Quad leaning/camber?

[ned02]

2001 trx 400, stock. quad leans to the right? any ideas?. Camber on left front tire leans in at the top,have tried adjusting tie rods.front right tire sits straight vertically. quads has a pull to the right and it seems that the right front shock might be a little weak,when i lift the right front end shock compresses a little, left side does not.Any ideas suggestions are appreciated.

[ned02]

No one has any ideas here?

[CJM]

Frame/arm/spindle/steering stem/bar might be bent or possibly bad shock.

You cant adjust camber at all on the stock setup.

[JOHNDOE83]

If it leans it may have been wrecked "with or without" your knowledge.

My 400 after a horrific accident had a bent swinger bolt, it was bent to the point where it wouldnt ride straight and creeped to the right.

When I tried removing the swinger bolt it wouldnt come out but could spin freely, with that I could see the bolt was bent then it would straighten out the swingarm as I turned the bolt.

I could not remove it without cutting it so I bolted it back together for a time when Ihad more money and time, I re bolted it back with the swinger in the most straight spot and it rode straight ever since.

Anyway, you could have a bent front end or a bad shock, possibly bent a-arms and a bad shock....etc.

[ned02]

The stem has a slight bend, A bad shock will cause it to bear in the direction of the bad shock? The quad has been tipped on it's side by son's twin friends who are about six foot 8 and thought they had to lean away from turns instead of into them(why they thought this I have no idea). How can I tell if the frame is bent?There is nothing obvious. I will check swinger bolt. I did notice that the right bottom A arm sits about 1/8 to 1/4 inch lower than the left where the arm connects to the "knuckle"? the thing that the tierods and caliper connect to. I relly appreciate your ideas thanks guy's.

[Stickman400]

I'd check and adjust the toe to get it back in line, then see if it still pulls. If it does then I'd assume either the shock is blown out and seeping down on that side (mine did the same thing after I hucked it over my 80' table one too many times) or the arms or spindles are bent (also had that happen on mine).

[ned02]

Well it was not the shock,I replaced both and still have the lean and pull to the right. I picked up the quad by each wheel and it was a little strange,left front came off the ground easily,right front felt like it weighed about 500 lbs, right rear also lifted kinda easy while the left rear also felt very heavy.it seemed the the right front and left rear were taking a lot of the weight of the quad,bent frame? any way to tell if an A arm is bent other than replacing? Have not checked the swinger bolt yet.

[CJM]

Bent frame more than likely. Measure it from the ground on as a flat a surface as possible

[ned02]

Will do, is there a cure for a bent frame or just live with it?

[CJM]

Not much you can do unless you can figure out a way to secure it and pull the frame into shape. Be easier finding antoher frame,t hey run about 300-500 bucks on ebay for ones with titles.

[ned02]

Thanks.

[81dasher81]

i would suggest either a different frame (just make sure its straight) or getting a set of fully adjustable a arms.. full flight sells them for about 350, and at every end there is a heim joint for full adjustment, to compensate for the frame being twisted

[ned02]

Thanks,I looked those up and eventually will probably go that route,for now he can compensate for the slight pull to the right.I am going through 4 trx 400's and one trx 250 right now and am about out of discretionary funds with all the bearings and bars and stems..etc,thanks for all the info Gentlemen.

[Stickman400]

I hit one of my friends slightly off center from head on back when I was in high school. He was on an almost brand new 450R and I was on my 400 that I had had for about a year or so. We both bent and cracked our frames and bent the chite out of our a-arms/spindles/rims/tie rods, everything up front basically. After everything was said and done and his insurance paid for it I got a new frame and whole new front end. In the time I was waiting for it I just compensated for the bent frame by adjusting the tie rods, a new frame cost $500 from Motosport. I don't know if they sell them anymore though. My valve cover actually got broke from that also and I didn't realize it until I tore it apart to swap the frames. The mount on the top that the big long bolt goes through got broke off of the rest of the cast cover, but didn't make a hole. I still haven't replaced that, been meaning too.

[2001400exrida]

don't jump to the frame until you know it's not your spindles, a arms, tie rods, stuff like that. THe frame can bend no doubt, but you should rule out the easy fixes first. I've seen a arms that were tweaked but weren't visibly noticable. Then when removed you could easily see where they got tweaked.

[JOHNDOE83]

We have frames here in Florida that are titleable with a bill of sale from the cycle salvage for $150.

But like 2001exrida said, dont jump to a new frame until all else has been ruled out.

[ned02]

Ok if the quad is leaning down on the right side which side A arm/spindle do you think might be bent or is there no way to tell until removed? It so happens That I have an extra set of used A arms that I picked up as spares and one came with the knuckle/spindle attached because the guy could not remove it,(we did Though), with the quad on level ground the right botton A arm seems to sit slightly lower than the Left.

[JOHNDOE83]

Ok if the quad is leaning down on the right side which side A arm/spindle do you think might be bent or is there no way to tell until removed? It so happens That I have an extra set of used A arms that I picked up as spares and one came with the knuckle/spindle attached because the guy could not remove it,(we did Though), with the quad on level ground the right botton A arm seems to sit slightly lower than the Left.

Post a pic of the lean!

[ned02]

Post a pic of the lean!

I will try but have always had a problem posting pics.I'll go take a couple and see if I am able to upload them.

[ned02]

Hopefully these pic uploaded,one that showed the lean from the rear was too big.The stem has a slight bend to the left which compensates a little for the lean to the right. the pic that wont upload shows the lean better in comparison with the quad in front of it,

[ned02]

measurement from ground

[ned02]

Well the swinger pivot bolt is a little bent(thanksjohndoe83) for suggesting that.Does not look all that bad but I will purchase another and see if it helps.

[ned02]

Well Swinger bolt replaced and it made no difference.

[CJM]

Frames bent. Not much you can do.

[ned02]

Thinks, is it worth Replacing the A arms just to make sure? Still can't believe the weight difference on the the wheels,I can lift the left front and right rear one handed while the rf and lr weight a ton! have managed to decrease the pull to the right a bit but is it safe to ride like this? Don't really have the $$ to buy another frame at the present time. also noticed that the motor mount on the right side under the gas tank has a crack in it.

[CJM]

Could try if you want, Im not sure as I havent seen it myself if the arms or the frame itself are bent/issue.

[2001400exrida]

i know in the FT world if you feel more weight on one side it has to do with the suspension being tighter on one side vs the other. Is one of your shocks blown? are they both in good working condition. It's possible if one is stiffer than the other then one side will soak up the weight when you lift, and the other side may not at all or vis versa.

With the sway bar setups, guys use scales on all 4 wheels in order to set their weight according to the track they will be running. Even without a sway bar i would think if suspension wasn't setup right, that one side could feel heavier than the other when you pick up the wheel.

[ned02]

I originally thought it might be a blown shock but I replaced them and it made no difference.also replaced tie rods, wheels and swing arm bolt.

[ned02]

Well I had some 1.5" wheel extenders so I put those on and the quad no longer pulls to the right,Why? It still has the lean and the weight differences on the wheels but test riding up and down the street it rolls straight now.

[ned02]

Any thoughts on why this is?

[2001400exrida]

wheel spacers will make the machine more stable, it could be that. or it could be that one of your spindles is messed up but when you put spacers on it's not as noticeable.

[Stickman400]

A bent spindle could be the culprit, If one side is bent down it would make it harder to pick up than the other side.

[ned02]

well I have an extra spindle for the left side so maybe I will get one for the right and replace them and see what happens.Thanks for all the suggestions guy's.