Well if you get an after market steering stem and the cool tag handle bars thats are strong as ****, and then you reinforce the **** out of the steering mount, now whats your weak link in the system now. the mains tubes of your frame or something else thats would be a lot worst than the
sterring stem.

Another things is, it wouldn't cost thats much to use tubes or a stronger design. I don't think he try saving a dollar worth of metal in such a high stressed area. So when you crash and the frame is bent **** you either want him to fix it or at least have a bad name, either one would cost more in the long run.

Plus I beleive him to be a smart guy that know more than how to weld some tubes togather but how to design the frame.

[Dave400ex]

Well Sick0 has a point. If all the Steering stuff is strong, that's gonna be hard on the Frame, but the Frame will be strong too so what will be the weak area? I would want the Bars to bend over a Frame or Stem.....

[Ben]

I have talked with John Arens about this very subject - what should be the weak link of the chassis; and he assured me that he designs his steering stems to be very strong, yet to be the weakest link of the chassis system because as any racer knows - you want the stem to bend before the frame does ;) He has worked out all the mathmatical formulas and equations and designed a trick stem that is incredibly strong, BUT that will bend itself first, in the event of a crash, instead of bending the much more expensive frame. :D

Ben

[bongwater200]

Originally posted by Mxbubs
If the stem mount doesnt bend, the bars will. Ill take a bent set of handle bars over a bent frame. The question is "Why not gusset it, or use tubing?" There is NO logical answer other than it will cost the builder a few bucks more. Im telling you guys, I knwo what I am talking about on this one.:eek:



We are all amazed at the bounty of your vast knowledge overflowing into this forum like the powerful waters of Niagra. Tell me, Mr. Wizard........... How much will YOUR frame sell for when you put all of the other manufacturers out of business, starting with Mr. Arens. How many frames and suspension components will you GIVE away at the awards banquet?

You claim that there is "NO logical answer" for the reasons that Mr. Arens builds his frame the way he does. Given the history of Arens Bros, Inc, I would think that quite possibly you don't understand "logic" as well as he does?

Please put me on your list of the first people to get one of YOUR chassis when you decide that you can no longer handle the outpouring of idiotic ideas from the lackluster minds of people such as Laeger, Walsh, Roll, Fisher, and Arens.

Thank you. Please pull up to the next window.

PB

[bongwater200]

Ya know........ I wish we'd see more posts on here from people with some welding/machining/mechanical/engineering background instead of all these friggin 17 year olds with all their vast knowledge of everything.

PB

[Dave400ex]

Now there are many younger people on here like myself that don't act like we know everything. I learn something everyday from this site...

Ya know I am starting to like this thread, a whole lot.

Think about it for a sec. Its very imformative yet uniquely entertaining.

Only on EXriders.com

:blah :D :cool: :rolleyes: :macho

[d-14 rider 27]

first off, mxbubs, you bring a lot of useful info to this site, and i think you know your stuff. you did a nice job on the conversion. you know the weak points of the frame, but i think john is gonna know more, let him build this frame the way he wants, if its not something you like, you dont gotta buy it. john knows his stuff, were not dealing with some crappy mild steel here. and as for the stuff what makes a punk, whats wrong with parents being supportive of a sport that their kid is in. my dad sure is, we just got my new trailer today too. sometimes i think my dad is more into racing than i am. and i admit im spoiled, but if thats a problem for someone you dont gotta talk to me. i think the situation of a punk being spoiled, what makes a punk is someone spoiled and refuses to admit it.

[Foxrage]

Im not choosing sides but i think mxbubs isnt trying to change anything just recomend something different that would help. But I think we should all trust John with his fancy math problems.( i hate algerbra 2 class so i would hate to see those equations.)Lets just hope the stem bends before the frame.

Arens frames aren't know as the million mile frames because there junk....:macho

Every review I've read on his frames have said lots of good things..I've never heard anything negative about them..:D

[Dave400ex]

Rico hit the nail on the head.....

[Wired]

hey john hurry up and get one of those frames done and i'll see if i can take a few 100+ foot long hits :cool: but i'll trust ya it will hold up ;) what im really interested in is your LT arms. i'll be building something new pretty soon and would be awsome to get an arens bro's setup!

[Ben]

Guys - this thread got out of hand. Any more posts off topic, or flames, will cause this thread to be closed. Personal attacks are not allowed on EXriders, by anyone - see Rule #1.

Ben

[bongwater200]

Bubs....... I read your last post before it got deleted. You have to understand, man, that nobody INSULTED you any more than you insulted. I'm sorry if you took things wrong, but if you look back on things, you've been slinging as much of it as anyone.

Lets all just relax, sit back, and have a nice tall glass of Gatorade.

Ben........ sorry to keep you so busy today! I promise I'll play nice from now on!

Cheerio!

[Guy400]

.

[Ben]

MXbubs - I already sent you a warning in private. I told you both to quit arguing in this thread. That is the bottom line. I didn't single you out, and I won't get into who said what first, that is extremely childish. This site is about the dispersion of knowledge, and does not condone personal attacks by anyone. You just can't let it go can you? Bongwater even apologized to you. :rolleyes: This is your last warning, you need to calm down and accept the peace resolution. If you don't like the clean, information filled, environment we offer here - take your bad attitude elsewhere. We don't settle our arguments here with personal attacks ;)

Ben

[Dave400ex]

Yeah I think everybody needs to simmer down. MXBubs has some good info and I don't want to see him go.

!!!!!!!!!!BACK TO THE ARENS EX/CRF FRAME!!!!!!!!!

[Sick0]

For your info. I'm not 17 years old. I'm a certified welder, have machine experance, and have
design and blue print experance. I can't say I know as much stuff as john or orther poeple thats have alot moreyears in this field, but I know enough to hold my own.

But I think bongwatet200 was a little out of line. on mxbud

Ooooooo noooooo here I go.

C'mon everyone lets sit back take a breather relax a little and not get upset if someone flips out a little after you very nicely call them a complete idiot in very many words right here in front of everyone.

I admit I may have missed Bubs deleted reply but he was obviously antaganized, attacted and flamed for offering his opinion which I would welcome as much as anyone elses.

Remember this is supposed to be an exchange of thoughts and ideas and who is to say which ones dont belong? If we were to discourage difference of opinion what would we learn? why would we think?

So lets get back to frames and suspension etc and not get off track.

[Sick0]

I hate when everybody start to flame poeple. You can disagree in a respectful manner. You don't have to call him an idiot or any other thing when his just pointing his view on something.

[forum]

ok Back to topic.

John have you built a crf before?? If you did what size of rad did you use?? something similar to what i posted??? Also the oil cooler rezzy seems to be alot lower in the frame, that should lower the center of gravity, not by much but every little bit helps. but will this get in the way of nerf bar monts?? or are you going to offer nerf bar mounts already attachted to the frame?? Also the yzf engine wouldn't be hard to get in that frame. use a different head stay mount (no frame mods are necesary for this one just change the actual head stay) but the lower engine mount will have to be moved but thats no big problem. the bigest thing is the rad and you have solved it. if i still have the machine im building in a few years im sure i'll buy a frame from you.. What stock frame is a stronger frame, The z400 or 400ex. I heard the Z frame is very weak

[d-14 rider 27]

forum, the crf doesn't have a oil rezzy, its a wet sump and only holds a lil over a half of a quart of oil :eek: i heard the kawazuki frames suck too, but its a more competitive machine with the liquid cooling and all, unless you do what you, mxbubs, and i did, used the bike motors:D . i think a 426 motor fits a lot better than the crf other than fighting with oil rezzy. on crf the top left frame tube needs to be cut off the rear tube that the shock is mounted to, and moved over so its flush with the outside of the frame, otherwise the valve cover hits. and the yz is a bit taller than the crf and the carb comes out at a nicer spot, crf is a real b!tch to get an air boot lined up i had part of a intake system from a john deere 410 backhoe lol.

[Dale512]

I thought the CRF dirtbike holds its oil in the frame spars ala. Cannondale?

I could be wrong........I just remember reading that somewhere

[d-14 rider 27]

nope, i got one, its all in the motor.

[smith]

d14 is right.....CRF oil is in the motor only, YZ400 and YZ426 in the frame, and new YZ450 is in the motor only now too.

[dawzie]

Hey smith - I have a yzf426 now. Do you know if the new wr450's are here yet?? and are they going to a wet sump?? I quess now we will have to figure out how to hook up the oil cooler to them lol

It would be great if we could get Arens to make a Yamaha kit also.

I can see why he would keep it Honda and all.

[Mxbubs]

So we know the front mount, and rear pivot bolt can stay the same for all 3 motors. The front bottom mounts can work with just changing mounting ears. The top can even work for both the yz and ex motor. On the yz motor, all you need is to weld tabs about 3" back from the stock ex tabs, and make a head stay. The bottom center interchangable? Im open for suggestions?:D


Mr. Bongwater, I went back and look at other threads that you opened up a can of flame on me because you disagreed with me. So you can go *&*$*#&@*. Ben, you can search ALL my threads, I have NEVER just started insulting and wtf-ing just because I disagreed with someone. I try to help, I dont want to see anyone get scammed, or waste time or money. If that WTF attitude is what you prefer for this site, then he's your man.

No disrespect intended Ben, I know you have a job to do.

[Jnine]

Boy you guys sure get worked up over a couple extra tubes & gussetts!

We'll probably go with the frame much like it is designed in the drawing you see. I've never seen a failure in that area, and I don't expect one now.

One reason for building it the way we are is for fixturing. You are right that it probably wouldn't make much difference in cost either way, but it is easier to fixture consistantly. I'll probably make that whole top a sub assembley that is finished first, and then drop it onto the main frames when they are put together. Plus when you start to add gussetts you have to watch out so that you don't get in the way of something else.

[Wired]

3 piece frame? wow, never even considered that before. that would probably work pretty spiffy wouldnt ya think?:D

[Dave400ex]

What do you mean by 3 piece frame?

[bongwater200]

Originally posted by WarriorMan
What do you mean by 3 piece frame?


I don't believe Mr. Arens is referring to a "3-piece frame". I believe he just means that these parts are fixtured and fabricated seperately and then welded together on the final product.

[Sick0]

Thats whats he means. He can make parts of the frame at one time. Then he will weld the frame togather at a latter date.

[Wired]

well it would be considered a 3 piece frame though if you think about it. you got the subframe being 1 piece. mainframe being another and the stearing column being the 3rd and last piece... thus being a "3 peice" frame. i understand that the frame will be welded together in the end, that makes no difference but what im referring to here is the same concept behind bmx handle bars. you can either get 2 peice bars, 4 piece or even 6 piece. the numbers representing the ammount of components welded together to make the final product. nothing to argue over :blah

[forum]

I know the crf450 doesn't have a oil cooler. I was talking about the 400ex

[Sick0]

When referr to BMX handlebars, The number of peices to make the handlebars is moreto describe whats style handlebars they are. The 2piece are more for Racing/ dirtjumping, 4piece freestyle, 6piece heavyduty like street.

You never heard about how many piece frames there is. And The make the frame kinda like how John does. The will make the frontend at one time then thaty will weld the back end.

[Jnine]

Interesting on the BMX bars being "6 pieces". I didn't realize they actually welded the bars together.

As for the frames, we definitely have a manufacturing method for them that has proven to be most efficient. I actually made them a couple different ways in the past, and the way we do it now cut the welding time by 1/2. Since this frame is going to be done 99% by robot, the time will be cut drastically again. This will be the best frame I've ever done - easily the most accurate and best quality. I am going to add a 7th axis to the robot for what they call "coordinated motion". That means it will actually be rolling the part back and forth AS it is welding. Kind of an expensive option, but it saves MEGA amounts of time. It also improves accuracy because the part never comes out of the fixture until it is done. Come to think of it, EVERY robot option is expensive. Most cost at least $20K. They must figure that if you want it for a robot, they can really make it hurt, and they usually do.

They must figure that if you want it for a robot, they can really make it hurt, and they usually do.

Nothing like "most" aftermarket quad parts. :rolleyes: :D

[Jnine]

GOOD POINT!

[Mxbubs]

You using an ABB robot?

[DirtDiggler]

Are you almost ready to open the website? I'm dyin' over here. lol

[Dave400ex]

Yeah the website should be about done....

[Jnine]

I was interested in the ABB robot. GM likes them, but when I looked at them at the tool show I accidently pinched my fingers in the door, and the salesman thought I was screwing around, so he gave me h**l. After that I decided I didn't want one anyway, so I bought a Fanuc. GM likes those too.

[RideRed04]

GM likes to give me free a-arms! :D

How is the new subframe and skids coming?

[Evan]

What program are you using to design these frames? Reg AutoCad or something else? Right now I am learning Autocad but I have no idea how I would make something like that. Do you measure the stock frame or just start from scratch?

[Tommy 17]

it looks almost like inventor... inventor is easy to make 3d objects...

he could also u 3d auto cadd though... but its really hard to do... your probably still in the 2d dayz...

[dawzie]

How about an update on the frames. I NEED one bad. Where do I send the money ??

[nuttynewt]

John, I'm also curios about what program you use for your CAD software. Possibly IronCAD? Or UG? I use Pro/Engineer every day and I'm fairly positive you don't use that. Anyway, do you use any type of analysis programs such as ANSYS or Mechanica to do stress analysis?

[1badcrf]

when will the frame be ready???

[Dave400ex]

Give Arens a call.....

[1badcrf]

whats there phone ##

[Dave400ex]

989-593-2599

[dawzie]

What is their web site address ?

[Guy400]

www.arensbros.com

[Crypted1]

their site should be up and running on Monday!!!!

[1badcrf]

I am calling 2morrow i wish john can give me some insight on this crf450 frame ..??????you guys think its better than houser???

[Crypted1]

Houser frams are very good frames. But they don't call Arens frames Million Mile frames for nothing.

[1badcrf]

when will there be more info aviable on arens frame.... i might just order his frame now and get thge engine and other parts later...its 250r geometry right??is that what its based after?? dose the crf450 just bolt right up??little help please

[dawzie]

Go back and read ALL of the posts in this topic. It's full of info you will need to know.

[Dave400ex]

The Arens frame is not 250r geometry. It is being made to accept all 400ex parts....

[MillerTime]

when you guys get your new frames give me call and I'll set -u- with some sweet plastic.

[Dave400ex]

That plastic is sweet. What brand is it? Do they offer full fronts instead of cut?

[MillerTime]

I'll have to get on the computer screen and make one,
I took the look of the fullbore plastic and made some mods
I sent the sales rep at fullbore my design, so maybe one day they will come up with it.

[MillerTime]

I posted the picture because I notice that the guy who is building the crf frame is some kind of cad guy, sorry can't remember your name. the millers are going down good, it would be kinda cool to have an aftermarket frame along with some diff. plastic.

[Dave400ex]

That is an awesome design. I like that then the Fullbore now. To bad it would be expensive for that....

[MillerTime]

If I had the equipment to make one: I would give you one to advertise, that's why I sent it to fullbore to give them some ideas.
not to get off the subject of the crf frame, that thing is decent can't wait to see you guys straddeling one.
for me, I'm a poor suka, I will have to watch.

[honda_racer1]

I just checked out the Arens website all their stuff looks clean. Im gonna cut and paste all of it and send it to my dad in Iraq so he can buy a frame as soon as he gets home.