[Zforce800]

So while making a suspension adjustment I noticed that the A arms were loose and had a lot of play front to back. I can grab the tire and it will move about an inch or inch and a half front to back. I used the service manual and checked the torque, the bolts were good, still had play. I pulled the bolt out, let the arm down, slid the bolts back in and the mounting holes in the frame are completely wollered out. They are out of round and won't hold the bolts in place. While messing with one on my drivers side, I noticed the whole wheel had a ton of play. I pulled the hub down the bearing and saw some play in the bearing. I re-torqued the castle nut to spec and that seemed to help a lot. I'm going to talk to dealership about the A arm play and if they don't fix it it under warranty I'm going to have drill the hole out and find a bushing to weld in. I don't abuse the machine on our trails out here but this is getting out of hand. Either I have a lemon or these machines are just that bad. Anyone have any other ideas to fix the A arm play?

[NMKawierider]

That's one of the common loose bolts we find. I caught mine before it egged the holes. It wastes the threads in that area so it will need a new bolt and probably nut. To fix the egged-out area on others I have just used a welder and filled it back in to the original hole, cleaned it up with a rat-tail file and ground it flat on both sides. Then I used large flat washers on both sides under the bolt head and nut. I usually then take the torque well over what's in the book but be careful, these Chinese bolts can't take but about 10lbs more.

While apart slide the sleeve out of the bushing and check for damage. Also check that it is long enough to fit between the two mounting tabs tightly. I found one on mine that the tab was mounted too far apart and so when you brought the torque to spec, it didn't bare pressure on the sleeve as it must. This will allow the bolt to egg in time. On mine I didn't have enough room for a washer between the sleeve and the tab and the OE bolt wouldn't take the torque to force the gap closed so I had to go to my local bolt store and get the hardest metric bolt and nut to replace that OE bolt so I could put the 60+ ftlbs torque needed to close the gap. Yeah...another QC issue.     

[Cosmosdan]

On the z6 the tab distance seems to be at least consistent. The bushings center hole is just too big causing slop. I'm trying to figure out if a kit with longer sleeves and bushings with a larger OD and longer head will fix this problem on the z8. I think the z6 just needs a tighter bushings on the ID.

[WalkinTarget]

As usual, NMK has the best procedure for the fix. That's a very solid approach to fixing it, and it shouldn't happen again given the improved hardware you've added. It's not just CF Moto, as I've read a number of threads in the AC forums with egged out A-arm mounting holes. The castle nut backing off is also a serious issue - ruins your ride when the entire wheel falls off !!

Zforce800 - An inch and a half is some serious play in those things ! I feel bad that the end user ultimately becomes the final assembly mechanic to torque all the bolts to spec and go over the machine with a fine toothed comb, but it really is a necessity if you are buying a CF Moto.

[Zforce800]

So I did weld the drivers side a little but what I noticed is how soft the steel was. I was getting a lot of burn in. I think what ill try to do is find a top hat bushing that will fit the requirements and a slightly longer, harder bolt, drill the holes out and tap in the top hat. This way I can add more and better quality metal and with the bolt  holding it in place, it should move but still be replaceable.

[Zforce800]

So i got a steel collar that was the closest fit I could find. I did bit of cutting out of the center to make the bolt fit through, snug, but itll hold nice and tight. I welded it to a large fender washer that I drilled out to match the hole which will hold it in place through the a arm mount. I drilled out the mount to perfectly fit the collar. The collar size will directly fit the sleeve in the bushings and not allow for any movement. Re installed and torqued. Nice and tight. The bushings have a bit of play so they'll need to be replaced, but im happy for now. I didn't weld it in so I could replace it if it gets damaged again or I come up with a better solution.

[Zforce800]

The gap before the repair.

[Zforce800]

The collar fitted in. No gaps and it's almost a press fit. The fender washer is on the nut side to help spread the pressure evenly over the mount. The inside of the collar you can see in the picture sticks out just enough to hold the steel bushing sleeve tight.

I think it's a good fix and can be replaced if needed. If anyone sees a better way, let me know.

[Cosmosdan]

Bushings is how I would have done it. I would tack it in just to keep it from turning.

[NMKawierider]

Well..good luck. Keep an eye on it. The original design's intent was to unify all the components from frame, through one tab through the sleeve through the other tab to the frame on the other side as a one piece system using the torqued bolt to unify. This didn't happen as you can clearly see in your first photo as it shows the sleeve contact area had rotation..same as mine did. If your fix has the ability to rotate in the tab, it will wear. But you can always jack it up, let the suspension fall forward and weld it in place. 

[Zforce800]

My homemade bushing in there shouldn't rotate. I've put it so tight right I had to tap it with a mallet, like I said, almost press fit. We are trail riding this weekend so I'll pull it down and check it after we ride. If it's rotated, I'll tack it into place. Im trying to avoid welding I'm in there until I can remove everything and build an entire gusset system that I'm designing to actually tie all the a arm mounts together which will strengthen the frame as a whole. I felt this solution was better than trying to weld the hole back in and grinding it out because it's a perfect round  in which the bolt can ride. It is designed as a band aide until more extensive repairs and enforcement can be made.

[gfmoto]

Clunking noise from mine was coming from loose front a arms.

[Zforce800]

Yup, definitely the source of my clunking in the front end. During my trail run I didn't have any clunking. I'll pull it apart tomorrow and check my repairs. I'll post on here what I find.

[Zforce800]

Well the homemade bushing held very well. After reading all your thoughts, I went ahead and gave it a couple tack welds. Everything else looked pretty good. I'll need to replace the bushings in that side though as they didn't fair well getting whooped by the loose bolt.

[Cosmosdan]

They weren't all that great the day you brought it home. Someone needs to offer Delrin bushings.