XC arms

[MtnEX]

I've been window (screen) shopping a little lately for XC arms.

What are you guys running? +1? +2?


Also, any of you have your quad parked on a stand right now? If so would you take 5 minutes to do me a favor? Pull a shock bolt out and see what your full droop eye to eye measurement is and post for me? Arms - measurement.

I have checked stock and the measurement is surprisingly short. Been wondering if aftermarket +1's or +2's have a little more available range.

[DragonGunner]

You can't go wrong with JD a arms…had the +2 for play and MX but like +1 much better for tight woods. I have Roll Design +1 now, but for the money look at these by JD….you want the MGC for 599.00 or something like that….good deal.

http://www.jdperformance.net/488%20Web%20Design/a%20arms.html

[MtnEX]

Yeah, I like Dave.

I can have him build me arms to specs I need no problem, which is cool... if he'll also do them +1" only.

I'm just trying to figure out if that is even really a necessity. I'm thinking it is possible that aftermarket will drop out a little farther before ball joint bind. That's all I need is a little more. Ain't trying to shove an incorrect 20" long travel shock on there. Just something a little longer than stock.

[Fix29]

I am running the older style Houser +1 arms. I unbolted the lower shock bolt and the arms sag very little from that point, maybe 1/4". The shocks are Axis and measure right at 16" eye to eye. With 3:2 wheels I'm right at 48" wide in the front sidewall-sidewall.

1718109527

[400man]

i have the alba a-arms with the curved "gullwing" design. i will measure mine this weekend. but heres maybe an idea, if you need a hair more length, just drill some new mount holes in the a-arm shock mount if it has room.

[MtnEX]

I am running the older style Houser +1 arms. I unbolted the lower shock bolt and the arms sag very little from that point, maybe 1/4". The shocks are Axis and measure right at 16" eye to eye. With 3:2 wheels I'm right at 48" wide in the front sidewall-sidewall.

1718109527

Thanks for all of that info... I really appreciate it.

[MtnEX]

i have the alba a-arms with the curved "gullwing" design. i will measure mine this weekend. but heres maybe an idea, if you need a hair more length, just drill some new mount holes in the a-arm shock mount if it has room.


I appreciate it if you have the time.

I was also thinking with those a man could even maybe have new brackets made a little shorter to move the shock mount out a little if needed. These shocks aren't long enough to use the long travel holes or anything. I think those accept a really long shock.

[Stickman400]

I've got the newer style +1 Housers, I love them. If I'm out in the shop later I'll pull a shock off and measure for ya.

[MtnEX]

You da man Stickman

I have Housers on my KFX450R... love them.

[Stickman400]

Ok, my Jet triple rate extended travel/re-valves measure 16 1/2" eye to eye while bolted up. With the lower bolt removed they gained 1/2" of droop eye to eye before the arm bottomed out. They did swing inwards with the extra droop though. I would think it would start damaging things if you shoved a 17" shock in that space (if you could), because it would almost being shoving the shock straight up because of the angle instead of pivoting outward and up. I also shaved a little off the bottom of my spindle when I installed my arms just to insure there would be no contact between the ball joint and spindle. I don't know if that gave me the extra 1/4" over what the others had or not, but it's likely.

[MtnEX]

Thank you very much. That settles my question. Won't work with Houser for sure.

So I can just rework the KFX shocks that I have and make things fit since the length is good.

Or I can buy GT Suspension for the front and arms... either standard travel or do real long for the long Alba slots.

Or I can do Elka all around and skip the rear shock rework.

Or I can get JD Performance rolling on making me some arms to spec.

Or I can get the Alba arms, figure out the mount position myself and have the adaper bracket modified to position the shock mount location.


Decisions, Decisions.... good thing I got nothing but time and my thoughts at the moment.

As of right now, the plan is my current EX is being sold, and I'm picking up another in 05+ trim with reverse. But the better decision might just be to get an LT-R450 or a 450R here. I just ain't exactly sure that's what I really want to do. Already have a 450! 09+ z400 is an option too. Still like a 400EX fine though. Good manners, brutally simple, easy to work on aside from fuel screw, lol... just a good ol bike.

[LxMxL97]

If you're going to be racing xc I would sell the 400ex then buy a 450r with good suspension components buy all new bushings and bearings fix the little problems it might have send the shocks out to get serviced and set for your then run it

[MtnEX]

I already have a decked out KFX450R.


I do like the TRX450R's and ER's though. I just see the 400EX as a bit of an alternative. But yeah, it is a hard alternative choice to make when there are a LOT of nice 450R's out there in both stock and race form. I get stuck in the same loop with the 450R's though. Really like them. But dang, I like the 04/05 motors, but they are kick start only, and benefit from an 06+ swinger and on and on. And then I get to questioning myself. I like brutal simplicity for sure, but then I catch myself thinking man, do I really want to be stuck kicking and pushing backwards?

And then I start thinking about future 400EX plans again... all the simplicity, but also the creature comforts.

I dunno... I flip flop. I hop from 400EX to 450R to LTR450... all simple budget build bikes. I want something a little milder delivering than my KFX and after owning an EFI bike 6 years I'm not sure I want the LTR. So I go back and forth. I dunno.

[400man]

what class do you race in? i just finished racing a new local series that started this year, did almost every race for points and im pretty sure i got first in my class ( C 23+ i think it was). there wasnt hardly any bikes in the class though, so it might not mean much. but a 400ex will do just fine with the right mods and a good rider. what little ground you loose in the wide open stuff you can gain right back in the woods.

[LxMxL97]

I'm just trying to keep you from regretting your decision if the only thing holding you back is the kickstart get a 06+ then just get a kick start kit and then you will have the electric start and then the kicker as a back up I have a bike with 24v start and kicker and then an 05 with just kick start and I still find my self using the kick start more often than my electric start

[MtnEX]

I race B class. I've ran the age classes even with the younger guys and and Vet B too.

Last season I raced I was running 3rd in the younger class. The first two guys were actually tied and I was 5 points back after missing 4 races and on a roll. I was feeling confident in my first championship in my 3rd season back, and pretty proud of that at my age. But then life came along and put an end to my season.

Yeah the 400 ain't no 450 in the open sections, but a lot of people don't have the suspension good enough to hold their 450 wide open anyways. And the 400 has pretty good manners in the woods and isn't so tiring to ride.

[MtnEX]

I'm just trying to keep you from regretting your decision if the only thing holding you back is the kickstart get a 06+ then just get a kick start kit and then you will have the electric start and then the kicker as a back up I have a bike with 24v start and kicker and then an 05 with just kick start and I still find my self using the kick start more often than my electric start

Yeah I got nothing against a kicker. I just don't wanna have anything against it you know? LOL... like hot stall last lap and be kicking my brains out... lol.

I hear better things about the 04/05 motors and front ends than the 06+... but I do for sure see what you are saying about the ER's.

[400man]

I had a 05 450r for a short bit, but I could never get a good "feel" for it. yea it had so much more power than my 400 and felt way faster when you hit the gas, but I just couldnt get myself to like it cause it just felt so uncomfortable to ride compared to my 400. and when it came to maintenance and working on the bike, theres much more to the 450r then the 400ex. and my brother recently got him a 07 450r, so when ever he gets around to getting the carb lined out and a few other fixes, we should be able to hit some races soon and see how we do.

[MtnEX]

A 450 would just bolt up work with what I have in mind I believe. But I dunno.

Yall ever rode an LTR450? I really like that bike. It fits me best of the 450's I've tried for racing, even if only narrowed on the cheap which only gets it to about 48". Hate to admit it but I am faster on one with ease. Not cause it has way more power or any of that. But because it has flow to it. I'm comfortable on it like a 400EX and they handle really well. Not so much work to ride.

That's the downfall of my KFX build. It is a hand full to keep in check. It's work to ride and gets you tired, and then you gotta watch out for mistakes you might make because you start getting whipped physically. Little too hot to trot. Ive gotten conditioned to it when I was racing it. Hard to explain but basically it still got me tired during lap 1, I just got conditioned to not getting more and more whipped. Conditioned to a consistent whipped I guess you could say as far as lap times.

[400man]

A 450 would just bolt up work with what I have in mind I believe. But I dunno.

Yall ever rode an LTR450? I really like that bike. It fits me best of the 450's I've tried for racing, even if only narrowed on the cheap which only gets it to about 48". Hate to admit it but I am faster on one with ease. Not cause it has way more power or any of that. But because it has flow to it. I'm comfortable on it like a 400EX and they handle really well. Not so much work to ride.

That's the downfall of my KFX build. It is a hand full to keep in check. It's work to ride and gets you tired, and then you gotta watch out for mistakes you might make because you start getting whipped physically. Little too hot to trot. Ive gotten conditioned to it when I was racing it. Hard to explain but basically it still got me tired during lap 1, I just got conditioned to not getting more and more whipped. Conditioned to a consistent whipped I guess you could say as far as lap times.

I test rode a guy's ltr 450 one time down the road and back, but that was it. it had good power and pulled hard. well, if the suzuki is what you are the most comfortable on, id say get one for sure lol. since you can ride fast and smooth on it, that means less mods will be needed as far as performance goes. just get the suspension set for you, get the width set with the axle and a-arms and go from there. I have zero experience with fuel injection bikes, but im guessing they got plenty of power in stock form and stay more reliable?

[400man]

A 450 would just bolt up work with what I have in mind I believe. But I dunno.

Yall ever rode an LTR450? I really like that bike. It fits me best of the 450's I've tried for racing, even if only narrowed on the cheap which only gets it to about 48". Hate to admit it but I am faster on one with ease. Not cause it has way more power or any of that. But because it has flow to it. I'm comfortable on it like a 400EX and they handle really well. Not so much work to ride.

That's the downfall of my KFX build. It is a hand full to keep in check. It's work to ride and gets you tired, and then you gotta watch out for mistakes you might make because you start getting whipped physically. Little too hot to trot. Ive gotten conditioned to it when I was racing it. Hard to explain but basically it still got me tired during lap 1, I just got conditioned to not getting more and more whipped. Conditioned to a consistent whipped I guess you could say as far as lap times.

I test rode a guy's ltr 450 one time down the road and back, but that was it. it had good power and pulled hard. well, if the suzuki is what you are the most comfortable on, id say get one for sure lol. since you can ride fast and smooth on it, that means less mods will be needed as far as performance goes. just get the suspension set for you, get the width set with the axle and a-arms and go from there. I have zero experience with fuel injection bikes, but im guessing they got plenty of power in stock form and stay more reliable?