quadrcr87's garage projects

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Now onto something a little more fun than a snowblower!

I started work on some roll cage modifications on our RZR Turbo. The plan includes lowering the rear 3” and adding some additional bracing.

Mock up of the planned braces


Side shot before the 3” drop

3” out of the B pillar


6” long sleeve added to the ID and plug welded top and bottom

A little mis alignment but not too bad

Clamped and tacked it in place





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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Next I had to shorten the rear bed supports. I started with cutting off the bottom bung.

As you can see we are about 3” long.


And here is the finished side profile. Just need to finish weld and add the additional gussets.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Finished grinding the tubes smooth. Still waiting on my 1-1/2 pro tools bender die to arrive and start the bracing.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

Finished welding the 3” chop and started on the gussets



I borrowed my brothers hydraulic bender but he only had a 1-1/4 die. I wanted 1-1/2 so I ordered one up from Pro Tools.

Works very well and produces a smooth kink free bend




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

I decided to start at the front and work my way back. This meant starting with the hardest bar with 2 bends. With some careful measuring and eye balling I made it work on the first shot using 1-1/2 tubing.


In this picture you can see the Polaris windshield added. I had to make sure I kept clearance for the clamps at the attachment points. I also didn’t want the bars to hit the plastic windshield and scratch it up over time.


Then I added the anti intrusion bars. These will line up with the roof support and are 1-1/4 tubing. I went with 1-1/4 to minimize the vision blockage


I added 1 single 1-1/2 tube down the middle of the roof


In the rear I added 1-1/2 triangulated braces to add strength at the B pillar



The last part was tying in the roof bars with the B pillar. I did this because Polaris has a bolted connection here that worries me.





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[C91x]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

I've chopped two of these cages.. One was for me and then on my buddies. I never liked how much tension was in the cage after chopping it down. If you ever take the cage off you'll see how much it moves. I ended up just making a new cage. If you have the bender why not do that? Yours does look good though

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

C91x,
I agree there is definitely some tension but I only did 3". I have seen guys go as far as 5". At that point I would also be worried about head room. My main reason for using the existing cage was retaining the windshield and roof I had already bought. If I had bought a new cage, windshield and roof I would easily be over $2K. This was also a much lower cost then buying all of the 1-3/4 tubing, die and bungs needed to build from scratch trying to fit my parts.

Thank you for following along

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Your tube fitting looks nicely done.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Your tube fitting looks nicely done.

Thanks. Not bad for a Harbor Freight notcher. If I did this stuff more often I would really like to upgrade to a better tool like a JD2. At least the grinder with a flapper wheel can fix most of the small issues the HF one has.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

Digging this thread back up from the dead. A lot has changed since the last update. I finished the RZR roll cage, enjoyed it for a season and then sold it last month. Kind of a bummer but my wife and i decided to focus our fun money on racing ATV motocross. Believe it or not she has more fun watching me at the track than trail riding the RZR. Once my rebuild of my ATV is done very soon, I’ll be starting on a steel workbench frame. The plan is to replace the flimsy stamped steel Husky bench next to my toolbox. On to the updates:

Painting and finishing the RZR Cage









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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

The first race of 2019 was the Ironman ATV MX National. Unfortunately I broke my subframe mounts on Saturday and had to make some braces from parts at the hardware store before Sunday’s race. Once I got home I cut out the old mounts and rebuilt them with 1/8 plate. I also made some subframe braces out of 3/4 DOM before returning my brother’s tubing bender.

The race




The broken frame and hacked up repair job. I used a drill, hacksaw, file, hammer, pliers & a trailer hitch! haha





Back at home for a proper repair





In this picture you can see the rear subframe braces added


Back together and ready for the next National at Redbud in Michigan


Here are the best photos from Redbud. I am lucky to have my wife supporting me at the track and taking some great shots.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

After a few friends and family members saw the frog I made my wife, the orders started piling in. I have made about a dozen now.






Before I returned my brothers bender I gave it a fresh coat of paint and added a holder for the jack handle. Him and I also split the cost for the new 1-1/2 die I bought. I am sure I will use it again so it was a good deal for both of us.



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[zmotorsports]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Nice job on the RZR cage modification. Fitment of the tube nodes looked good.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Nice job on the RZR cage modification. Fitment of the tube nodes looked good.

Thank you Mike, that is high praise coming from you. I have been following your thread and the work you have done on the Jeeps is outstanding.

 

[zmotorsports]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Thank you Mike, that is high praise coming from you. I have been following your thread and work you have done on the Jeeps is outstanding.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Seeing your work kinda makes me miss my sand duning ATV and sandrail build projects.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

Here is a quick update on my winter rebuild. At this point I’m just waiting on my Cylinder head to come back from DASA Racing in California. They will also be providing the intake and exhaust. With the cancellation and rescheduling of races through April my timeline has definitely shifted right.

During teardown I inspected everything and put together a list of parts needed.




While the frame and suspension were out for sandblast and powder coat I started on the engine teardown. Overall the parts were in good shape. The build plan includes a port and polished head, new titanium valves, 13:1 billet piston and a stroked crank to increase cc from 439 to 449cc.






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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

I picked up the frame from PC a couple weeks ago and it turned out great. I did mostly gloss black with a few titanium accents. My only regret on color is not getting the upper A arms done in titanium. I still think the titanium color in the new graphics will pull it all together.


New Rath Racing bumper and nerf bars. The monster foot pegs are massive and really help foot placement and stability for fast cornering.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

This is as far as I can go until I get the engine back together. I am really enjoying the assembly process and focusing on the little details.








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[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

This makes me want to rebuild my TRX450r and do some racing, but ATV racing is deader than a door knob out here.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Cool project!

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

This makes me want to rebuild my TRX450r and do some racing, but ATV racing is deader than a door knob out here.

The whole ATV scene has really slowed down compared to when I started racing in the early 2000s. There is still a decent turnout at the Nationals and I am having a blast in the 30+ Vet class.

Cool project!

Thanks I have been wanting to rebuild it for a while. I bought it new in 2004 with my high school job.

 

[zmotorsports]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

The whole ATV scene has really slowed down compared to when I started racing in the early 2000s.

Agreed. Around here back in the 90's and into the 2000's there were ATV's everywhere and at the dunes it was mostly ATV's with about a ratio of 1:25 ATV's to sandrails. When the side by sides came on the scene they pretty much took over both the ATV's and the sandrails in our area by around 2010~ish.

I'm glad I sold my ATV's and sandrail in 2012 when I did because I think the market has dropped out of both shortly after that. Right now in our area everyone is going the side by side route and seeing an ATV or a sandrail is a rare sight.

 

[rattle_snake]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

yes, dunes infested with SxSs. Good in that it allow anyone to experience the environment. Bad in that it allow any idiot to get out and make poor decisions. Just like jet skis at the lake, low barrier to entry brings out the trash.

2 wheels is so much fun in the sand....

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

The whole ATV scene has really slowed down compared to when I started racing in the early 2000s. There is still a decent turnout at the Nationals and I am having a blast in the 30+ Vet class.

That's when I last raced.....last rode my quad. Now that I'm married with 2 kids, I can't bring myself to race without a cage.

Agreed. Around here back in the 90's and into the 2000's there were ATV's everywhere and at the dunes it was mostly ATV's with about a ratio of 1:25 ATV's to sandrails. When the side by sides came on the scene they pretty much took over both the ATV's and the sandrails in our area by around 2010~ish.

I'm glad I sold my ATV's and sandrail in 2012 when I did because I think the market has dropped out of both shortly after that. Right now in our area everyone is going the side by side route and seeing an ATV or a sandrail is a rare sight.

I hung onto mine thinking I'd get back on it, but it just collects dust. I bought it from a friend going through a divorce and never actually got the title. Although the thing is in perfect shape with a lot of nice parts I probably can't get $2k for it. I've been thinking about getting back on it; but then again I've been thinking about that for 12 years.

yes, dunes infested with SxSs. Good in that it allow anyone to experience the environment. Bad in that it allow any idiot to get out and make poor decisions. Just like jet skis at the lake, low barrier to entry brings out the trash.

2 wheels is so much fun in the sand....

UTV's are definitely the cockroaches of offroad trails everywhere! After owning every off road toy, they really just make sense. I still find them obnoxious in general. Hypocritical, since I have one and crew chief for 2 UTV racers. We actually just got notice today that the May Moab UTV rally is postponed to September, so we're trying to figure that out now.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

Well it’s been a little over a month since I posted and to be honest it’s been a little hard to motivate myself to get the quad done with all the tracks shut down and races cancelled. On the plus side I have been racking up the miles on my new MTB. 40 miles in the last week.

I still wish I could be racing. The May 23rd ATV MX National was moved from Indiana to Georgia making it too far for me to attend. The goal now is to get the engine finished and broke in this weekend so I can start practicing at the local tracks as they open.

I have been putting the 450cc engine back together as parts arrive. Replacing the crank and trans bearings gave me plenty of anxiety but I prevailed with the use of the oven and freezer. Luckily my wife just laughed.

New cylinder and 13:1 piston are installed.

I just got finished replacing the valve stem seals and installing new titanium valves last night.

The CNC porting DASA Racing did looks great.

While waiting for some seals for the quads engine, I decided to start tearing into my YZ450 to replace the top end as well. I could feel it loosing some power and compression last season.



Tonight I’ll get the quad engine finished up and installed. I still need to torque down the head, install the cams and adjust the valves.

I need to get these engines closed up before I can start making some metal dust and fire up the welder! I have heard that metal fab and engine building don’t mix [emoji1351][emoji373]


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[Bigblue&Goldie]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Nice bike!

The Coronavirus has been the best thing that's happened to my bike; it's never been ridden so much. I actually ended up wanting a new hardtail, so I bought everything to build one. I've been waiting on my wheels for over a month now, which is the last of the parts I need. The ****** part is it's now north of 100 degrees here.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

Nice bike!

The Coronavirus has been the best thing that's happened to my bike; it's never been ridden so much. I actually ended up wanting a new hardtail, so I bought everything to build one. I've been waiting on my wheels for over a month now, which is the last of the parts I need. The ****** part is it's now north of 100 degrees here.

Thanks! I dream of a nice 130-140 travel full suspension someday but for now this Roscoe with the plus tires has been awesome. It is a little harsh on some of the features and drops that are being built at the local trails. If and when I move back to Colorado and ride bike parks it will be time for an enduro.

 

[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

It’s been close to 5 months since the last update so I’ll try to catch you up on what I have been up to. It’s been a busy summer to say the least.

Picking up where we left off, I was working On completing the engine for the race quad.
Here it is all sealed up



After I got the engine installed and my new graphics showed up I got it back together quick. I was excited and in a bit of a hurry and didn’t take many photos at the end! Other than a small coolant leak that was traced back to a bad water pump seal it ran great on the first start up




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

The first ride was over Memorial Day weekend with an engine break in with a few heat cycles and then some practice at Log Road MX in Michigan.


I brought the Harley on the weekend trip as well to ride with some buddies. Nice to ride on something other than the straight farm fields of NW Indiana.




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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

Pulled out the Slick Wash and foam cannon as soon as I got home. If you have never tried a cannon then you are missing out.
Then it was time to mount the new wheels and tires. I was waiting on the wheels about 4 months on back order. Douglas single bead lock rear with rolled lips in the front with some fresh ITP MX Tires.





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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

With Covid-19 the racing season was delayed but after finding a few open tracks to practice I was ready for my first race in AMA D14 at the Redbud National track in Buchanan, MI. First moto went well as I was leading until I stalled in a corner to finish 2nd. Moto 2 was rough. I got hit in the rear tire in the first turn and the quad flipped on top of me. Bent the steering stem and most likely broke some ribs.

After the crash

My lovely mechanic jumped in to help wash knowing I was in some pain

Back in the garage assessing the damage

Replaced the stem with chromoly and a billet anti-vibe mount that is much stronger

Got it back together just in time with the first National a week away and knowing I was going to be riding in some pain.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

The first National at Sunset Ridge in Walnut, IL went pretty well considering my crash the week before. The pain was manageable and I was pumped to get a 5th overall in the 30+ class.


My mechanic was hard at work between motos

I finally had a solid weekend with no broken parts and minimal wear and tear.


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[quadrcr87]

Re: Quadrcr87’s Welding Projects

For the 4th of July holiday my wife and I took some time off and visited my parents in Traverse City. It’s a pretty special place right on the bay

I helped my mom put up some decorations on her little 1 bedroom guest house (The Ohana)

My dad grilled me up a nice Tomahawk ribeye

And my buddy Ash had a blast in the bay




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[quadrcr87]

Quadrcr87’s Welding (bird poop) Projects

I have been falling a little behind in keeping this thread up to date as it’s been a very busy summer/ fall.
After July 4th I was focused on finishing out the racing season. My favorite event each year is the ATV MX National at Redbud in Michigan. This year was another great event with clear weather in late July.
I was riding well and felt really good on the track all weekend.




Here is our setup in the pits. I also had my parents with their motor home and my in-laws with their slide in camper.









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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

In my 2nd moto on Saturday I was running in 4th and really pushing to get on the podium. As I was coming out of a slick right hand corner I was a little too hard on the throttle and started sliding out. The left rear tire caught traction suddenly and threw me into a high side flip. This resulted in the carnage below. Luckily I was uninjured and picked my self up to finish 7th in the race.

Back in the pits I found a bent aluminum subframe, bent and cracked exhaust and some broken fender mounts. It was still rideable but barely.


Broken frame tab repaired back in the garage


I ended up lining up for both motos on Sunday with some embarrassment but I could barely tell the thing was bent on the track. I guess you could say it looked worse than it was.
I ended up 5th overall in 30+ and 11th overall in 450C for the weekend. Not too bad considering the crash.

Best photo of the weekend!



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Other than MX I have been keeping busy with multiple small projects. So here comes a pile of unrelated random things.

When I bought my Skag earlier this year I knew I would need to add a trailer hitch before leaf season. I could have ordered the hitch from Skag for $50 but I figured I could have some fun and use some 3/16” stock I had left from my welding table build. This is the first time I have stacked plates and welded the seam so I had some fun with it.

Here is the leaf sweeper setup from this past weekend clearing an acre of leaves

I’ve also been spending as much time mountain biking and hiking with my wife as possible. Great stress relievers during the pandemic



I also took my dirt bike out to my local Mx practice track for the first time. Much different than the sand dunes and trails. I felt a little out of my element missing 2 wheels.

And here is some tasty crab legs I grilled up for the neighbors after they rescued me when my car keys were lost on a mountain bike trail when my wife was out of town. I started grilling them a couple years ago and I love it.



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

My wife bought me a solo stove for my birthday in August and it works great. Very low smoke and an efficient hot fire. Now I just need to weld up a wood storage rack. I am trying to post this all in order but I’m actually picking up 40’ of tubing for this tomorrow.

So it’s been way too long since I have volunteered and I decided to do it with my local MTB club. I have been riding the Outback trails in Portage, IN for the past couple years and it was time to give back. I spent a very productive Sunday with them building a small roller coaster section over an area that often floods and shuts the trail down.


This brings us up to the last weekend in August and we were heading to Michigan for my sisters baby shower. I took advantage of the trip by racing an AMA D14 race at the track I grew up racing at every Friday night. It had been 14 years since I had ridden here. I took first place and love the fact that’s it’s the same track and the same quad I have been racing since 2004.


These plaques are about 14 years apart. The track name changed but it’s still the same place.


Then I dedicated a few weeks of my summer to getting the house painted. Like most paint projects, it started with the “boss” choosing the colors.

I was very thankful that my dad came with his sprayer and put 2 coats of the green in a weekend. The real time **** was all of the caulk, nail hole filling, trim repair, washing, sanding, taping and downspout removal that needed to get done before he arrived. I also cut in and painted all of the while trim after he left.


Before

After


That brings us to the end of September. Some fun projects coming soon.





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[quadrcr87]

"quadrcr87's garage projects

After the big house project taking up all of my free time I decided to treat myself with the thousands of dollars saved painting it ourselves. Several years ago I installed Racetech springs and gold valves in the forks on my 1998 Harley Fatboy. Since then the fork has felt great reducing dive in braking and soaking up road variations really well. The rear on the other hand has been vary harsh and bucking with the OEM shocks with 40,000+ miles on them. The solution was a set of Progressive Suspension adjustable shocks with 0-2” drop




I set up the shocks at 1” lower than stock. This lowered it just enough to tuck the rear tire and eliminate the air gap that just didn’t look right. I know I could get a better ride at stock height but either way this was a big improvement in ride.





After playing with the preload I ended up setting them near the middle of the adjustment. I am glad I went with the standard 422’s and not the HD version.


The real test is to see how it rides with my passenger next time she wants a movie at the Redbox


And no she did not approve of this photo



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[quadrcr87]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Is this mic on? I feel like I am rambling on to myself but I think that’s ok. By documenting my projects it provides a useful resource for me to reference and that can’t hurt.

Before my parents came to help with the paint project I needed to finish one of my mom’s Bday gifts. It’s a silverware frog similar to what I have made in the past but I spent a little more time on this one and can tell my skill is improving. She loved it.




Once we had a free weekend we loaded up and headed to the sand dunes for the last camping trip of the year. We have had a great summer and spent over 20 nights in the camper.


We had a great time despite the cold and the fact that I ended up with a broken rib as a souvenir I landed sideways off a jump on the quad and got thrown off early in the day. Then later on I washed the front out on the bike and went over the bars in some soft sand. I was sore but feeling ok until I started loading up. While strapping down the bike I felt a pop in my right lower rib and I felt it moving around and pain the rest of the day. This happened on October 17th and took a little wind out of my sails but I am working through it.


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[zmotorsports]

Re: "quadrcr87's garage projects

Sorry to hear about your ribs, those can be painful.

Seeing those paddle tires sure make me miss my sand toys though.