Has anybody ever had the lower ball joint fall out???

I did and it almost killed me. I was at Hatfield McCoy riding #38 at Bear Wallow going up the hill and it happened. I was 3rd gear pinned, went over a jump and that is when all H$ll broke loose. The lower a-arm dug into the ground and threw both of us over the side of the hill. I got tangled with quad and trees. After about 10 minutes of laying in the water run off, I finally was able to move. Nothing broken ecept for the quad.

 

Same thing happend to me in Dyracuse , WI.
Kinda ruins the trip, nobody seems to stock those ball joints.
Sucks too, because once you have the part, and a few basic handtools, really only a half hour fix

 

Happened to me too! I was goin maybe 35-40 and it just fell out. Bike endoed and landed on me. Quad got a bent frame and I got sore ribs. It's a crappy design, should just be the same as the top.

 

i thought i was the only one! one on my 500 fell out and dug in the ground and spun me right around good thing i wasn't going that fast. the problem is the grove and the bolt wear out and then all the weight pushes the arm down. really is a bad design. but i don't know of any way around it unless you replace both with new parts and keep them tight.

 

I've been told that you can swap out the spindles for those from a 250R but you would have to replace the brakes, hubs and wheels (cause of the bolt pattern) as well.

 

I've seen one fall out from a distance.... NASTY wreck! Made me really pay attention to the issue at hand for sure!

Glad to hear your okay.

 

I put a new ball joint and it still seems sloppy. I will check to see if a larger bolt will fit and hold it more secure.

One week later and I'm still feeling the pain in my ankle and knee.

I wonder what the statute of liability is for Suzuki??? This has to be a problem that they know about.

 

That's the kind of attitude that stopped the production of our beloved 2 strokes in the first place.... afterall, this machine is only ~20 years old.

I take full responsibility for my actions, and the mechanical condition of my machine everytime I throw my leg over it... unfortunate that the rest of the world isn't a little more like that.
Oh well, keeps the attorneys wealthy

 

You have got to be kidding me??? My actions had nothing to do with what happened. It is a crappy design which resulted in a accident. It sounds like there are several others who have had the same problem.

My statement was nothing more than a statement. I am not nor did I have any intensions to seek legal help.

Just ride!

 

Although it's a bad design, it works fine if the ball joint and bolt are in good condition. You can't expect a race quad to last 20 years.