Oh come on guys, SOMEBODY has bound to have made a cage with a larger radius than 5.5 inches!!!!!!

 

Well unless u start bending some crazy angles you wont notice much of a difference unless u go over say 100 degrees. Just alittle info

 

That's not true.

The larger radius will have a larger bend area in the tube and can be noticeable on smaller bend angles as well, just not as prominently as the larger ones.

It will also become more apparent if a larger radius is used when the cage structure is built if any of the cross tubes are placed on the tangents of the bend as they will be farther apart than with a small radius.

A 7" radius die will work but the cage will have a different look than if a 5.5" were to be used.

 

Here is an example:

One cage is done with 5.5" the other is a 7" CLR.

 

The 7" looks good to my eye...now build it already!

 

when i first started playing with the bender i wanted to bend a stock cage, i bought a set of 6" radius dies and started fiddling with it. after springback and stretch a 6" radius bend in 1.75 tube will be closer to 7". the bends in the stock rzr cage are 5.25 clr when you try and bend the windshield loop with a 6" die, it looks big and fat, it looks aweful. (thats a big reason alot of the aftermarket cages are bent from front to back or a halo, because the big radius looks ok in those directions) i looked around and tried to buy a 4.5 - 4.75 radius die for my bender but nobody carried them, i talked to jd2, pro-tools and a couple others, they told me they could make a custom die in that radius, but that it would be pricey and that it wouldnt work. said it would crimp the tubing. when i built my bender i built in a little bit of drag (where and how the tubing gets pulled through the die) i also built it to work with an inside mandrel. my solution was to cut my own die so i did and it bends 1.75 with a finished clr of 5.17 and it doesnt crimp the tube. so i can bend a stock looking rzr cage.
in a cage even for small bends, you will definately notice the difference in the radiuses..
what is it you are trying to do?
when i build a cage, i first model it in cad.
if you know what your'e looking for, i could draw a couple of cage pieces for you and use different clr's and send you some 3d snapshots so you could see what the piece looks like in the real world in the different radiuses
here's an example, it's a picture of a standard cage vs a chop cage

 

That would be great if you could mock up what I am wanting with maybe the 6 and 5.5 bends! I dont have any drawing software but here is a sketch using paint.

I am wanting kind of a jeep/land rover type look. I lifted the front roof a little and lowered the back a little. then the part over the bed I want to have as a sort of drop basket where I can throw a climber. I want to put an intrusion bar on the front and a x brace behind the seats. With some grab handles and a light bar.

 

I have pictures of my old ranger cage i built with a 7" radius die.

 

Post em up! I would love to see em even if they arent for a rzr.

 

rookie here - watching and absorbing - appreciate all these - i know you all are very busy so super appreciated..........
sketches and 3-D modeling is extra gold stars.......

 

I built this with the JD squared bender and 6.5 radius dies

 

kind of like this one?

 

man i got to buy a bender!!!

 

i got to buy a bender!!!!!

 

talk to rob gaskins at pro bender
he has benders similar to what i built, he's a good guy and he builds a really nice product and he's all about not pricing stuff out of the average hobby builder's price range
http://www.probender.com/

 

MartyMoe, I love your cage!!! But what I am looking for is closer to what Mr Goat had built. Here are some pics of his.......

But a few changes:
1. I want my uprights behind the seats to be straight up above the bed.
2. I dont want the shelf he has over the cagro area.
3. I dont want the luggage rack across the roof.
4. I want a 6 inch drop basket over the cargo area at the roof level.
5. I want an x brace in the hoop behind the seats.
6. I want intrusion bars in the front hoop.
7. I want a shorter light bar.

 

the cage was something a friend of mine wanted, i didnt care for it at first, but it kind of grew on me.
he knew what he wanted, we kept dinking around with the model till it was what he wanted.
the cage in the picture that you put up is actually an easier cage to bend because it doesnt kick in and out.
if you look at the bends in your pictures you can see that it was done with 6" dies, it looks good and he did a great job putting it together. as you can see though, the bends are big and loose looking. that kind of bend works well on a front to back or halo cage.

e.g. both sets of pictures should answer your original question, what does a cage look like built with 7" radius bends (a 6" die in a shoe/drag style bender will produce a bend that is roughly 6.72 CLR)

 

marty hows the rzr comeing?

 

MartyMoe, thanks for all the info and pics I think they have really helped me narrow the bender choice down to 3.

Could you recomend some CAD software? Do I need a 2d or 3d? I did a search on free CAD software and was supprised at how many came up. But I am not familar with it so I dont know what to look for, and I really dont want to have to learn a dozen programs before I find what I am looking for.

 

for what your trying to do, bend-tech is absolutely hands down what you need. i think probably all of the tube fab guys here on the forum will agree, and if you dont, please speak up.
Johnny: i havent worked on it a whole lot since about memorial day, i've just kindof started piddling with it again, not happy with my rear bearing carriers, so i think i'm gonna try something new, also just re-designed a coupling to tie the engine to the tranny. (of course i didnt do that until the old coupling was built and in place). the apex guys kind of put a fire in my britches, so i've started messing with it again.. i'd really like for it to be done.
i do just about have it's computer (pcm) together

 

ORI cage using 6" die set on 1 3/4" tube

 

ORI cage using 6" die set on 1 3/4" tube

Any close ups of the door mounts? care to share? I'm going that route. Next on my list, thanks

 

Are the cables that run up the front of that cage to push tree branches back or for another reason? I have not seen that before. I have seen alot of cages on Rangers built for trail riding. That seems to be a cheap windshield saver.

 

Check out Post 34, that cage was built with 7"clr dies
http://www.rzrforums.net/projects-how/22887-rolled-rzr-rebuild.html