Nytro Bent Front End this one has hit nothing WITH PICTURES

[Nikolai]

Jeff's post reminded me of my crappy stock bushings. My sled has between 750-800 miles and the plastic bushings allowed for a ton of slop. What I found most interesting is when I replaced all my bushings with much higher quality oil-lite bushings, the misalignment measurements actually decreased. My a-arms are now completely rock solid, no movement, no slop.

During this exercise I also discovered my LH lower ball joint was in the process of puking out its bearing material. The stock ball joints are junk and better quality replacements are in the works.

One other thing I've been thinking about was when my sled cart wheeled, the impact went into the RH side and my Ultra Flex III ski tip was so folded back that it stayed more bent back than the undamaged LH ski. I'm wondering if the flex in the ski helped absorb enough of the impact that it saved my front clip? I've not compared it to my stock Yamaha skis, but they may not flex as much?

I agree Crewchief, I'm going compare the Nytro spindle to what Doo and Pol are doing.

Where did you get the oil lite bushings at? Do you have the part numbers?

 

[Crewchief47]

What he ^^^^ said!

 

[NyTrOMaNIaC]

I can answer a couple questions:
*Takes about 45 min to remove front clip.
*They appear to be on back order (I don't know this myself just what I understand through talking with others)
*There IS a 'fix' in the works for our lower a-arm bearings. (I have NO idea how this will be handled through dealer and or Yamaha or we are own our own BUT I would guess the 09s will NOT have these same pieces in them)
*IMHO depending on the hit/ or strike it's the upper a-arm that is the weakest point up front. (with the spindle being right there in a very close second then the front frame) The upper a-arms are bending where they mount to the through tube that the mounting bolt goes through.
* Boxing in or cross tieing the front frame helps it from tweaking.


As was mentioned the real problem IMHO is once we start beefing something up, where do we stop as we continue to move/chase the weak point! Hit something with enough force SOMETHING has to give!
What I don't understand is the guys saying they haven't hit anything!!! But still encuring damage?? This one baffles me mainly because I have hit bumps and jumps and rough trail sections HARD and was still straight (before making changes)

I am disapointed in the plastic bushings we're running in the a-arms and these lower bearings! There needs to be a fix for this for all of us because as that lower a-arm bearing starts to fail it has a 'slidhammer effect' off every bump!

We measured the front end of the sled (in desperate need of a fix), and both the upper a arms were equal distance from the consistent measuring points we used. We then measured the distance from the lower a arms to another consistent measuring point, and there was quite a difference. Therefore, the tweak was without a doubt in the lower a arm. Looking over the sled, it looks as if the upper a arm was the culprit, but the trusty measuring tape doesn't lie. Hard to believe actually, especially seeing that the lower a arm is much thicker and more supported than the upper, but it is what it is. Take your measurements guys before you go trying to bend the wrong part back into place and end up having a pretzel underneath you.

 

[bagadonitz]

I can answer a couple questions:
*Takes about 45 min to remove front clip.
*They appear to be on back order (I don't know this myself just what I understand through talking with others)
*There IS a 'fix' in the works for our lower a-arm bearings. (I have NO idea how this will be handled through dealer and or Yamaha or we are own our own BUT I would guess the 09s will NOT have these same pieces in them)
*IMHO depending on the hit/ or strike it's the upper a-arm that is the weakest point up front. (with the spindle being right there in a very close second then the front frame) The upper a-arms are bending where they mount to the through tube that the mounting bolt goes through.
* Boxing in or cross tieing the front frame helps it from tweaking.


As was mentioned the real problem IMHO is once we start beefing something up, where do we stop as we continue to move/chase the weak point! Hit something with enough force SOMETHING has to give!
What I don't understand is the guys saying they haven't hit anything!!! But still encuring damage?? This one baffles me mainly because I have hit bumps and jumps and rough trail sections HARD and was still straight (before making changes)

I am disapointed in the plastic bushings we're running in the a-arms and these lower bearings! There needs to be a fix for this for all of us because as that lower a-arm bearing starts to fail it has a 'slidhammer effect' off every bump!

We measured the front end of the sled (in desperate need of a fix), and both the upper a arms were equal distance from the consistent measuring points we used. We then measured the distance from the lower a arms to another consistent measuring point, and there was quite a difference. Therefore, the tweak was without a doubt in the lower a arm. Looking over the sled, it looks as if the upper a arm was the culprit, but the trusty measuring tape doesn't lie. Hard to believe actually, especially seeing that the lower a arm is much thicker and more supported than the upper, but it is what it is. Take your measurements guys before you go trying to bend the wrong part back into place and end up having a pretzel underneath you.

This is the same as what we found on the bent MTX. Lower mounting points bent.

 

[08NitroRTX]

I agree not every hit is going to cause a bend at the same point or piece. That would be WAY to easy to fix!! lol (not that it is a laughing matter)

The 'tweaks' I have seen appear to have been buy hitting something while, or having aggressive carbides 'grab' while, skis are turned and therefore bending the upper a-arm forward. Yes a different type of hit WILL cause a different type of damage.

 

[NyTrOMaNIaC]

I agree not every hit is going to cause a bend at the same point or piece. That would be WAY to easy to fix!! lol (not that it is a laughing matter)

The 'tweaks' I have seen appear to have been buy hitting something while, or having aggressive carbides 'grab' while, skis are turned and therefore bending the upper a-arm forward. Yes a different type of hit WILL cause a different type of damage.

Did you measure each side just to be sure Jeff ? We used a bolt on the frame of the sled and measured the distance from a consistent point on each a arm on both sides and compared; this, by the way, is exactly what Yamaha is asking the dealers to do in order to determine where the problem lies. Like I said, we were surprised when we found it was the lower a arm that was tweaked, because to the eye, it looks as if the upper is bent forward causing the shock to sit closer to the rear of the upper a arm, and especially considering the lower a arm looks so strong compared to the upper a arm. But, when you think about it, the lower a arm does take a lot more pressure than the upper, thus the reason why it is more supported and has a thicker tubular construction. You're right though, different situations will affect sleds providing different results, the only way to be sure what you have in front of you is to measure, and measure again just to be sure before you try to straighten it back to it's original position.

On a side note, I thought I read somewhere within the last few days that a TY member straightened his own out with just himself and a buddy using their hands and feet ? If that's the case, I gotta hand it to ya man, you must have super powers, because we tried and we were lucky to get halfway there, and that was with the use of machinery !

Anyway, let's keep this thread going guys. Winter is too short to sit back and wait for a fix, so let the repair work sugesstions fly !

 

[unpride]

After reading all this im glad I havent measured. Mine look straight still and im not going to measure anything because I dont want to know!! Where can I buy those busings? The plastic ones are sure to wear out quick

 

[NB-NYTRO]

I just checked my front end yesterday and its still straight all way around from what I can see with the tape. However both my ball joints are beat to sh%t top and bottom on both sides. The lower ones are the worst. I'm not sure if its still safe to ride?? It moves up and down inside the ball joint quite a bit. There seems to be alot of play in the upper A-arm bushings as well.

 

[AKrider]

I got my bushings from Gueco Racing.
(907) 694-1600 or (907) 841-2345

 

[08nytro23]

hey guys this sucks if this is really happening to you. i work at a dealer and we have yet to see any nytros with bent sub frames,a-arms,spindles.

we have demos with 500 miles on them and no problems and we ride hard. in talking 2 to 3 foot bumps moguls whatever. we live in maine and we dont get snow like out west. i hope if this is a problem yamaha takes care of it. and im sure they will.

 

[AKrider]

Damage pictures

Here are some shots of the damage to my sled.

This is the LH, undamaged side.

Here is the RH side that took the impact. If you compare, you can visually see the shock is much closer to the rear of the top a-arm.

Still need to fix this, doh!

Good news is that tonight, I was able to get my RH a-arms all squared up mearly by using brute force and leverage to "untwist" the a-arms and set the spindle back into place. If it doesn't hold then oh well, I'm not out anything, but I'm confident that it will be fine. My shocks are now perfectly lined up as well. The spindles are both at the same caster angle and you can't even tell that anything had been bent on the front end, with the exception of the ski.

 

[AKrider]

What I hit

Here are some shots of the damn wind drifts that caused me to bail off and wreck my sled. Stupid drifts

The start of the drifts.

Got worse

All bad, especially when you hit this section unexpectedly at night doing over 80 mph. And yes, I know, I am an idiot.

 

[NyTrOMaNIaC]

Exactly what did you do to realign the a arms and center the shocks AKrider ? Details much appreciated

 

[Srxspec]

What I found most interesting is when I replaced all my bushings with much higher quality oil-lite bushings, the misalignment measurements actually decreased. My a-arms are now completely rock solid, no movement, no slop.

I got my bushings from Gueco Racing.
(907) 694-1600 or (907) 841-2345

Gueco Racing buys the oilite bushings from us here at Ulmer Racing. I only have a few sets left in stock for this season, but will have more available for this spring.

 

[BLUEBALLER]

What I found most interesting is when I replaced all my bushings with much higher quality oil-lite bushings, the misalignment measurements actually decreased. My a-arms are now completely rock solid, no movement, no slop.

I got my bushings from Gueco Racing.
(907) 694-1600 or (907) 841-2345

Gueco Racing buys the oilite bushings from us here at Ulmer Racing. I only have a few sets left in stock for this season, but will have more available for this spring.

how much and how many bushings are included in your kit. i've been trying to source some out and was wondering if there is room for a longer ones than stock to help relieve some of the pressure(top a-arms). they make them in metric sizes and different tolerances so it should be pretty easy to find something to work(flange style). my upper a-arm ones are completely gone, sounds like metal on metal, just by giving them a shake.