Miracle Substance? Considering, the lack of maintenance on the bike, the condition of the often fragile u-joint boots, is a miracle.

                                                                                                The ball joints look fine. Again, there are no cracks or tearing of the rubber boots and the movement of the mechanism is smooth without excessive play. Our spindles appear to be mostly undamaged, they are not bent and the bearing race is smooth and not pitted or scoured like the wishbone arm bearing spacers. Only the inner dust seal surface shows wear which, can be smoothed with abrassive cloth.

Spared by the Squid! The spindle bearing surfaces look good. Note, the light wear on the dust seal surface.

Check the discs for deep scouring or if they are bent or warped. Place the disc on a flat surface such as a formica countertop or plate of glass. A mirror is handy. The disc should lay perfectly flat on the surface. If there is any deviation, the disc must be replaced or brake performance will be poor. Our discs were mechanicaly okay but, dull and ugly. There are a number of trick looking, slotted and drilled discs out on the market. We expect to acquire a set for our bike.

Inspect Brake Disc (Rotor) to be true Lay the disc on a perfectly flat surface. If the disc is not true to the flat surface, it's JUNK.

Swing Arm and Shock Linkage

Not Spared by the Squid! Lack of a nylon chain allowed the chain to deeply wear the soft aluminum, swing arm. Note, the crack that almost spans the swing arm beam in total.

The shock linkage is a very intricate component that rides in a set of very large, caged roller needle bearings. Examine the bearings and bearing, race surfaces for wear. We will replace the bearings for we found the surfaces to be clean and smooth. If you find pitting and scratches you can attempt a cleanup with emory paper. If the damage is deep, the race surfaces must be replaced. We will replace all seals and bearings in this assembly as "rebuild" practice.

Check the splines at the end of the axle for wear. A missing or cracked spline spells "fatigue", the axle should be replaced. Ours is fine but, we will use a wider (+2 inch) axle to enhance handling.

The swing arm bushings were heavily pitted and will be replaced. The swing arm shaft shows considerable damage from poor assembly techniques and will be replaced with a used component from Neandrathal's Cycle Salvage .

Rear Axle Carrier and Axle and Hubs

The rear axle bearings were in decent shape but, will be replaced for good measure. Rear axle bearings are a high wear item on the Quadzilla due to the huge torque and heavy weight, be prepared to replace them often. All seals are replaced as a default procedure. Although the rear axle was straight and true and the inboard and hub splines are in good shape we will replace this component with a "Durablue +2" extended width version to enhance handling..As well as their guarantee against bending.

Rear Brake Assembly

Use the same technique for the rear disc as described for the front when evaluating condition. The rear disc is exposed and even with a high quality skid plate is prone to bending or warping. Our disc is fine but like the front discs, it did not clean up well so, we will also replace it and the front discs with a drilled and slotted aftermarket component. Like the front components, our rear caliper and hoses are fine. We'll keep the caliper, replace the pads and use aftermarket braided hose in replacement of the original. We have opted to dump the parking brake on our bike. This feature is totally useless and only ads weight and clutter We'll use a block off plate for this mechanism on the rear caliper as provided by Krause Racing "Sidewinder" stainless steel rear sprocket and "Quadra-Max" o-ring chain. Although the steel sprocket weighs more than an aluminum piece, the lifespan with the matching chain is incredble. With proper mainteance, we expect that we will not replace the chain and sprocket again for many years.  Note: Don't "lube" your O-ring chain. Just a light spray of WD-40 after a wash or operation in water. Chain lubes are sticky and only attract grime, which will cause premature wear and failure.

Image! Not Yet! Various parts, destined for the chrome shop. Yikes! Those yellow A-Arms are squidly!

Chrome Shop

Since our bike will spend a good amount of it's life in the dunes where "image" can be important. We have opted for some chrome and polish. The swing-arm will be sent off to be polished. The list of pieces destined for the chrome shop includes the A-arms, inner disc brake dust plates, the footpegs, kick start lever, magneto cover, just about any small part that bolts onto the swing-arm and various other parts that either blend in with like plated components or, standout in proper (or sometimes improper) contrast.

Next Month Mr. Dune will cover the dissasembly and evaluation of engine, trans and primary drive components. There are numerous, important techniques that are an absolute "must know" in this process. Don't miss it!! Stay tuned!!