EZ-GO + Yamaha Warrior 350

[Forker45]

Quick update and pics.

Steering rack is mounted and tie rods shortened to correct length. I am reusing the steering column tube on a 3/4" square tube mount that puts it at the right angle. I cut the rod end mounts with tapered holes from the quad steering tube and welded 3/8-24 bolts to them so I could reuse the original tie rod ends.

For the steering shaft, I used about 4.5" of the steering wheel end of the original solid shaft and welded it to a 3/4" tube. At the other end I welded in the 5/8" splined shaft for the u-joint. I'm adding another bushing to the bottom and the whole shaft will be captured in the column tube with clamp collars. I'm waiting on the bushkng to arrive so I can finish up the u-jointed shaft between rack and colum.

[Forker45]

This is how it sits under its own weight in front. The shocks are from a Raptor 660 I put on years back when I got the wide a-arms. They're longer than the warrior shocks and have a higher spring rate, but we'll see how it rides when the time comes.

[Unforgiven]

have you let it off the jacks yet? I was wondering about your stock shocks. My shocks are maxed out, and with the added weight they are on the edge of being too soft. Me and my youngest went riding other day and I noticed it was not rebounding like it should. Only thin I could figure out was the colder air was screwing with the shocks.

[Forker45]

Originally Posted by Unforgiven

have you let it off the jacks yet? I was wondering about your stock shocks. My shocks are maxed out, and with the added weight they are on the edge of being too soft. Me and my youngest went riding other day and I noticed it was not rebounding like it should. Only thin I could figure out was the colder air was screwing with the shocks.

Yeah, you can't tell in the picture but it's about 1" off the jacks as it is now. If I sit on the cart it will compress down to barely touch the stands. I pulled them out when I got the suspension all mounted and even bouncing up and down it doesn't seem terrible (or at least as much as I had expected). Its still early though and I expect to need to crank the spring preload up (set to lowest now) or replace with a higher rate spring.

There's still a good bit of weight to be added: battery, exhaust, 5 gal fuel cell, oil cooler & fan, shift linkage, brake/clutch pedal assembly, quad electronics & new electrical wiring, rear seat/truck bed deal, etc... So I'm sure the suspension will need to be tuned accordingly but that's no big deal and I'll figure it out when the time comes. I'll be adding a supplemental air shock on the rear swingarm to level it out for additional passengers.

[coolpool]

Now that is looking awesome! Great fab work too!

[Forker45]

Originally Posted by coolpool

Now that is looking awesome! Great fab work too!

Thanks for the compliments. It is definitely a more involved fab project than most people realize. I really enjoy the challenge and reward of welding & fabrication projects.

[slonomo]

I started with Warrior shocks, too soft. Went to 400ex shocks, longer, but still soft. I ended up with 2 rears from a Raptor. They are fully adjustable for compression and rebound and will handle extra weight like for a plow etc. If you are riding alone on a bumpy trail, it's just a bit bouncy. Add another passenger and it smooths out quite a bit. You just can't have it all. So you'll have to get it tuned for the bulk of the type of riding you do. Looks really good!

[Forker45]

I finished up the steering last weekend with the u-jointed steering shaft. It feels pretty good, a little quicker than I'd like but I'm sure it will be fine. I also got the pedals for the brake and clutch tabbed up.

This weekend I mounted and linked up the original front and rear master cylinders. I reused the originals to save money. The hole locations on the pedal and the link on the fr mc are set to match the oem system and the rear pedal as well. This way it will create the correct mc travel and line pressure for each system. I'll adjust the bias using the set screw on the fr mc.





I was going to fab a whole new linkage and actuator for the clutch cable but decided it would be easier to just figure a way to use the original lever. It has a nice adjuster on it anyway.



That's it for now. I'm working on pedal pads and a throttle setup next.

Thanks for looking!

[coolpool]

Well done as always. And as for re-using parts, why not. Yamamha paid someone lots of money to design what works. Not saying that all things are well designed but if it works for your application, giv'er.

[Pitbull Joe]

Great job. I'll be watching.