Bent axle...WTH????!!!!

[forgiven]

I was lifting up on my sons bumper and letting him rev it up a bit. Back right looked a little wobbly. I thought...perhaps the lugs were loose or the castle nut perhaps...nope the axle is bent. Now I have seen some of your kids jumpin pics...my kid isn't anywhere close to that. I am just beside myself at this point. I bought this psuedo race ready quad so I didn't have to go through all these nagging issues. We don't race and we are mostly trail riders for the most part. Are all of you replacing the stock axle? My son hasn't done anything that he didn't do on his Predator last year and this is supposedly light years ahead of that. I know I am ranting but I am so frustrated at this point I don't know what to do.

[forgiven]

So far I have had the sprocket guard bend with not much effort. Put back into place with little effort and a 4X4 post.

Chain tensioner doesn't tension

Chain has numerous frozen or very stiff links. I spent about 1 hour with the parts washer and then soaked it worked the links and soaked it again...still a few preventing it from rolling right. So I had to get a new chain.

This is the first major thing but my son is not a racer and is fairly conservative...especially compared to most on here (judging by pics etc.) I try real hard to maintain everything well and use all the right stuff.

I know I need to get off the ledge but we bought the DRR to avoid this type of stuff.

[wvspeedfreak]

Sorry to hear about you luck with the drr.Sometimes it's not how hard you land but "how" you land that bends an axle.Coming down on one rear wheel can do it and sometimes it doesn't have to be a hard hit either.I know when Austin started jumping his Kasea I bought a couple used axles off of Ebay in anticipation of things to come.Knock on wood....he hasn't bent one yet

The chain tensioner on our drr was frozen too when I got it but I just kept spraying it with wd-40 and moving it up and down.It finally freed up and has been working fine since.I just lube it every time I lube the chain.

[dirttrack86]

First, swap tires and see if it is the axle or a rim. Then you can repair from that point. My daughter has rode extremely hard for a year now and hasn't had any problems with the axle. The chain on all drx's are stiff. Just put about 2 hours riding, clean and lube and it will be loose. Expect lots of little bugs at first on any kung fu bike you buy, including honda. Just the nature of the beast. lol.

[DRR-Atvs]

We bent our axle after 2 years of racing when we dropped it out of our pick up on the one rear wheel. thanks kids they yanked it off the back. Are you sure its the axle and not the rim? There are a heck of alot of people on thier first axle who are racing

[sldhd700]

That sucks hearing about your axle. I think like everyone else is it really your axle rim or tire. Also you may want to look at your chain lube this can be a downer. Alot of chain lubes are very tacky. I don t prefer this as it can collect dirt or sand. Next don t wash your chain with solvent this will wash out oil within the links. When I clean my chain after every ride I wash it with the rest of the bike using Simple Green. Next wire brush the chain removing stuck on dirt. Then I oil it until it is dripping and let it soak before the next ride. I have had frozen links after coming back from the dunes but they always seem to free up. Don t be down on the bike because of the chain or the bent axle. I had a 250R with a bent axle and just considered that a great way to clean the mud off that tire!

Shayden Housley #39

[Logan #34's Dad]

Logan just bent his axel this past weekend after a crash on the track. The way the quad is set up with one side of the axel being alot longer than the other they are going to bend. I'm not sure if they sell aftermarket axels yet (Durablue). I'm going to try to use this one for the weekend then look around.

[forgiven]

I was typing angry yesterday so I left off how I came to the conclusion it is bent. I pulled the hubs and ran it with nothing on it, and yeah it is on the long side of the axle.

It isn't like a pretzel, and for all I know DRR may step up and replace it...BUT I lost one weekend due to the lug issue that we all have had but I had a less than desireable outcome getting mine off.

I understand with offroad vehicles there is going to be a certain amount of repair. I have 6 quads and a dirt bike so it is not like I have unrealistic expectations that there are "super machines" that never break. However if you ride within what they are designed to do they usually are quite durable. It is when you start abusing and exceeding what they are designed to do you start having issues.

I am essentially just venting, but if the end answer is that yeah...these aren't really set up for any type of jumping but essentially another lawn and grass machine (which I don't believe they are) I will be very disappointed. Buying a durablue is yet another multi hundred dollar add on to make it perform as advertised.

Then again I could have just gotten a "bad one" out of the lot...who knows.

I am working with a local fabricator to produce some type of heavy duty swingarm guard that is more than just for looks in case anyone is interested out of aluminum. I am not sure he is interested in mass producing them and it would be more as a favor to me so I will know more in the coming weeks (kind of a back burner project). PM me if you are interested...no promises though.

I will let you guys know what DRR's position is so you will know if it happens to you.

[kenjolly]

If you can change the rear shock to one thats a little stiffer and better,i dont know what you kids wieght is but if more than about 70lbs i would change. we bent the axle and swing arm do to shock failure from hard riding and jumping. our rider is about 100lbs and bottoms out alot. the black shock off the early 07 50cc is much stiffer and is working well and wont cost you much to get one.

call Gary fallon at drrnation.com

[forgiven]

I do have a works single rate but didn't put it on (Had bought it for a predator 90) because my rider ~85lbs with no gear has not bottomed it out on the softest setting yet. Additionally I had wondered what the advantage would be over the stock shock if he wasn't bottoming anyway, and considered reselling it. I posted a Q on that but haven't got a good feel of what the advantage would be. I bought the shock used and it was a good deal so it was an impulse buy anyway.

I have spoke with my dealer and will I guess I will talk with Lou, but I know how it looks...it is just frustrating when you have seen your kid ride etc.

It is just a crappy situation and I started the post to see if others have had the same issue, but it doesn't appear so. I could go with Durablue but that is a ton and doesn't mean I won't be replacing one of those either...albeit free of charge. Just concerned with replacing it with the same and having the same result.