I love my Quad and so far so good. But I must admit it handles
like a tank on the trails with bumps, rocks and tree roots.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to mod for better handling?
It would be nice if my shocks would absorb more and I wasn't
thrown around up to my handle-bars going over every obsticale.
Same as my wife and others riding our Quads. Should I
have bought an Scrambler? ( originally bought my quad
for utility - hunting thing and now we find ourselves
wanting to do more recreational riding.

Thanks,

 

You think the 450 rides hard the scrambler is much worse. Not that they are bad but if you like a plush ride the scrammy is no the one. How much air do you have in your tires. The Sportsman is the softest riding atv out. Something sounds weird if you think it is rough. And yes it is a tank.

 

whats the shocks set on?

 

My Sportsman 450 rides way better than my Ford Ranger pick-up. (EDGE) two wheel drive.

 

Wow, I can't believe your SP is a rough ride. Have you ridden other models? I think my SP 500 is VERY kush compared to the kodiak, eiger, and foremans I've driven in the past. Go ride some other models and see if you still think yours is rough. I guess I'd have the suspension checked out as well as the air in your tires if its riding rougher than it should.

 

Well I guess my post going up in front of you
well seasoned Quad'sters have illuminated my
newbie status. I have NOT yet checked the shocks/fluid levels
or the tire pressure could be low. I know it should be 5 PSI.
Does anyone recommend certain PSI levels for different
trails/terran or always run it at 5 PSI?
FYI, stock Carslie (Sp?) tires.

Thanks for all the input!

 

I am going to turn my rear shock setting back to softest before I ride today. I tried firming my ride up, cause I thought because of my 275# the shocks may be bottoming out. The ride at the softest was very good. Some terrain like whoops, theres nothing to do but slow down (especially on heavy 4wheeler). But on decent trails, without roots (what can take that punishment) the ride was cushy. Tried more shock preload, but going back to softest setting, no noticeable improvement by increasing preload.

Where are everyones else's rear shocks set at, have you made any changes from stock( factory set at softest)?

99ajax -- How do you like ATRs? What type of conditions do they work well on?


Ride Safe

 

we have the wifes set on the softest setting and it rides good. but shes only 135 pounds( hope she doesnt read this post) and it works well. but she had a trailblazer before so its a 100% improvement.

 

Anyone have any suggestions on what to mod for better handling?
It would be nice if my shocks would absorb more and I wasn't
thrown around up to my handle-bars going over every obsticale.
---------

well i think it is the opposite, ie your shocks are doing their job to maybe "jar" you a bit so as NOT to bounce you [which the spring does]

now if you rode my bike with the shocks totally shot you would probably say very comfortable on good ground but hit a few bumps close together and you might get bumped over the bars if you went too fast [which I dont, except when doing speed record - lol]

the job of springs is to make it comfortable but job of shocks is to make it safe by arresting the spring action correctly [damping]

so it is all about getting the correct mix between comfort and safety

 

Remove the rear sway bar, helps with large obstacles such as roots and rocks. The rear shocks should be turned all the way down to get a soft ride, i have noticed they get much stiffer as you crank them up. The guys that wrote about the air pressure in the tires were thinking you had too much air in them, not too little. My girlfriend has a 2005 Honda Foreman with a solid rear axle and the rear suspension does nothing-literally. When i follow her and watch the rear axle it doesn't move no matter what she is riding over. The sportsmans are the smoothest ride you can get.