One of the biggest improvements that can be made to correct this problem is the addition of extended long travel A-arms. Knowing the 450R had only been released a short time ago, not only was there the question of whos arms I would run, but who would even have them avaliable. Not knowing where to turn, I went to my search engine as I often do to see what was out there and avaliable.To my surprise there are actually several companies already offering them. When I felt as though I had done my homework thoroughly by reading and pricing every set of arms I could find, I decided one company stood out above the rest, offering both the quality I was looking for and a competitive price.

The A-arms are manufactured by a company called HERRMANN RACING. Located in Pennsburg,PA, HR is a branch of a much larger company known as GREEN LANE TOOL & DIE Co. They are a family-owned machine shop that has been around since 1957.

HERRMANN RACING manufactures high quality aftermarket racing parts for most sport quads. I contacted H.R and explained to them what type of quad I was building and the harsh desert enviorment it would endure.They recommended either a set of plus 2 or plus 3 longtravel arms to get the handling under control, along with a set of ELKA 19'' zero pre-load , quadruple-rate spring shocks to smooth out the rough stuff .The arms are very competitivly priced at $775, and I went with a compression-only adjustable shock to keep costs down to a relatively-cool $1,070, since

adjustable rebound and compression brings the shock cost up quite a bit (around $350 more). I opted for the plus 2 arms opposed to the plus 3 to achieve more stability without becoming too wide.

I also ordered up a plus 4 axle to match the increased width that was about to be added to my front end to further stablize my ride.

The day everything was to be delivered, I began the task of dis-assembling my stock front end. I wasn't even halfway done when the big brown UPS truck stopped in front of my garage. This gave me a much needed break from wrenching to inspect my new parts. All I could think was "if they preform as well as they look, this was money well spent." I had ordered them in HONDA red powder coated to match the plastic, and the color and craftsmanship couldn't have been any better. Everything was perfect to the eye. (H.R offers the arms in array of colors.) The second half of disassembly seemed to go a lot more smoothly than the first, now that I had a final product to look forward to. After removing the last bolt, I immediately began to reassemble everything using my new arms and shocks.

King Pin	New shock - Old shock

There were two very-noticable differences - heim joints and link pins, which was something I was specifically looking for in this purchase. Heims and link pins are much stronger than traditional ball joints, but there are pros and cons to both. Heims and link pins do require a bit more maintenance as far as lubricating them and keeping them clean of debris. But you'll never have to worry about a torn boot and chances are you won't ever have a foiled ride due to breaking a link pin, as they are much stronger than the traditional ball joints.

Old Assembly	New Assembly

After reassembling and adjusting my new front end, I couldn't wait to test so I loaded up and headed out. We made several passes through a section of deep whoops I had ridden many times before and made some slight adjustments to the factory settings on the shocks, each time making them a little bit softer until finally they were soft enough to bottom out then fo back to the previous setting.

As expected, the new front end made a huge difference from the stock set up. I was able to push the quad through the whoops an entire gear faster and with greater control and stability. Yes, the mod did come with a heafty price tag, but anything worth having usually does. Check back to see how the long term reliability of everthing is working out, although we don't expect to find any problems.
Overall we were very impressed with the overall fit, finish and outcome of our HERRMANN RACING set up. I would recommed this set up to anyone looking to get the most from thier TRX450R. I would like to thank Brad at HERRMANN RACING for the ultimate hook up !!! and the great customer service I received throughout my purchase.

HERRMANN RACING
120 EAST 8TH ST
PENNSBURG,PA 18073

PHONE 1-212-679-2410
FAX 1-215-679-670
WWW.HERRMANNRACING.COM