[chuddly]

I bought my Zforce 800ex as a wrecked machine.  I knew the frame was bent and all that but was not worried about it because i have a body shop and a frame rack/table and have done enough cars to know what I was in for.  The thing was bent enough that the left rear tire had beaten the battery out of place and it was gone.  This weekend I actually had time to work on it and get it straightened out.  Here are some pictures of how it was when I started. 

[chuddly]

The main problem area was the back most cross bar of the main frame section (the box tube),  It was collapsed in and was beyond repair.  I cut that section out and remade/reattached the engine mount brackets The box tube I used was much heavier and thicker so this area should never be a problem again.  The rear cradle section (where the rear control arms mount)  was twisted and bent some also.  Once I had the mounting point for it (the new cross tube on the main frame) straight I was able to straighten the rear cradle section and reattach it to the tube.  I did find that the rear drive shaft was ruined by the previous owner driving it (I assume to get out of the woods) in the wrecked state.  It ate most of the teeth of the shaft and chewed up the female side of the great on it.  I will be making a call to Alpha Motorsports today to get a replacement.  Also there is an oil leak coming from the case seam on the bottom of the motor.  I will be trying to address that next weekend.  Other than that there was no real surprises. The wheels and tires on the rear are off a Yamaha Rhino I had and were just on there to move it around.  New wheels and tires are scheduled to arrive this week.  Really there is only about a days worth of work left on it (maybe 2 depending how much I upgrade) so im excited about getting it up and going. 

As far as the build quality the CF Moto is very good.  The frame is strong and stiff so it wont flex.  However I would bet money that the designer of it is a race car chassis designer because all of the cross members and brackets are VERY weak and bent (I will be replacing many of them).  They are all flat or L channel which is NOT up to off road standards at all.  Also the skid plate will be replaced as what comes on it from the factory is a joke.  After that it will get doors and most likely an exo cage as I have had an ongoing battle with trees and body work LOL.  The trees seem to win most times and an exo cage was the only thing that made us break even. 

[Jogon30]

Man this is going to be awesome wish I was there to go over and help you! I love doing projects like this please keep the pics comeing!

[WalkinTarget]

I was eagerly anticipating this one as well. Great to hear that you ripped into it and are fixing it back up without too much trouble. Hoping that leak on the bottom of the motor is a minor issue, but pulling the motor is NEVER A fun job. 

[murdo]

Nice work so far. Please keep the pictures coming.

[chuddly]

Thanks guys.

Quick update - I have ordered all my parts that I will need to get it up and going.  Wheels and tires from Rocky Mountain ATV.  Drive shaft parts, fender flares, and brake pads (just worn) from Alpha Motorsports.  I plan on cutting out all of the cross supports in the frame and welding in square steel tube in its place.  Then I will put 1/8" aluminum plate in place of the horrible factory skid plate.  At that point I will likely pause from any mods and access the machine and see how it is working and how it fits me but I suspect it will be fine.  At that point I am going to build my own doors and likely an exo cage.  I have found that a few dollars in steel saves a few hundred dollars in body parts LOL.  From there who knows...but I can promise you there will be MANY modifications done and I will continue to find the weak points and fix them LOL

[chuddly]

My wheels and tires showed up this week so I got those on.  I also got it up on jack stands and I think I got my oil leak fixed also.  Only time will tell on that one, but I feel good about how it looks.  Some more parts are supposed to be here Monday from Alpha Motorsports but Im not exactly sure which parts as their invoice/tracking doesnt show me that kind of stuff.  I will just wait and see what shows up Monday (hopefully all of it) and if im still missing parts I will just call them and get an ETA on the rest of them.  The good news is that once those parts get here it will at least be drivable so then i can get it out for some shakedown runs and see what else this machine needs to make it the baddest it can be.

[gfmoto]

Looking great!!!

[Jogon30]

What tires are you useing ?

[chuddly]

What tires are you useing ?

Those are the Sedona Buzzsaw.  I have never tried them before so we will see.  I dont do much mud at all so I didnt want or need a mud tire.  I do like how the tread pattern is almost set up in a straight line similar to paddle tires.  I have heard from some reviewers that because of the straight line (paddle like) tread pattern they tend to slide sideways slightly easier but i like to stear with the throttle anyway so that doesnt bother me.  I can always cut some of the blocks of tread out to give me a little more lateral bite if it is to loose in the back end.

[Jogon30]

They look cool I'm really looking into the ripsaw tires made by the same company and some by interco called swamp lite!  Still doing research before I pull the trigger.

[NMKawierider]

They look cool I'm really looking into the ripsaw tires made by the same company and some by interco called swamp lite!  Still doing research before I pull the trigger.

I wouldn't do the Swamp Lites on these and where we are. The tread is too open for soft sand, they may not be rated for the loads of these SXSs and rock-pinchs in the mountains take out the sidewalls pretty easy. Pretty good ATV tire in the south but they wouldn't be on my "short list" up here. What you have right now is better...IMO 

 

[Jogon30]

About you think about the ripsaw tires?

[Dipper]

Awesome work nice to it saved rarther than being tossed to one side👍

[NMKawierider]

About you think about the ripsaw tires?

Well, Doug likes them. Check it out: