Hey everyone, I've been visiting this forum for a long time and finally decided to register since I need some help with a Bayou 220 that I just purchased for my wife. On all the 220 that I've seen, there wheels are always cambered inward like this \ /. But on this bike, the wheels are like this | | when no weight is on the bike. As soon as we take the bike out on the trail, the wheels start going outward like this / \. Almost like there was too much weight on the front end. My first thought was that the shocks where done, so I found a used pair of shocks to try out and it still does this. I'm wondering what could be causing this. Could tie rod ends be doing this? Now keep in mind that I have a small winch on the front of the bike, and a front bumper. But I don't think that this would be causing the problem. Any suggestions would help

Thanks

Dan

 

maybe the front ?nuts? or ?bolts? are not screwed on tight, try tightening them up.

 

That is a very tough one. It has a single A-arm front end, this being the reason they point in like that. Where the bolt goes threw the hub at the end of the A-arm, there is a sleeve that the bolt fits in, this could be a problem. If you suspend the front end on a milk crate and try to shake the front wheels something has to be loose. You have bushings where the a-arms meet the frame and the hub, these should be checked first. The tie rods will only let you point the tires in and out like to correct your steering, not the way your talking about.
I go home tomorrow and I have the 250 model wich is the same I'll check it out. I still would look at all your bushings. My first thing that comes to mind why both would do it is the pin that bolts on the hubs is missing the sleeve or bushing what ever, it has to go in there. Now it can be missing and some one tighten the heck out of it so you couldn't tell.

 

I had a similar problem on my Bayou 220. The stock front shocks would bottom out even on small jumps and the front end was bouncey/tippy. I put front shocks from a Suzuki LT230 after relocating the lower mount down 1/2 inch to make up for the slightly longer LT shock. That restored the original ride height. Now it does not bottom out and handling is much more stable. The toe in-toe out look of the Bayou 220 is a characteristic of the stock single arm front suspension. It seems to me that the stock front shocks are pretty wimpy and wear out rather quickly. Also the front end in the king pin area had a clunk in it. I found that keeping the king pin greased stops the clunk and should be part of routine maintenence. The Bayou 220 is a tough little quad but is an older design. Mine is a 2001 but it gets ridden hard and I think that is why the front shock problem showed up fairly soon {about 1 year} after I bought it. Maybe the aftermarket makes a replacement shock or someone knows of another front shock that might bolt right on and not require welding a new mount. Your problem sounds like a shock for sure. Good Luck!

 

My wife's bayou has 2 shock mounting holes