Ace Fabrication may not be a name you've heard of in the ATV aftermarket world. And after being contacted by the Missouri-based company and seeing what they had to offer, it's hard to understand how they've been flying under the radar. They've actually been manufacturing ATV swingarms for a while now, and wanted to know if we would be interested in testing out one of their 4130 Chromoly swingarms. Of course we obliged, and decided to go with a stock-length Motocross swingarm for our YFZ450, powdercoated in candy red to match our quad's chassis.
The first thing we noticed upon arrival was the brilliant candy red finish. The deep, rich color matches the frame very well. All of the Tig welds on the Chromoly swingarm look great, and upfront the pivot points include brand new needle bearings inside them. A hole is drilled and tapped on the left side for mounting the chain glide, and half way down on the opposite tube resides a brake line holder. The rear shock linkage mount looks as tough as any we've ever seen, and on the underside the skid plate mounts look bullet-proof. Ace Fabrication uses RAD dual-bearing, round house axle carriers which the swingarm holds in place with four allen head bolts. As expected, the entire unit is quite heavier than the 13lb OEM counterpart, coming in at right about 18lbs. But that's the price you will pay to have a much stronger swingarm designed for the abuse associated with motocross conditions.
Upon installation, you need to remove the pivot collars from your stock swingarm and slide them into place in the new unit. The two thrust covers are also re-used, along with the chain glide if so desired. To increase strength, the stock cast-aluminum swingarm uses thicker mounts for the rear shock linkage. This means when using the OEM bolt on the new swingarm, the addition of a spacer is needed. Luckily they provide this, although we would have rather seen them supply a new, shorter bolt instead. The use of spacers are also needed between the brake caliper and brake mounting plate in order for the caliper to reach the brake rotor. No big deal, but the provided bolts were too long and protruded out from the caliper, almost touching the rotor. They were so close infact that we could barely slide a piece of paper between the bolt and the rotor. Definitely too close for comfort, so we simply ground about 1/8 of an inch off the bolts with a bench grinder. You could also use a washer or two, but we feel slightly shorter bolts should be supplied. Our skidplate however mounted up fast and easy without a problem.
Although we're not reviewing the RAD dual-bearing round house axle carrier specifically, we must commend Ace Fabrication on their choice to use them with their swingarms. They come complete with two bearings and seals pre-installed, along with a grease fitting on the sprocket side of the carrier to keep the chain adjustment procedure running smoothly. And the decision to use four large allen head bolts to hold everything in place was a good one, where as some manufacturers only use two. It might be overkill, but we feel it's worth the slight weight gain and increase in time taken to adjust the chain. Nevertheless, chain adjustment is still fast and easy compared to the stock procedure. The overall build quality and finish of the swingarm is amazing, and we feel you'll never have to worry about bending or breaking this super-tough component.
At a total price tested of $749 before shipping, we feel it's fairly priced. If you don't need skidplate mounts, you can knock an additional $50 off the total price. Ace Fabrication makes swingarms for most brands of sport quads out there, and they can custom make them for your specific needs from -2" to +8" in length. These extra-tough swingarms are also available in six different super durable powdercoat colors. Give them a call now at 417-583-2448, or check out their online auctions at eBay.
Quality: 5/5
Performance: 4/5
Installation: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4.25/5
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Ace Fabrication's stock-length YFZ450 swingarm, in brilliant candy red powdercoat finish.
Four large allen head bolts hold the RAD dual-bearing round house axle carrier in place.
The axle carrier, complete with grease fitting and pre-installed dual bearings and seals.
Installation was fairly quick and easy on the super-strong YFZ450 motocross swingarm.
It's amazing how well the candy red powdercoat finish matched the OEM chassis color.
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