Here’s another attempt at improving a short comings of the Yerf. I have caught a lot of ribbing about my yerf, “when are you going to get a real buggy”? Or “with the money you have spent you could have bought something else”, the Edsel of the buggy world, etc.
Sometimes that old saying, ”you can’t polish a t-rd” comes to mind but I feel the yerf has way too many good attributes to give up on it. So, with that said, here is my solution to that age old problem of crappy ball joints.
I ran through the entire gauntlet of what is available as an alternative.The stock ball joints are a joke for anything other than riding around the front yard. The Mcmaster joints won’t hold up for any length of time, period! One good hit and they snap! The Buggy depot joints are good. They are strong enough for most any trail riding. I have busted one [through no-fault of the ball joint]. The buggy depot replacement warranty is excellent and so is the service. Travis cheerfully sent out a replacement pronto The BD joints are the best bolt on solution to date but they still fall short of being correct. I was just not satisfied.
So I tried using heim joints.
This is probably the best mod I have done to date. For a front suspension with equal length a-arms,it’s about as good as it gets.
The buggy drives like it has never before. Rolling resistance from improper alignment is gone, the buggy tracks straight in the rough stuff. steering is precise. The tires bite well in turns and hold! Oversteer [push] is almost eliminated! Most of the bump steer is gone because the heims put the geometry back correctly. The front suspension operates smooth and quiet. I gained over 4 seconds a lap on our home track. I had no idea just how screwed up the old system was until this comparison. It’s like a whole new buggy! The heims with 1 ½ inch threaded shafts gives me the ability to use almost 7 degrees of camber adjustment for various riding needs. I see no reason why this can't be done to any of the buggy models. After about four hours of hitting every pot hole and rut I could find, taking every jump we have several times over and throwing the buggy into the flat track turns as hard as I could, the front alignment held solid and showed no signs of failure. Wish I could say the same for my back!
This mod still has to pass the test of time but I am very optimistic and am extremely happy with the results. About the only thing I can do at this point to improve the yerf front suspension is to relocate the shock mounts to give a more optimum compression angle but that will wait for another time.
_________________ 3206 yerf. too many mods to list. easier to list what has not been modified- seats and steering wheel. plus one set of kidinme's hand made special collectors edition fuzzy dice
That looks terrific Charlie! Do you get full travel without binding--without needing the spacers above & below the heims?
How did you do the mod? Did you insert & weld a threaded tube in the end of the-arm?
I get almost 12 inches of travel before binding without using the high misalignment spacers. plenty of throw with the works shock. It'a not apparent in the pics but there is a 3/16 spacer between the heim and the spindel. For the mod , I cut the old ball joint tabs off in a band saw , ground away any leftover welds, then made a jig for the drill press and cut 1 inch holes through the ends of the a-arms and welded in some bungs
I also put on some Kenda K-284-Front Max tires. the corner bite is super and the lug pattern doesn't sling dirt in your face
yerf heims 002.jpg: 2 Time(s) Viewed, 76.68 KB plywood drill press jig. the holes are bored at 15 degrees. that puts the heims level at full shock extension. In hind sight, less angle would have been better.
yerf heims 012.jpg: 4 Time(s) Viewed, 701.11 KB still has another inch of top travel before binding.the picture angle is off , the arms do stay parallel throughout travel
_________________ 3206 yerf. too many mods to list. easier to list what has not been modified- seats and steering wheel. plus one set of kidinme's hand made special collectors edition fuzzy dice
Nice job on those Heims. I had the same question as Mark about binding, but you did great job on getting travel. Is your steering rack stock or did you drop or stretch it? _________________ 08 Joyner SViper 250
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06 Tank Urban Touring 150SE
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Nice job on those Heims. I had the same question as Mark about binding, but you did great job on getting travel. Is your steering rack stock or did you drop or stretch it?
stock rack, no changes, the heims didn't change any geometry. wheelbase remains the same. _________________ 3206 yerf. too many mods to list. easier to list what has not been modified- seats and steering wheel. plus one set of kidinme's hand made special collectors edition fuzzy dice
an after-note, I attended the SEMBRA race this weekend. this race was probably one of the most stressful runs I have ever put on this buggy. the front end worked perfectly. Wish i could say the same for the cvt, it's trashed! _________________ 3206 yerf. too many mods to list. easier to list what has not been modified- seats and steering wheel. plus one set of kidinme's hand made special collectors edition fuzzy dice
Articles
I had no idea just how screwed up the old system was until this comparison. It’s like a whole new buggy! The heims with 1 ½ inch threaded shafts gives me the ability to use almost 7 degrees of camber adjustment for various riding needs. I see no reason why this can't be done to any of the buggy models. After about four hours of hitting every pot hole and rut I could find, taking every jump we have several times over and throwing the buggy into the flat track turns as hard as I could, the front alignment held solid and showed no signs of failure. Wish I could say the same for my back!
