Some works of wisdom from Bob Mighell:
I thought I would share a little history and information related to rod ends on the TMW TRiO kit.
The original rod ends used were made by a company called Aurora. They can be seen as the top one in the attached photo.
The Part Numbers are:
AM-12T-C3 Right Hand Thread 3/4-16, 3/4″ bore (larger for A-arm)
AB-8T-C3 Left Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
AM-8T-C3 Right Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
You won’t see the C3 designation in the catalog but is designates that the ball is not too loose or too tight, it is just right.
Aurora Catalog (see page 32)
We then shifted to the QA1 rod ends.
The first QA1 rod ends used were the PCM-T series black units which are shown in the middle of the attached photo.
The Part Numbers are:
PCMR12T Right Hand Thread 3/4-16, 3/4″ bore (larger for A-arm)
PCML8T Left Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
PCMR8T Right Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
QA1 Catalog for PCM-T series:
https://qa1.net/inch-rod-ends/pc-series
We found out that the PCM-T series didn’t really hold up and tended to rust.
We finally shifted to the QA1 X-series which are shown in the bottom of the attached photo.
The Part Numbers are:
XMR12T Right Hand Thread 3/4-16, 3/4″ bore (larger for A-arm)
XML8T Left Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
XMR8T Right Hand Thread 1/2-20, 1/2″ bore (tie rod end)
QA1 Catalog for X-series:
https://qa1.net/inch-rod-ends/x-series
My personal preference is for the Aurora rod ends which is what I have installed on my personal bike.
Another issue to address is the lubing of these rod ends. I called both Aurora and QA1 and spoke to tech engineers to ask their opinions.
- Aurora tech guy was like: “What part of “Maintenance Free” do you not understand? Maintenance free means maintenance free.” His concern was that any lubricant could attract dirt and potentially allow the PTFE lining to swell. So any lubrication to the Aurora units is a hard no from Aurora. I have tens of thousands of miles on my Aurora units and I have never lubed them.
2. The QA1 tech guy was a little more ambiguous. He first said that they don’t recommend using lubricant as you don’t want to degrade the PTFE liner. I then asked specifically about Tri-Flow lubricant and he said as long as PTFE, you should be okay. One note on this is that too much of a good thing can be bad. One user had an issue with the tie rod rod end getting very stiff after very liberally lubing. If you must lube, then probably only Tri-Flow and very little and wipe after applying.
Hope this helps!
