Yeah, I agree that if you take care of them they will be fine. The point i'm trying to make though is that they require constant maintenance because they're not sealed to keep out dirt, water, and other contaminants which will eat them up if you aren't constantly lubricating them. On a race car you're usually making less than a 30 minute run between stops and they can be taken care of that way, and the joints aren't subjected to a lot of contaminants under normal conditions. You go on a long ride with a quad and those things could be covered with mud and water for hours and hours before you get a chance to clean them off again, which will eat the heim ends alive. Get some standard 12mm ball joint ends and they will literally last 30 years with no maintenance. I've replaced broken tie rod ends with used ones from the local shop and ebay that were 20 years old and still smooth and tight like they were brand new, and you don't need to spray the things down with lube every time dirt touches them.
I'm all about saving money and saving time with the quads, less time working=more time riding. You can get a good 12mm kit for $100 and never touch the things again for the life of the quad, so my question is what reason does anybody have to get heim ends if there is a cheaper, easier alternative?
