Beast Shock Upgrade

[Weldangrind]

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted my shock upgrade here, since I performed it before I ever found this forum.

I hated the pogo sticks that came with the quad, and I knew they'd beat the swingarm bushings into submission. I never rode the quad with the stock shocks, because they were ridiculous.

It turns out that Yamaha Raptor owners remove the front shocks and swap them right away. I'm happy about that, since I scored a set of take-offs for cheap on eBay. I didn't know what I was in for exactly, but I figured I could make them work.

I had to remove one of the lower mounts and move it over, since the Raptor shocks were wider than the stockers. NBD.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/Weldangrind/LowerMountRemoval.jpg (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/Weldangrind/media/LowerMountRemoval.jpg.html)

The upper mounts were another matter. I needed to fabricate upper shock mounts out of rectangular tube, and drill them accordingly. I ensured that the shock could articulate properly without contacting the mount.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/Weldangrind/MountFab.jpg (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/Weldangrind/media/MountFab.jpg.html)

Here's the mock-up of the upper mount.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/Weldangrind/SecondMockup.jpg (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/Weldangrind/media/SecondMockup.jpg.html)

A comparison of the stockers to the Raptors.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/Weldangrind/FirstMockup.jpg (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/Weldangrind/media/FirstMockup.jpg.html)

After welding the mounts in, I bridged them with square tube for strength. The regret I have is that I was welding in windy conditions, so the welds look poor. Oh well.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/Weldangrind/FinalMockupwithBridge-1.jpg (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/Weldangrind/media/FinalMockupwithBridge-1.jpg.html)

I found that bumpsteer occurs if the shocks are mounted too low, so I welded the upper mounts high enough to stay out of the bumpsteer range. The upper holes of the lower mounts worked best for me. I'm really happy with it.

In retrospect, Yamaha Blaster shocks might have been a bolt-in deal. Not sure.

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

I see your tie rods are on top ?? did you change them or were they like that from new?? do you think the shocks were better shocks to help this problem or by moving them higher and inward helped??

[Weldangrind]

I did not change the tie rods; that's how they came from the factory.

The new shocks helped because they're actually shocks. The stockers were pogo sticks with fake reservoirs. No damping at all.