lol, i am in seattle washington area, i havnt had a chance to remember to edit my profile....i don't think shipping would be that terible, maybe if he had some drawings i could take it to the local fabricator and see what they say.
Alex

ok guys heres my finished swing arm

opinions? thoughts?

there is 6 6202 sealed bearings riding in those tubes, the tubes are 1.5 thick walled(schedule 80 i believe) so there was enough wall to lathe the tubes out till the bearings just fit inside there(that way they wouldn't walk inside the tube. theres 2 pieces at 6" and 12" in the center i think it should hold up great.

Its looking good, try to keep the weight down don't use excessive materials that is what makes a 250 work well its light weight, looks like your welding needs a little help, try cutting back on the wire feed some and holding the gun closer to 90 degrees to the work, tilt your head not the gun if you cant see, your progression might be a little fast also.

The Engine mounts need replaced

Have you read the 250 tips by bill ?
http://pilotodyssey.com/billtips.htm


You and your back will like this once your done, what shocks you planning on using?

im a self taught welder so as long as it holds i am good, the tube is only 6lbs and the bearings are maybe 1 total, and the back half might be 2 or 3 lbs heavier than that of the original one.

the reason the progression is fast is because i am doing it at work and trying to get it tacked together enough to hold before the next call.

i had not seen the fl250 tips yet, good stuff in there.

as well on the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) mounts, the back half is big enough for my motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) and i think i will have enough room in the 2" square tubing to run the factory style motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) mounts, i may have to strengthen the surrounding area as i will be near the edge of the square tube after cutting it out.

as for the shocks i have not figured that out yet, i was going to use some old street bike's (650/750 something) shocks as i figured theyd be good but i havent found any on c/l for cheap or free. my father has an old 2stroke(i think its a yamaha) with dual shocks that are still in good shape and he said i can have them.

You might keep an eye on evilbay too I picked up a new take off rear shock form a 2006 TRX450R for 75 bux.

Lee might have some input on what shocks to look for, myself I would look for something with adjustably, it seems most shocks off a lighter machine does not have enough rebound dampening

yah that's what i am affraid of, at least for the time being though i can use my dads shocks and get it all mocked up and flexing properly(so i can make sure the rest of the stuff like motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) mounts and junk are addressed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0120481201

do you think these are good? i just bought them

lol, i didnt realize you were talking about me using a single rear shock, my though is the 2 front shocks should have some decent travel and still provide enough support

You did good on the price, try them if they feel too soft or you don't like I will buy them as spares for my 400EX, long as they are good and not leaking or something hehe

cool cool, any idea how long they are at full extension? that way i can get my frame work started.

i just stumbled across those, its a shame they are hidden in the cover other wise you could see a little better.

well they came in last week, look good all the way around, though the adjuster is on its tallest setting. do you think they are worn out or just someone wanted a stiffer spring? i plan on turning them all the way down at first try. i have some hellacious speed bumps along my road that will tell me wether the suspension is to soft or hard:)

looks good. Gave any thought to a outside carry ( tab and bearing) on each side to help take stress form bearings in the center pivot caused from the twisting forces. I attemted the same type set up for my 185 in the day adding rear shock for racing 4" of travle I tought I was bad to the bone also added tripple tree and front forks from and suz I got from salvage yard. Hard hit on oneside tended to twist and make funny noise tearing weld and taking out bearing. added tabs and bearing new bolt and solved problem. I had to also use different tires too much bounch ( needed stiffer side walls and lower profile)and wierd feed back thru the shock it felt tippy used home made wheel spacers to widen a little to help compacate for tippy felling and raised forks thru tripple tree a little. I did not have any rebound or comp adjustment just preload. It was the early 80's. A oil weight change was the only thing at the time I could do. On your rear shocks play with the angle and location on swing arm to get best travle rate. I think they rever to it as lever ratio. The angle and location with determine the reaction force of the shock on the frame. I would start with mid swing arm or center of axle and 10 degrees forward depending on lenght eye to eye and stroke. Remember I'am just a back yard hacker.

adnoh, i am a back yard hacker as well so i can appreciate the work you went through on your 185. im not sure i follow on the outside carry thing your refering to. unless your saying to make a tab on the outside of the frame that holds another bearing onto the center rod?

the center pipe is 12" long and will be welded fully along the path both sides. the two outside's are 6" making the total width of the frame. I figure with the 12" in the middle it should be wide enough to not twist to much(only time will tell though)

You have a tube in a tube 24" long?

Steel on steel for 24" as the bearing or bushing?

Steel on steel will last a long time if it has a good supply of clean grease.... Trust me I have seen farmers do things like that my whole life, with great success if its a problem you can change it in the future.

i have a center rod 1/2" diameter 24" long going inside 2 6" and 1 12" diameter tubes(the round pieces you see in the swing arm) each "section" as it were holds 2 6202 bearings for a total of 6. the 1/2" diameter rod rides in the middle of the bearings and the tubes ride on the outside, so all weight of the vehicle is suffeciently riding on 6 6202 bearings( 6202 bearings are used in everything from wheel bearings to steering components, they can hold alot of weight.)

Sorry for not being to clear My mind tends to outrun my fingers I aslo tend to babble so please forgive me. I'll try better, here we so. Grab the rear swing arm with both hands one hand on each rear cornor. Now try to twist in both directions. This will apply force to the center carrier bolt and bearings. The force will travle down the striahgt pice then be transfered at a right angle to the swing arm bolt. The stress force will have be grater when a 500lbs machine lands on the outside tire increasing the force 100 time fold. My concern was the shear force caused by the transfer would be extream on the bearning race. By the way see any flex when twisting, any at all if so a triangle brace in each cornor will take care of that. Impact force in greater than load force and could cause the twisting force if any the break the race. If you were to add a what I call a carier bearing to the straight piece of the swing arm attaching it to the swing arm bolt this would take the stress head on to the main frame insted or redirecting it to side force load and load the bearing equaly reducing side transfer force. I'am no engineere so my wording my be a miss. Hopefully it will make since to ya. Does look preaty cool . Can't wait to see the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) in it with the shock setup. Enjoy. Sincerly, Back Yard Hacker.

adnoh, that is a little clearer...the what you are calling bolt is actually a solid 1/2" rod 24" long, so the twisting force you are refering to, is distributed between the two outside tubes and the center one...refere to the drawing in the earlier pages.

i have thought about the triangle braces in the corners of the square and will do it once i get the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) and everything mounted up so i can make them to fit around stuff if need be.


the twisting force (say on the right side) will actually be destributed between 2 6202 bearings as they are a washers distance away from eachother.

Ya, I think us two weed wacker are in the same yard now. Let cut some grass(= have fun building).

just to bring this back up, mine has been on hold for a few weeks now(got the shocks in and all but trying to find a cheaper dodge based motorhome). and some other projects in the wings