My from the Ground Up Blaster Build

[ZSK]

The idea of this build came about in May 2008 but it really started taking shape March of 2009. In the beginning of May '08 my enclosed trailer and quads were stolen. In it was my YFZ and my wife's 250ex. I replaced the YFZ with a Predator but wasn't able to find a nice little quad for my wife so we made the decision to build one. This is far from an all out build, but there are some areas I refuse to compromise on. The goal was to build a good starter quad that handled and stopped well, while being easy to ride and could still be fun for me. While also being able to use quite a few parts that we had laying around.

So, I contacted an old friend who had parted out his race Blaster and had some parts left over. The only catch was I live in North Florida and he is in Northern Michigan. In March of '09 I was finally able to get the parts while delivering a Cannondale to another friend in the Detroit/Flint area. A couple shots of the "Purple People Eater" as it was raced.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/100_0226.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/100_0234.jpg

Here's a couple shots of the parts I started with.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Start1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Start2.jpg

[ZSK]

At this time we were living in a two bedroom apartment with no garage, so the build started really only progressed so far. I spent a lot of time cleaning parts, aquiring parts for the build, and planning the build in my head. I created a shopping list and went about finding the parts at a price that would keep my wife and I happy. One benefit to the apartment was an outside patio that gave me some room to work on things that were a little noisy or dirty for inside work.

For the rear shock I decided to use a rebulit YFZ unit I was lucky enough not to lose in the trailer. The YFZ Rear shock is popular mod in the blaster crowd but the ride height always comes out much too high for me. Since it was already a dual rate conversion I used that to lower the ride height. In addition, The lower mount needed to be trimmed. I cut the lower fork leaving about and inch of material to drill a new mounting hole. Next the upper mount had to be addressed. I ground the outside diameter of an A-arm pivot bushing and cut it into two peices to adapt the YFZ rear shock to the Blaster frame.

Here you can see the upper bolt, an exploded view of the shock, and the assembled shock

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/upperbolt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/explodedshock.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/assembledshock.jpg

With the rear taken care of I moved onto the front. To address the handling issue, the Blaster deffinately needed to be wider. I read that YFZ shocks could be used with +3 A-arms and already having a pair of 4:1 wheels, I started the search for some +3 A-arms. In the mean time I managed to find a good deal on some YFZ front shocks that just needed a little cleaning.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/FrontShockapart.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/FrontshockPair.jpg

[ZSK]

I ended up with some +2 Burgard A-arms that I got a good deal on so to make up the width I used some ITP 3:2 wheels. Suspension wasn't the only concern with handling so the brakes were addressed. After some searching for popular methods for converting the front to hydraulic discs I settled on Banshee Spindles, Hubs, Discs, and Calipers. For the rear brakes I decided to try and make my own caliper mount and use a caliper from a Z400, same as many many quads out there.

Along the way we came up with our color scheme. My wife being a Michigan State graduate you can guess what we came up with. I found a great deal on some "like new" OEM white plastic but was less than thrilled when it arrived. It had been painted red at one time and was generally beat to snot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/FenderBefore.jpg

I put about in about 40 hours of sanding and polishing the body work with some great results, that I covered up most of it with a graphics kit.

One last requirement I had for myself was that the wheels could be interchanged between my Predator and the Blaster. The Predator has Rath XC Rear hubs that convert it from a 4/156 to a 4/110 Honda/Suzuki Bolt pattern. The fronts were 4/156 Yamaha pattern already. I watched the forums for some 300ex/400ex rear hubs that I read fit the Blaster axle. After getting pair and they didn't fit I found a different solution. I found some Lonestar YFZ rear hubs in 4/110 pattern for not much more than the OEM honda hubs. Here is one wheel setup, more on that later also.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Rearwheelsetup.jpg

[ZSK]

Onto August '09. We bought and moved into our house and more importantly I now had a two car garage so the nitty gritty of the build could take off. I cleaned and painted the frame, fabbed and welded some tabs back on that were cut off in the previous racing days because they weren't needed, and welded on a mount for the nerf bars. Here's a shot of the frame ready to go and one of the tabs for a heal guard.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Frame.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/tab2.jpg

While I still had the borrowed welder I set about making the rear caliper mount. I setup a pattern and welded and ground six peices of 1/4" steel into a caliper mount. After some grinding to clean up the welds and a little primer here's the outcome.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/CaliperMount.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Calipermount3.jpg

Here is the nerf bar and all mounted up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/nerfmount.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/NerfMountDone.jpg

[ZSK]

While searching for a motor I stumbled onto a complete blaster on Craigslist for cheaper than most motors were going for.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Donor1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Donor2.jpg

I didn't care about looks because I was only going to pull the heart out of this one to use in my build. The motor was didn't run so I went to work. I narrowed it down to a bad plug wire and had it running before pulling it out of the chassis. I pulled the top end and found a fresh rebulit motor with a new clutch in the bottom end. So I put some new gaskets in and put it back together. I managed to sell the donor quad; sans motor, carb, exhaust, and wiring harness, for what I paid.

[ZSK]

Enough story time and more pictures right?

Onto more of the build pictures.

New Chain and Sprockets OEM Gearing 13/40

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/ChainandSprockets.jpg

Chain slide and roller kit

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/ChainSlide.jpg

Upper shock mount installed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/UpperRearShockMount.jpg

Couple shots of the rolling chassis picture with the ITP Wheel setup

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Roller.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Roller2.jpg

[ZSK]

Not wanting to pay for replacement nerf nets I decided to make my own. I purchased some nylon strapping and some nuts and bolts from the hardware store, a little time and less than $10 I had new nets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/NerfNet.jpg

I also cheaped out here and made my own lock nut. Drilled and tapped for a 5mm set screw

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/DrilledandTappedLockNut.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/CheapLockNut.jpg

Some detail shots of the brake plate and rear caliper setup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/RearBrake.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/BrakePlate2.jpg

[ZSK]

Finished shots with a full mods list. After my wife saw the wheels and tires from my Predator mounted up I don't think I'll get them back. I'll get some better pictures outside when I get a chance.

Chassis | Suspension | Controls:

Frame: Stock
A Arms: Burgard +2
Swingarm: Stock
Steering Stem: Stock
Axle: Stock
Carrier: Stock
Locknut: Stock with set screw
Hubs F|R: Banshee/ Lonestar YFZ
Bars: Longhorn with Turner fatbar adapters
Throttle/Clutch Lever: Banshee/YFZ
Grips: ODI Lockon
Nerfs: Banshee Pro Armor narrowed
Bumper: AC
Grab Bar: Stock
Front Shocks: YFZ
Rear Shock: YFZ dual spring
Brake Lines: YFZ
Rotors F|R: Banshee OEM
Rims F|R: ITP 3:2 or Hiper Non beadlock 4:1/ITP Baja or Hiper Dual beadlock
Tires F|R: Razr II/ Razr II or Razr I



Body:

Plastic: Stock
Graphics|Seat Cover: Unknown Stock
Handguards: Acerbis
Bar Pad: None
Fuel Tank: Stock



Engine|Drive System:

Cylinder|Head: Stock
Bore & Stroke: Stock
Displacement: Stock
Cam: None
Carburetor: Stock
Air Filter|Box: Stock replacement filter
Pipe|Silencer: Stock
Clutch|Plates: Stock
Gearing F|R: Stock 13/40
CDI|Killswitch: Pro Design kill switch YFZ Key switch
Cooling: AIR

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Front.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/Side.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/zk91/AngledSide.jpg

[JAG Motosports]

Looks great! You put a lot of work into it!

[dave5.0]

Hey could I get you to put up some more pics of the plate you made for the rear master cylinder mount? What was wrong with the Honda rear hubs that they didn't fit? Always heard they would. I was just getting ready to buy some for my sons conversion.

[headache]

dang thats a very nice blaster! great job. I love the color scheme too.

[ZSK]

Originally posted by dave5.0
Hey could I get you to put up some more pics of the plate you made for the rear master cylinder mount? What was wrong with the Honda rear hubs that they didn't fit? Always heard they would. I was just getting ready to buy some for my sons conversion.

The spline count is the same but the axle OD is too large or the hub ID is too small. If you can find a well used pair of hubs they'll probably fit. I've tried three pairs over the years, and only three hubs fit freely. They could be pressed on and off but won't just slip on. It's kind of a luck of the draw deal.

The rear mount was made by my buddy when he had the frame. It looks like is spaces the master cylinder down for a better angle on the brake pedal.