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Lower A arms missing zerk fitting?


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I picked up some used stock A-Arms for my banshee along with a set of yfz 450 shocks. I've read all the pros/cons of running the 450 shocks on the stock setup, but want to give them a try...I'm thinking if nothing else I can just swap them back for my factory shocks if I have concerns once the arms are changed.

 

Everything was going great with the swap (btw, the lowers are already modified to clear the larger shocks) when I realized that the lower a-arms don't have zerk fittings that my original arms have. It looks like they've been removed and filled...they are definitely stock arms. Is there any reason why someone would do this? Also, how should I proceed? Should I tap a set in, or just pack it with grease and go, or what?

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Thanks for the reply. Does anyone have any idea why someone would remove the zerks? Also, would there be any problem with tapping that same spot (that's been closed)? This seems like a dumb thing to do, so I'm guessing there had to be a reason to do it....

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So you read people are popping ball joints and flipping at 40mph because of these and you still think the pros of them (which none come to mind, please let me know what they are.) is worth it?

I've heard people suspect you could "pop  a ball joint" but I've not heard one confirmed case of this. I would be interested. I'm not trying to be stupid. I bought this setup off a guy who ran them on his shee for a long time with no ill effects...he was just moving to a +2 +1 setup. I'm not trying to be stupid, but I've only heard speculation. As to why I would try it, I've read repeated posts by folks who run them and swear by the setup. I've also read of people swapping the whole front end. Either way, my question is really more about the Zerks than anything, as it's way easy to run my stock shocks. In fact, I might just do that as I just compared my lower A's and it doesn't look like they were tweaked in the wreck.

 

Thanks for your input though...I do appreciate it!

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So you read people are popping ball joints and flipping at 40mph because of these and you still think the pros of them (which none come to mind, please let me know what they are.) is worth it?

BTW, I just realized I didn't answer your question: The pros I've heard people report are that the bike smoothed out and felt more stable. I've also heard people who ran them but went back to the stock setup as they preferred it for their style of riding. The pros in my mind (irregardless of other's experience) is adjustability, the 450 shocks--as you know--allow adjustment of preload, rebound, and stiffness.

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The YFZ shocks max the ball joints out while they're extended AND OFF THE GROUND DURING INSTALLATION.  Once the bike is lowered to the floor, it will compress.  Once you start riding, your weight will compress the shocks even more. 

 

Furthermore, I've never witnessed a ball joint go out that didn't show signs of wear, and I've been riding 4-wheelers since I was 4 and have been working on them since I was 15.  I've never even heard of a ball joint going out without notice. 

 

Get the tires off the ground and pull the tops of the tires to the left and right.  If they flex at the ball joint, they're going bad.  The 250R that we have is running 450R shocks (can you believe that they max the ball joints out? CRAZY!) going on 6 years now and it just sowed signs of wear on the ball joints a month ago. 

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The YFZ shocks max the ball joints out while they're extended AND OFF THE GROUND DURING INSTALLATION.  Once the bike is lowered to the floor, it will compress.  Once you start riding, your weight will compress the shocks even more. 

 

Furthermore, I've never witnessed a ball joint go out that didn't show signs of wear, and I've been riding 4-wheelers since I was 4 and have been working on them since I was 15.  I've never even heard of a ball joint going out without notice. 

 

Get the tires off the ground and pull the tops of the tires to the left and right.  If they flex at the ball joint, they're going bad.  The 250R that we have is running 450R shocks (can you believe that they max the ball joints out? CRAZY!) going on 6 years now and it just sowed signs of wear on the ball joints a month ago. 

Thx @tfaith08, this is helpful. Still not sure I'm going to run them (due to the stupid zerk issue), but knowing how to check the ball joints for wear is good info.

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The YFZ shocks max the ball joints out while they're extended AND OFF THE GROUND DURING INSTALLATION. Once the bike is lowered to the floor, it will compress. Once you start riding, your weight will compress the shocks even more.

 

Furthermore, I've never witnessed a ball joint go out that didn't show signs of wear, and I've been riding 4-wheelers since I was 4 and have been working on them since I was 15. I've never even heard of a ball joint going out without notice.

 

Get the tires off the ground and pull the tops of the tires to the left and right. If they flex at the ball joint, they're going bad. The 250R that we have is running 450R shocks (can you believe that they max the ball joints out? CRAZY!) going on 6 years now and it just sowed signs of wear on the ball joints a month ago.

so only when your installing? You never get the front end of the quad off the ground riding?

Your comparing a 250R (the suspension geometry that basically all bikes are based off of) with 450 shocks to a banshee (I don't even think the engineer thought about suspension) with 450 shocks.

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Yes ball joints show wear. They may not just pop out. But anything can happen. Why risk it? The shocks aren't meant for the bike. It's been discussed 1000x. The suspension sponsor Matt has gone over in detail on why it does not work. The only idiot that swears by it is saying he hits bowling balls buried 1/3 under the ground and can't notice it.

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