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And .... Here they are, the FIRST set of Roller Spring Perches

Opentracker

Active Member
It's a big day for me so I thought I would share. They haven't seen the light of day for over 6 years, they don't look bad at all. I've been wanting to pull them for a while to see what they look like and to put them on the wall of fame here at the shop along with the #2 and #3 sets I got back from the first two testers (Johnpro was one ...THANK YOU JOHN !). If I wasn't such a cheap SOB and wanted to make my own pivoting perch instead of buying the bronze ones that were on the market, ORP would have never been.


The ORP story.

I went to the bearing shop 45min. away from here to find the bronze bushing that was being used at the time by the aftermarket vendors. I asked, the guy came out with one and sure enough, that was it. I was about to buy them, go home to make my own and that would have been the end of it. Then I thought, hey, what about a sealed roller bearing like they use for axle bearings. I asked and he came back with the R14-2RS bearing. I remember thinking, "Damn that will take a lot more work but they would be way cool and won't need greasing" , I handed him the bronze bushing back and took the bearings home. :ide

On the way I stopped and got some 2" OD tubing that I thought might work. Two days later I drove the Mule with roller perches and my life hasn't been the same since. It drove so much smoother I couldn't believe it, I thought I was nuts, this can't be. I could tell the difference before I got out of the driveway. I did a lot of testing, drove through the same corners I had been for years and could take any of them a good 10mph faster with no jumping around. Well, I had a smile on my face for the next three days. I had no idea what to do with it but I knew this was a good idea so I told my friends about it.

Who'd a thought such a simple idea as this hadn't been put on the market in 40 years. The word roller and suspension had never met. I built 21 sets, gave 11 away and sold 10 to cover the cost of them all. Then my Mom got sick and I stopped. The email list of people wanting them got longer and longer so after 8 months, I made some more. One of the first sets has over 90K on them. I'm still waiting to see what a worn out set looks like. These ain't them.


firstrsp.JPG
 
Your story is one of great success, well deserved I say!
 
Good ideas + Good people = Success

Your success is well deserved, John. Those original perches definitely deserve a place on your wall of fame!
 
The set you sent me are still rolling right along. Here's to your success!

I will be testing them again on Nov 10 at Willow Springs!
 
I'm an early customer and mine are still working great!

I, too, noticed an immediate improvement after I installed them and one of the benefits I didn't expect was a reduction in the steering effort on my manual rack and pinion.

Thanks,
Tim
 
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