I have a 2000 DS 650 and pulled up a site on how to adjust the rear sag. I need a clarification though. It says to start by pulling up on the rear bumper to fully extend the shock and then measure that distance to the ground . Then sit on the bike and it should only go down about 3.5 to 4 inchs.. my problem is when I lift up the back and let go my bike settles right away about 4 inches down without me sitting on it. MY QUESTION is : is my spring that far out of adjustment even before I sit on it? or is my shock and spring shot and I need a new one? I bought the bike used and it had been rolled but with damage only to the steering column which I replaced. (wasn't too hard either).

also How hard is it to adjust the rear spring stiffer.?Do I need a spring compressor? can I do it with the spring on the bike? or should I pony up the $$$ and have the shop do it? and how much is it typically cost? I have a shop manual but it doesn't go into much detail except to remove the shock from the bike. Thanks youz guys.

Heres to the start of desert season. screw the milk thistle and open up our dunes.

 

Ok, here is what I did.
I LIFTED the rear of the quad just until the tires were going to move THEN I had someone measure it while it was lifted and then I droped it so I could see how much it relaxed when its not on.. Honestly, it should not drop any when your not on it.
NO, you dont need a spring crompressor, I used a hammer and a long screwdriver to tap the rings loose then you can hand turn the springs. Keep going on them until you reach your setting. then lock it down with the rings. The front is a bit harder, you have to pop off the stop spring clip, then again you can turn them by hand also. Just remeber to rock the quad and make the front relax with you on.. Its really easy all in all.

 

Toe and suspension setup...

 

thanks alot for that artical... my bumpsteer is really bad the whole time I am rideing the handlebars are shaking and jerking everywhere and if I am trail ridening and hit a branch with only one of the front tires its everything I have to keep the bars in my hands..

 

Though there was some great info on that link this I believe to be the most important.


Much of the advice was directly to the stock suspension and apparantly for one type of riding. I have that no matter what quad you are setting up its allways different even between same models due to riding style, rider weight, terrain and experience etc.

I think by now we all understand the problems with the DS and suspension and how to correct it ( with aftermarket parts as stated above) but I dont want to see anyone get confused by the set up advice offered.

There is a relationship between the free sag, race sag and ride height that affects the ride and with any one of these being off will cause the quad will not handle as well as it could.

I have been trying to get solid numbers on how to determine this from many people in the industry but there seems to a certain amount of "secrets" that no one has offered yet.

You can check out a lot of sites to get basic info (custom axis, duncan, mx-tech and many others, pm if you would like some links) but on none of them is there 100% of what you need and a lot of it is borderline for many to understand. An example is how axis pretty much takes you thru the entire set up from selectin springs etc. Now I know most of us expected the manufacturer to make that decision properly didnt we and especially if your running aftermarket suspension.

Also a lot of the info is directed to two wheelers and there is a deff difference. On mx-tech they do a great job describing how a rear shock should operate and how to fine tune the settings but the front info is for forks and the whole thing is really for bikes. Dont discard the info though since though there are differences there is some great info there to help you better understand what results you are looking for and what problems you are trying to eliminate etc. but still remember that much of the info is based on bikes.

WIth all that said the best info I can offer that I have based on a lot of Q&A and plenty of trial and error is that you want to get to a base line before you start making changes and record all your changes and the results (amount of sag, ride heights and performance etc). The start point should be someware between 20-40% for total sag with rider but also at the same time maintaining a ride height of between 7-1/2-10-1/2 (mx-xc lower for tt higher for desert?) measuered on the frame at a point just behind the a-arm and by the peg (on a more flat rail if your quad has some sort of a upbend etc) and all the while being concious of the changes in ride height caused by changes in preload or sag.

Now keeping the above in mind you have to be concerned with the balance in ride height from front to rear, as it will make a difference and work differently on each machine. Too much bias to the front (rear higher) and the quad will push and have a loss of traction at the drive wheels, too much rear bias and the front end will be too light and twitchy and there may be issues with too much traction. plus with adding preload to raise either end of the machine there will be an increase in forces on the raised end. You can screw down the front preload to get the height but find that you have made it so stiff you get fatigued immediately, get the idea?

There are so many variables in this that it is truely mind boggling but if you keep focused on what you are after and what you have to work with it is possible to get excelent results.

Also remember that there will be great differences between stk oem and aftermarket shocks as there is normally much more travel in the later and normally much more adjustment as well, and dont forget zero preload or self sagging springs that also make this even more fun lol.

I hope that helps and I didnt just bore the crap out of everyone. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]