Anyone seen one yet ?? Do ya think this a good idea??
Anyboody know what the cost is ??

 

all I have to say is... fatigue cracks and lower toughness... a chassis skid is mandatory...

 

I think it will be pretty cool, it doesn't look as strong as the Cannondale frame though, the C-dale looks a lot thicker in parts, while the LRD looks like a regular steel frame.

 

LRD claims it is stronger and lighter than steel. Time will tell. Bill Ballance is racing one right now I believe. I think they are about $2900. Anything will break if you bash it hard enough for long enough. Welded aluminun has tremendous strength and should not be a problem. It may not be as strong as a Dale, but the machine weighs less without a rider also. Another nice thing is that you would never have to sandblast and paint it ever, which is a pain the ****.

 

Of course, it depends on what alloy they used and what heat treatments that they employ, if any. one thing is for certain, any aluminum frame will have a limited life when put next to a comparable engineered and manufactured steel frame. It is just a property of aluminum (no endurance limit). This is the reason why the Cannondale dirtbikes and quads are as heavy as they are (relatively). This is also why it has taken Honda so many years to refine their design. Aluminum is a different beast, and it takes awhile to get it figured out.

I only wonder if LRD did backyard engineering (like Laeger) or actual honest-to-God design work.

 

I saw one of these frames at the London, KY Naional in it looked pretty sweet. The guy was lifting it with little effort so it must not weigh much. The round tubing looks similar to an Arens, LSR, Laegers frame but larger in diameter.
ERIC

 

The price is $2800 and will be available for shipment in less than a month!! Cannondale has spent years working, researching, stress testing aluminum and I have confidence of their quad frames, on the other hand, you got to wonder how much research, testing, etc., went into this one. I believe I would wait a few years and let some other people be the guinea pigs![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] If it cracks, you can't take it to any old shop and have it welded either!

 

I was wondering what the total weight loss is comparing it to steel/chromoly frames.Wonder how light a 250R would be w/this frame?

 

the aluminum frame should only weight about 10 to 15lbs less than an equivalent chromoly steel frame. as long as the aluminum is off a high grade and heat treated then it is very strong. i had an 89 ext which uses a steel bulkhead and i snapped the bulkhead numerous times and had to reweld it. i now have a 97 zr440 with an aluminum bulkhead and have never snapped the bulkhead in it and i have had it out on a motocross track in the wintertime, something i never did with my ext.

 

I would imagine this is because steel doesn't really flex very well, it usually bends or breaks. Aluminum will flex and retain it's shape. Why do you think pro-tapers are so popular with the mx crowd? If you bend a pair of them, you won't have to worry about riding for a while.