I noticed some play on the lower left ball joint the other day. Upon closer inspection, the joint was ok. The movement was in the A-arm socket. It seems that the ball joint fits loose in the A-arm socket. You can turn it by hand and it will wobble slightly. This is with the Cir-clip in place. I removed the Cir-clip & ball joint and found no visible wear in the A-arm/ball joint socket. All other ball joints are tight fitting with no play. I'd imagine this will make the socket in the A-arm bigger and looser fitting with every ride I take. I'm going to buy another ball joint next week. If the new one fits loose, do I need to replace my lower A-arm?
I also posted a pic of the A-arm & ball joint in place with arrows showing the movement of the ball joint in the A-arm. Click on the Pics link in my sig, then goto the "Stuff" album. You'll also see pics of my AC500 with optional 27x12x12 Tri-Claws on all fours. I got them for a great deal at a Kawasaki/Yamaha dealer. They(dealer) mounted two 27x12x12 on a stock Kawasaki with no fender clearance and took it for a ride around the block. They ended up cutting the inner lugs slightly and I made them an offer they couldn't refuse. If you look at the pic carefully, you'll see the slight cuts in the inner lugs. Tires got less than 1 mile on them.
Since I mounted them on spare rims, I can swap the 12x9.5 Bi-Claws back when doing regular trail riding. Maybe I'll call my AC500 something original now... Like "Tri Cat" or something. Just kidding Boner! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Anyway, if anyone's ever experienced the loose ball joint/A-arm problem please let me know!

 

GerrBear, i broke a ball joint on my ac 300. when i replaced it the manual called for red locktite around the ball joint. when i put the joint in with out the locktite it had some play in it but not to much. maybe some one on here has a manual for the 500 mine is only for the 300. good luck

 

Gerr, great picture. I would bet the ball joint elongated the mounting hole in the swing arm. I would take the ball joint out and use some brass shim stock and wrap the ball joint or slide shims between the arm and ball. Or if the swing arm metal is soft enough, hammer "peen" around both sides of the swing arm until the ball joint fits snugly. Or, you could have someone tack weld the ball joint to the arm but this would make future replacement very difficult.

 

I will check mine later today. I only have 68 miles on this one but I'll check it anyway. There should be no movement in this area. My old 98 500 wasn't loose at all. Is it still under warranty? I would get this fixed before doing much riding. If it broke at speed it could get real bad in a hurry.

 

I totally agree!