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This first pic was last years build which was pretty good but the falling rate ts suspension was holding it back.
This is this years build.
Note the axle is straight under the swingarm bolt. Its about 2 inches farther forward than last year.
I gutted the frame cradle under the swingarm bolt and welded a cross bar under farther forward to connect to the side plates in front of the track.
Note how far back I moved the suspension. This is a modified yamaha single shot skid from a 17 vectror, very similar to what CMX does but NO shock on the front of rails. It used front and rear couplers to control rail pressure.
This years setup is super fun but really picky to keep enough ski pressure when wanted. I have the oc ktm forks with adjustable spring preload and a turn or 2 will make or break the handling. It honestly feels like the whole thing is too short now. It gets squirly at times and over steers but doesn't really wash. I ran this same bike with a 137 and the skid moved way back and it was pretty good and it was the same overall length with the 137 as a stock ts120 kitted bike. I really don't like having long track after the base sets up so I swapped it to the shorty.
Final thoughts is this would be awesome as a 137 or as a heavy 4 stroke with fuel up front, but my smoker is too light up front in this configuration. Again it is way fun (especially jumping) but was a lot more work to get that extra 2 inches that's probably not worth the effort for this build. I'm kinda wondering about how the Gnarbike feels with twice the hp???
This is this years build.
Note the axle is straight under the swingarm bolt. Its about 2 inches farther forward than last year.
I gutted the frame cradle under the swingarm bolt and welded a cross bar under farther forward to connect to the side plates in front of the track.
Note how far back I moved the suspension. This is a modified yamaha single shot skid from a 17 vectror, very similar to what CMX does but NO shock on the front of rails. It used front and rear couplers to control rail pressure.
This years setup is super fun but really picky to keep enough ski pressure when wanted. I have the oc ktm forks with adjustable spring preload and a turn or 2 will make or break the handling. It honestly feels like the whole thing is too short now. It gets squirly at times and over steers but doesn't really wash. I ran this same bike with a 137 and the skid moved way back and it was pretty good and it was the same overall length with the 137 as a stock ts120 kitted bike. I really don't like having long track after the base sets up so I swapped it to the shorty.
Final thoughts is this would be awesome as a 137 or as a heavy 4 stroke with fuel up front, but my smoker is too light up front in this configuration. Again it is way fun (especially jumping) but was a lot more work to get that extra 2 inches that's probably not worth the effort for this build. I'm kinda wondering about how the Gnarbike feels with twice the hp???
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