I should have some time to work on the suspension / steering more this weekend and will update then. In other news, the OEM seat was in rough shape when I bought it. It had cracks in it and was waterlogged due to sitting outside for a long time. I have a good friend that does upholstery and is redoing it for me with marine grade fabric. He sent me a pic last night, looks good so far.

I made a little progress over the weekend getting the upper suspension mounts tacked in and am happy with the results overall. It was nice to see it stand on its own. Next on my list will be the steering, wish me luck. On the TRX forum someone mentioned that the stock suspension is going to be a bit to stiff. They suggested to revalve and respiring them. I have never done that before and I'm told it requires special tools. Has anyone had any experience with the OEM TRX shocks on an FL350R? If so, how well did they perform? If not, what would be good options for new shocks that would work well and not break the bank $$$?

i believe rusty said in my build that he used shocks off a ltr 450, there valved different and he preferred them over the trx shocks. i didn't break the bank, but found a good deal on the fox evol shocks, everything can be set up with air pressure

I did read that but didn't realize that he was using the same a arms as us. I also didn't know they were interchangeable. That is a great option for me, I should be able to get a used set for around $250. The fox evol shocks were the first ones I looked at because you said that you had good luck with them. I'll keep looking but they are a bit pricy. The ones you have are fox evol shocks for a TRX450R or other make/model?

honestly not sure if they are for the trx or the ltr. i did have to put some spacers on the the bottom where it bolts to the a arm, so they might be off a ltr

Today I drove 3 hours from RI to an FL350 Odyssey yard sale in NH. Once in a lifetime experience. I only had limited funds without my wife killing me but made out pretty good & it was worth the drive. I bought new front & rear shocks for my project, New cage nice and straight, nerf bars, front bumper, and radiator installation kit w/radiator. There were so many parts and the gentleman was more than fair with his prices.




^^^^ My next project.

I meant to go to that yard sale, but couldn't make it! Was there a good turnout? The ad is still up on craigslist, so I may email him to see if he plans to do it again.

I got there when it opened and there were already a few guys there and more people were coming in when I left. I couldn't imagine there is much left but it couldn't hurt to ask.

I speak to a ex member here that went to this sale, he got smoking deals from what I saw, got a beat up but very fixable pilot for dirt and I mean just silly purchase price, under 2 grand and it was complete. If your a big chucklenuts at aftershot motorspurts lover his stuff was selling for basicly nothing, front end complete kit I heard went for like under 300 bucks and that's cheap. Heard the sale went well, almost 80% of the stuff sold out for killer deals.

I don't think that he knew what he really had to be honest or he just didn't care. The man is a saint in my book. I don't even want to say what I paid for my parts . I guess some of them might have been purchased from an unliked person or store at some point in time? I started making the steering brackets for my FL350. I plan on using a horizontal arm like Fully did. I have only purchaced the outer tie rod ends that are OEM replacements for the trx450r.

I notice that Fully used all Heim Joints. Would one be preferred over the other? What are my best options to minimize bump steer? When I removed the inner most heim joints that attach to the steering knuckle, they were shot. The inner heim fell out when I dissembled it. I think it was OEM because it still had the rubber boot on it. Anyone know what size I need to replace those or what would be alternate options for a larger tie rod? I have found a few websites that will make custom length tie rods or I was going to try making my own. Anyone had luck with this or are there any threads on it?

i'll see if i can get some pics of mine for you
as for tie rods, i made my own, used the outer ball joints from the trx and not sure what i used for the inners,

I never used the bearing. I made my own bushings out of delrin. Got to thank bullnerd for that. Hope this helps

Nice job Fully, I was wondering how that worked out.

Good job indeed! That will help me out a lot. I was planning on mounting it horizontally but now I'm rethinking it. It appears that your inner pivot point is centered in the derlin bushing but you offset the the ball joints that are on the arm. Were you able to gain more steering with it like that?

With the offset links on the intermediate arm, and the tie rod mount on a larger radius than the steering link...wouldn't the bump steer have more effect (if there was any b/s)? Larger moment arm usually wins.

Or perhaps will steering be a little more laborious/tiring?

Maybe you can ride it as-shown for a bit, and then flip the arms around and run the other way as a test (?).

the bump steer is only affected by the outer tie rod is the way i under stood it, that is why it is so important to find the proper inner pivot for the tie rod. the holes on the steering flag are off set in increase steering, that all it does, ill try to copy and paste what bullnerd told me in my thread

this is what bullnerd told me

You said it didnt look like it was turning enough?
Is there room for the spindle to turn farther with out the tie rod attached?
If so,you can use that extra little bit by changing the ratio from your inner "tie rod" that attaches to your steering yoke,and the outer tie rod that goes to your spindle by moving the "inner" hole closer to the pivot on the "bump steer" mount.

I'll try to draw a pic.
Here you go,qiuck sketch,yours will not look excactly like this,just to make a point.
See if you understand it.It uses your idea for the tie rod mount"flag".
See where it says "change this distance",that will make your outer tie rod travel farther.
You can figure out how far by doing some quick tests,move the spindle to max turn,then move the yolk to max turn and take some measurments.

if you can't machine your own bushing, you can buy them ready to install. i found a way to mount them on my drill press and slowly turned them down until i got what i needed. not perfect but suit my need, and i got extra if i need to make more, which i had to once already as i screwed up when i drilled out the centre crooked

http://www.kartek.com/search.html?Session_ID=d04b2b5effe3b2dedb767609f4b8fe51&SearchOffset=20&Offset=20&Search=delrin&Per_Page=20&Sort_By=disp_order

That is a good website fully, thank you. You are correct, I do not have the tools to make my own. In your thread, shoubadaba mentioned using a skateboard bearing. I wasn't sure how he intended to use it. As a spacer, or machining a piece to accept it. After seeing your photos I believe that I will try to use a skateboard bearing & wheel.



I cannot machine the wheel to a smaller diameter and use the round stock as you did but I should be able to cut the wheel square and use square stock, just the same. I have all 4 wheels so I am hoping to get 2 correct. If not I'm going to buy the ones you mentioned.

DMoneyAllstar made a good point. IF there was bump steer then it would technicaly be stronger than the lower ball joint and tie rod attached to the steering knuckle. The outer ball joint on the intermediate arm has a larger radius from the main pivot point where it attaches to the frame than the inner ball joint. Just like leverage using wrenches, the larger the wrench, the more leverage. Regardless of bump steer, It would still prove to be harder to steer with the the inner ball joint lower than the outer ball joint on the intermediate arm, even if it does provide more steering. To prevent bump steer, the main thing is to find the proper pivot point on the intermediate arm for the outer ball joint. By doing this, bump steer can be minimal / non existent. So, do not try turning your intermediate arm around as DMoneyAllstar suggested because that pivot point would no longer be the same = bump steer. Correct????? This is all very new to me

Yes, you are both correct, it will require more force to move the tie rods, BUT, its also affected by the length of the steering arm on the spindle, which fully also changed. So, for him, more steering range was worth the extra effort....If there was any! LOL!

The easiest way to think of bump steer, is like this. The outer tie rod travels in an arc as it goes through the range of travel. The inner tie rod end has to be at(or as close as possible) to the center of that arc.

I pretty sure I understand what you are saying about the arc and the diagram you posted in fullys thread is now making sense to me. The next thing for me to do is order some more ball joints, tie rods, and build the intermediate arm. Thanks for the help guys! I hope to update this soon with some more progress.

It has been awhile since I have been able to work on my FL350 but I was able to make some progress today and hope to complete the steering soon. I didn't mess around with the skateboard wheel and just ordered the bushing from the website fully suggested. Thanks again, it worked great. I also installed a a-arm upper ball joint replacement kit. This will allow camber adjustment as well and hopefully help me get everything dialed in. I cut the intermediate arm larger for the time being but will trim it as needed. Tie rods are next & bump steer free setup.

http://www.teixeiratech.com/proddetail. ... R-UBJ-0405

This is what I have come up with for a-arm steering / anti bump steer. I used TRX450R ball joints, TRX25R / 400ex tie rods (12.25 inches), and 1.5 inch OD square stock w/10mm holes. The intermediate arm stays stationary throughout the swing/flex of the a-arms. I think the weakest point would be the square stock (.120). Thoughts?

Just my opinion here but that square tubing you are using in picture 1 at the end of your steering rod may bend over in a hard hit on the wheel while turning. I would box in one end of that tube to strengthen it up and still give you access to the nuts on the open end. Just my two cents.

I have to agree. But also wonder if that'd be enough. You've got a pretty decent moment arm on the 1 bolt at the spindle whch could be enough to snap it and send you of the trail in a hurry. I'd almost prefer welding up something to the spindle that's more stout, braced, etc.

Also what's there to stop the square tube from rotating?

If you have no choice but to use square tube, I'd go as heavy as possible just enough to fit the nut/bolt hex, weld one end closed, weld a piece of bar on the interior of the square tube flush with the spindle to prevent rotation, use at least a grade-8 bolt at the spindle, and use a longer bolt there on top so you can drill & cotter pin it.

I've had a tie rod come apart on my at full speed and its NOT COOL (unless you love to poop-your-pants-panic at 55mph closing in on a cinderblock barn?!?)

The square tube worried me also. Where the ball joint mounts to the steering flag it is tapered smaller. I cut the square tube to meet it and hold it in place / prevent rotation. The holes in the square tube for the bolt and the ball joint are drilled straight through so if it were to rotate it would still be in the same position I think? I don't want it to rotate, bend, broken bolt, or poop-pant-panic lol. I would like to stick to the square tube I am going to modify the current setup with suggestions.

1. Grade 8 bolts w/cotter pin
2. Square tube .250 wall & box in one end
3. Brace to prevent rotation

When I bought my FL350 the lower frame that protects the steering was bent up pretty good as most are. I cut it off and I plan own making I new one to protect the new steering. On a stock FL350 how far can you turn the steering wheel and did the lower frame act as a stop for the steering knuckle? The furthest stroke of the oem steering knuckle to one side is 1.75 inches with the steering wheel at a full 90. Like Fully, I have an option to mount my inner tie rod lower on the intermediate arm to gain more steering. Would it be a good idea for me to make stops for the steering knuckle? How much turn is to much? Could the steering wheel lock up at high speeds?