jeepman380 Posted October 16, 2004 Report Posted October 16, 2004 Has anyone made their own a-arms or swingarm from scratch? If so do you have any measurements or plans to do so? I'm currently going to Wyotech and in a few months i'm going to a chassis fab course and i'll be able to get my hands on any tool that I need to make them. I was just wondering if anyone has any measurements or maybe a web site of information so I can get an idea how to make my own. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Quote
BigRed350x Posted October 17, 2004 Report Posted October 17, 2004 What Wyotech are you going to? Penn, Wyo, or Cali? I'm going to UW in Laramie WY. My shee is needing a top end right now, but when I get it fixed if you are in Wyo I go down to Walden a lot. Wanna come? As for home-made A-Arms and swingarm... Haven't done either one, but I imagine the swingarm would be pretty simple. Just use some square tube steel and weld some carrier mounts on one end and the swingarm mount on the other, and toss some shock mounts on that bitch. lol I am doing engineering at UW, and I wish it were that simple. If you get a design, I can do the dynamic loading calculations for you and tell you if it will fail or not. Peace Quote
Lepew Posted October 17, 2004 Report Posted October 17, 2004 If you are going to build you own suspension design it for you style of riding. Study and measure the stock front suspension it is key in getting a wider suspension geometry right. Know what your shock length and travel is before you start figuring. The swingarm is a cake compared to the a-arms. GOOD LUCK. Quote
Wallrat Posted October 17, 2004 Report Posted October 17, 2004 I've been thinking about building a swingarm for awhile now. I would think that at least for the a arms, getting your hands on a set of aftermarkets and building a jig off of them would be the way to go. Quote
FireHead Posted October 17, 2004 Report Posted October 17, 2004 I have built both A-Arms and swing arms before. You can pretty easily do the swing arm by yourself as long as you are copying factory geometry and/or adjusting the length. A-A arms are a bit of a different story. I doubt your chassis fab class will get into suspension design. Unless you plain on making exact copies of stock arms, I would not recommend doing the A-Arms yourself. If you do feel the need do do them yourself, there are books by Claude Roulle and Doug Milliken that you need to read and fully understand. Remember, when you get around to making something like this, it's all about fixtures. Quote
rx7500hpt2 Posted October 20, 2004 Report Posted October 20, 2004 I'm in the process of building a complete frame, a-arms, spindles,steering stem, and maybe a swingarm. I'm building an mx/duning style frame like a gas gas/ 250r. I'm making spindles like what they use on sandcars. If you have the spare time, access to the equipment and a little know how it is doable. I have welding equipment, bender, notcher and prep equipment but access to a mill and a lathe is almost essential. I work at a machine shop so I can make all those threaded collars, spacers and bushings. Buy chassis engineering by herb adams this book goes over the basics of suspension design. Quote
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