hot rods or vito's 4mm 115mm crank

[OFB35]

hey i am building my cheetah 485cc which crank should i use, the vito's or the hot rods? what kind of luck have you guys had who have the vito's. What is really different between the two. i am going to us a 4mm long rod

 

thanks

 

 

OFb35

[locogato11283]

as of lately, i am under the impression that no crank is superior to another. i feel as if you get one that is trued and welded, youre set.. if even only for a while.

 

sure, you can do the tz bearing, but as far as actual crank reliability, there is none. they will all eventually fail.

 

i have a buddy that ran his hotrods 4mm crank for 3 years. never had an issue. during his last rebuild he opted for a brand new crank. upon tearing the motor down due to a tranny issue, he finds out that the welds are already cracked.. we are talking basically 20-30 mins of actual run time.

 

my 10mm crank failed twice in 4 years causing me to have the cylinders nikasiled both times and new domes and pistons. my bike does not get a ton of run time due to it being a race only bike.

 

so anyway, i say it doesnt matter and until someone can somehow prove to me that one is superior to another, i will say go with whoever is cheapest.

[OFB35]

Thats what I thought i just like to try do stuff right the first time, thanks

[AKheathen]

i have found the current hr cranks seem to have lower quality bearings on both the rods and mains, than stock. same goes for the center labrynthe seal. the hr shelf weld seems to be pretty weak, to.....i think it is still a decent webbing to start with,m though. as for the vitos- i, and i'm sure no one else can really tell quite yet, since they changed signifcantly for what appears better in bearings, rods, and webbing. the rods are improved alloy and manufacturing process, bearings of better materials, and the webbing is keyed to prevent any turning from true. it all sounds good, but how stringent it is made has yet to be seen, at least as far as i know. if the crank isn't true to begin with, there is no way to effectively bring it to true. if the bearings aren't pressed as precise, then they can fail, even with the better material. if the consistancy of the rod material, and teperatures are conducted with loose tolerances, then you can get weak spots, or ineffective results....these are all mabeys, as i don't really know, just what i have seen of the discriptions. oh, and one down on the vitos, is the rubber center seal. i'm a firm believer that the stock labrynthe is the most superior availiable. next is the soft and loose aftermarket labrynthe, and rubber is last in line. i suppose that it just means the crank is pretty done when you have to rebuild it. for a better crank than either, you can have one built or modded with balacing and such through a major outfit like crankworks, but be prepared to really shell out, lol

[SLORYDER]

Either way I would make sure the rods are 115mm not 110mm. Last I checked Vitos cranks run the 110.

 

RDZ has a good price $425 AND comes with a TZ bearing. Not sure if it's a 115 rod but if so that's who I'd go through.

Edited May 12, 2010 by SLORYDER

[trickedcarbine]

K, there are gonna be alot of opinions on this so here is my take. The one brand every one runs to is hot rods,for what reason i don't know. All the SERIOUS banshees that i personally know of seem to eventually need EXPENSIVE repair after the H.R. crank fails after a couple of abusive seasaons at best. Nothing against their product, but like loco said, with a banshee it's not if it fails, but when. I ran a stock stroke H.R. crank for more then a few seasons, but once I got serious about porting, big carbs, etc. It failed even with new bearings. The only major differences you will see in the cranks aside from quality in craftsmanship, will be whether it is rebuildable or not, and if it is a forged unit or not. Now a forged crankworks or twister will definitely out last any Vitos or Hot Rods unit, but you better be ready to shell out the big bucks wich might not be worth it for your budget or particular build. There is another option for the 4 mil guys though, and it is Weiseco. These things are tough! The shop that did my porting is just a grass roots mom and pop shop but his banshees are quick and RELIABLE. He swears that the Weiseco is tougher due to the fact that it isnt a rebuildable base, but how practical is it to rebuild a 4 mil crank any way. After rebuilding my bike with the weiseco, it almost feels smoother then the stock stroke H.R. crank. I can't fully attest to the reliability of the weiseco for my build yet, because the build is still fresh, and is in a fully CRYO TREATED MOTOR, wich helps out a bit as well.

Edited May 12, 2010 by trickedcarbine

[firebanshee]

I was told from a trusted source in my opinion, the vito's cranks had weak rods.

[tedd1]

It may already be posted here and I missed it, but there may soon be another option...>HERE<

 

Rick

[Larry's Shee]

He says he's building cranks , says nothing about makig his own rods tho.

[alf44]

Either way I would make sure the rods are 115mm not 110mm. Last I checked Vitos cranks run the 110.

 

RDZ has a good price $425 AND comes with a TZ bearing. Not sure if it's a 115 rod but if so that's who I'd go through.

 

Vitos has a 115mm rod 4mm crank. there trued and welded and have polished rods. I just put one in my bike im building. There a great price as well. Im a dealer for them so of course Im going to run it for two reasons, one the price, two to back up all the talk on the Vitos haters. lol.

 

It may already be posted here and I missed it, but there may soon be another option...>HERE<

 

Rick

 

I also have a totally other crank option now to. Cant seem to get much on the statistics but there made in the USA, and are t/w, look very nice and are even a better deal than the Vitos. I plan on running a few before I start caring them.

 

Ethier way you go check out my special in the sponsor spotlight. Ive got cranks and cubs on sale right now through the end of the month. I cant even post the prices on the cubs there such a great deal!!!!

[AKheathen]

Either way I would make sure the rods are 115mm not 110mm. Last I checked Vitos cranks run the 110.

 

RDZ has a good price $425 AND comes with a TZ bearing. Not sure if it's a 115 rod but if so that's who I'd go through.

just to clarify about the 110 rods- on a properly built/clearanced topend, reliability and piston wear issues aren't really that much more than a longrod. for those interested, 110 does yeild faster and higher reving with better balance, and lower dwell time.

 

K, there are gonna be alot of opinions on this so here is my take. The one brand every one runs to is hot rods,for what reason i don't know. All the SERIOUS banshees that i personally know of seem to eventually need EXPENSIVE repair after the H.R. crank fails after a couple of abusive seasaons at best. Nothing against their product, but like loco said, with a banshee it's not if it fails, but when. I ran a stock stroke H.R. crank for more then a few seasons, but once I got serious about porting, big carbs, etc. It failed even with new bearings. The only major differences you will see in the cranks aside from quality in craftsmanship, will be whether it is rebuildable or not, and if it is a forged unit or not. Now a forged crankworks or twister will definitely out last any Vitos or Hot Rods unit, but you better be ready to shell out the big bucks wich might not be worth it for your budget or particular build. There is another option for the 4 mil guys though, and it is Weiseco. These things are tough! The shop that did my porting is just a grass roots mom and pop shop but his banshees are quick and RELIABLE. He swears that the Weiseco is tougher due to the fact that it isnt a rebuildable base, but how practical is it to rebuild a 4 mil crank any way. After rebuilding my bike with the weiseco, it almost feels smoother then the stock stroke H.R. crank. I can't fully attest to the reliability of the weiseco for my build yet, because the build is still fresh, and is in a fully CRYO TREATED MOTOR, wich helps out a bit as well.

TRIXIE!!......how much does cryo cost anyways?

 

I was told from a trusted source in my opinion, the vito's cranks had weak rods.

just curious- is that the new rods, or old ones?

[firebanshee]

I think it was the old ones.

[bansheesrtoys]

well as far as vito's goes i ran a stock one and bent the rod , (ran into a water hole at high rpm's) prob my fault so i bought another one from vito's because i liked the perfomance, the second one i bought was a +4 with the 110 rods polished , the rods were reinfoced for added strengh and i been runnng it all this season so far. i compared their old rod to their new one and they definetly did impove it.

[shanYE west]

vito's new cranks do look pretty nice.. thats prolly the way I'll go for my 4mil cub that i'm gonna try and start to build this winter.