Off Roading Forums banner

Are real quads built or bought?

1K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  **DONOTDELETE** 
#1 ·
Got a question about modifying quads. I hear lots and lots about which bike has the most "mods" and who makes better this or that. That a quad NEEDS all the foo-foo thats bolted on after purchase.

My question is, do most of you actually fab up and build the mods your self, like longer swing arms, nerfs, handlebars and such? Do you guys port and polish you motors yourself? Or do you just buy other's stuff and bolt it on over a weekend?

I'm curious because in the 4x4 world, there is an expression. "Jeeps are built, not bought. Many Jeepers distance themsleves from folks who buy their way into a modified Jeep Many, including myself, would rather cut, grind, bend and weld our way into a trail rig rather than buy "posuer" parts. Many times, it's the guy with $7000 worth of parts thet he had a 4x4 shop install that is sitting on the side of the trail not knowing how to change a broken axle shaft.

Is the same thing apply to quads? I'm looking at some of the parts, like long A-arm kits, and wonder, "Do people really pay that much for those instead of buying a tubing bender and Mig welder and doing it themselves?" I mean, this isn't rocket science.
 
G
#2 ·
i believe that the true answer is that just about all of us do a little bit of both, im asuming that your not a avid quad rider/racer and have a great interest in the sport of 4x4 'ing wich is great in its own way,so here is the poop

1. quads and jeeps/4x4 trucks are in different catagories by far as far as mechanicle operations are,for example a small vacum leak in a jeep intake will not affect all that much but the same size leak in a 1 cylinder quad is devastating so getting inside your motor is something we must take very seroisly , little things make a difference
2. jeeps and trucks are made of mostly STEEL, my bike is about 40% alum 30% steel"mostly the motor" 20% plastic and carbon fiber and the rest rubber and etc. There is a limit to the things i can fab myself, for example i race a yamaha raptor and i hated the airbox setup, when i bought it ,it was to new to have many aftermarket goodies so i made a new airbox from alum and a K&N filter i had sitting in the shop, since then i have bought a custom filter box and pro desighn air filter only because it works better than my setup. i ported my own head and installed new piston,ring to increase my HP wich i bought also because i dont have the capability to forge my own pistons etc
3. Most of us buy a fairly stock quad, ride it,love it than wish it was faster for whatever reason. Then we buy a atv magazine, and start buying goodies to make them faster, sometimes some of us dont have the know-how or facilitys to install these go-fast parts so the shop will do it from time to time but that does not make us POSERS! because when the tires hit the trail, the pretend riders are left in the dust!It takes a little bit of skill and guts to race a quad and sometime a lack of brains, we do not have a roll cage or cab OR SEATBELTS! and some of the quads people at this sight have can probably outrun a jeep off the line and top speed not to mention we can haul ass down a trail about 4-5 feet wide, ive never been ran over by my own jeep when racing 40+ other jeeps trying to fit into a trail about 5 feet wide, and did i mention my 10 year old daughter can drive my jeep "sitting on a pillow" but id never even dare to let her ride my bike
4. i see your point to a degree but its apples and oranges
most of us do our own maintinece but i do not look down on the ones who dont or cant, why distance yourself, if they want to ride ride with them, if they want to race ,race them and smoke them. to distance yourself seems a bit snotty and full of yourself, its not like you desighned and marketed the jeep, you just did what we do,bought modified and had fun doing it

Real Quads are bought and built!
 
#4 ·
Whoa, calm down. I'm asking a few valid (to me) questions here. You are right. I am not into the quad world, I'm into rockcrawling world. I have that as a back drop to compare things to. And in that world, I'm not a Jeeper. I build and ride Suzuki trucks. There are many clubs, rides and events that I am not welcome based solely on not owning a Jeep. Maybe that's why I organize and host two large Suzuki-only 4x4 events for the NY region.


Even still, some folks talk smack about someone else's ride because it's too clean, has all the bolt-on stuff, yada yada. Personally, I blow it off as jealousy and usually due to the fact that they really want it but can't afford it, so they make fun of it instead. At the same time, I'm surprised sometimes that people will pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a part or trick piece that they could easily have been made themselves.

I will be getting into the youth quad scene though, as my 6 y.o. has his first bike (a Skyhawk 90) and will be ready to race in the ATVA youth class when he's 8. It's stock and besides me bending up some aluminum nerfs soon, will probably stay that way for a while.

I don't know how this crowd works. I remember MXing back in the late 70's/early 80's and other kids and adults copped big elitist 'tudes toward kids from families with lessor funds (like me). If you road an older bike, without all the add-on foo-foo, you might as well have been trash. Might also be the area. New York harbours it's fair share of rich assholes.


But be real for me, please. What are the races like when it's a mixed crowd of strangers, and not buddies out for a ride? Is it about the sport now, or image, or how much money you have? Does it matter if you build it all, or is it the name that's important. You know, if the bars say Renthal, is that viewed as "good", because it's what everyone else has, or is it "bad" because you didn't bend it up yourself.

I'd hate to get into it to see the same [bleep] people full of themselves and their money (or lack of it). My real concern is, will they think my boy's a freak if I fab up most of his stuff. I mean, I don't want him to go to school in clothes his mother sewed if it's not the norm.
 
#6 ·
Yankee Tim . My opinion is that you just have to build your own thing . Some people like renthal bars others like moose. It is all in what you like just like you and your suzuki. My buddy own a raptor and calls my warrior a piece of shat . It is your own preference. If you or your son is going to get into racing you have to start out somewhere. But you have to be good so you can get sponsored then once you are sponsored it will be easier buying all the top of the line stuff that you will need to be #1 . But its the difference between pro's and just weekend riders who are out for fun not as a job . Maybe that will help you . What kind of bike do you or your son have I can probably help you or tell you where to look for some good stuff!
 
#8 ·
real quads are built..in stock form sport/high performance quads need a fair modifying to be up so par...even the new quads like the raptor and ltz are made of cheap parts and undertuned engines..its kinda depressing
 
G
#9 ·
ok i understand better what you mean now,
here is a funny story
many moons ago i was a budding bike mx rider/racer and i raced mainly B/C 125 class
being young i had little money so i made ends meet the best i could wich is to say i may have had to make a rear tire last 1 1/2 seasons if i had to, there were lots of riders with fancy foo foo stuff as you call it but one was racing a 80cc in 125 class i think it was a kx80 big wheel, he had a simple bike trailor and not alot of cool crap but he smoked everyone in 125c "on a 80cc"
His name was Damon Bradshaw
went on to become a great pro
I dont have alot of money but i do make what i can and if anyone looks down at me for that they can get #$^%$
i say make all the parts you want to since you have the tools and know-how to do it and too hell with anyone who thinks less of you for it
i would actually be very interested in knowing how to make certain parts super cheap and i am sure alot of others would too
Its all about the sport to me these days, there are ppl out there who care about image "screw them" i buy the best i can afford for gear and HI-PER parts
like 300exrider sayd if i had the shop and tools to do it i might design a entire Quad
 
#10 ·
yea, i know damon bradshaw...well, don't know him, but know of him, seen him race, tha'ts awesome u raced w/him...i wanna get into some racing when i get outta high school...but i like 250's, and i heard the 250 class is really hard to do good in (ametuer class) legs of steel, what do u ride? im gonna guess a raptor? lol
 
G
#11 ·
Oh those were the days, i never got to 250 class , i spilled pretty bad and tore up my ACL, the wife "Girlfriend back then said racin or her so i chose her with a clause that i could race quads in the contract LOL
ya i race a raptor, i love the thing i know some like this new polaris and the z400 , i have a Z and its nice but not like my machine wich i call insane
to answer your question 250 class is kinda hard to jump into , mainly cause amature isnt really amature, its all the 125 seasoned riders moving up to 250 so go and have fun
Im gonna try to post some pics so ppl can see my machine
its not a chrome special or nothing purdy like that but i swear it purrs like a tiger and gets me from point A to B for at least a 2-3 hour H/S
 
#12 ·
In reply to:

But you have to be good so you can get sponsored then once you are sponsored it will be easier buying all the top of the line stuff that you will need to be #1

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks man. Yeah, buying stuff isn't a problem. I could drop a couple grand on it and not bat an eyelash. Thing is, will the other kids that he's racing against do the same? Or will it be, "fu(king rich kid." Likewise, if I build stuff, will he be looked at like a freak. I'd rather fab the stuff because I can and it's fun.

Personally, it's water off my back. But you know how important it is for a young kid to fit in, and we all know how mean kids can be to those who don't.

Sometimes people never grow out of this behavior and still act that way as kids, hence, "Your warrior is a piece of shat" stuff.

He's got a Skyhawk 90, and it seems like Trinity has some good motor mods for it. Anypone else?
 
#13 ·
In reply to:

tim ya gotta have the tools bud

[/ QUOTE ]

*looking around the basement shop*

Hmmm, plasma torch, 220V/200A Mig/Tig welder, hydralic tubing bender, oxy/act totch, Bridgeport milling/drilling/lathe, metal band saw, chop saw, jigs,

picks, shovels and other implements of destruction...

Is there anything I'm missing?
Jesse James would be envious.
 
#14 ·
In reply to:

i say make all the parts you want to since you have the tools and know-how to do it and too hell with anyone who thinks less of you for it

[/ QUOTE ]

Glad you see where I'm from. One bad thing about the BBS. You lose the inflection we place on the spoken words, and we lose some of the intended meaning. Like saying, "Screw you". In type, its fighting words. When spoken, it can be mean, funny, or just a quick comeback.

We don't hear the laughter or joshing when we read stuff.

Anyway, if it was me, I couldn't give a rat's arse what others thought. But we are talking young kids. And you know how mean they can be to something or someone who is different.
 
G
#15 ·
Tim,

Check out Peak Performance.
http://www.dirtrides.com/index2.html

I have spoken to Greg Peak many times. He is very knowledgable. Check out the links page and go to TQRA site. They have some awesome pictures of his 8 year old son, Keifer, racing on his modded Kasea Skyhawk 90 (# 26). Its amazing how fast these bikes are and how much air they can get. They also have some videos you can play.

Also, look to Rick Hetrick of Hetrick Racing.
http://www.hetrickracing.com/

I have also spoken to Rick and he is another, very helpful guy. These two places, as well as TrinityRacing have everything you'll need for the Kasea Skyhawk 90 to make it fly! And YES, you can get a Skyhawk 90 to do 60+ mph. All you need is the $$$$.

Tony P.
 
G
#16 ·
Yes, Greg Peak is very helpful. He is a Trinity Racing dealer. You can also check out East Coast ATV & Simmons Racing to add to your list of hop up companies for the Kasea.
Another thing to be aware of when your child starts racing, is , often, the parrents are more serious about racing than the child. This leads to cheating, as in big bore kits, porting, etc. if your kid races the stock 90cc class and isn't afraid of the throttle, no other stock 90cc quad can keep up with the Kasea 90. That's just a fact. good luck with the racing. always keep the fun factor alive.
 
G
#17 ·
I do all my own stuff.

I have a 400ex bored to a 416.
the shop did the boring but i put in the piston. I do evrything i can(i do not have a welder and some other important shop tools) I used to weld back in high school and would love to do alot of my own stuff if i had the machines/equipment.

NO quad comes race ready!!! EXCEPT the cannondale 440 which is like $13,000

IMO I would rather start off with a frame, choose all my suspension components and buy a motor and just put it all together myself. you cold have a totally personalized/customized quad built by me for me.

some things are just better off buying. i am not going to build a frame, you need jigs, all kinds of stuff to make sure the geometry is right. i would rather just order one or if I had a welder add on to a existing 400ex chassis.

all depends on what your looking to do. trail ride? there are some minor easy mods that can be done easily to suit yor needs. if yor into all out racing then it can get a bit pricey.

alot of stuff out there is really cheesy. and if i had more time and the tools i would do it myself.

personally i like to tinker so I do all my stuff that i can.
 
G
#18 ·
not a big fan of EAST COAST ATV. there about 45 mins from my house and it just seems like a bunch of kids runnin around. and a few of other people I know feel the same.

i say build as much as you can, as long as it serves the purpose and your in front, who cares. i would feel pretty damn cool if I/dad built my bikie and i was winning, especially if other people were paying all kinds of loot to some "SPECIAL" engine builder.

I have talked to a few builder sand there EXACTLY like me with soem tools. some do the research, the flow bench....... but 75% of them are your average dude slapping in a high comp piston and a cam.

I could have easily built my exhaust, heat sheild, air scoops back when i wa in tech. If I had a lathe and a a press along with other stuff I would be building my own stuff.

I am only 24, so will see what happens in a years. most likely i will have what i need(at least i keep tellin myself this
)

good luck man
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top