05 650 V2

I go up alot of steap hills. my theroy was that i needed the shocks to be a stiff as they could be, so that I would not turn the bike end over end, and make it more stable going around hills sideways. So I have my front and backend as high as they will go. I'm not sure this is the best setting. or If my fonts shocks should be a tad bit lower.


What have you seen the best settings is?

 

I think it depends alot on your weight and what you carry. I have mine set on the second to the softest and I carry alot of gear and extra fuel. I ride very rough terrain with "off camber" trails and I have noticed the with a softer setting. the suspension drops a little to help with a lower center of gravity. I lose some high speed trail manners but it's not a sport bike and 80% of my riding is slow going rough trails.

 

2nd to softest??? now is that on both front and back???

I may have to try that and see how it does...

Thanks!!!!

 

I have a new '07 AC 500 and haven't tried adjusting the shocks yet. Is there an easy way to do it, or just get under it and push/pull hard with the wrench? Also, I'm guessing that the smallest indent is setting 1 (the softest) and the largest indent is setting 5 (the stiffest). Is that right? Thanks for the help.

 

I have found out that little wrech they give you SUCKS...i have broke every one I've had.

There is an OIL Filter wrench out there that works great for this. You can get it at walmart...it kinda looks like this.


http://www.jackssmallengines.com/oil_wrench.cfm

Sounds crazy but it fits perfet in the teeth and is long enough to give you good leverage.


If you want it to be real easy on tighting it. Get a floor jack and get it off the ground alittle bit...makes it a lot easier...

and at walmart it is like $5...

 

I've got an oil filter wrench and I'll give that a try. Thanks.

 

I use a channel lock. Just make sure the ATV is lifted up and it will be a lot easier. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Right, as Catterman says, much easier if there is no weight on the tires. Spraying a little WD-40 on the shock adjuster (actuallya spring adjuster) will help a bunch too. I'm a Channel Lock guy myself, since I already had the house breaking tool.

 

I made a similar post on July 20th and this seems to be a common question. In any event, I moved mine from 5 on both the fron and rear, to a 4 on the rear and 3 on the front. Didn't really notice any difference. Suggest you read the comments from others I received on my post. I also had problems with the little wrench breaking the tabs and eventually used a 15 inch pipe wrench which made the job easy. I also jacked it up and removed the tires. The machine still seems light in the fron end and I guess I just have to lose some weight.

 

Last night I put mine on the second to lowest setting on front and back. and WOW what a diffrence. Turns alot easier as well. I think I will keep it on there for a while...