I have an 87 LT230S/H and it needs new bushings in the A-arms. I've found the aftermarket replacement bushing kits for $67 per arm, but with some more research I found that the 88 LT230E had needle bearings in the A-arms and those kits are $12 per arm. I then checked the part schematics and found both the bushings and bearings listed on each of the models in both years with the same part numbers including the A-arms. So, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this and maybe could tell me if the cheaper bearing style will fit into my bushing style A-arms? Because it sure does look like it to me. Or why the two different styles?
Thanks

 

thought the quadracer used the same as the LT230 but I can be wrong

 

from what i understand 85-86 230s's and 250r's got spherical bearings, and 87-88 230s's got needle bearings. not sure about the 230e's.

not sure if the arms are the same (snap rings grooves, inner diameter, etc) but if they are, i suppose needle bearings would be a much longer lasting setup, as long as you can keep dirt out of them. i once bought a needle bearing lower arm off of ebay to replace my dented up one and even after years of use it was still tight and smooth. the only issue i can see with needle bearings is if your frame is even slightly tweaked, they wont line up. that's whats good about the spherical bearings.

at $67 a side, thats quite a rip off! think i could get a link to the needle bearing kits to do a little more investigating?

 

I would greatly appreciate any help I can get with this because its quite a difference in price when you need 4 kits and right now I trying to fix this thing with a very limited buget.

Ok, here's the chain of links I looked at that brought up this question...

At BikeBandit.com, I search Suzuki 1987 LT230 in the Suspension and get this kit...
Quadboss Upper A-Arm Bearing & Seal Kit - BikeBandit.com
Which is NOT what I have and there's no suffix after the 230 to tell me if its for the 230S or the 230E.

Then I search Suzuki 1988 LT230 in the Suspension and get these two kits...
Quadboss Upper A-Arm Bearing & Seal Kit - BikeBandit.com
Pivot Works Upper A-Arm Kit - BikeBandit.com
The first kit says that its for an 88 LT230SJ, and the second kit - which looks like what I have - says that its for a 88 LT230EJ.

So here's where I really get confused...I go to MRcycle.com and they have really good OEM parts diagrams, so I pull up the Suspension on the 85-88 LT230S and see this...
Motorcycle Parts|ATV Parts|Honda|Kawasaki|Suzuki|Yamaha|Dealer|Wholesal e Discount Prices
Both the bushing style like what I have and the bearing style like the aftermarket site says I'm supposed to have shown in the same picture, like you could have either style installed from the factory.

Then I pull up the diagram for the 87-93 LT230E and get almost the same exact picture as the one before.
Motorcycle Parts|ATV Parts|Honda|Kawasaki|Suzuki|Yamaha|Dealer|Wholesal e Discount Prices
Also, when you check the part numbers between the two there's no difference as far as the bushings, bearings, and a-arm go.

So with all this I'm only pretty convinced that the needle bearing setup should work in the a-arms with the bushing setup because all the a-arm part numbers are the same, but I hate returning parts that I buy online, so I'm just trying to make sure that I'm right or at least see what someone else thinks.
Thanks

 

alright im pretty sure that the two types are interchangeable, but those prices are absolutely outrageous! most spherical bearing kits that i have seen are about $60, but that's for a whole side (upper and lower). while those kits seem too expensive, the needle bearing kits seem too cheap. it's possible that those needle bearing kits are per pivot and you will need 4 per side...

this is from the place that i buy all my bearings from:

A ARM BEARINGS AND SEALS SUZUKI LT230S LT230 1985-1988 : eBay Motors (item 250437987919 end time Mar-01-10 11:31:12 PST)

that place is a real pleasure to do business with. cheap fast shipping, and good prices. always straightforward transactions and no bs. they sell "boss" brand which is the same as moose or quadboss or pivot works (all the same product group). but that's not why i put the link up. if you look closely, these have an updated seal design that seems to be superior to the original style. it uses real oil seals pressed into the pivot tube unlike the original setup (for either spherical or needle bearings) thats basically just a flappy rubber washer on a bushing. they ALWAYS let all sorts of crap inside, and dirt will kill pretty much any bearing. my point is that even though these are the spherical bearing style which usually isnt considered as good the needle bearings, with those better seals, im willing to bet that they would outlast any other setup.

and at at total of $160 for the whole bike, i suppose its not too bad on the wallet, either.