My Yerf upgrade thread

[speedshopmike]

i see what you mean about the arm flipping not working; it was a noble idea anyway, jim.
your muzzle looks like it began as an industrial jackstand to me, but i'm betting i'm wrong...
you're making good progress.
how much wider and lower did you go on the holes?

[metalstudman1]

I wanna guess what the muzzle is!!!!! spare tire holder?

[speedshopmike]

i have a question:
is this alleged lottery ticket used or new??
my second guess is it was part of a chastity belt for a very, very, frightening woman

[jetasen74]

could it be some sort of pump and or motor stand?

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by metalstudman1

I wanna guess what the muzzle is!!!!! spare tire holder?

Ding Ding Ding !!! Off the Jeep Wrangler that pushes the ball picker.

To where shall I send my pile of old Powerball tickets? I think one has one matching #

I think the story of the yerf shall read ... progress ...setback ...progress ...bigger setback and so on ...

I've set it up with the holes 5 inches on center from one another, original was 2.5 and dropped them two inches, and the whole thing moves the arms forward about two inches. I've got the mounting plates made, haven't welded anything up yet. Suspension travel increases massively, i think i could put shocks with 12 inches of travel in it with no clearance problems at all.
I may angle the plates slightly to eliminate a couple degrees of the inclination they've put in the frame. That is one of the main reasons these single arm front ends get such crazy camber angles while turning with the arms not sitting level. With the black piece mounted as it was made, the two pieces that protrude down aren't at 90-degrees to the frame. Instead of "fixing" that, I may leave it be to help neutralize the camber changes a bit.

I was doing this with the intent of sticking the old arms back on with some new spindles and keeping this close to stock to keep the expense down. All I have to use are step drill bits for anything beyond 1/2-in. diameter and I accidentally overdrilled the first hole diameter for the stock bolts. So I mulled it over and decided to bore them out to 1-in. and use the bearings and new arms I'm making. With that decision made, now I'm rethinking just doing a single arm and setting it up for the double ... Problem is, the position i chose for a single arm makes doing a double a lot more work because the uppers end up in the tight front tubing area and it will delay it because of the expense of the heim joints and other items I need. If i can, i'm going to do it as a single arm job that I can later convert to a double. Whatever I weld to the new arms I'll have to cut off again if I convert it ....

Good news is, found a set of 19x7x9 tires and rims on CL for $20. nearby, no dry rot, hold air without tubes and about 30 % tread left. look like basic knobbies. I can also get a pair of honda used front hubs on e-bay for about 20 a pair that should make the rest of it come together cheaply enough to do in the next week or so.

[jetasen74]

what size hiem joints do ya need and how many?

[x-bird]

Here's how it looks with it set up to reduce the inclination. You can see the different angles pretty well. I drilled to 3/4, not 1 inch since i didn't have enough bearings to make a set for the bolts--that can come later. There's a stamped out gusset in the center of the black piece preventing the front plate from going all the way up. I"ll either notch that and trim the rear plate to get this angle--but it reduces travel upwards. Or, i'll cut the gusset like I planned, set it all at 90 deg. and keep the original inclination.

I'm also thinking i may do this as a bolt on rig, that way, when i do go to a double-arm I can take it apart easily and move it if need be. Once I go that route, i'd weld it in place.

At the center of the new plate bracket, I'm going to run a connector --either plate steel or 2-inch round pipe tubing from front to back to stiffen it all up and may gusset the rear plate on the outside edges back to the frame. (those gussets would kill the bolt on idea)



Suggestions very welcome!

As for heims, Not sure on size yet, since i haven't gotten to that "end" it'd need bungs for them too. With single arms i don't need them.

For some strange reason, i don't want to cut up any of the original framework/mounts ...must be the ponchophile in me.

[jetasen74]

ok i have some 3/4 hiem joints but no bungs, if you need em let me know. i sure i have at least 4.

[jetasen74]

also have 2 left hand threads dont know how those got in the mix.

[speedshopmike]

i may regret asking this but wtf is a ball picker??

also, watch out for bolt pattern issues w/ atv stuff.
to my chagrin, i discovered the quad front end i bought way back when uses stupid, huge 4x156mm pattern that isn't common and for which basic kart hubs dont seem to exist.

[x-bird]

a device that gives me my weekly back spasms ))). It's for picking up driving range golf balls. series of discs on a shaft snap around the balls as you drive over them then a metal comb up top knocks them out and into a basket. Everyone always wants to drive it ... til they find out they have to empty 1.5 tons of balls (about 300 balls per basket x 10 baskets x 15-20 loads) out of those baskets and into a dump truck ....

[speedshopmike]

oh, the moving target cart, i gotcha.

[x-bird]

Thanks for the heads-up on the bolt patterns Mike, the hubs i wanted to buy for 20 bucks are 156 lol ya jinxed me. Yamaha raptor 660 ---and probably other yamas. The kid i talked to with the rims doesn't know the spacing, so for a 30 minute drive i think they're worth looking at, if they match the 156s, i'm in bus. If they're more common 110, i'll still do them 20 for two tires and rims is a pretty good deal ....Had at it in the garage today, more pics to come after tonight's session.

[speedshopmike]

4 x 156:
1986-2002 Polaris Cyclone FRONT
1986-2002 Polaris Trail Blazer 250 /300 FRONT
1986-2002 Polaris Trail Boss 250 / 300 FRONT
1990-1999 Polaris Explorer 300 FRONT
1990-1999 Polaris Trail Boss 2x4 350L 400L FRONT
1996-1999 Polaris 300 / 400L FRONT
1995-2001 Polaris Scrambler 2x4 / 4x4 400L FRONT
1994-1999 Polaris Sport 400L 2x4 FRONT
1997-2003 Polaris Scrambler 500 2x4 / 4x4 FRONT
2003-2004 Polaris Predator 500 2x4 FRONT
1987-2005 Kawasaki KSF 250 Mojave FRONT
1987-1988 Kawasaki Tecate-4 FRONT
1995-2000 Kawasaki KLF 300B Lakota FRONT
1988-1990 Yamaha YTM 200 DX FRONT
1988-2005 Yamaha YSF 200 Blaster FRONT
1992-1994 Yamaha YFB 250 Timberwolf 2x4 FRONT
1987-2005 Yamaha YFM 350 XT Warrior FRONT
1987-2005 Yamaha YFZ 350 T Banshee FRONT
1987-1988 Yamaha YFM 350 ER Moto-4 FRONT
2004-2005 Yamaha YFM 350 Raptor FRONT
2004-2005 Yamaha YFZ 450 FRONT
2001-2005 Yamaha YFM 660R Raptor FRONT

[speedshopmike]

btw - if wind up w/ two 10", 4x156 wheels that are 6" or less wide you won't use i'm in need of a pair.
my pair are very wide aftermarkets (i'm estimating 10") i don't plan on using.

[x-bird]

Well, bit the bullet and welded her up. Abandoned the thought of bolt on, it is what it is now, and if i go to a dual arm, there;s always the recip saw.
Got rid of the lower section of the spare tire mount. It didn't really contribute anything but problems and more work for no gain. It did serve a useful purpose as a setup jig for the swingarm box. The top part I still intend to mount to the front, makes it look kinda midevil (hth do you sp. that??? lol). Inside the box it's braced with some thin gauge steel rectangular box that was the upright part of the Ping golf club rack (getting the mileage out of those things). It still is going to get a gusset off the rear outside corners to the framerails. Castrated the dog's original mounts just below the center hole. Shock mounts have been cut off.

The arms gave me some fits since I didn't set out to use them and already had the box cut and welded to size for the stockers before I changed course. Check out the side view--had to sand the bearings down just to get the arms to fit and it made welding the final crosstube to the arm pretty touchy as the tube is within a hair of being flush with the arm.

Welds are pretty ugly, almost out of wire and the feed is getting iffy, and ran out of gas at the very last moment. Got ready to weld this morning and the power went out for an hour ....something don't want me finishing thankfully my local gas/welding supplier owes me a favor worth about 50-100, so i'm gonna take him up on it today. Got another arm ready to go in the jig, just have to weld it up .....

I'm holding the arm close to where i want it to sit, need to get rims and hubs so i can make my spindles with the right size shafts and set them at the best possible angle --getting tired of having things end up being the wrong size/position when it's too late.

Mike, can you take a look at your shocks as mounted. I'm wondering if the mounts are parallel to the arms or if the upper is set back from the lower a bit to compensate for the caster angle. TIA .... For now stock shocks are going back on, If i can get the steering arms set decently, i can get about 12-14 inches of wheel travel out of this thing if i want. Anyone know the spring rate (lbs) of the stock ones?

gas time

[speedshopmike]

i'll have a look for you asap, jim.

far as i can determine from trying to spec the stockers via the outfits still trying to sell them, stock springovers are 110 lb/inch, with 2 inches travel.
interestingly, the SC shocks are rated the same (except they offer 3" travel) but are stiffer to compress....not sure how much of that delta is the yerf springs being old and made of ****metal vs the published load rating i found being inaccurate, however.
at any rate (HAHAHA!) i think the sc's are the only ones on the market close to soft enough to work given there's almost no weight up front.

[jetasen74]

damn it jim! he's doctor not a buggy expert! oh wait he is a buggy expert. uh sorry bout that.

[GX150]

I have two 12" 4/156mm front rims. PM me if interested.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by jetasen74

damn it jim! he's doctor not a buggy expert! oh wait he is a buggy expert. uh sorry bout that.

2FF

[speedshopmike]

jim,
the upper mounts are very very slightly offset back from the lowers.
not enough to comp for the caster angle built in via the stub.
also, on mine, about 3/16" off from left to right side.
musta got welded on a monday.

while i was out looking i found a piece of .......1/4" thick steel that used to support the back of an office chair.
18" long, perfect for making extended control arm mounts from.

gx150, thanks but they gotta be 10"; i already bought the tires

[x-bird]

picked up the $20 tires and rims today. The tires are 19x7x8s, not 9s like I thought, but no big deal--better actually. They're off a chinese no name atv, flat 4-bolt inner walls with 3/8 holes drilled on 3-3/4 centers. (haven't done the metric convo yet lol) Pretty decent amount of offset to one side. The tires are probably 75 percent left treadwise, no rot, sheing chow chow or some such. I figure i can always pop them on the golf cart rims and find hubs to match those since they have the seat for tapered lugs unlike these.

[speedshopmike]

how wide are your golf cart rims?
mine has some pretty fat wheels on it though i never bothered to actually check....and a pretty big bolt pattern spread.
for 20 bucks you cleaned up, imo

[x-bird]

7 inches wide inside to inside at the bead seat. they have carlisle 18x8.5x8 turf tires on them from the carts.

[x-bird]

Rolling right along, finished up my control arms last night before getting hit with a nasty wave of nausea and puking my guts up all night. Food or too much welding/grinding dust for the past week??? Anyway, have both arms mounted and am getting ready to locate the shock mounts. Looking to get them inboard as much as possible to maximize arm travel at the wheel end. Trying to limit adding too much heavy metal up front, the box was 5 pounds finished and the arms will likely end up heavier than stock. The weight is cheap, much needed front end downforce (just robs the hp to weight ratio) that i don't mind as long as it's not out at the wheel end. I've added a 3-inch or so long end plate between the tubes on each. It's welded to the inside center to solidify the joint welds of the tubing curve. I left it unwelded at the center so i can cut out a notch later for a heim bung if i decide to add uppers. The spindle brackets will be gusseted back to the plate. I still may add a cross tube closer inboard for the shock mount, I'm not a fan of mounting it to a single arm as the factory did, my stock ones were definitely racked and slightly bent in a curve around the shock mount from that install method.

[speedshopmike]

you're not welding on anything galvanized are you?

[x-bird]

Braced up the back of the box with gussets made from the original control arm mounts.

trying out some shock set-ups, going to have an upper cross bar, will add verticals from the lower frame up to it to help strengthen it. It's a pretty tight fight, the center of my arms are smack dab in line with the upper frame tubes ...figures ... At some point i think i'm going to cut that tube out completely and put a straight tube in going to the front = more tire clearance.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by speedshopmike

you're not welding on anything galvanized are you?

been there, done that nastiness lol, anything galvanized or plated i've been careful about grinding off completely, i've used galvanized before and know that it's nasty bizness. I've also been welding with the garage open for air circ. --temps are mid-upper 30s lately, but i' rather be chilly than gagging on fumes. Might've been a reaction to doing the plates and end tubes on the arms--outgassing from inside the tubes was a little smoky/heavy on the one because i forgot to burn the insides out with a torch. or just could be one of those nasty 12 hour stomach bugs ....moving pretty slowwwwllly today.

[speedshopmike]

it's looking really good.
loving the widetrack action!
hope you feel better; unless it's from beer there's no reward in barfing.
are you gonna simply extend the tie rods for now or revise it all?

[x-bird]

Surprisingly it's not a lot wider at all. it's really going to depend on the spindles and how far off the rims i have to come to get steering arm to clear. My stock rims had a spacer and 4 washers next to the rim. Not sure if that was a "mod" by PO or not. There were vise marks on the shock mounts, so this thing was taken apart for some reason along the way.

I've hit the point where i have to decide on where to mount the shocks, if they have 2 inches of travel, the place i'd like to put them gives the end of the arm 10 inches of total travel based on that two inches. It's pretty much critical as the shocks will set the arm angle at full droop,-- from there i can figure spindle angle I can make the arm end adjustable so i'll have a little wiggle room. I wish i knew how much they'd compress when i sit in it--no real way of knowing til it's all together. I'm actually considering making a wood block rig to clamp on the end of the arm to try different spindle angles. Overall, it look like the frame will sit level at the rear frame height--maybe even a touch nose-high, which i can correct by changing the rear shock position if needed.

The steering won't reach this setup it's too low and too far back. Remember i mentioned an old Rancho steering stabilizer? (still brand new) The frame mount for the shock end of that is very similar to the steering bracket welded up front. It's much taller, which is perfect and pre-fabbed--will just need a bend to match the angle where the shaft will go in. I'll cut the steering mounts off the tubes and shorten them to move the steering "column" forward and the stabilizer mount will raise it to clear the same tubes it hits now. If i need to lengthen the tie rods, that's no biggie. I was actually even thinking of offsetting the column a bit to equalize the rod length. I've driven enough offset steering Italian cars for it not to bother me. lol

[speedshopmike]

that's weird; i pulled a front wheel to see if there might be room for some washers but there isn't (i mean, maybe 1 or 2 w/o running out of thread for the center nut so i didn't bother).
i'd think real hard over how you're gonna want better shocks than stockers, esp with heavier parts and rolling stock that're gonna need to be damped.
fwiw, the SC shocks have 3" travel.....it'll be the best $32 you ever spent.
eat ramen for a week (after you're done w/ the whole barfing situation) to afford them if you have to.
if you center up the column it'll help the bumpsteer which is gonna get worse w/ your extra travel.

"edited due to not having realized there was more to your post than came thru on the email notification"

[metalstudman1]

Sorry to hear about the sickness- Galv. will do it for sure! The gusset at the rear of the plate probably won't add any additional support as the A-arm when hit by bumps puts strain on the thru bolt laterally, your bolt holes well into the plate ensures that you'll have little to no movement. Usually the shocks are the last thing I put on after all the spindle & wheels are installed to get my camber alignment correct.Couldn't you just tack weld a plate on the A-arm, then tack the shock mounts to it and do your weight testing- it's what I do!!! then you can stand on the front to see how far all the parts move and if any binding or geometery issues are occurring through it's travel. Couldn't tell from the pic's - is the caster built into the A-arms or will it be from the spindles?You can easily lean those shocks at a greater angle to get farther down the A-arm & more travel- with more angle you loose the soft cushey ride but you gain controllabilty with the steering.

[x-bird]

Thanks, but i think it was just a stomach bug. I gusseted the plates to help with any rock impacts --- i've had several already. Actually, it's moving the shocks inwards that provides more travel. As you go outwards, the range of the shock limits the arm more and more. I'm pretty happy with the angle i can get on them ... the pics i just posted above show the box tube i'll use, it'll be notched underneath to sit down around the frame tubes and be parallel with the arms. I'm just going to cut the bottom off the box ends and drill them out to mount the shocks. If I'm wrong with where they're at, its trash and start over time lol. I don't have hubs yet, and without getting and knowing the correct bearing diameter & offset, i can't make my spindles. I figured I would try a tack job on the arms and make a 90-degree wood hub and spindle just so i can set it down and see where it sits at with me in it.

[metalstudman1]

Sorry didn't realize you were still waiting on the parts!!!

[speedshopmike]

i think what i love most about working on these is that literally almost anything can be your jackstands.
i had mine up on a bag of sand and it struck me funny

[x-bird]

Got the shock mounts tacked up last night, pretty pleased with the result. It looks a little "quadi-ish". I was able to do so tests with me in it to see where it will end up loaded and unloaded. I'll be using the 3-hole arm mounts and a plate with an underside cross brace for the final mounts on the arms. The cross bar up top moved on me, it's about 3/32nds low on the right side. I'm building this thing with closer tolerances than on my bird or mga

The pic with the coffee can under and the side view pic it is the final tested ride height with me in it and tires on it. If i leave the shocks be, i can gain or lose clearance by changing the axle location. This would be with the axle about 1.5 inches above the top of the arm.

The pic with the wood slats just shows the unloaded attitude of the arms. The slats slide easier than the tires will when initially sitting in it. but once moving it should settle in about where i show it with the coffee can.

I notched the cross tube so that as close to parallel to the arms as i could get. one of those endless grind-fit-grind-fit jobs.


For now, the stock steering will get modified and beefed up until i can afford or create a rack ...maybe soon if my neighbor the picker/scrapper comes across something, maybe spring if i have to buy. BTW--the stering mount tubing is a control arm ---just in case someone bends one bad, you could always swap them ....

Now for the fun part

Costs to date ....
Cart = $350
Mods = $128 ...
Cro mo tubing (good for 4 arms, spindles, rear frame pivots) =$10
3/4 rod stock for arm & pivot bolts =$ 10
tires = $20
hubs = $40 (found a pair at buggies gone wild)
Various bronze bearings (1 dozen new so far)= $48

I still think i'm ahead of the game instead of buying a used box with unequal arms. half my costs are in the hubs and tires and I still would've bought the rod, tubing and some of the bearings for the rear frame pivot. I'd still need those items plus things like heims or ball joints. only "loss" is that i would've gotten a rack with the box.

[speedshopmike]

now i can see what you're up to w/ the rancho bracket.
nice pick!
i agree about being better off than w/ stocker spiderbox stuff up front.....and it's damn hard to beat the satisfaction of DIY.
it's looking good, jim.
the hubs you found - 4x156 or the small chinese pattern?

[x-bird]

That bracket's been kicking around one of my parts/bolts bins for the better part of 25 years just waiting for its day. The hubs are used EZ-go golf cart hubs, aluminum, tapered bearings, 4-stud pattern matching the GC rims--which are 4-in. iirc.

[speedshopmike]

so you're gonna use gc rims on it?
fat city man, i'm lookin' forward to seeing this

[metalstudman1]

I used GC wheels on several of our karts- cheap to come by and 4" on 4" is easy to replace + hubs are plentiful.I still have a set of 4 plain heavy aluminum 8" wheels laying around as spares!!

[x-bird]

where do you get hubs from and what's the pricing??? That's been the hardest thing for me to find --at least in my price range ... lol ... I haven't bought the pair i found for $40. yet, waiting for a reply from the seller ....

[metalstudman1]

Golf carts shops (locally) they always have spare used parts cheap.

[Lyonsperf]

I got the hubs and spindles from this place http://www.*************.com/item.as...catname=wheels
They are 4 on 4. Just need to find affordable steel wheels and tires to mount on them.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by metalstudman1

Golf carts shops (locally) they always have spare used parts cheap.

I have one local cart shop, thought about that a week or so ago and promptly forgot about .... them thanks for the sponge nudge. )))

I checked into surplus center, they're price-wise about the same as most of the others i'm finding, i'd rather get the lighter aluminum GC hubs.

[x-bird]

The last few nights have been --to steal Metal's terminology -- "BS sessions" I did get my rims/tires finished and realigned the top shock bar-- it's an eighth inch off side to side, when i ground out the notches to get it to settle down to a level position I lost my centerlines a bit. Haven't decided yet as to whether i'll mig shut and re-drill a mount hole ---more fiddly work

Just been banging ideas around as to a way to make a heavy duty enough spindle bracket/support, the ends of the arms are going to be carrying a lot more weight than the stock ones, and the stronger i make it the better and worse it gets That's the main reason i'm after the golf cart hubs, the weight savings over trailer types or my mower spindles is in the 1-3 pound each range.

Anyway, the latest idea is below, using some box tube from a broken deck mower towing arm and my old Scag seat mounting plates. The rectangular holes match the box tube perfectly (just a touch of filing) the bottom plate will be bent to incline the box tube and both top and bottom plates will be braced to the box tube, which will also have a brace going back to the plate on the arm. I'm going to use the cro-mo for the main spindle tube (found a source for bronze bearings at $2.00 a pop) and plan to set it far enough out from the box tube to increase the turning radius. for the steering arm, i'm thinking about cutting the stock arm right at the center of the end bend and having that curve swing straight up with a nut welded on it to thread the steering rod end into. Thoughts, flaws, criticisms, suggestions???? all welcome

Other idea --thanks or no thanks??? to Mike for triggering it ... Is to make the bottom plate hinged to the swingarm and instead of welding a brace between the back of it and the arm's plate, attach a turnbuckle. That would allow me to adjust and set kingpin inclination with the turn of a wrench. maybe mo-money, but i may have a few solid body turnbuckles up at work. Whether the threads would survive the abuse is another matter.

Overall, a lot of work so far to make an enhanced version of the stock single arm set-up. really kicking myself for overdrilling that first hole! When the time comes though, going to a dual arm setup won't be too difficult as I'll be half done with it.

[x-bird]

still waiting and searching for hubs. (( opened up the holes and installed the bearings for the control arms last night. Gonna be out of commission for a couple days, metal shard got under the safety glasses and just got back from the eye doc. ppicked, patched and anti-biotic drops... should I add that to the yerf's $$s tally? lol .... Meantime, gonna fix my face shield, (broke the headband last week) never liked or trusted just using safety glasses. expensive and painful lesson/

[speedshopmike]

that sucks, good luck jim.
eye stuff's always scary

[SYCARMS]

That does suck, glad to hear you not mention having to get the eye buffed. I got what I thought was a spark in the eye aroung my goggles, it turned out to be a piece of glowing metal which was removed then a couple days later I had to go elsewhere to have the eye buffed. Yes really buffed, they put a strap across the forehead so as not to move then use this contraption to clamp both eyelids open. Well it did not hurt but they watered as if someone turned a hot water faucet on. It was not the worse I've been thru but very uncomfortable. I learned after that to never rub the eye after getting something in it and to always have saline solution around for flushing debris from the eye. I also use a face shield now, much better then goggles.

TOM

[speedshopmike]

how's your ball?

[x-bird]

The ocular thing is doing fine, getting a really f'in expensive drop of antibiotic every 3 hours. Nothing like the time i got phosphoric acid in my left one. that was a 6 hour flush and all kinds of fun following that.
Staying away from the fine-dust generating tools for another day or two. Made up some parts tonight for a new intake pipe. Hacksawing )))) you guys will get a laugh out of it. Too late to weld it up.

[speedshopmike]

good.
i ever tell you about the time i shot truman field's son right in the eye w/ carb cleaner?
it seemed quite painful based on his reaction.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by speedshopmike

good.
i ever tell you about the time i shot truman field's son right in the eye w/ carb cleaner?
it seemed quite painful based on his reaction.

Did you hit it with a lighter while spraying?

Making a lot of progress ...holding off on pics til my hubs come in and it's all together. have the spindle brackets made and tacked in place until i can mount the hubs and tires to get it to a suspension angle i'm happy with. After seeing some of the carnage shots of 3206s with their front ends torn out of the frame, I'm going to do some major gusset/plate work up front. I've got way to much weight out on the arms and on this front end to not do something with it.

[speedshopmike]

i dont think fire woulda made it hurt any less; he flew by me at mach 2 and shoved his head in the toilet bowl
how much net weight will you have added up front when done, minus rolling stock?
looking forward to more pics.
don't be a d-tease!

[x-bird]

unsprung weight, the arms, brackets, spindles, hubs, rims and tires are going to be adding at least 5-10 pounds over stock per side. only have a rough guesstimate, but i do plan on weighing everything. The mounting box added another 5 over stock, all told, i'm hanging around 25 extra up on the nose with only the 2 3/4 welded frame tubes holding it on to the main frame. Add in that i've shoved the front end out by about 3 inches and my "box" only has welded contact for the rear 2/3rds of it = yikes ... front track looks to be around 53-in. measured at the outside of the tires.

OK, i'll throw the dog's bone to the dogs
I call this my homage to made in the USA products and reusing before recycling ....

Got thinking about what you were saying about re-jetting after opening up the intake pipe, but my plug was black and sooty, as is the exhaust pipe. Seems rich if anything, jet is a 166. So i decided to actually pay attention to the Tec and found my air filter was pretty dirty and what they call an air intake is just slightly restrictive. Once i have the front end finished ...and steering, and gas/brake pedal relocation .... I'll be able to run it and see if it wants more gas.

Meantime, here's the end result of my "no play with power tools in the garage weekend" The original quality of this thing compared to today's standards was just amazing, four colors, anodizing, tight tolerances ... likely from the 70s-early 80s. Now i have to figure out a filter for it ....

[speedshopmike]

did yours have a strange filter made of 3 or 4 stages of various sorta weird things?
mine did; i wondered if it was oem.
agreed, btw, the stock tec airbox is inexcusable.
i like the repurposed intake; it should spool your horsepowers right up!
(i wonder if you'll get some built in EGR via the starboard splitter? - very handy come emissions test time)

that's a lotta unsprung weight, esp with reducing front weight percentage via the extension.
good thing all those silly engineering theories don't apply to yerfdogs.

[SYCARMS]

Thats what I call unique.

TOM

[x-bird]

I do strange things when i'm bored The address on it is pretty cool ....

Mike wants pics, Mike gets pics ...

Here's how to take some nice, fairly light cro mo arms and turn them into boat anchors ..... If the angle the brackets are mounted on works, then they get a back brace to the plate ... mo heavy metal fwiw, they're mounted at 12 degrees to the arm.
Made my gussets for the front frame this morning, used steel C-channel, really thick in the corners, wearing out my sawzall and grinder with this stuff.

Other issue staring me in the face without an answer until i get my hubs is where the mounts are going to land in relation to the rim. I may have to put an axle extension of some sort on it, but I don't want the track any wider than this ...I'd like to lose an inch of width per side. I've got stock Club Car golf cart hubs with bearings and spindles coming my way ...just waiting on the mail ...

[jetasen74]

that looks sick, i bet it will have an awsome ride. its good to change the apperance/preformace of ones buggy, it keeps things fresh and will keep one busy,building and therefore content.

[x-bird]

confidence restored ... )

[speedshopmike]

holy unsprung weight batman!
them's be some meaty lookin' nuggets there, jim.
your welds look good, btw.
how bout a little brace from the top inside of the spindle to the arm plate to spread the load?
methinks yer front end will not be snapping off anytime soon w/ the plated reinforcements you added; very nice.

[x-bird]

Yeah, my miller 135 is happy with a full spool of wire. when it's near the end, the wire speed is all over the place and i end up with a lot of dogpile welds. It got to the point a few weeks ago that the wire feed was jamming every 1/4 inch of bead. Haven't had a jam with the new spool. The gun and liner are almost 15 years old ....a replacement has been on my wishlist for about 10 years now.

RE. the arms, once i know the 12 degree angle is correct, it'll get braced. until then, i don't want to cut a brace only to find i need to change the angle and remake the brace along with it. It's just tacked on. I've made it so that when i can afford heims i can make another set of arms (i have the tubing and bearings for them already) remove the bracket and reverse it to become the spindle.

Today's mission has been building new pedals to locate on the new brace plates. The new location makes it so that with the seat all the way back, i can just reach them (the wife has longer legs than I--so this will fit us both) I also came up with a 4-point system for my lil one. 2 bolts hold a bar with the stock pedals mounted on tube stubs and 2 nuts attach the threaded rod extensions off the brake and gas rods. Should take all of 2 minutes to install or remove. Hubs should be here next week, once I get those, I can nail down the steering and call it done.

Oh, and here's one that drove me nuts .... front shock mount bar is a little off and my arms don't hang equal--but how little i have it off doesn't add up to the distance the arms are off of each other ... trying to figure out where i went wrong and discovered last night that one of the center bars connected to the front hoop is welded in about 3/8 inch crooked. The horizontal hoop is in the correct position, I think the front bar that curves from bottom to top rolled inward in the jig a bit and the builder welded it in that way then added the top bar. Every time i stare at the front, it looks racked, now i know why. I may cut it apart and correct it with some heat and persuasion.

[x-bird]

Whee, i put some aluminum on tonight. Much nicer action and progression than stock. Gotta cut out the brake pedal C-channel and thread a beefier bolt for the rod end. I think i'm going to hang the steering rod from the shock bar and use a longer arm off it to shorter arms on the spindles. I'm also hoping the golf cart spindle bearings match the steering rod size so i can mount it through that.

[x-bird]

2x post

[speedshopmike]

so yer converting to one-foot driving?
looks good

[x-bird]

nah, always been a left-foot braker. will probably put a dead pedal off the side somewhere.

[jetasen74]

those pedals are awsome. good job!

[x-bird]

thanks jet .... I just cut them out of 1.5 x 3 x 1/4 6061 C-channel. got about 10 foot of it that has been hanging around for years without a purpose. I made the hinges, but 1/2 of a heavy duty door or gate hinge would work fine too. I'm gonna call this a "pedal box" yerf Got my removable set of pedals for my daughter finished, 2 bolts and 2 washers & nuts. I was worried about the threaded rod extension skewering me, but it's in a "safe" area --i'll likely wrap it with some electrical tape just to be on the safe side. Takes less than two minutes to install and remove.

BTW--got my hubs and spindles yesterday They're from an EZ-GO cart. Already chopped up the spindles, tacked, test fitted and awaiting a quick ride before i zip it all up. Working on setting up the steering today, had to modify my shock mounts. These arms are generating huge leverage force compared to stock, I need much stiffer shock springs. Most of the shock travel is getting eaten up just at resting state. Also need to make some arm limiters.

[x-bird]

Whee ..success ... sorta

LOTS OF PICTURES

Got the steering finished today. For now, it's a stopgap setup until i can get a rack in this thing. My track ended up at 53 inches up front, so I had to make new steering rods. Drilled out the ends of some rod stock and cut off and welded in the threaded sections from the originals. Used my old wasted Yerf spindle with an extension as the steering arm ---reallllllllllllllllllllly bad case of Ackerman with this arrangement! Also the steering effort is pretty heavy, which i expected given the length of the extension. Just gonna live with it for now. A lot of the ackerman is due to the angle i put the "steering column" at. More offset than a lamborghini! I really can see turning this into a single seater and buying the little one her own.

It took 7 variations (tack, test, cut it all off and start again) on the shock mount bar to finally get it somewhere that i'm happy with. Also discovered that a couple of the rock hits it took apparently have twisted the nose a bit. figures i welded up that massive bracing system before finding that out.

After dinner it's tear down and finish weld time-- maybe even some paint. About the only items i need to address are to maybe take 2 degrees of incline out of the spindle brackets and add the underside bash guard.

[x-bird]

Couldn't get all the pictures in the last post ... took it for a test drive, turning radius is nice, ran it on the flats all was good, went to a little bumpy area and got treated to the sight of my right wheel speeding off without me. tack weld on the spindle let loose before i could really try any bumps.

BTW, 29 pounds per side (wheels, hubs, spindles & arms) Just about need the floor jack on it now ....

[speedshopmike]

"your wheel's off!"
"it's just a flesh wound."

that's some beef, jim.
nice job.
i'm eager to know how it does on the bumpies.
perhaps add a u-joint in your steer column so you can shorten the pitman arm?
how much wheel travel did you wind up with and how much is used up at static ride height?
congrats!

[x-bird]

I was thinking about the u-joint --not so much to shorten the arm but to get it to swing on a straight arc. lock to lock is only about 3/4 of a turn of the wheel --reminds me of a maserati Khamsin and i'm liking that aspect of it. right now it sweeps about an inch and a half forward on the left side when turning right, the left steering arm hits the stop well before the right one and the tire is probably almost 10 degrees in compared to the right.

As far as travel goes, it's around 14-16 inches total, but 9 to 10 of it is used up by the time i sit in it. I really haven't measured it, just a guesstimate. Most of the available movement is downward, going upward the springs go into coil bind long before the arms gets close to hitting anything--got more room for upward travel. If i raise the shocks, the front end just bottoms out on the ground (tried it already) The SC shocks would help with that by adding another inch of shock travel. It's getting some aircraft cable limiters on the arms today-- if i leave it sit, the arms creep down until it's so high that i have to settle them back down before sitting in it. If i were to air the front end a little off kilter without the limiters, i'm afraid the results might be a little "ugly".

As far as the wheel off goes, i'm just glad i went on my flat bumpy section and not up into the woods. Good part about it was I was testing it without the cotter pins on the hub nuts! A bit of deja-vu though -- a few years back after a shop did my state inspection which includes removing the tires to check the brakes-- my truck threw it's left front tire on route 22 (interstate 2 lanes each way) at 70 mph, watched it bounce along the divider praying it didn't cross into oncoming. 2nd or 3rd scariest automotive moment i've ever had.

[jetasen74]

been there man i was in a 76 old and we were on a back road and the left front just looked like it was luanched off of the car.

[x-bird]

all weld work finished! ... for now lol. Got the parts spray bombed and hanging. Gonna put some hours on the work clock then bolt it together and put it through its paces. Still have to meddle with the carb. Picked up some little twist drills. It seemed to almost be misfiring yesterday at wide open, think it needs more gas ...and an air filter!

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by jetasen74

been there man i was in a 76 old and we were on a back road and the left front just looked like it was luanched off of the car.

That's the really scary part--wheels accelerate initially when they come off. mine made it nearly a mile down the highway. it was bouncing right next to the center divider, probably 10-15 feet in the air.

[x-bird]

Got her pretty well wrapped up. First test thrash resulted in ...

Gas pedal hitting pitman/rod end bolt when matted...BFW ... heave-ho and the pitman arm clears now

Snap clips on the Limiter cable lasted all of 5 minutes before bending open. I have interlocking ones to "upgrade" to.

Suspension is 1960s cadillac over the rough stuff--just soaks it up--i ran over some nice foot+ rocks for giggles and not a clang to be heard!

Now for the
Engine runs like dogpuckey, couldn't really thrash it out, maybe getting 10-15 mph out of it.

Looking at the convertor, it's in the #2 spring position. When i hit it, it needs to get about 1/2 throttle or more before the belt grabs and it goes. seems to be all "top gear" Sort of always been that way, but now it seems magnified.

I tried tightening up the convertor belt by moving the engine forward, (it seems too loose) but really didn't gain anything before there was no more slotted hole left to use.

I can get a full throttle run for a few seconds, then it stutters and dies way down. It's not stalling, more like getting really choked off. In the woods, little hills i was pulling right up before i'm now at a dead stop, gassing it for 4-10 seconds before it grabs and goes again. The air intake has great vacuum.

I opened up the 166 jet with a #56 drill bit, not much larger. Plug and tailpipe are still very black/sooty. I've got the carb linkage running as just one spring from the throttle lever to the governor lever, with the throttle tang trimmed and bent to get to wide open. To do that though, the governor arm is also going all the way against its stop. Is the governor kicking in and limiting engine speed because of that???

[speedshopmike]

back to basics.
what changed since you last drove it?
did you drill the jet? (if it was already rich why'd you go bigger?)
did you change the linkage?

the oem comet driver has springs that come in at 2200 rpm.
my tach verified that.
mine also takes a good bit of throttle travel before the driver engages, fwiw, both with the oem Tec motor and the clone on it now.

60's caddy ride is big thumbs up, and no clanking must be heavenly.
it looks great.

[x-bird]

Nothing has changed too much. I did open up the jet as i indicated. if i went by number drill size, i'd put a 166 tec jet at about 54, and i went to 56 which might been a couple thousandth's in dia. change.

I went through the laundry list of little stuff this morning.

1. i overfilled the oil, by about 1/2 inch on the stick. corrected that.

2. cleaned the plug and tailpipe so i have a comparative basis. it was carbon coatedf before i drove it, so no way to tell and that may have contributed. dry carbon, not wet oil sludge.

3. messed with the linkage (2 hours worth of fiddling) I think it was pulling the throttle plate beyond 90 degrees. Don't know if that's possible physically or if there is a stop in the carb bore. Was curious if that might cause a dramatic change in mixture flow. Also, i think the governor arm was overpowering the lone spring i had hooked to the throttle cable arm. i think there's a chance that under load, the governor arm was closing the throttle. I could put it up on stands and run it, but it won't replicate a loaded condition.
Solution i've gone with is a stronger spring. I also have to put a pedal stop on my gas, i can go way past full throttle with the pedal.

4. I have to tighten the chain, it's definitely too loose. i think the small sprocket is getting chain wrap and also contributing to the way the convertor reacts.

5 steering, moved the hole in the pitman arm up (creating a shorter arm) I think this will reduce some of the effort and I also made sure the new hole location made the steering rods parallel with the control arms. took a chunk out of the ackerman issue by doing that.

So now it's time to tighten the chain and test drive .... and decorate the house and "de-yerf widow" my wife .....

[speedshopmike]

my tec carb could go right past 90* and start closing again.
it's totally worn out so IDK if that's why or not, but i could see it happen with a flashlight after i yanked the stock linkage and made a really bad DIY setup.

here's a real nice visual aid for what ackerman geom is:
http://www.bcot1.com/karting/

[x-bird]

Spent the afternoon turning myself into a rolling, gas stinking popsicle. lol but got a few things figured out. Here comes the latest chapters (engine woes and steering) in my yerf book!

When i was porting the intake manifold pipe, i'm getting the feeling that while i did improve it, it wasn't the way i thought. I think the mix is getting much better atomization and the cylinder filling is way up to the point that rather than a larger jet, it wants less fuel because the burn is more efficient. The plug and tailpipe have very dry carbon soot on them, no wetness at all. I was worried that i might be getting fuel dropping out of suspension and washing the cylinder, but it'd be wet fouling if i'm not mistaken. I can "fluff" the soot from the tailpipe off my glove. Given that I have no jets to play with, I put a clamp on the fuel line and restricted it pretty severely. It ran best with it oh so close to stalling from starvation. while it still didn't reach a good burn level--still lots of carbon, it runs a lot better with more power--still down from the original way it ran though. I need to get an adjustable jet kit. It also ran better with the breather pipe disconnected, that was the first thing i tried and it improved it quite a bit. However, with the fuel restricted it didn't matter as much. The float level was also too low. The tec service manual states that all their carbs use 11/64 float clearance from the lip, this had about 3/16ths more than that. Otherwise, the carb is squeaky clean, no issues in that regard.
Yes, the throttle blade can go past 90 degrees and i was definitely choking it off with the gas pedal all the way down. Fiddled with the linkage another 15 minutes or so and got that sorted.

I moved the convertor to spring setting no. 3, suits my terrain better. I think this thing is more than a little "tired".

Thanks for the link, i'm pretty well versed in ackerman, but it always helps to visualize. I did keep my steering arms as close to 90 as possible, I can't get them inside the rims so I do pick up a bit there. Most of it is coming from the pitman being mounted on an angle. I've got crazy ackerman. The move of the steering rods up higher did help with reducing the effort, but made the ackerman so bad that the inside wheel was full lock and the outside was only 5 degrees off straight ahead ---i could not get through my woods at all, just understeered and plowed straight through the corners. I reset the rods to the lower point and it improved it. i also need to shorten them (i can take about 1/4 in. off the threaded portion on each end) so i can toe it out more. the tires are toeing in when the suspension compresses--really badly when driving into full width inclines aka jumps. It makes the kart want to dart off to whichever side compresses the least amount. The springs are way, way, way too soft as well.

All that said, i'm still happy with what I'm getting, this thing eats up rock outcrops like you wouldn't believe. With dual arms and a steering rack, and more and better travel at the rear it'd be first rate.

Durability factor?
Slammed several immovable obstacles (trees) with both the arms and the nose and not even a ding.

[metalstudman1]

Possible things to try on your steering- you keep saying you have too much Ackerman- I don't think that's the case,you don't have enough. To get the proper Ackerman degrees at each tire you first need the steering arms on the spindle angled to form an imaginary line (triangle) the center of the rear axle. You have your's parallel with the tire, second issue is your longer pitman arm eases steering force-so that's good but try twisting the connection for a better travel from right to left. If you were to angle the steering arms diagonally towards the imaginary triangle your turnimng radius will improve and be more responsive quicker. If the radius isn't enough move the pivot point closer to the spindle (more effort at the wheel though). Just some ideas for you to ponder!

[speedshopmike]

the spring in my original driven was dead dead dead.
it'd try to open immediately.
yours may be there or on the way.

what msm is saying is right - w/ parallel steering arms you'll get no proper ackerman.
you're seeing a big discrepancy between the two wheel deltas anyway.
that says to me something's goofy in the geometry.
the pitman can't change ackermann angle by definition.

low float level will make a carb run leaner than spec.
raising it will fatten it up.....so if you're low now and rich something aint right.
better cylinder fill shouldn''t change the a/f ratio.
all these small motors with little to no quench tend to carbon up.
i wouldnt use that as a jetting reference - read the plug porcelain for color.
idk wtf to say about your fuel line experiment....the only thing it coulda done was artificially cause the float level to drop....it runs better then before, it's gotta be rich now.....which it totally shouldn't be w/ the open pipe and free intake.
but when the theory doesnt fit chuck it out.
how about brazing up the jet hole and drilling a new smaller one?

[x-bird]

pics are worth a thousand words ...
but with a writer you get the thousand words first ....

The pictures are taken with my weight in the kart plus an extra 2 inches of travel "pushed" down into it.
All degrees are measured, not guesstimated.

The steering arms are mounted 76 to 77 degrees in relation to the axle.
The rod ends are about 1/8 below the top of the rim and right in line with the rear of the rim. The inside rim edge is the center of the kingpin, which is inclined 12 degrees. If i had made the arms parallel inside the rims, they would hit the frame when the control arms extend down--just like (worse than) the stock yerf issue.

The steering "column" rod with the pitman arm mounted on it is at 79 degrees angling forwards to the left side of the kart centerline. (as you sit in it). The lower hole I'm using on the pitman is 5 inches below the steering column. The upper hole i tried out was 3 inches below. The stock is about 2 inches below.

I tried bending/twisting the pitman arm 6 ways to sunday. Works best with a slight twist to the right and pushed a little to the front of the kart.

The closest i could get the steering rods to equal length (and the pitman at the karts centerline) was 15 inches and 13 3/4. Being off the CL by an inch or so mainly was an issue of getting my toes clear of the steering column


As you can see below, right turns are really ugly, left is manageable. My favorite corners in my woods are downhill, off camber right handers, loose surface. The left wheel basically just unloads and scrubs and the right doesn't turn enough to keep me from going off the hillside (short, but steep enough to be a PITA to drag the kart nose back up off whatever tree stops me.)

I started with the rods linked to the pitman at its longest lowest point, very high steering effort but the least amount of difference in the wheel angles and best control in the corners.

I moved it to within an inch of the original length and the effort became much easier, but the inside tire barely turns in relation to the outside = running on the flats only, no control whatsover in the woods. Super bad scrub even on the flats. It literally made me afraid to run it after almost skidding straight into my JD's front end loader bucket.

Plan right now is to shorten the steering rods to reduce the severity of the toe-in when the front end compresses. That's just freaky because i can't tell which way it's going to want to go when it unloads. Fun, but freaky. I can live with what i have if i can get the engine running better. I know if i can get a rack that had it's link ends close to the pickup points, it'd improve a lot. It seems to sense upcoming hills and dies out right when i need it most. I'd swear it knows what i'm about to slam into.

Mike, i hear what your saying. I got ahead of myself the other night waiting for paint to dry and decided to go just a tiny bit richer based on the idea that i'd brought a lot of extra air to the mix by getting rid of the air intake. I'm thinking that maybe the intake tract after the carb was so piss poor that it needed extra fuel just to function. I took a lot of highly obstructive material out of the intake pipe right in the middle of the turn just after the carb bore. It's so sooty now you cant read the porcelain. Looks like an acetylene torch on high blew on it. I don't have any brazing rods, but i do have good ol JB weld ... As far as what a 166 jet diameter is -- no clue. This carb doesn't have an adjustable jet kit out on the market specifically made for it, i'm checking with a few sellers to see what the dimensions on the tec adjustable jets are internally. if they match, i may go that route. I did the work on the tec for kicks and giggles, my bro still has that Robin 9 hp and needs some help in his shop i may just say to heck with it and dump that puppy on it.

[x-bird]

more words and an idea that just struck me ... mount a new rod end post on the left side steering arm closer to the kingpin.

Think that would help equalize them a bit more?

[metalstudman1]

I know you've done a ton of work on this-I have another suggestion for your steering- try a 2 hole set-up for the pitman(2 holes side by side), it's clear that the pitman rotation isn't the same from left to right. Your streering column on such a radical angle is where the issues begin and being equal on all the components only works when the column is near perpendicuar to the steering. With each arm seperate on the pitman you could then dial in each tire by changing the length.

[x-bird]

awesome idea! I'd have to do it as a second arm kind of like a "y" but that would be a lot easier to deal with and play around with. drill a hole and weld it on. You don't want to know how many sliding linkages, rocker arms and pivots I've thought about when putting this together. I still may put a new post on the arms just to cut the kick-back down a bit and lighten the effort. Only thing that really bums me is that my daughter isn't strong enough to turn the wheel as it sits right now.
That's my "free" option.
The "spend money I direly don't have" option is to buy a universal and put it ahead of the pitman and just move the pitman to center and 90 to the C/L.

[metalstudman1]

You have the idea- and you can twist each end of the "Y" for straighter arm alignment.
I just went out into the cold!!! checked the bone yard for my last kart without a rack- you need to set it up with the ackerman alignment to reduce length on the arm and give you better travel at the kingpin. Our old Yerfdog non-suspension got that treatment and ended up with an awesome turning radius with less effort. I use a distance of 3"-4" off the pivot point(kingpin) to start and get closer on the Ackerman angle to decrease my turning radius if needed. The most important thing I found with achieving a true Ackerman angle is a fairly accurate triangle in relationship to the axle- this almost eliminates a "scrub" condition on a short wheelbase vehical.If you're not too frustrated at this point I think you'll get it where your daughter will be able to turn it!!!!

[x-bird]

right after i posted last night i rummaged in my cro-mo tubing box and pulled out some cut-off ends from making the arms. They're already tube-notched on one side and have my 22.5 angle cut on the other and are about an inch long. I'm going to tack one on the left side arm closer to the kingpin to give the "equalizing offset". I can set it so I have it forward enough so that if it works, i can put one on the other side further back ....then lop off a pound of unnecessary steel. I can't "triangulate" the arms much more than i have, otherwise they hit the mounting bracket's square upright tube sooner and limit the turning radius. BTW, the green bump stop is part of a mini golf putting green tee pad. I think i'm going to do a "list" photo like you did of yours, pretty funny what this thing is made out of.

I've been hitting the negatives pretty hard for obvious reasons, one big positive is the unequal front and rear track. I take the "dive-in" tight approach to corners, a remnant of 20+ years of DH mountain biking. With the old equal track, I was snagging rocks, trees and stumps with the rear tires to the point i was worrying that i'd bend the rear axle (if i haven't yet). Now, i can run the edge of whatever's in the corner and just hard turn it through without a worry. If i do anything with the back, i will widen it a bit, but still not as much as the front end. It's also very easy to do a VW "3-point" turn without it feeling unsettled. First couple times i did that, i didn't realize the back tire was in the air. Another positive are the limiter cables on the front arms. For working on it, it's really nice not to fight full arm drop when the front end is on the jackstand. Now i don't have to pull the shock to make it easier to work on it. I'd consider setting up tabs for them on any kart even if it's just to hook them up only in the garage.

[ckau]

[QUOTE=x-bird;18487], one big positive is the unequal front and rear track. I take the "dive-in" tight approach to corners, a remnant of 20+ years of DH mountain biking. With the old equal track, I was snagging rocks, trees and stumps with the rear tires to the point i was worrying that i'd bend the rear axle QUOTE]

With a wider rear wheel base you get "push" Where you turn the wheel and the front doesn't responed. Just Pushes forwards! A wider front track helps this condition.
With these buggys you have to Square off the turns and use the Drifter aproach to a real tight turn. To take a hard right turn, Snap the wheel to the left momentarily to shift the weight inside , snap the wheel back right into the turn while braking if needed and then instantly back hard on the gas. This will cause the rear to lighten for a moment, This technique causes the shocks to compress on the inside then by timing the right turn move and braking on the rebound there's a moment of negitive pressure on the rear as the weight transfers from one side to the other. This breaks the rear loose, it swings out and points you around the turn. Use Counter steering and throttle to control the amount of swing . With practice on timing you can spin a buggy around 180 degrees without loosing momentum just by tapping the pedals and flicking the wheel.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by ckau

This breaks the rear loose, it swings out and points you around the turn. Use Counter steering and throttle to control the amount of swing . With practice on timing you can spin a buggy around 180 degrees without loosing momentum just by tapping the pedals and flicking the wheel.

Me needs an engine capable of providing the grunt to do this Before it started acting up i could corner that way on my one down-to-uphill off camber corner -- which is where i rolled it.

[x-bird]

Well, added the new steering rod posts on the steering arms and shortened the rods to dial out some of the toe-in under compression issue. It is definitely improved, not ideal, but i'm going to live with it for now. Getting the steering dialed hasn't bothered me as much as getting the engine running decently. I think i'm going to pull the covers and check the valve lash and air gap. 'm also wondering if the chamber just isn't heavily carbon caked.

While it's not an ideal method, i have used it in the past, but never on a small engine like this. Would doing a "steam clean" just blow this little thing up? I'm talking about spraying a fine water mist into the carb while running. or even some carb cleaner??

I have to add my front fenders back, the new tires like slinging pretty large chunks of slop!

There's a small no suspension yerf about an hour from me for $150. closed out on e-bay with no sale, thinking of offering $125 and getting it for my daughter and turning the 03 into a single seater ...man i flip flop more than a certain ex-president ....

[speedshopmike]

re: flipflopping, i feel your pain; i'm back to keeping the ydog given it's the real recipient of all my requested crap from santa this year

[x-bird]

well, after brainstorming with my bro last night (who's opinion of Tecs is "Kick it in the woods") I got my problem solved this morning.
Solution???
Do NOT call me to design air intakes LOL .
Took off my "unique" wire spool intake and it came to life. It may just be the bend so close to the carb. Since i hacked the original air box I don't have a filter. I did buy a round tapered one that fits the wire spool exactly. I may get ride of the eldbow and try the spool straight off the carb.
Running strong, Plug color is pinkish tan right at the base of the electrode.

I also whipped up a set of adjustable shock mounts for up front. I needed a way to get the shocks back into a good tension range. These are bolt in and give me 4 shock settings and 2 mounting settings for a total of 8 different shock locations plus the three already on the arm. These arms want LOOONG shocks!
Pics later, gotta fly ....

[speedshopmike]

1st, congrats.
that leaves me wondering how it ran well previously with the spool installed, though....
2nd, if you wanna cover shipping and will send them back, you're welcome to borrow my 14" kawi shocks to try out..
i cant imagine they'd be anything except way way too stiff but leverage is a powerful thing.

[x-bird]

other than the suspension test runs of the past couple days, the yerf hasn't run since the day before I posted the pictures of the new fenders. That was a month ago. Been doing soup-to-nuts work with no run testing... Jim a bad boy! goes against everything I used to preach in regards to doing mods. The spool intake and re-created carb linkage didn't have any run time until just the other day.

Pics of the new shock mounts and stance. They'll get trimmed down a bit (i'm such a weight-weenie with this thing after all ) and the back and bottom boxed in. a second piece of metal will run under the original mounting plate and will have two bolt holes (one matching each of the adjustable positions) so it will act as a brace. I'm going to keep this as a bolt-in item . I figure i'll be doing the dual arm set-up once the snow locks me in. I had to force myself to stop driving it earlier today before i bent these. Made out of Callaway golf club racks )))

[speedshopmike]

good move.
you sure could use some longer shocks.
i'd not be surprised if you wind up making the mono arms work so well you won't bother with a double setup.
10-4 on the untested intake.
you gots a vid cam?
i'd love to see some suspension action (action action) in the wild.
ps: weight weenies win races.
colin chapman wasn't stupid.
add lightness.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by speedshopmike

good move.
ps: weight weenies win races.
colin chapman wasn't stupid.
add lightness.

I know all about that --I have an 18-pound DH mountain bike hanging in the basement. My 35-40 pounder is hanging in the garage. I was the king of the weight weenies on that scene--and the last hardcore fully rigid rider in the region. (of course rigid bikes came back into fashion after i gave up on beating the hell out of myself.) Aluminum frames, forks and titanium yum yum. And yes, I grew up knowing all about Rockville BMX )))) Still have my PK Ripper--aluminum--see a trend? ran a lot of war of the stars on the east coast.
Only reason i bring up the bikes is that i discovered an interesting parallel between this kart and my bikes. When i rode the lightweight stuff, it was ALL about technical ability. When i went front and rear suspension on the heavy rig, it became far less about technical skill and more about just punching it straight into the rocks and getting a good "posting" rhythm going through over all the boulders. Had to go that route because the courses i was racing up in the catskills have monster cliff drops.
Before all this fab fun, driving the yerf was the same way, picking through the smoothest line in the rocks as fast as i could. Now i aim for the big stuff. ))))
As far as keeping the "mono" I'm pretty sure that won't happen. I don't like the severity of camber change it brings, that's also playing into the steering issues. Getting the upright to move vertically instead of in an arc will really put this where i want it. The main tubes are cut and the jig is sitting off to the side ready to finish the 6 little pieces prior to welding. After that, it's just the expense of the heims. Despite adding a second arm, i'll be able to cut a lot of weight off that upright (and the end of the arm where it matters most) while turning it into the spindle. Don't worry, i'm still a weight weenie. Hell, i knocked almost 300 pounds off the bird's nose and you know first hand what the distribution on those is with a 455.

As far as video goes, that's what i was working on when the yerf hit the garage with the busted spindle. my JVC's battery lasts all of a minute and the helmet cam quality is garbage. I may put the jvc on the charger outside on my tripod. I'm thinking of doing a walking video first then either an on-board or the static view. The woods are pretty clear right now. Problem i' having is that it's frosting about 2 inches each night and then thawing in the sun by 10 am. I'm, just tearing the hell out of the top inch or so and spinning like mad.

[speedshopmike]

rockville bmx, that's hysterical....i drove by their old spot just the other day.
i LIVED there for a year or so back in the early 80's.
i had a rr suspension bmx bike way before it was fashionable.
that thing was a P-I-G pig; i think it mighta been made of cast iron, lol.
i added lightness everywhere but it wasn't remotely close to enough.
tons o' fun, though.
then some dickwipe horked it, never to be seen again.

[jetasen74]

i had a diamond back, a preditor, and my favorite a hutch you could pich up with a pinky.

[x-bird]

wrapping up the shock mounts ...
took a break from tightening up the intake screws stupid (*^%&^#$#Q$!! engineer that designed that intake ... oh wait, that's me )))) ...
Found my steering "improver" ...craftsman 1/2 in. drive universal to a 1/2 to 3/8 reducer to an 11/16 spark plug socket (has a 5/8 round ID right after the hex. Gotta weld that mess together and die-grind out the 1/2 drive square to fit on the steering shaft. I knew i had a universal staring me in the face somewhere ... LOL

[GX150]

Ashtabula forks, Skyway wheels, Z-Rims and Vans brings back memories...