I've been thinking of buying the sandsport wheel spacers for my raptor to give it wider foot print for the sand. If I do buy them and put them on what will it do to the front end of my bike? I've heard about the bump steer increase, but what else?? Will put stress on my tie rods? I know buying A arms and a wider axle is better but I haven't worked since X-mas so I really don't have 1200 bucks to throw into it. The 270 I can probably get in a few weeks. Thanks for the imput.

 

if you put spacers on the front, your brake rotors will be exposed to the elements. a rock could come up and hit a rotor and destroy it, or a lot more sand would get into it and you would go through pads and rotors like candy. of course, if you do most of your riding in the sand, you probably would be ok with them. as far as rear spacers go, i have heard some good, some bad.

TheMoose has spacers on the back of his rappy, and he seems to like them. Heres his site Moose

 

I have the spacers you are talking about and they are great. I got mine for the same reason you are, the money. I dont ride in the sand I mostly ride mx, and it handles way better. As for the spacers themselves they look to be solid and will probably last forever, but i do worry about the a-arms and axle. But i look at it this way if either breaks then thats a good excuse to just get wider parts but till then the spacers will do. You will get a little more arm pump but hey ride it long enough and you will have rock hard arms and then it wont matter!

 

I feel a little more bump steer or arm pump or waht ever its called too. But i think they are well worth the money.

 

I have the Sand Sport spacers for the rear of my Raptor. They are way better quality than dura-blue or others like that. I use them for the sand and for MX. You will not have to worry about bending the rear axle unless you are over 200 pounds and like to jump 50 ft. tabletops.

As for the fronts, they will put alot more stress on your tie rods and tie rod ends. You WILL bend the stock ones. It is not a question of IF, but a question of how soon. So here is the answer if you want a cheap, reliable wider front end -

1) Buy a set of Ricky Stator ($200) or ASR ($130) heavy duty tie rods.
2) Put some recessed valve stems in your front wheels ($10)
3) Invert your front wheels to make your front end 4-5 inches wider (free).
4) Buy a Denton steering stabilizer ($120)

For a total of $260-$330 you can have a Much wider and more stable front end. That is not that much more than the spacers alone, and you will have the peace of mind that you won't bend a tie-rod every time you hit a bump.

Now, you must remember, this setup will be ok for dunes and light MX racing and wide trails. Your front end will be alot softer, so you will probably bottom on any big jumps. It is a tradeoff. Which you you want more, perfect handling or your paycheck? This recommendation is for you if you want to keep the most amount of $$ in your pocket and get a more stable, less tippy quad. Good Luck!!

RR1