Nerf Bars for the 500R

[Derrick Adams]

Been doing some pre-fab thinking on how to design and build my nerf bars for the 500. This is going to be a very complicated procedure, I have a feeling. I'm really torn on how to make them.

My original idea was to use 2" C channel for foot-pegs (I want them large and Super STRONG) Now i'm leaning toward having the pegs formed into the nerfs and making them all aluminum. Biggest issue is strength.

Anyone have any good ideas? I want them to be removable for sure, in case I trail ride it. I'm welding some mounting tabs on the front tubes to attach the nerfs, so it should be fairly easy to remove them if I can figure out this issue.

What kind of aluminum will I need to be strong enough? Then, how would I bend it?

[twgranger]

I have seen trikes with nerf bars before and they look horrible!!!!

[Derrick Adams]

I've seen trikes get T-boned in corners and trust me, it looks worse!

[bigredhead]

I'm absolutely sure they can be made to look good.

Gotta be angled in .. triangle type from the front motor mount to the footpeg bolts.

Then wrap around for a heel rise just in front of the fender.

[3leggeddog]

1/4 inch wall tube,1/2" by 1".that way we can cut them on a miter box to angle them.also i can get ot free!!!!!

[200xadam]

ive seen nerfs on trikes and i thought they looked cool, something different and much needed, i hate not having them when i jump, i just dont feel safe...

[OldSchoolin86]

I've got heal guards on mine but if I ever did nefs on a trike they would be small.

EDIT: An idea would be pick some used pro-pegs up on ebay and mod and chop them to work.

[Jason Hall]

I would have to agree with Derrick. I watched that horrible wreck in one of the mx race's At trikefest. I'm not sure what happened, but I think the dude that got flipped ran up on a rear tire of the guy in front of him with his rear tire. Man he was off that thing so fast it was'nt funny. Kinda reminds me of indy cars when they sling shot rite over the car in front. Nerfs sound like a good idea.

[bigredhead]

You don't need huge nerf's.. just domething that bolts up to the front for support.. runs over the ends of the pegs and protects the heels behind the pegs.

My sx will have a set eventually.

[Billy Golightly]

Derrick if it was me I'd buy some old cheap beat up ones off of ebay for a quad and then just adapt them on there. Atleast that way you have somewheres to start. Theres also this link: http://3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=29855 to a thread started earlier this year that has some pictures of some on a Z. It looks pretty nice actualy. They could be a little bit bigger, but I wouldn't make them real large.

[OldSchoolin86]

I would have to agree with Derrick. I watched that horrible wreck in one of the mx race's At trikefest. I'm not sure what happened, but I think the dude that got flipped ran up on a rear tire of the guy in front of him with his rear tire. Man he was off that thing so fast it was'nt funny. Kinda reminds me of indy cars when they sling shot rite over the car in front. Nerfs sound like a good idea.
I'm not too sure how much safer you'd be on a trike with nerfs for wrecks. On a quad they have a purpose to fill the gap between the tires. Without that front tire their effectiveness would be greatly reduced, almost void.

TIP:
If you did do it for safety you’d want that outside edge to be a little higher then normal to make for a better bumper.

[Derrick Adams]

I'm not too sure how much safer you'd be on a trike with nerfs for wrecks. On a quad they have a purpose to fill the gap between the tires. Without that front tire their effectiveness would be greatly reduced, almost void.




This is not really true. What really got me convinced on building a set was when Flyin' Brians saved my butt at the TF MX races. I dove to the inside on the first turn and he was wide. Instead of my front tire coming in on his foot and peg (and wrecking us both) it simply hit his nerf and slid him over. I was sold right then and there.

Coincidently, the exact same thing happened to me in the 4 stroke main on the 350X. Except that time there were no nerfs and I flipped right over.

[Derrick Adams]

I was thinking about something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=43966&item=4561998347&sspagename=WDVW

Even still, I think to get them to look like they belong on a trike Nerfs will have to be completly hand built. Brians were angled and ran from the front tire to the rear. This seems like the logical choice and doesn't look out of place at all.

[250r'en +TCB]

^^^ I think those angled ones would look best. The square ones just don't cut it on a trike

[Derrick Adams]

Here's what Brians looked like. Can't ever catch a picture of this guy unless he's in the air!

[Mike Fort Laud]

I have seen a 250R by Missle Engineering. The ad has a lowered 250R with nerf bars. I think the same company that made the 250R missle conversion kit. Somebody here will know where that picture is. Someone reposted it here a couple months ago.

[deathman53]

that don't look too bad, I have some 86/87 250r nerfs, I'm gonna have to mod them to fit.

[OldSchoolin86]

Derrick, did you get anywhere with the nerfs yet?

[wolfspider]

hi heres my 250r with nerfs, i like them!! i`m disabled so there pretty vital on my machine, (keep my feet in place.)
i used to have them on the tri z in the link that HondaATC posted. :D

[MTS]

hi heres my 250r with nerfs, i like them!! i`m disabled so there pretty vital on my machine, (keep my feet in place.)
i used to have them on the tri z in the link that HondaATC posted. :D
just a question, how do you shift? got a jocky shift dealy goin on there?

[wolfspider]

yep i think i know what you mean, i have a stick shift to change gears, here it is on my old z.

[MTS]

yea thats what i was thinking, thats cool! heh

[OldSchoolin86]

I decieded to give the nerfs a try on the 400x. Here's what I've done so far. Pic 1 is how I layed it out. I used a welding rod and bent it to the general shape. I then used that as a rough template and started bending tubing. Pics 2 and 3 are what I have going now. This is only a prototype, the finnished product will be one piece.

[Jason Hall]

Man oldschool I hate to say It, but they might be to high in the front, On the 45 deg tube (looking from the top down). There are 2 ways to look at what you are trying to accomplish here. :idea: You have to think about you running up on somebody, cutting to the inside & your rear tire climbing their rear tire. Also somebody cutting inside you, & their front tire climbing your nerf. Once A rear tire gets under the side 45 deg tube, (I think) because it will be higher than the center of the tire it will lift your nerf up onto their tire then the lower rear section of your nerf will push their tire under your rear tire. If you keep them level, & close to the center of a normal size tire (measuring from the ground up to the top of the tire) you might be better off. I think you should level out your front support tube, so it is even with the frame & run them level to your rear mounting position. This is only my opinion & I'm just hopeing to give ya some more to think about. Remember you will be driven er into a turn directly into a forward turning rear tire of somebody else with their throttle pegged & that tire is wanting to catapolt you into the next turn on your ear. It might take some trial & error to get them just rite, It looks like your getting good with the tubeing bender. What kind is it? A hand pump style, or is it a high dollar hydrolic unit? Either way those bends don't look kinked at all, they look sweet. :beer

[OldSchoolin86]

Man oldschool I hate to say It, but they might be to high in the front, On the 45 deg tube (looking from the top down). There are 2 ways to look at what you are trying to accomplish here. :idea: You have to think about you running up on somebody, cutting to the inside & your rear tire climbing their rear tire. Also somebody cutting inside you, & their front tire climbing your nerf. Once A rear tire gets under the side 45 deg tube, (I think) because it will be higher than the center of the tire it will lift your nerf up onto their tire then the lower rear section of your nerf will push their tire under your rear tire. If you keep them level, & close to the center of a normal size tire (measuring from the ground up to the top of the tire) you might be better off. I think you should level out your front support tube, so it is even with the frame & run them level to your rear mounting position. This is only my opinion & I'm just hopeing to give ya some more to think about. Remember you will be driven er into a turn directly into a forward turning rear tire of somebody else with their throttle pegged & that tire is wanting to catapolt you into the next turn on your ear. It might take some trial & error to get them just rite, It looks like your getting good with the tubeing bender. What kind is it? A hand pump style, or is it a high dollar hydrolic unit? Either way those bends don't look kinked at all, they look sweet. :beer
Good points Jason. I think I'll have to see what kind of lower layout I can do. Revisions coming soon!

Here's the bender, it's a real top notch unit for the money:

http://medfordtools.com/mb3.html

[88 Turbo Coupe]

I used the stock foot pegs to mount my nerfs. Cut out the center of the footpeg. Weld a bar the same size as the inside diameter of the nerf pipe to the peg. Leave about 2 inches sticking out of the peg. Slide the nerf bar into the footpeg bar. Then use 2 small ubolts to mount to the frame. Pretty simple

[OldSchoolin86]

Here we go, they even look better now. I did a lot of chopping and tacking here so don't forget this ungly thing is just a template.

Turbo, sounds like some good ideas. What I did is weld a peg that's machined to the ID of the tubing to frame for the front mount and the rear will mount to the bottom of the footpeg.

[88 Turbo Coupe]

Good stuff Old Schoolin. You'll have it done before you know it. The advantage I have is mine are not permanently mounted and can be removed in a couple of minutes. Yours look good. Nice bends. Almost look mandrel.

[88 Turbo Coupe]

Hey just found a new set of DG's for a 86/87 TRX BIN 99 bucks. 4571808819 and 4571732388

[OldSchoolin86]

Good stuff Old Schoolin. You'll have it done before you know it. The advantage I have is mine are not permanently mounted and can be removed in a couple of minutes. Yours look good. Nice bends. Almost look mandrel.

You should post a pic of yours, I'd like to see them. Removability was a concern for me too. Everything will come off except the front mounting pegs and although they will still be there, they only stick out 2-1/4".

I guess you could say tubes are mandrel bent. My bender is on a hand ratchet system though instead of running on hydraulics.

[OldManDM]

just outta curiousity Oldschoolin`....when was the last time you oiled that chain? :wondering

[OldSchoolin86]

just outta curiousity Oldschoolin`....when was the last time you oiled that chain? :wondering
LMAO! I was waiting for someone to ask. It's an old cheap POS that I tossed on just to try the trike out. It's getting tossed and replaced so I saw no need to waste any oil on it.