6 chain VS 4 chain Attex models

[whipper-ag]

Whipper, have you seen any 1.25 axle material with a small hole through the axis? I was thinking about on the fly/driver adjustable tire air pressure.

How small of a hole are you talking about? You can get anything gundrilled for a price.
Whipper

[Roger S]

Hmm. I used to sharpen gun drills. Not a machinist though. Had a couple years in a tool and cutter shop. Quite an education.

A hole big enough for air, not big. How small are gun drills.. the ones I saw were large. Didn't want to take much material out. I guess with good steel even with a sizable hole it could be strong as stock argo.

[jpswift1]

Whipper, the factory Attex axles are what I would need and probably some of the other guys here that are considering the upgrade, which are just straight pieces of 1" with a hole drilled in one end for the sprocket tube, and one hole drilled for the hub that slides on. Im not 100% sure on the length but I think its somewhere around 16"-17" tops.

Guys, Quite honestly, I don't think you'd want to move the tires in. First, by narrowing your wheel base, it would just make it easier to roll over, second, moving it one inch is not going to make it any stronger, because even if your tire hits something, it will still bend. You need an axle made out of better material for strength. 1018 cold roll & 1020 dom tubing is not the best material to use for an axle. Most people use it, including the manufacturers , because it's cheap. I'd hate to see you spend money to do what your talking about & then be disappointed. I would recommend using the 4140 pre-heat treated TGP (TURNED, GROUND & POLISHED) . The finish size of 1 1/4" TGP would be 1.249 -1.2495 & the bearings would slide on perfect. If your axles need to be splined, well, you know who can do that. I can't quote axles unless I know exactly what you need. Ex. diameter, splined, solid, location of holes, wheel hubs? Anyway, better material is the answer, not shortening the axles.
Whipper

[jpswift1]

After speaking with our good friend Don who is one of the biggest Attex experts, we came to find out that there was actually a hybrid 4 chain/6 chain Attex frame that was in the Attex 252 Crazy Colt. These frames began life as 6 chain style frames because:

-It had the plate welded on the outter rails for the rear chain adjusters.
-The center plates where the T-20 sat were just pieces of steel that were bolted onto the center rails, they were not part of the center rails like on most 4 chain style frames
-The rear center cross frame reinforcement bar was tubular, not square. The frames that started out life as 6 chain frames had tubular and 4 chain were square for the idler sprocket to bolt on. Attex rigged up a pair of U bolts that held the idler sprocket on tubular cross member to convert the 6 chain frame to a 4 chain style.

I spoke with fellow forum member Gus Marrone who was very helpful and offered to sell me a 6 chain style frame and sprockets but shipping from Philly to Buffalo probably would have been quite expensive. Now I just have to get the T-20 craddle which Don is providing me with and some 6 chain center sprockets, which Gus has. Im glad that I could use the frame that I had since it is so clean and straight since it was sitting in a machine that was in a barn since 1977. When it comes time to bolt in a Vanguard I figured out that I can use factory Recreatives Industries Max II Vanguard motor mounts since the distance from the center rails to the outside rails is exactly the same. This 4 stroke swap could be one of the easiest and cleanest engine swaps that I have ever done.

[racerone3]

anyone have a list, or know of a list of which models were 4 chain and which were 6? i looked on the old attex atvs site by model but it doesn't list # of chains

[jpswift1]

anyone have a list, or know of a list of which models were 4 chain and which were 6? i looked on the old attex atvs site by model but it doesn't list # of chains

Brian, If I remember correctly all of the ST series Attex models were 6 chain as well as all of the first generation Attexes. The 252 Crazy Colt, 295 Wild Wolf, 400 Chief, 440 Thunderchief, 500 Superchief, 450 Tomahawk, and 250 Spirit were all 4 chain models.

[racerone3]

thanks Jeff. my next machine will get a 4 stroke, and i was sort of leaning toward a 6 chain just to be able to get the engine lower... but i can probably make a 4 chain work

[jpswift1]

thanks Jeff. my next machine will get a 4 stroke, and i was sort of leaning toward a 6 chain just to be able to get the engine lower... but i can probably make a 4 chain work

Glad to help, Brian. I'd highly recomend using a 6 chain Attex for a 4 stroke engine conversion. You can use stock Max II engine mounts for the swap and the engine will sit in the machine nice and low thus allowing you to use the stock Attex engine cover/seat assembly without cutting or modifying anything else. It is one the cleanest/easiest swaps to do.

[jerseybigfoot]

My ATTEX conversion is a supercheif GT-2 Body with a modified ST400 frame with a 18hp Briggs. It makes a nice package and retains the original seat/engine cover. If you need any pics or info let me know.

[racerone3]

reviving an ancient thread. as all my machines are torn apart to some degree, I decided to do a little comparing. my attex trail machine is a 4 chain, and my racer is a 6. i had all the chain out of both machines for cleaning and laid them out on the shop floor. the 4 chain had 2 more links per side than the 6 chain (although i will need to add a few links to the front chains of the racer soon so that i can run it over the idler sprocket as it's currently under and about to start rubbing a cross member.
sprockets are as follows. (per side)
4 CHAIN 6 Chain
front axle, 1 front axle, 1
middle axle, 2 middle axle, 3
rear axle, 1 rear axle, 1
idler, 1 idler, 1
T-20, 1 T-20, 1
TOTAL, 6 TOTAL, 7
both setups have the same # of bearings per side (8) 6 on the axles, and 2 in the idler sprockets, and both use 1 idler sprocket and one rub block type adjuster per side.