Yamaha G2 Build Progress thread

[Yamahama]

Originally Posted by slonomo

I don't have any info. I was asking you lol. If it's a tapered clutch, then yes you need that adapter. When you install it, make sure the crankshaft, clutch, and adapter are perfectly clean with no oil or grease. It relies heavily on the tension fit and requires that you get the bolt super tight. Even though I was careful with mine, it ended up spinning on the shaft, so I'm not that much of a fan of using the adapter setup. I now have a 780 and I can tell you that it is much easier to install and has a keyway/key to hold it in place.

I probably would got the comet 780 if I had not already cut the crank shaft on my gx240 shorter for the previous redneck clutch I was given. Someone took a perfectly good gator clutch and had it bored to 1 inch but, not straight, then drilled a hole though the fixed sheave for a set screw to hold it in place. You could see it wobble with the engine idling...

[Yamahama]

So, I have this idea for upgrading the front suspension on my G2 and I wanted to run the idea by you guys to get an "expert opinion " before I go buy stuff.

Plan is to obtain a pair of front Polaris trailblazer struts with hubs and hydraulic brakes. I can get the front half of a 2000 trailblazer for $150 complete with brakes, lines, etc.

I would then add strut towers to my G2 ( probably cut them off the trailblazer and weld them to the G2) and then use the stock G2 control arms and fab a way to attach the trailblazer ball joint to them. Then adapt the G2 tie rods to the Polaris struts. I may or may not have to lower the inside mounting point for the G2 control arms to correct geometry. I can also buy 1" wheel adapters to go from the Polaris bolt pattern to my 4x100 pattern for my 10" rims.

I could just use the trailblazer control arms and add mounting tabs to my G2. Thoughts?

Trailblazer front suspension looks like this:
picture 1
picture 2

I'll fix the links post the pictures directly when I'm not on my phone tomorrow.

[smokindawg]

The setup your talking about should work fine. It may be more work to get it right than just putting a double A-arm under it though. You could just go with the measurements from the ATV and it should work fine. That is if the weight difference doesn't change the settings from the original ATV and cause adjustment issues. Of course then if your lifting the cart too your measurements will change as well.

I do have a Side By Side that was my dads and it has that type front suspension. It is 4 wheel drive as well. It works fine and rides pretty smooth but now needs new bushings and such to bring it back to new.

There are a lot of ATV's out there with the same type suspension so if that's the one you want to go with then I'd say do it, but be ready for quite a bit of fab work to get it adjusted and setting/riding correctly.

[Yamahama]

Picking this thing up next week:



Basically going to use the whole front frame piece, control arms and struts. It has single A-arms and and struts. Has the same width as the G2, approximately the same weight as a G2 and HD springs and struts are available on different polaris quads. It has hydraulic front disc brakes and should be fairly straight forward to mount utilizing the stock steering box with minimal bump steer. Looking got get a 6" lift, better geometry and front brakes out of it.

[Yamahama]

Not necessarily Clone motor specific but I'm picking this up next week for my ATV front suspension:


I'm excited to get working on the cart as soon as the snow is gone (probably mid April)

[smokindawg]

Yes, cutting the entire front off and mounting it in one piece is the way to go. Keeps you from having to figure out the geometry of all the parts yourself.

Having front disc brakes will definitely be a big plus. I need to do that myself on the one I've been building. I'm looking to find a double A-arm for mine.

But that being said, there are a lot of Polaris ATV's out there that run some good speed and are very safe with that setup so you'll be adding a big improvement to your cart!

Good luck and be sure to start a build thread with pictures, some of us around here are like kids and love pictures.

[cfherrman]

That is Macpherson strut suspension, if this sounds familiar that because nearly every car on the road has it in the front. It is a cheap alternative to double a arm and nearly works as good but double a arm is still better. It will work very well to the speed the atv could get to.

[Yamahama]

Originally Posted by cfherrman

That is Macpherson strut suspension, if this sounds familiar that because nearly every car on the road has it in the front. It is a cheap alternative to double a arm and nearly works as good but double a arm is still better. It will work very well to the speed the atv could get to.

I think it should work pretty good. I don't ever plan to exceed maybe 35mph tops with cart so there is some measure of safety. Cart is used in the bush typically on muddy and hilly terrain with the occasional top speed run down old railroad beds for maybe 2 or 3 miles at a time. This is all on private property and I like having the ability to hold a beverage or two while I drive.

[sho305]

Great idea IMO! I have thought of that too, while double arms are cool this setup may be more available and work just as well on a cart. I also agree I'd be really careful of the angle and height of the quad frame and then mount the entire front frame on to your cart, it will save you a lot of screwing around. You can always beef up the arms and such but given the lower speeds of carts and low weight on the front of them it should not be an issue. Quads fly through the air and run 50mph no problem, it should be a good setup. The only thing I might look at is if you could build in any adjustment easily. I made my lift and put in tubes with multiple mounts for the shocks that moved them up and out, so I could adjust the height and softness. Given the limitations of the stock shocks it has worked really well, but may not be that important on a front that is way more capable to start with. I would try to mock it up with the full cart weight and riders on it to check sag before you make it permanent, double check your width and tire placement and all that. I re-welded my front arms three times to be happy with my lift, which was pretty simple but back then nobody sold them I was on my own.

[cfherrman]

Originally Posted by Yamahama

I think it should work pretty good. I don't ever plan to exceed maybe 35mph tops with cart so there is some measure of safety. Cart is used in the bush typically on muddy and hilly terrain with the occasional top speed run down old railroad beds for maybe 2 or 3 miles at a time. This is all on private property and I like having the ability to hold a beverage or two while I drive.

Dont get me wrong, Macpherson strut is very good