Although I agree that a swaybar will add in stablility, it still doesn't make up for tire roll under or a proper suspension setup. Regardless of whether or not you have a sway bar you should still set your bike up...The sway bar isn't the "fix all"

 

I have an 03 500 IRS. I can put half a moose on the machine and go through the worst stuff imaginable. BY FAR the best off road quad I have every used! BUT.....until now I have told myself that the off road abilities were worth the INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE handling on the trails. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] So thank you for the info Buckaroo! really. thanks a million. i have never tried cranking the suspension up as I thought the softer the suspension the better in the real slow, rough stuff. I will try some of your suggestions and let you know how it goes.

ALso, does anyone know if the sway bar will work on a 2003 500 independant? I would think it would as I don't see any difference in the suspension. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks....

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: ethernut

I added the swaybar and 25" bighorns to my 06 500 and IT IS A DIFFERENT QUAD. Rides like a Cadillac now. 95-99% of every "issue" post here in the this thread will be solved with the swaybar and a tire change. I noticed some guys saying that the Cat does not like Radial tires. This is a baseless load of hookey. The Bighorns are the best tire I've ever owned, yes, _way_ better than my set of Mudlites or Dirt Devils. My quad feels like a sport quad now with the swaybar, the front end does not push in the corners, it corners much tighter than it did before, the body roll is virtually eliminated, and don't get me started on the off-camber performance (night and day different, no spacers needed). With the swaybar, I have my front shocks set on the middle setting and the rears are on the softest setting. There is guy selling the swaybars on Ebay for 116. Best money I've ever spent on my quad, hands down!



I'd say stop trying to fix, AC's **** poor, swaybarless Independent Rear Suspension with spring pressure and learn from every other respectable quad maker on the planet, add a swaybar! :-) There's no shame in that. I used to be one of the guys in the corner making the case for the swaybarless IRS, I'd make fun of Polaris' crippling of their IRS with their Swaybar. Then, I rode one, and as soon as I got on it and took a few curves at high speed, it was OBVIOUS that the suspension performance was superior to my quad. So, I licked my wounds and told myself that the Cat has more ground clearance and more fuel capacity and all that self righteous stuff. All the while knowing in the back of my head, that it was the swaybar that was responsible for the all of the stability goodness.



I'd like to say THANK YOU ARCTIC CAT for adding the swaybar as an option. Now, add it as standard equipment!</end quote></div>

As with everything - it is all a compromises. What you gain on one end you loose on the other. I had a sway bar now I don't. After PROPERLY setting the suspension and tires I have at least 95% - 98% maybe more, of the handling characteristics that the sway bar did, but the sway bar took a lot of articulation away. I personally feel that a sway bar is like a cheat sheet. A quick fix for some things. But without one you have the best of two worlds if you take the time to tune your suspension. You get the handling and also the articulation and clearance. Sway bars is a good fix for someone that doesn't understand suspension or how to tune it. This is why I wrote this topic. So that people could understand and correct the handling to suit their individual needs. For flatter trails and faster riding then maybe a sway bar is a good quick fix. But I still feel that if people know what they are doing then they can tune their suspension for any situation. Personally I would spend money on spacers and tune the suspension. I have been on both sides of the fence so my vote goes for tuning the suspension, and not a sway bar. If that doesn't get you what you want then I feel that spacers are a better investment. Remember tuning the suspension is FREE.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: NWThunting

I have an 03 500 IRS. I can put half a moose on the machine and go through the worst stuff imaginable. BY FAR the best off road quad I have every used! BUT.....until now I have told myself that the off road abilities were worth the INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE handling on the trails. [img][/img] So thank you for the info Buckaroo! really. thanks a million. i have never tried cranking the suspension up as I thought the softer the suspension the better in the real slow, rough stuff. I will try some of your suggestions and let you know how it goes.



ALso, does anyone know if the sway bar will work on a 2003 500 independant? I would think it would as I don't see any difference in the suspension. Can anyone confirm this?



Thanks....</end quote></div>

It will fit. You basically will turn your IRS into a SRA. You will loose articulation and ground clearance. And the darn thing will always hang up on something - because it is mounted under the machine. If it were like Polaris (bolted to the back) then that would at least stop it from catching and hanging up on everything that passes under your machine.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Anthom

Howdo everyone! Newbie to both the forums here and ATV's in general (from south Texas where we just drove our trucks to wherever we needed to go).



First off I want to say thanks for this thread as it is really enlightening me, especially thanks to buckaroo50!



I just purchased a 2007 AC 400 4x4 Auto, primarily for hunting and to help setup some food plots on my lease.



After reading through this thread, first thing I did was check the tire pressures when I got home.. low and behold, not one was the same on any tire! The right front was 12PSI, left front 8PSI, right rear 5PSI and left rear 2-3PSI. Well, I set the rears to 5PSI and fronts to 8PSI.



I haven't touched the suspension yet as I don't want to screw anything up. I did look at it and see what y'all are talking about with the adjustment. Question on this, right now mine are in the middle notch so must be a 3. To soften them, I assume I need to go down on the notches which would let the spring expand some. Is this correct? Also, is there any special tricks to adjusting or do you just grab ahold and move it?



Also, the stock tires are Goodyear Rawhide RS, are those decent tires for general use? I looked at Goodyear's site and I believe they are 4ply.



Thanks!</end quote></div>

Yes, Rawhide RS are a good general purpose tire. They should get you through a lot of stuff, and serve you well. Just make sure you set the tire pressures and the suspension for your needs. (Biggest problem it "roll-under" from the front tires) - try setting the front to 8lbs and the rear to 5lbs, and see if that works for you. Have your front suspension soft and rear a tad on the stiff side. After a year or two then you will start to develop an opinion as to what you want tires to do then you can look for specific tires to fill those wants. But for now stick with the Rawhides.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: roamerr

Any negative to spacers other than the extra width?



Thanks for the link. The H1 is 4/115mm bolt pattern...correct?</end quote></div>

I have close to 2000 miles on my spacers and have not encountered one situation yet where the width was an issue to "squeeze" through. However, there were tons of times that the spacers were a real plus, ranging from better cornering at higher speeds, to more articulation, ability to straddle out of other riders ruts, off camber performance by adding a lot of stability. Countless situations where getting through was relatively easy as apposed to being a pain. One very impressive situation is that I can put one side of my ATV up on the side bank of a trail and the other in the trail and cruise right along while others can't get that angle without tipping and have to run over really rough stuff in the middle of the trail at a much slower speed, and a much rougher ride. hehehe....

 

Lots of great info here..I just bought a 700 EFI and am very disappointed in the handling of it...It is very tippy feeling and I seem to get a lot of feedback and twitchyness through the handlebars...Steering effort is also more than I would like...Time to try some different pressures and shock settings I guess.

 

It is amazing on how the crappy stock tires affect performance until you set them up right.

As Buck stated run about 8 in the fronts and 5 in the rears. Seems to be a very good "All round" setting for most stock tires.

Let us know how you make out.

 

Well I changed my tire pressures to 7 in the front and 5 in the rears and I'll give that a try....I was going to set my rear shocks up a notch or two but the piece of crap wrench that comes with the bike broke in half in my hand!..I tried with some vise grips and channel locks but just could not get the collar to turn in the very limited space between the control arm and the rim....Why wouldn't they have put the collar on the top of the shock where it's easy to get at and wouldn't be filled with sand?...

 

Yeah the shocks can be tough to adjust if they have been set one way for a while. I suggest some lube and a light tap with a hammer as you try to turn them. I found this works wonders on mine when they sit too long.

Good luck.