I have a 03 500 auto 4wd auto,and the steering seems a little scary in the woods,,sometimes in ruts it grabs and takes you where it wants to go. I have very little experience,,we had a old Honda Big Red,,and with only 1 wheel up front,,it was a not a issue with the 3 wheeler. Is there any cures/fixes for this problem,,and is this common on all 4 wheelers.

 

check your alignment.....one or both sides may be toed in a little too much

other than that,,,,hang on tight

Im not discounting that it may be out of alignment,,,,but there is also a little shell shock and learning curve when going from 3 to 4 wheels

your reflexes will adjust over time,,,,,but until they do,,,it can be dangerous and unnerving

 

I have an '03' AC 400 and did notice a bit of what I call "squirreliness" in some situations. It took a friend and long time AC owner to explain to me that it was "oversteer". I so far haven't felt it was dangerous, I've just learned to keep myself sane while driving in the woods. Last weekend while riding on a choppy dirt road, my two friends in front of me took off. I was doing just fine keeping up with them, (05 Rincon 03 Rancher), but did notice some loss of control around turns - my speed was around 45. So, I backed off and let them race ahead. At 35-40mph, (fast enough imo), control felt better, handling was awesome. I'm learning that AC's have advantages and disadvantages. The ground clearance and suspension eclipse anything I've ridden and my friend's machines. What I give up is a little "blast-ability", but I'm not about that anymore anyway. Towing those Hondas out of the soup is all the revenge I need for being left behind on a dirt road...I'd rather live to fight another day.

On a more technical note, I have heard that changing the toe of your tires is a good step to limiting over-steer, but I have know knowledge yet as to how to go about doing that. perhaps one of the more experienced members and guide you through...Enjoy and ride safe.

Mark

 

I watched my brother in law ('03 AC 400) catch a sidewall at only 4-6 mph on a trail than went cross-hill... the right front grabbed and turned immediately uphill, the quad nosed under to the left front corner, and went right over! It was the strangest crash I ever saw, being at such slow speeds... broke his speedo, bent the right handlebar to the gas tank and the front left corner of the rack down a good 4". Hurt his elbowand his calf (and his pride, lol). Luckily, all was fixable and he quickly recovered. I'd ridden his bike previously and noticed this tendency but was lucky to recover, twice. Not much help, but I hear that stiffer sidewall tires also help....

 

i wonder if you can install a steering stabilizer on those bikes

that would help

 

One thing that really seemed to help on mine was when I went to aftermarket tires. Doesn't eliminate this, but seemed to make a big difference.

 

also,,,check your tire pressure

 

Would more tire pressure help.

 

More or less depending on the pressure they are at. When I got my 400 it steered very heavy and oversteered. Tire pressure was 2 psi in both fronts. Pumped up to 5 and major difference. However do not make the pressure more than the tires are rated for. Also had a word with my dealer about pre-delivery service.

 

Bear - any reason why stocks on a 400 would be at 9-pounds??? I'm going to try a second guage just to be sure, but after receiving my AC 400 back from 300-mile service, all 4 tires read 9-pounds each....I'm using a Campbell hausfield digital guage, so I'm going to double-check to be sure it's not a misread from my guage, but 9-pounds seems extreme...