Awesome Smokie Setup! With Tutorial!

[T.V.A.R.]

Hey Guys,

So, I picked up a my first set of smokies last week so I could fully deck out my SICK new landyachtz custom foamie. While I was setting it up, Blake Startup at Landyachtz showed me the coolest way to set up smokies. It eliminates the twitch, and makes it so the kingpin no longer hangs down.

WARNING: Topmount use will require shorter kingpin.

Anyway,
So, here you see your standard smokie hangar, veiwed from the bottom.


First, pop out the bearing.


Then, Replace it with a Venom Bushing. There will be a little bit of play, but nothing that can be noticed.


Finally, Re-assemble the truck like so:


As you can see, the kingpin no longer hangs down into dangerous territory



My favorite combo for this is 90a (red) Venom on the bottom, and 93a (green) Venom on top. This setup makes the truck's turn much more buttery as well as unlocking a good deal more lean. Crank on the kingpin, and you can lock it down. Keep it loose and it will be carvy.

You can buy all the supplies for this from Landyachtz including the Bushings, and the sweet Fleecy hoodie that kept me warm in my garage while doing this.

Thanks,
~Zak~

[jshalvorsen]

Nice ad....

[sterlingc]

will you post a full picture of that foam deck?

at first glance it looked like the green bushing fit within the hole in the hanger and I couldn't figure out how there was enough down force on the hanger to keep it from falling off but obviously its sitting in the bushing seat and locking it in comfortably, I just wasn't paying attention

looks good though,

do you prefer them over your rads + confed plates?

[green]

Genious .

[T.V.A.R.]

will you post a full picture of that foam deck?

at first glance it looked like the green bushing fit within the hole in the hanger and I couldn't figure out how there was enough down force on the hanger to keep it from falling off but obviously its sitting in the bushing seat and locking it in comfortably, I just wasn't paying attention

looks good though,

do you prefer them over your rads + confed plates?

Here's a pic of the whole board:



I don't have enough time on them to know if I like them more than my rads. I know I will need different angle baseplates to make a totally fair comparison. So far they feel pretty good though.

[sterlingc]

are they considering mass producing that deck or is it strictly a proto, do you know?

nice looking deck either way, good to see you are getting supported by more vendors,

Nice ad....

[stringtheory]

Nice simple mod. I dig it. I will try it out.

[*Gnar_Dog*]

Looks awesome. Gonna have to try that with mine. Does it change the axle height at all?

[T.V.A.R.]

Looks awesome. Gonna have to try that with mine. Does it change the axle height at all?

Axle height stays the same. Just adds awesome. Also, that deck is a one-of-a-kind custom. If you want one, they will make you one, but it's not cheap. It's insanely light though.

[stringtheory]

Zak, I noticed you're not running any washer on the bottom. Also you used the softer bushing on the bottom, rather than the top.

If you have a minute could you explain the benefit? If there is one that is, I guess it could be preference as well. Thanks!

[Dubester]

.......................sick

[sterlingc]

string : I would say just try it out and see how it feels, I've heard a lot of people set up their slalom decks with that hard on top soft on bottom setup. I'm not an expert so Im not going to pretend I understand the physics/mechanics of it but from my experience it gives trucks a sharper sort of diving turn , feels like its pivoting toward the deck rather than away from it, you really have to try it out to see if you like it or not.

[TexasBomber]

How much did you pay for teh venoms (j.k.)

Sick landy, will be getting some of the venoms soon! (Cha-Ching)

What hoodie did you get? I got the Bear trucks one!

[Zach_Wolf]

Axle height stays the same. Just adds awesome. Also, that deck is a one-of-a-kind custom. If you want one, they will make you one, but it's not cheap. It's insanely light though.

mmm.... one of a kind - except that I know of two others in existence, but granted, it is a custom, and you do have to be cool to get a hold of them.

Also you could have just said, take out the spherical, put in a bushing, and run them like you would any other truck, but thanks for the pretty pictures and detailed tutorial!
srsly

[Randelpink03]

absolute beauty ay? That thing looks sick man! nice step by step photos too, i'll have to give that a try.
One last step to make that board fully pimped out though... stainless hardware. Yours is lookin a little rustyyy

[T.V.A.R.]

yeah haha That board took it's maiden voyage on a SOAKED Canadian Highway bomb. When I got the deck they told me specifically that I was "Not allowed to baby it". I know there are a few others like it out there, for instance, it's Nate Lang's weapon of Choice. I believe Mr. Tidd and The Flying Carrot also rock them. Sick decks.

[jaxxstatic]

Do you know if it's possible to do the same mod to Radikal Talons? Have you tried it?

[speshlspeclsteak]

Do you know if it's possible to do the same mod to Radikal Talons? Have you tried it?

radikal sells them with a bushing in place of a spherical.

[Justin K]

How did you get the spherical out?

[jaxxstatic]

radikal sells them with a bushing in place of a spherical.

Mine are in the mail bought used, so mine have a spherical. I'd still like to know if he's already tried it with the rads.