Simplicity Broadmoor 717 steering problems?

Hi so My broadmoor just got a new motor which is a 14 hp twin. since I did the swap it has really hard steering to the rite. I think it is because the motor is so heavy but I dont know. If anyone has any tips ore better steering ideas send me a reply thanks

can you get a picture of your linkage? maybe it is hitting something, or the system needs greased.

Yea im at work rite now in like an hour I will be home and I will post pics of the linkage

Sounds like the linkage is binding up on something.  Most likely related to the engine swap since it's a new symptom.  

Anyway, when I had my Broadmoor, it didn't steer all too well anyway.  The front tires "plowed" instead of gripped.  I wanted it to steer more like a gokart not a tractor, so I did some modification to the front axle.  Here's what I did to make it steer 10 times better:

Cut a notch in the top of the axle next to the kingpin and tip the top of the kingpin in towards the motor, creating NEGATIVE CAMBER.

Rotate the front axle rearwards (or just twist the top of the kingpin rearwards while doing the camber mod) to create POSTITVE CASTER.

Be sure to weld it back together correctly or you could end up with a 2 or 3 wheeler!   

I'm going from memory, but I know these tractors steer like crap.  This will help a lot!    

Look up the steering terminology on google.  Here's a couple pics.
CAMBER


CASTER


ALL

little confusing but i will figure it out and its not that it steers bad its that th grinds the stering gears and wont work unles going really fast but i will try that if i can figure it out

and I weld the axle back in place?

haha, first get the tractor to steer as good as it supposed to. We can talk about modifying the front axle for agressive camber and caster later on.  

Sorry I got a little carried away, such is my nature.   

aright thanks man

Typical settings for gokarts is:
9-12 degrees caster
-2 to -4.5 degrees camber

I just posted this for reference.  I need to do some work on my own front end when I switch tires.    

where in mass are you from ?

Leominster area

This what the effects of a high caster angle does. The softer the driving surface, the higher the caster angle wants to be.   

T-Dub13 wrote:

This what the effects of a high caster angle does.  The softer the driving surface, the higher the caster angle wants to be.   

that little thing looks badass what is it running engine wise?

That;s from the baja college competition.  They have to run stock B&S 5hp horizontal shaft motors.  Cool program.

BTW, your dragster looks like it has negative caster... Might wander a bit on the road!    Are you dropping the rear eventually?

T-Dub13 wrote:

That;s from the baja college competition.  They have to run stock B&S 5hp horizontal shaft motors.  Cool program.

BTW, your dragster looks like it has negative caster...  Might wander a bit on the road!      Are you dropping the rear eventually?

na the rear is going to stay that highth, and ive still got some fine tuning to do on the front end, im modding the spindles some and ive got some ideas to keep it from wandering

how the hell do I upload images

simplicity14twin wrote:

how the hell do I upload images

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYuXBVjOWc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXg1zd6PWvE

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abykVG6pnJE

when I click host it nothing happens

I think it is from all the weight on the front tires.  If it grinds and skips then it is the steering gear.  mr.modified might know some about it because he has a 5010 (close to a 717).

yea you are probably rite. I had a hell of a time taking it out the motor weighs at least 60 lbs.

Standing still, the steering will be 10 times harder obviously. But doing this will force any steering problems to show themselves pretty quickly.

Can you post a pic of the steering mechanism? I forget what that all looks like.

Try lifting the front end onto a jack. Then cycle the steering and look / listen for any scraping / binding etc... If the problem goes away, then take it off the jack and repeat the test. You will eventually find the problem if you go slow and pay attention and look really closely to all the components.

Looking at the angle of those king pins YIKES! Even if the steering wheel is easy to turn, the tractor itself isn't going to like changing direction lol.    

I have a question. how are the rear wheels held on? and what size is the axle? thanks in advance!

simplicity14twin wrote:

yea you are probably rite. I had a hell of a time taking it out the motor weighs at least 60 lbs.

it is 110 lbs