What's the difference between link and no link?

[Jnine]

Hello guys:

If you own a 400EX, you've got a linkage system that is VERY similar to the CR 500.

I never did it on the 250R for a couple reasons.

I wanted the 250R frame, (and the new EX & CRF frame) to be at a reasonable price. The CR500 linkage is a couple hundred bucks on it's own, and then you need a very expensive shock to go with it. To me it defeated the purpose of a cost effective frame project. You will also need a special swingarm to make it work, and that also adds cost to the project.

As for the ride, I have tried them, but to tell you the truth, I'm not a good enough rider to push it like it needs to be. On top of that, most of the guys that own one have a very good ride also because they own the best shocks available.

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

I haven't really paid much attention to many no link systems lately. There aren't that many around to check out, and it didn't really matter to me anyway, since I probably wasn't going to build one. I like Doug Rolls stuff, but you hardly ever see any of his parts at the local races, so I'm not sure how his setup works. It certainly takes a specialized swingarm however, and an equally specialized shock. Together they probably cost half as much as the rest of your quad.

As for the Cannondale, that suspension was designed from the factory as a no-link system, so that puts it in an entirely different category as trying to retrofit something else. I can also tell you this about the Cannondale no-link system: Look at the casting... It's the same casting as they run on their motorcycle. Here's how that happened.... They had the casting already done for the motorcycle, and they didn't want another casting made for the ATV, so with a little machining work they made it work for both the ATV lineup and the motorcycles. To make that casting tool cost over 30K if I remember correctly. That's nothing however. There was a new swingarm designed that was supposed to be completely cast, and that tool cost over 70 thousand. It never made it into production however. If you really want pricey, the engine cases castings were about 250K, and the plastic injection mold cost them a half million.

[Jnine]

Hello Guys:

I actually liked the Cannondale No-Link system, but that one worked quite well because it was designed that way from the factory, not rebuilt and retrofit onto an existing quad. That makes all the difference in the world.

As for the tooling price, it was a big part in helping them go bankrupt. There were many millions spent getting parts into production, and some tools werer never even used. There was a new set of plastic that never made it into production either. Unfortuntaley, they had to spend so much money on tooling that when it came time to start making parts off the new tools they didn't have anything left to work with. They found themselves in the spot of having all the tooling to make a profitable quad, but they had no money to actually start making the parts to build them. Too bad for everyone in the industry (especially the vendors) I guess.

[d-14 rider 27]

i think one of the main reasons manufacturers go with no-link on their frames is because they can put the shock mount higher to make room for intakes on all these bike motors, ive heard they improve traction, but kinda finnicky with valving, and often springy