ASR a-arms

blaster240R

Member
Feb 25, 2009
588
5
54
47
northwest ohio
just wondering if anyone had a set of asr a-arms. i'm putting them on my blaster but i dont know how to get my castor, camber, and toe right. i know how to adjust them i just dont know where to measure from to get the angles right. if anyone that has these arms could give me some advise i would greatly appreciate it thanks.
 
Just installed mine and I thought it went pretty smooth. Try this. I took the sliding miter gauge off my table saw and clamped the face of it to a two-foot level (shorter would work tho). Set the gauge to 4.5 degrees and hold the level horizontal, the sliding part should be almost vertical.

For camber I cut a block of wood so that it had two parallel faces (about 2" thick) and was long enough to span from the top wheel rim to the bottom one, without touching the tire. placing the sliding part against the block I adjusted the top ball joint out (by full turns) until the level bubble was between the lines. What you should end up with is your tires leaning in a bit at the top. If you find you need to go in, but the top is in all the way then adjust the bottom one out. I have the Heim joints and I found that 4.5 degrees was right between one turn and the next, so I went back one on the outer joint and turned out the inner pivots 1/2 turn.

For caster, I measured directly off the ball joints, puting the sliding part of the gauge against them. But I had to remove the front brake calipers cuz they were in the way. You should end up with the spindle tilted slightly to the rear. To do this I had to adjust the top, rear pivot joint out to make it a bit less castered, this is exactly the opposite of what the instructions said I would have to do, but then every application is different.

Toe-in was a snap compared to the first two. Center the handle bars and someone hold them there. Make a center point on the frame up front (I took the bumper off) and measure from the inner wheel rim edge to the line. Adjust the tie-rods until the rims are the same distance from the center line. Now that everything is straight, you can set the toe. Make a mark on the center of each tire at the rear of the tire, measure the distance. Now rotate until that mark is directly in the front, measure that distance (I used a tape measure) The front distance should be 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch less than the rear. If not, adjust by turning BOTH tie rods the same amount while that guy is still holding the bars and remeasure. The factory manual actually says to do this while the frame is propped up and the a-arms hanging. I didn't bother and I think it feels great set at 1/4".

If you need me to clarify a bit, let me know. On a side note, after doing this (and installing a +3 swingarm) I noticed the suspension is much softer (sits lower too) and tends to bottom out on jumps. After talking to the guys at Works Performance, apparently the extra length adds extra leverage and therefore the springs now see a 160 lb guy like he weighs 220 lbs, for example. This may not be a prob with average trail riding but mine is used for MX and now needs new springs and possibly revalving. Talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences!

Hey, if this is useful, give me a rep point. I'm getting tired of having a dim bulb! LOL
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: blaster240R
Just a follow up about the shocks and springs. Just got them back from Works and what a difference. Rebuilt, revalved, and new springs on the front. Interestingly enough, the rear spring was fine but the shock only had 40 lbs of nitrogen when it was supposed to have 220 lbs. No wonder it was bottoming out! Rebuilt now and working great!
 
Just installed mine and I thought it went pretty smooth. Try this. I took the sliding miter gauge off my table saw and clamped the face of it to a two-foot level (shorter would work tho). Set the gauge to 4.5 degrees and hold the level horizontal, the sliding part should be almost vertical.

For camber I cut a block of wood so that it had two parallel faces (about 2" thick) and was long enough to span from the top wheel rim to the bottom one, without touching the tire. placing the sliding part against the block I adjusted the top ball joint out (by full turns) until the level bubble was between the lines. What you should end up with is your tires leaning in a bit at the top. If you find you need to go in, but the top is in all the way then adjust the bottom one out. I have the Heim joints and I found that 4.5 degrees was right between one turn and the next, so I went back one on the outer joint and turned out the inner pivots 1/2 turn.

For caster, I measured directly off the ball joints, puting the sliding part of the gauge against them. But I had to remove the front brake calipers cuz they were in the way. You should end up with the spindle tilted slightly to the rear. To do this I had to adjust the top, rear pivot joint out to make it a bit less castered, this is exactly the opposite of what the instructions said I would have to do, but then every application is different.

Toe-in was a snap compared to the first two. Center the handle bars and someone hold them there. Make a center point on the frame up front (I took the bumper off) and measure from the inner wheel rim edge to the line. Adjust the tie-rods until the rims are the same distance from the center line. Now that everything is straight, you can set the toe. Make a mark on the center of each tire at the rear of the tire, measure the distance. Now rotate until that mark is directly in the front, measure that distance (I used a tape measure) The front distance should be 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch less than the rear. If not, adjust by turning BOTH tie rods the same amount while that guy is still holding the bars and remeasure. The factory manual actually says to do this while the frame is propped up and the a-arms hanging. I didn't bother and I think it feels great set at 1/4".

If you need me to clarify a bit, let me know. On a side note, after doing this (and installing a +3 swingarm) I noticed the suspension is much softer (sits lower too) and tends to bottom out on jumps. After talking to the guys at Works Performance, apparently the extra length adds extra leverage and therefore the springs now see a 160 lb guy like he weighs 220 lbs, for example. This may not be a prob with average trail riding but mine is used for MX and now needs new springs and possibly revalving. Talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences!

Hey, if this is useful, give me a rep point. I'm getting tired of having a dim bulb! LOL

Good write up...needs to be a sticky.