Janssen Racing A-Arms

[mat]

I am about ready to order a set of Janssen Racing +2 +1 a-arms. I am going with Janssen because they have the lowest price for chromoly a-arms, they use ball joints and bushings instead of heim joints, and most importantly because they come with a BLACK powder coat finish.

The problem is that they require the spindles to be reamed. Can I do this myself? If so, where can I buy the tool? I don't see why it would be a problem to do it myself. I figure all that is necessary is to enlarge the tapered hole. As long as I had a ball joint handy to check my progress I don't see a problem. Am I making this out to be simpler than it really is?

I know that Janssen will ream them for free, but this will cost me shipping and most importantly, down time. Plus, I have heard that their service isn't always the quickest.

Thanks,

Matt

[Big Blue]

you can buy a reamer from a auto parts stores not sure which size though, i ordered quicksands last week they should be here anytime.

[QuadMX]

I am about ready to order a set of Janssen Racing +2 +1 a-arms.  I am going with Janssen because they have the lowest price for chromoly a-arms, they use ball joints and bushings instead of heim joints, and most importantly because they come with a BLACK powder coat finish. 

The problem is that they require the spindles to be reamed.  Can I do this myself?  If so, where can I buy the tool?  I don't see why it would be a problem to do it myself.  I figure all that is necessary is to enlarge the tapered hole.  As long as I had a ball joint handy to check my progress I don't see a problem.  Am I making this out to be simpler than it really is? 

I know that Janssen will ream them for free, but this will cost me shipping and most importantly, down time.  Plus, I have heard that their service isn't always the quickest.

Thanks,

Matt

I have the same arms. Janssen +2+1 Racing Arms in black powdercoat. It did take a little while to get them, but that was because I was getting shocks and my rear shock rebuilt from Elka. You can do it yourself, just like Big Blue said, go buy the right size reamer from an auto store. Make sure if you do, you do NOT get any larger than what it has to be, and make sure it's straight! I've done reaming in some classes that I'm taking already, it's really a piece of cake as long as you don't get too big and make it as straight as possible. Either way it's gonna take a while to get your arms, but you'd have the spindles reamed the same time the arms are done so it might just be worth it to send to them. They live about an hour away from me so I am lucky enough I could just drive there. Good luck!

 

Bob

Edited October 15, 2004 by QuadMX

[Felonious_Monk]

wait a minute.......my janssen +2+1 arms have heims????? and I DID NOT have to ream anything?????? Have they come out with a new design?????

 

 

I'd like to seee a pic if at all possible?

 

Later,

 

Monk

[mat]

wait a minute.......my janssen +2+1 arms have heims????? and I DID NOT have to ream anything?????? Have they come out with a new design?????

 

 

I'd like to seee a pic if at all possible?

 

Later,

 

Monk

Janssen makes a number of different styles of A-arms from standard width to long travels. Some come with Automotive style ball joints, some come with Heim joints. They actually recommend heim joints for racing and big air jumping. But I do neither of these and don't want to maintain heim joints, so I am buying their cheapest A-arms that have ball-joints and bushings.

Thanks for your replies, I'll start searching the Autopart stores for a ream.

[Blue Duece]

home depot carries the bit so does snap-on or any tool store its called a UNI-BIT, you nead to reem from 3/8's to 7/8's....drill some and check with your spindle, reem a little more and check again.....if you over drill your screwed, youll have slop in the connection......to little and the meat of your spindle wont be in the a-arm.....and oil the shit out of it as you do it......

[DUNEDEMON]

You should not use a "unibit" it will leave a shoulder in the spindle, call Jansen they should be able to tell you what size ream you need.

[mat]

.... call Jansen they should be able to tell you what size ream you need.

I tried this and the sales person that I talked to didn't know. That is why I asked on here, hoping that someone has been through this before. Finally on my third call, just a few minutes ago, I was able to find out that I need a ream with a 1/2" taper per foot, which if I did my math right, calculates out to 2.4

[DUNEDEMON]

You may also check with them and see who's balljoint they use (I would guess Ricky Stators, they're the best) if so call Ricky Stator and see what they use.

[sandornothing]

Why does everyone knock heim joints? I run them in the dunes with a pair of triple rate works and that set up puts the stock set up to shame in reliability and performance. I chose them because i do not MX, just dune. Im not pounding woops like i would be at a track, so i guessing i will be alright.......right?

[Felonious_Monk]

Why does everyone knock heim joints? I run them in the dunes with a pair of triple rate works and that set up puts the stock set up to shame in reliability and performance. I chose them because i do not MX, just dune. Im not pounding woops like i would be at a track, so i guessing i will be alright.......right?

Yeah..............what exactly is the difference between heims and ball joints???? Besides the fact taht one is lubed and the other isnt???

 

I guess my janssen arms are the mx-tech arms......."designed for mx" and they came with heims.

With the heim joints, I can set ANY camber/castor setup I like....ball joints can only face one way, the heims can be taken apart so you can go a half of a turn.

 

 

Anyway, what are the pro and cons of the two??

 

 

later,

 

Monk

[2001SSTBanshee]

Heim joints are way stronger than ball joints. They are designed to handle a heavier load.

 

Some say the heims can get contaminated with dirt or whatever (since they are exposed) and wear quicker because of it.

Edited October 17, 2004 by 2001SSTBanshee

[mat]

Why does everyone knock heim joints? I run them in the dunes with a pair of triple rate works and that set up puts the stock set up to shame in reliability and performance. I chose them because i do not MX, just dune. Im not pounding woops like i would be at a track, so i guessing i will be alright.......right?

Yeah..............what exactly is the difference between heims and ball joints???? Besides the fact taht one is lubed and the other isnt???

 

I guess my janssen arms are the mx-tech arms......."designed for mx" and they came with heims.

With the heim joints, I can set ANY camber/castor setup I like....ball joints can only face one way, the heims can be taken apart so you can go a half of a turn.

 

 

Anyway, what are the pro and cons of the two??

 

 

later,

 

Monk

Check out this article by Janssen:

 

http://www.janssenmotorsports.com/images/p...%20Document.pdf

 

 

Heim joints are stronger, but they wear out quickly if exposed to dirt and mud. I have seen them were out on Banshee a-arms in a year in the type of riding that I do. I don't need the strength of the heim joints and I definately don't want to add another yearly maintenance item. Neither ball joints nor heim joints are best for everybody. What is best for you depends on your riding and maintenance style.

 

Matt