Gen 1, 400ex A-arm swap

[Mathius]

I have been looking all over the net for the last few hours. I'm trying to find out how long the stock 400ex a-arms are??
Dose anybody know for sure how long they are??

I know that the +2 up 1 ASR lt lower arm is 15,3/4" inches long, so my guess would be the stockers are 13,3/4" to 14" inches long?
But what about the uppers?

I'm just looking for some references to go from. I know that my lower arm on my 87' is 14" inches long, and my upper arm is 11,1/2" inches.

How long are the upper arms on a Gen 2 warrior? If I had that to go from, along with the numbers from others that have done this swap on Gen 2's I might be able to get a baseline..

I would hate to buy a set of $500 arms just to find out there to damn short. :argh:

 

[duneracerweston]

oh my bad dude! i ment to messure these the other day ill run check how long they are!

 

[duneracerweston]

+2 400ex upper messures at 14"
oem gen 2 arms 10 3/8"

 

[Mathius]

+2 400ex upper messures at 14"
oem gen 2 arms 10 3/8"

Holey crap.. lol
Those are some long ass uppers..

So as far as it looks from the numbers. If I go with some +3 up 1 400ex arms, the uppers might be to long??
Might it be better to go with a +3 up 0?

 

[beastlywarrior228]

I think +2+1 400ex would be perfect for an 87 on a trail

 

[duneracerweston]

I vote +3 all over it that should put you at 47" the arms are adjustable so you can make them work I bet

 

[87warrior917]

The shock mount on the 1st gen frames are diff than the newer style. Depends what trials this guy will run in. If there tight +2 will be kinda ok, any wider is a no go.

I think the biggest prob Mathius is gonna have is finding the right shock to work with the angle of the mounts. Your going in blind to this, but i wish ya luck.

 

[Mathius]

I think +2+1 400ex would be perfect for an 87 on a trail

If I go that route though, it'll give me just over 3,1/2" inches.. (1,3/4" inches per side)
That wouldn't be worth the hassle, and the trails around here are pretty wide.
I think if I go with the +3, it should give me close to 5" inches.

I vote +3 all over it that should put you at 47" the arms are adjustable so you can make them work I bet

I think I'm just gonna go for it..
Hopefully Full Flight will let me make a custom order?

Now I just need to figure out how long of a tie rod I'm gonna need??
My stock rods are 9,1/2" inches. Would I just add the extra length of the arms to get a tie rod length?

Like say the +3 arm is 16,3/4".. Would I just add 2,1/4" inches to the tie rod, and say 11,3/4"??

 

[duneracerweston]

Tell them that's the minimum length and add about.75 to that as the maximum length they should have some in that area

 

[Mathius]

The shock mount on the 1st gen frames are diff than the newer style. Depends what trials this guy will run in. If there tight +2 will be kinda ok, any wider is a no go.

I think the biggest prob Mathius is gonna have is finding the right shock to work with the angle of the mounts. Your going in blind to this, but i wish ya luck.

Yah I'm treading unknown waters here, but I'm really hope'n a YFZ450 shock will flip the bill.. I think I'll be alright with them?
If not I'm gonna have to order some Works shocks.

 

[87warrior917]

Yah I'm treading unknown waters here, but I'm really hope'n a YFZ450 shock will flip the bill.. I think I'll be alright with them?
If not I'm gonna have to order some Works shocks.

The YFZ X shcks i had last year measured 17" eye to eye so keep that in mind once you get the arms setup in your quad.

 

[Mathius]

The YFZ X shcks i had last year measured 17" eye to eye so keep that in mind once you get the arms setup in your quad.

What year were those from?

I was looking at some on ebay from an 04' that were only 16" inches eye to eye..
But yah I'm thinking 16" will be the max.. I'll probably end up buy'n some new shocks?

 

[87warrior917]

What year were those from?

I was looking at some on ebay from an 04' that were only 16" inches eye to eye..
But yah I'm thinking 16" will be the max.. I'll probably end up buy'n some new shocks?

Im not for sure what year they were off of. But i know the early yfz's use 16" shocks while the newer yfz X use 17" ones and the yfz R use like 18" or so

 

[duneracerweston]

you will need the arms first before ordering shocks trust me

 

[87warrior917]

The YFZ X shcks i had last year measured 17" eye to eye so keep that in mind once you get the arms setup in your quad.

you will need the arms first before ordering shocks trust me

Yupp... When i built my set of a arms i built the arms them selfs and then found the ride hieght i wanted and angle of the shock, and then did the mounting for them.

So basically do the same thing, get the a arms setup like yout want, set the bike at the ride hieght you want with out sag then measure for the shock. Obviously once you get the shocks installed, when u set on it, it will sag, shock adjustment from there will get you where you need to be.

DO NOT get them relocators, I remember you saying you had one.... I had one to, it was a strong solid piece, but my problem with them is it puts the shock at almost straight up and down, making the geometry wayyy off and the shock is super super super soft even with the preload and compression turned to stiff. Needless to say i went with the right length shock.

 

[Mathius]

Yah I'm just going off angles, and my measuring tape right now.. I'm still gonna do this though, then order some HLS shocks once I know how long they need to be.

 

[duneracerweston]

That's a good idea, don't order any shocks til you get the front end set up

 

[Mathius]

That's a good idea, don't order any shocks til you get the front end set up

BTW..
Thanx for all the help with this so far man.
It's been greatly appreciated. :rock: