Custom Kawasaki bayou 300 build

[@TheGrimFoot]

I have an 86 I'm building on right now. I had it running good, and it died and wouldn't start. New ignition is next.

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

They are fun bikes. I found the biggest issue with the ignition system is theres a jumper wire for the pick-up sensor. It runs from the one plug end to the cdi plug they always fail. The regulators burn up and cause over charging issues aswell ao pay attention to your voltage when you do get it running and buy a cheap spare from Amazon.

[@sunnyray7819]

What year are the Artic cat 500 shocks from? I haven't tried to look yet but I like they way you did the lift on that Bayou. My shocks are rusty and I could you a lift. I guess Suzuki LT 250 in the front and weld little longer mount on the a arms.

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

The arctic cat shocks are from a 95. And yes I just welded tabs into the lower a arms for the Suzuki shocks.

[@sunnyray7819]

@@buildurtruckurway9118 Thanks, I appreciate it Brother! Have a good weekend

[@Mauimeds]

Do you need to do any modifying to put the artic cat shocks on? Or is it bolt off bolt on?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

hey sorry for the late reply man. they were strait swap they were from a 2000 arctic cat 500

[@zacroy7751]

How much higher are you in the front from stock. And also do you rub in the front?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

its up 2.5 in the front but im making a different set of mounts to give it 3 and change the shock angles a bit. it doesnt rub up front or in the rear. in total its 12 inches from the skidplate to the ground upfront and im aiming for 13 by the time my new brackets are made. ill be posting a video tomorrow night of a good trail ride aswell.

[@Ratchet-strap-Garage]

What shocks did you use up front ?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

i used the front shocks from a suzuki lt230r they were a softer riding shock so my front end didnt feel like a brick.

[@derricks8352]

​@buildurtruckurway9118 does it matter the year of the lt230 and does it need to be R model

[@gabeherron6890]

Does it turn those 27 inch tires good?and does it have a reduction or power mods?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

it turns them good. i havent done any mods to it for power or a gear reduction either. i did advance the ignition timing slightly by moving the pickup sensor a few degrees and it seemed to make it much snappier in the low end. im planning on putting a 4mm larger piston and jug this summer tho so it will be around 330cc.

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

i posted a good video today doing a creek and mud ride if you wanted to actually see how it does.

[@edwardlairdiii8617]

​@buildurtruckurway 91 how you going to fit a bigger piston? What head are you going to use?

[@patrickpayne838]

How did uou run your snorkel?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

i used pvc pipe. theres 2 ways to do it. the factory snorkeled airbox they make has a 1.5 inch hole drilled in the front of the air box. the non snorkled one still has a dimple were its supposed to go so you can drill that out and epoxy in a 1.5 threaded pvc sink adapter and build it up to the front from there. how i did it was i used a holesaw and cut out a hole in the back of the box near the bottom. i epoxied in a 1.5inch elbow and ran it along the side of the ATV so i didn't damage the plastics.

[@Alex-pn9hp]

Whats the name of that box

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

Its a koplin 2 up seat.

[@thatolbayou243]

Hey man I have a a lot of questions

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

Absolutely what do you want to know.

[@thatolbayou243]

@@buildurtruckurway9118 so for a bayou 220 do you think I could put artic cat 300 shocks on there?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

@@thatolbayou243 you should be able to the rear shocks that come on the 220 are between 13-14 inches stock pending on the year in 1999 they updated the shocks to 14 in the rear and 12.5 up front. On the 220 I’m sure you could fit the same shocks I am running. I believe the older arctic cat 300 and 500s both have the same length shocks so you should be fine. I did have to add a washer as a spacer as the shock bushings we’re slightly narrower on the arctic cat shocks. I do notice that if you lift the 220s more then 2.5 inches up front you need to extend or modify the lower control/a arms to account for the wheel camber. I did a custom lift on my friends 220 a couple years ago using trailer shackles to mount the front shocks giving it 3.5 inches of lift up front on the stock shocks. But I had to add a steel pipe to the frame to re-weld the lower control arm mounts to to push the bottom of the wheels back out. Took 2.5 hrs but it worked great.

[@thatolbayou243]

@@buildurtruckurway9118 do you think I would need to extend the arms if I did artic cat 300 shocks all the way around.

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

@@thatolbayou243 you should be ok but if it does become a chamber issue you could just weld in extended mounts to remount the control arms.

[@thatolbayou243]

Can we talk?