bansheeryder_69 Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 I know there are multiple people on here that have made their own a-arms. I think it would be awesome if someone could throw some blueprints for some +2+1 a-arms up for me to print off and follow. Hell i might even send you some money. Any specs would be nice. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scottish Tree Badger Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 I know there are multiple people on here that have made their own a-arms. I think it would be awesome if someone could throw some blueprints for some +2+1 a-arms up for me to print off and follow. Hell i might even send you some money. Any specs would be nice. Thanks 372451[/snapback] I think you'll find that very few have done their own fabbing. But no harm in asking. Rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepew Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Your blueprints are bolted to the front of your bike right now. It is just a matter adding the +2-+1 and making sure you have clearance for the shock and tire/rims. I set the ball joints at 20 degrees and moved the shock mount out 5/8" further than stock for +2's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheeryder_69 Posted May 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 thanks guys I'll prolly start making them in about 2 weeks (when school gets out) I'll let you know how it goes. Oh yea what kind of metal would be the best to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decon Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 i think the metal most people use is called 4130 chromoly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepew Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 thanks guys I'll prolly start making them in about 2 weeks (when school gets out) I'll let you know how it goes. Oh yea what kind of metal would be the best to use? 372741[/snapback] LEAD it will help to hold the front down. Sorry, but if you have to ask that then you are far from a complete set. Do some more searchs on this and check out a few websites you'll learn a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheeryder_69 Posted May 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 thats what I'm doing just trying to get an idea of how the whole things going to go just to limit the downtime with the shee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj820 Posted May 25, 2005 Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 (edited) You need equipment brother! Like a jig, a tubing bender, a tubing notcher, a welder and material. Plus other crap! You might as well purchase them outright!!! With the time and $ that you spend on tryig to make one set of arms you might as well purchase a new set that comes ready to bolt on! Not saying its impossible even I contemplated this a few years ago!! Once you have a jig its fairly simple to just weld up arms all day long!! There should be a return on your investment though such as profit from selling a shit-load of these things for like $200 apiece! So if you do ever complete a set make a bunch so you can sell for cheap and bring the aftermarket ATV industry to its knees!!!!! Having to spend 4-700 dollars on a set of arms is a joke!!! This is why I originally considered making my own but shit on it! I will just bend over for the aftermarket distributors and bitch about it afterwards!!!! If I had the time it would be one thing but I did not set out in life to make a-arms for four-wheelers! The world is going to need me someday! Edited May 25, 2005 by sj820 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton eyed Joe Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 So if you do ever complete a set make a bunch so you can sell for cheap and bring the aftermarket ATV industry to its knees!!!!! Having to spend 4-700 dollars on a set of arms is a joke!!! This is why I originally considered making my own but shit on it! I will just bend over for the aftermarket distributors and bitch about it afterwards!!!! If I had the time it would be one thing but I did not set out in life to make a-arms for four-wheelers! The world is going to need me someday! 373881[/snapback] Hardly a joke to be honest.Here's a little FYI from my perspective.... Chromoly is 5-7x the cost of 1018. Anywhere from $5.00 to $8.00 per foot or more for the stuff I've been using. Bending it is alot harder, plus you have to factor in the cost of the tooling. Its not just bought and paid for by the company and forgotten about, its factored in. It has to be. Also, some of the price is quality. If you want MIG welds, they won't be as expensive. TIG welds will be stronger, better, and better looking. After I pay my welder, my material supplier, the shop get its cut for machine work, the rod ends at $10-$20 or more each (for a quality rod end. You can find them cheaper and much sloppier), the chrome shop or powder coat shop, packaging and then shipping, it just adds up. My shop rate is $80 per hour, and its one of the cheapest around this area. I personally don't see anything anywhere near $80 per hour, but if the shop isn't bringing in AT LEAST $80 per hour per machine, we are losing money. It costs nearly $15K for my little shop to stay open each month. There is no point to owning a business other than to make money. After the arms are made, then the distributor adds typically any where from %30 to %50 (or more) to their cost, because they want to make money for warehousing parts. They have to get X amount of dollars for their floor space, and they aren't going to make a $10K investment to make pennies on the dollar. Personally I plan on selling my a-arms for a little as possible without a distributor, and hope to sell off of quantity, but Im sure not going to work for nothing. It just isn't worth it to work all day and have nothing to show for it. Plus when I get a bill from my material supplier for $3,000.00 that money has to come from somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheeryder_69 Posted May 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 You need equipment brother! Like a jig, a tubing bender, a tubing notcher, a welder and material. Plus other crap! You might as well purchase them outright!!! With the time and $ that you spend on tryig to make one set of arms you might as well purchase a new set that comes ready to bolt on! Not saying its impossible even I contemplated this a few years ago!! Once you have a jig its fairly simple to just weld up arms all day long!! There should be a return on your investment though such as profit from selling a shit-load of these things for like $200 apiece! So if you do ever complete a set make a bunch so you can sell for cheap and bring the aftermarket ATV industry to its knees!!!!! Having to spend 4-700 dollars on a set of arms is a joke!!! This is why I originally considered making my own but shit on it! I will just bend over for the aftermarket distributors and bitch about it afterwards!!!! If I had the time it would be one thing but I did not set out in life to make a-arms for four-wheelers! The world is going to need me someday! 373881[/snapback] I have all summer long I work from five in the morning till noon then i usually go riding etc. i have the tube bender TIG welder powder coating material all ready and a person who is very knowleadgeble with these tools to help me when I get in trouble so don't worry about that part cause all i need is 4130 chromoly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 for your first set id skip on cro-mo. that shit is expensive and your gonna fuck something up anyways, so why not waste cheap stuff? anyways how they comin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SANDSTAR Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Yeah. What he said.^^^ Go with mild steel. Get a goog prototype made up that fits and works good. Then try chromo, ya' homo. Or just pump up the mild steel arms with helium to make them lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 agreed. start with the cold rolled 1018 steel tubin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandbomb Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 Dont forget about were your going to set your initial camber and castor , so you can keep your balljoints in a nuetral position when the quad is at ride heigth. Also were the balljoint thread's into the upper arm. do not exceed 12 degrees from the plain of the arm itself, this is one of the most common mistakes made when people try to build a-arm's. I would not use heim's for the upper connection to the chassis [weak link] for castor adjustment instead ,shorten the pivot tube dimension, this way you can put spacers on either side swapping them from the front to the rear will change the amount of castor, all you have to do is figure out how thick you need to make them in relation to how many degrees you want it to move per spacer. One other thing , you should check the amount of steering akerman and the scrub patch, good luck and have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 sandbomb, please elaborate on akerman and scrub patch, ive never heard these terms before. -cole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.