I've heard a lil nasty is going around. Im wondering if you can clear things up?

Are you no longer making swingarms... and if not why not?

Secondly, are you making them for another company that will be putting their names on em?

and if your not going to be making swingers any longer... might you be able to refer another manufacturer?

I recently purchased a set of a-arms from Dave. I wanted the swinger also, but he
said material too costly for competitive pricing. Bummer.

That and Dave said his swingarms are very labor intensive when I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. I tried to call him a couple of times yesterday, but did not get a hold of him. (Did not leave a voicemail as I would not have been at the phone if he called back) Will try again today. Just want to make sure that he is for sure not making them anymore before I go elsewhere.


Doug

Maybe Dave would make one last batch of swingers for an ORG group buy?

Just a thought.... I know I also had plans to get one. I want to go a little longer then my +1.25

Let us know Dave.

Well, here is the deal. With the added costs of material, and the added labor of building my swingarms. I decided to stop making them. At $675 for a Honda 450 or 400ex, alot of people complain that my prices are too high and that they could get a Houser for like $550. People dont realize that to build [especially weld] one of my swingarms takes 2 to 3 times more time than a Laeger or Houser swingarm. {Laegers retail for about $1,100} and I know that my arm takes that much more, because I built Laegers stuff for 10 yrs. So with the volumn of swingers I sell [not a whole lot] I decided it might be time to stop producing swingarms. However, the Honda 450 swingarm is my best seller of swingarms. If I were to continue to build them, I would have to get $825 in order to even make it worth building, [which I dont think people are willing to pay]. My only other option would be to build a swingarm like everyone else does [out of rectangle tubing] and sell them for like $600. Or build them like SLC or others build them. The problem is that my quadtube swinger was designed for the harshest of riding conditions, and alot of other co's who build the $400 swingarms are more for rec and drag racing. The problem with that is, if I build a rec swingarm to a guy who rides it for a couple of seasons, and then sells his quad to a guy who wants to take it XC or MX racing, chances are he would break it since its purpose was not for his application , but he does not know this.[All he knows is that he broke a JD arm, then my reputation suffers] It seems that I am between a rock and a hard place. Build a strong quality piece [but it costs] or build a cheapy and have it come back to bite me in the a$$.

I guess this is the perfect opportunity for everyone to chime in and give your feedback.

I could keep doing them, but only if I dont lose money at it.

IMO you don't have anything to lose by making them at the higher price. If you make some then ok, there is money that you wouldn't have had. If you don't then it will be just like not making them at all. I personally don't have any JD stuff...yet, but everything that i've heard, your quality is unmatched. If i were you then i would raise the price, and still make them. Theres no sense in you losing money over it though.

Well since I started this thread.. I guess ill chime in. First of all, from what I've read, your swingers are the best. They look the sickest... that's for sure. However, I didn't know they were as expensive as they are. But im not complaining about it either. You have to pay for quality like yours. And if I was someone who jumped my quad more than 6 inches of the ground... id probably spend the money to get the best.

I don't think you should feel obligated to charge less than you need to, or that you should build an inferior product.

Please continue to offer your swingers at whatever price you deem necessary. Those who want the best... will pay for the best.

Not offering your product at all would be a tragedy to the community.

I feel your pain on the material prices and cost to fabricate products on a higher level of quality than the competition Double D. I build IMCA style dirt track modifieds, and while plenty of builders are fine with building them out of seamed tubing, and cheap imported DOM, I refuse to do that. We're still using good DOM, and Chromoly to build our cars, and the pricing has gone up about 30% in the last year on the cost of the fabricated chassis.

Of course sales have gone down (about 10%) in conjunction with the increase in pricing. Only thing that keeps us going on them is parts sales, and people that are willing to pay for a higher level product than other people produce...which in the case of an $18,000 rolling chassis makes things still somewhat profitable.

I can see where that would be even harder to deal with on a $1100 or less part.

Good luck to ya whatever route you take man!

I have a JD Swing arm... and let me tell you... IT'S SICK!

I had TWO Lonestar swingers break on me when I raced a 400ex (bored to 440...) back in the day.

When I got my YFZ (yes, a Yamaha) I got a JD Swinger and it is SOLID! I've raced MX and Desert on this bike and it is as solid as the day i bought it. I've had to replace my PRM Skid plate 2 times, but the swing arm still looks new!

Dave, your products are TOP KNOTCH... keep offering them, but make it like the 4x4 Animal Style burger at In-and-Out... only those who know to ask for it.. will get it!!!

By the way... you are still making TRX stems... right? you should offer those more!!

this is VERY sad for me to hear....

there is NO SWINGER that is as strong....and NOTHING looks even half as trick as your twin spar \ bridged arms!!!

Click to view attachment

i say make them for when people order them. if somebody wants one they should know what they have to pay for good quality. they seem to be strong so it would be worth the money.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I would pay 825 for your swinger if I had it...... If I were to buy any other swinger it would be from your. No point in wasting time or money anywhere else. Please keep offering them for the honda's. Like the guys before said, if they want the best then they should know what to pay for it.

John, Your bike looks sick!

I agree with the others, keep making them and charge what you need to charge to make money on them. I will still buy one for $825, just may be another month or two. (I blew the trans in my race quad over the weekend, so when I buy a swingarm will depend on how much it will cost me to fix the trans.) Hopefully I will be giving you a call near the end January to order a swingarm and a set of a-arms, I really hope you are still making swingarm's then.

Doug

ok guys, I guess you answered my question . I will still make them for the TRX 450, at $825. Thanks guys for all of your support and input. If any of you guys visit other 450 sites, if you could give JD a plug there it would be much appreciated. Buisness has been extremely slow this year , and any buisness is appreciated these days

Thanks again guys

Dave
JD Performance
951-676-7957

Those Who Know, Ride JD

thank you Dave! It sure would suck for guys like me who bought a lt set up from you last season and had to wit till this winter to buy the rear end due to buget reasons. had me scared ther for a minute since there is no way I would part with my JD arms and I cant stand a bike with mismatch parts on it. I will be ordering a sick swinger from you with this years tax return. sucks that money is tight for everyone and business is slow. hang in there.

825 is worth the price. im planning on buying a set of JD +2 race a-arms and a +2 swinger. just got to save the money right now

Dave I def try to get friends to upgrade their front end with some of your arms as much as possible...... you got a good thing going on out there and I wanna see you still in business 2 years from now...... I know u may not have the funds to try new things right now or what ever but i bet if you designed some +.25's then more xc riders would buy your arms..... especially those that wanna stay stock length but go long travel or something like that..... Let me know if things get real bad and i will just buy 10 a-arms and swingarms from ya ...... haha i wish!

I wish I knew know what I knew a couple of days ago. If everything the posts say here are true, I would have gone with you, before Laeger with my A-arms. If I do indeed go with a new swinger, I will go with you. Eight hundred and twenty-five dollars is a competitive price with a top notch piece. Keep up the great work.

I do XC +1 arms, which is as short as I can go in order to get all the correct ajustments. Plus, for all of the people who want to be at a stock width, all you need to do is run a 4/1 inset wheel, that way you are runnig +1s but your width is still stock. In addition, the inset wheels benifit your geometry for the better. plus if you need the added width for some other type of riding, put your stock offset wheels back on and you will then be 2 inches wider for better stability. The reasons other companies make the odd sized arms like +.25, +.5 etc is to try and have something that most others dont, that way the general public will think its something exclusive and something they need to buy. To me most of it is a marketing ploy. If you look closely at your quad, most of them give or take about .5" , the rear overall width is at least if not more 2" wider than the front is stock, so adding 2" of width up front at the most will make the front as wide as the rear. Oh, and for those people looking for maximum ground clearance arms, we now make them.

Dave builds some of the toughest swingarms on the market. I ran his stuff on my 04 for 3 seasons of WORCS and OMRA. It was still solid when I sold the quad last year. Worth every penny and they are great people to deal with on top that.

hey dave what lengths do the high clearance arms come in?

MGC arms?!?! I love the look of those...... can you post up some teasers?

Those who know Ride JD

Best looking swingarm Ive ever seen and I do think its worth $825.00 Heck, if a JSR cylinder nets $900.00 then so should a sweet custom swingarm....

Question?? Can you make this swingarm +6? Its probably not the ideal situation though because its going on a duner/dragger and that super strong arm might be a bit too much and weigh a little too much....no need for that much strength probably...

I just love the look of it~