I think this is the most misunderstood part of atving, and one of the most secretive as far as answers go.

Use this thread to post your questions, or if you have the knowledge then hang around and help with the answers.

Look around at all the riders who want to have a better ride but dont know how to achieve it, and it doesnt matter if were talking stock or full aftermarket either as I have seen and know of several people with hi dollar aftermarket suspensions that are just not set up or performing correctly.

The part that really sets me off is that you cant get simple easy to understand answers on how to improve this. Sure you can read thru lots of info on the net but it will only help somewhat and you wount have it 100%. Try to call around and yes even to the major shock MFG you purchased from and all you will get is close at best. I used to think we were all idiots till I did a ton of research on this (and even a few threads on other sites) and learned that there seriously are some secrets that we are not supposed to know of.

Things like copmpression and rebound adjustment can be frustrating if you dont understand how to make proper adjustments, but there a pleasure compared to setting ride height v/s sag and trying to set the comp and rebound when these settings are not correct.

I personally thought I had a decent idea on how to do this in the past but had learned I never even knew half the things that needed attention and just recently began to feel that the LT suspension I had purchased over a year ago is close to performing and being set up properly.


I want this thread to be both a Q&A posting as well as a discussion on how to properly set up the suspension on a ATV so fire away and lets see what kind of real talent is on these boards to get us some answers.

 

Ok... I'll start, though I'm sure you're tailoring for sport quads...

I race my '02 ( now 750cc ) Prairie, in every type of racing I can do... I do extremely well in the mud bogs & pulls ... this winter I'll be trying Ice drags & circle track ice racing, but the most challenging, so far has been the hare scrambles... I have a custom rear suspension set up, that includes the stock ( mono ) shock, & 2 Fox racing shocks ( actually from a snowmobile ), they are both fully tunable...

my biggest question, is the front suspension ( struts )... they are now going on 3 years of extreme abuse... I want to replace them this year, with something tunable ??? I know there are Progressive & Elka springs out there, but any tunable struts ???

My quad looks like something that came out of Monster Garage ( which I kind of like )... so I'm not afraid to custom something else in, if anyone had any suggestions ??? I have been looking at several brands of Toyota truck resi off road racing shocks, to try to replace the struts ???

what kind of Nitrogen pressures are you guy's running, to maintain control through the whoops sections ???

 

Good post.

What your custom set up requires is a complete new shock/strut design and therefore will need to be completely set up and manufactured to match your machine, rear shock mods, and exact riding needs.

This will pretty much cover every part of set up from size, valving, spring rate, ride height and many others. Your needing a custom shock made for your custom set up

This is well beyond my personal suspension abilities and I hope we get some replies from the more experienced members. If I remember correctly there was some info on this in the custom axis website but I believe it was mostly about spring selection or needs, and it was geared to shocks not struts and that may mafe a difference.

Your assumption that the sport quad was what the thread was directed to isnt completely true or false as all types of quads should perform to their potential and I guess the idea was really to be able to make adjustments to any quad that has adjustments etc. and the correct way to make those adjustments. I would expect that most replies would be on the sport models mostly due to the fact that they seem to get pushed beyond their limits more in general but that doesnt mean some riders push the utilities and I have seen more than one extremely fast rider on a 4x4 etc. that would benefit from a improved ride.

So c'mon guys (and girls) lets see some questions, and even more important some answers [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Do you know if TCS has a website and how much is it going to cost to have the shocks redone from a 180 lb tt rider to a 250 lb mx'er?

 

this thread is exactly what i need right now. I weigh 200 lbs and i have a 400EX with stock suspension. I have the preload on the stiffest setting in the front. It makes for a very rough ride but i still bottom it when jumping. The back is set rather nicely. it has about an inch to and inch and a half of sag when I sit on it. With this set up i'll bottom the suspension with about 3 feet of air. I'm hoping for new shocks this x-mas, most likely they will be triple rates w/o resivoirs. they would probably also just be the front shocks. my question is this: Is there anything I can do as far as adjusting my suspension so that I can get a smoother ride, but more importantly to make the suspension actually do something when i get more air. In the sand my nerf bars hit the sand on landings. I went to bakersfield a few weeks ago and found a fairly nice little jump. I was hitting it in 4th gear and preloading. I would get about 5-6 feet of air according to my friend and i ended up with a strained neck, 2 sprained wrists, and a sprained ankle (even with boots) from the landings. I still feel like I can go higher, and i'm trying to get into freestyle but I can't get ne more air due to the landings. Any advice would be awesome. I'm goin out this weekend so the sooner the better.

 

I would have to think that they have a website so search around. If you dont find one no problem as the work you need done could be accomplished by any "professional" shock rebuilder. I would deff look for one with experience rebuilding both that brand and also with properly re-valving and springing etc.

Thing to keep in mind will be the cost. I know more than one rider who went out and purchased used shocks just to find that what he had saved was blown on rebuilding and setting them up for his weight etc. Some times used isnt any bargain.

 

When first introduced the 400ex had one of the best stock suspensions avail (I can remember how much better it was than the warrior I was riding b4) and handling as well. The problem is that many of us are either pushing it beyond its limits or just simply too heavy for it. I believe if I remember correctly that the ex was set up from the factory for a 175lb rider so it will work for anyone but not as well as others, and the fronts are the weak link for sure.

You can have the rear rebuilt by various places and in many diff configurations and should get good results if done correctly etc but you need to be reasonable in your expectations as nothing that you do to it will bring it up to the performance of a full aftermarket rear shock. I had mine done in the past and it helped a lot (especially for the rear harsh hits and bottoming out etc) but it was a joke in comparison the the dual rate Elka in there now.

Your idea of replacing the fronts is spot on and will give you the best results (after a short time the fronts are basically trashed anyhow) and no matter what mfg or price range you can afford or decide on the ride and performance will be much better than stock.

If you are going to drop some cash into the fronts then you should at minimum have the rear rebuilt and set up better for your weight and riding style etc. and it shouldnt be too expensive either unless its damaged or you go overboard with springs etc. I believe I paid around $130.00 for a full rebuild with some basic valving adjustments.

Now here is where the fun begins and the true point of the thread appears. Once you start spending some $$$ on suspension and have something that you can get "real" results from adjusting (the stockers are only preload adjustable, but everything from works steelers on up will allow a lot more) and these results are not allways what you want or better etc.

Its the "how to" info thats hard to find and what i was after. I have lots and lots of time into setting up this set up on mine and trust me its plush but its still not nearly 100%. You may or may not even notice or think about how to make it better or what is not right and especially in the beginning when your still in amazment over how much better it rides than stock.

So give who ever you get them from the best info you can as to your honest abilities and how you ride etc. tell them how you still have some issues on how to land those 8ft jumps and are bottoming the suspension etc. but remember that shocks cant be set up for everything. In that I mean if you want them so stiff you never bottom when flat landing you will not get a plush ride other times. Also sand puts some interesting strains on the suspension and has different needs than rocky or hard pack conditions so you may have to accept a trade off if you ride different types of terrain.

I hope that helped and maybe by the time you get everything installed we will have someone with more knowledge following this thread.

 

These might answer some questions----

http://www.off-road.com/atv/suspension/shockadj.htm

http://www.worksperformance.com/Other%20Pages/faq.html

 

awesome, thanx for the info. i knew that the front shocks aren't rebuildable, but i didn't know that i could have the rear shock rebuilt for my riding. let alone that i could do it for as cheap as $130. thanx again for the info. i'll keep u updated if/when i get new shocks.

 

It appears as if Elka is going to make real suspension components, for the sport utility market... I haven't contacted them yet, but the look of those resi shocks / struts on the front of that Grizzly, got my mouth watering...check it out...

http://www.elkasuspension.com/english/homepage.html