200es suspension install

[flatfender]

Adding the ’84 TRX200 swing arm was easy to figure out and actually do, a fair amount of work too but not bad. The TRX200 parts used were the swing arm and frame bolts, driveshaft, driveshaft cover, rear foot brake cable and rear shock. I bought all these part off ebay for $130, close to half of that went for shipping. I should say I'm a Carpenter with welding and measuring skills, plus an ability to keep things square and parrallel, not a professional fabricator with a shop full of tools.

Getting started, I bought two M30x1.5 nuts from Fastenal for the swing arm mount. I used the 200ES rear axle and made my own lower shock mount. The hardest part was figuring out where the swing arm attachment nuts went, the rest was basic cut/fit/weld. The only tools I used were a few handheld grinders, one flap wheel and one cut-off wheel, a stick welder, a tape measure and a few clamps, an a level too.

After I cut off the portion of frame I knew had to go I attached one side of the TRX200 u-joint (after removing the bearing) on the sub transmissions’ output shaft. I bought a 30” piece of 5/8” all-thread that fit the holes of the u-joint yoke. I took the M30x1.5 nuts and welded them each into 2 pieces of 2” iron pipe from a plumbing supply shop, they were cut on a thread cutter so they had square ends and the M30 nuts fit perfectly with a light press fit. The nuts-welded-to-pipe then slid over the all-thread and I used 5/8" nuts and washers on both sides to get the exact distance from the u-joint to swing arm on each side. The extra length of all thread was all to one side so I could use a level.

These first pictures I took when I was trying to figure out where to put the shock mount. If I had intended to post a how to I would have done a better job but I'll give the pictures I got.

The left side tacked right to the frame after a small removal with the flap wheel.



I had to reattach/relocate the rear frame piece to have something to tack this side to.



Once the two side were tacked I removed the swing arm and engine then started fitting pieces and tacking. I plated the sides, inside and out with 12 gauge steel. I also put the piece of all thread back on to help keep the tacked nuts square while welding. Here it is as a roller.



Other side, you can't see but I also added diagonals from below the nuts to the bottom crossmember so the frame can't get wider as time goes by.



Lower rear shock mount welded to swing arm instead of attaching to the center section



Got it where I could test it out, wheelbase is 2 3/4" longer



I had to cut out part of the tool box



The shock is where the tool kit was



Had to get grips, fork boots and a seat cover and I'm ready to ride!

[flatfender]

Here's the diagonals I used from the bottom of the frame nuts to the lower cross member. I think these are important because when you tighten the swing arm bolts down one side gets about 80 foot pounds and the side with the double nut gets torqued to 12 foot pounds then tighten the castle type nut to 80. This puts pressure on the bearing to take up slack and also puts a force on the frame. The diagonals are to keep it stiff.

[kebby28]

This is amazng! How does it ride? I thought the 200m was a chain drive?

[flatfender]

Thanks. You're right, this is a mix-n-match beater. It has the 200M forks tank and plastic and a 200ES drive train and frame.

It rides pretty darn good, the shock and spring are just right for doing the same trails at a faster pace with a lot more comfort. The shock has very little compression valving but a lot of rebound valving, it is soft on small and medium hits, recovers fast and doesn't bounce or kick up at all when I hit something too hard I didn't see. The 200M forks are also a much better fork than the originals. The overall package is also very well balanced, if I stand on the pegs and bounce the front and rear compress equally.

I bought the 200ES because I really like the hi/low/reverse sub transmission. It gives more low gear choices and can quickly shift from first to reverse while in first gear. Besides looking better that's why I didn't sell this machine and buy something else with a rear suspension.

[BeersBuds&Mud]

bad@ss, great work
you live in south dakota? You do any duck hunting? i try to make it over there once a year to murder the ducks, but i havent been in two years now (had a baby )
i am planing a trip to head your way this year!!
maybe ill bring u my 200es, give u a few bills to put suspension on her!?
and that gives me a reason to come back in 2014!!

[kebby28]

Yeh I love my 200es for the low range. But when I get on my 250 right after it makes the 200 feel like a toy. But still have a hard time picking witch one I want to ride....

[flatfender]

bad@ss, great work
you live in south dakota? You do any duck hunting? i try to make it over there once a year to murder the ducks, but i havent been in two years now (had a baby )
i am planing a trip to head your way this year!!
maybe ill bring u my 200es, give u a few bills to put suspension on her!?
and that gives me a reason to come back in 2014!!

I used to murder ducks when I lived in Colorado, I kind of lost the appeal for it. I can't work on your machine but I'll be happy to give pointers. For instance if I was to do a second one I would use a single length of the 2" pipe, tack it in place and finish all the welding and fish plates. Then cut each side down to size (ca. 2" long each) and then weld the M30x1.5 nuts inside. That way I wouldn't have to add any bracing to keep the dimensions from moving during welding and save a lot of time.

.

[flatfender]

Yeh I love my 200es for the low range. But when I get on my 250 right after it makes the 200 feel like a toy. But still have a hard time picking witch one I want to ride....

That's the appeal, it is a toy. It's like the lowly XR200 campsite bike. Everyone pokes fun at it but it never gets a rest and everyone comes back from a spin saying "dam this thing is fun!"

[ericmreimer]

Sorry about resurrecting the dead here lol This is pretty damn cool! I would love to do this mod on my parts bike! Its about 90% complete and would make a good experiment bike. Looks like swing arms for a TRX200 are fairly cheap.

[ericmreimer]

I'm going to go pick up this trx200 Saturday for parts. Its a running and driving quad. It's local and cheap. It's going to be my suspension and parts bike for my parts bike lol. I have enough fab skills to do this. I'll post some up-dates.

[oscarmayer]

^ you petter post updates mister!!! i am abotu to start restoring work on a 200es myself and will look at doign this exact same thing but with a new shock to use.

[ericmreimer]

I will for sure. If anything I actually post an obnoxious amount of pictures when I do projects. I'll most likely just start a new thread though or find the original build thread for the one above and add to it.

[oscarmayer]

sounds good man!

[flatfender]

I've gotten a few requests for the pictures so I replaced them, 2 years later and I enjoy this little outfit just as much as originally, here's a pic from 3 weeks ago

[leevarnado]

thanks for the pics.