I noticed today that my every time i wuld jump my ds it would tend to nose dive. I would have to pull the bars hard just to get it level. These are not high speed jumps. I was playing on a table top, getting around 5 feet in the air. Do you think that maybe my suspension is set wrong, or is the ds just not a good jumper. Any tips, tricks and advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chiknhawk

 

Ds is a fine jumper, thats def not the problem. How long have you been jumping atv's? Are you sure when you leave the face of the jump you are still on the throttle? If you let off it will nose dive. When in the air give it throttle and it will raise the front end.

 

That is right. I gun the throttle right on the face of the jump towards the top. That makes it more balanced and consistent for me.

Ron

 

Alright, a topic that I am good at. Wheel spin is everything whether you are jumping the DS pig, or a little 2 pound dirtbike. The more the wheels spin while in the air, the higher the front end goes. The less spin the more apt you are to dive in nose first. The trick is finding you middle ground. You don't want to go full throttle after you leave the ground, and you don't want to let off all the way either. What I tend to tell people to do until you are used to the ride you are jumping, is this. When you go to jump, keep a constaint throttle pull all the way from bottom of jump to top, and being in the air. That should give you a decent landing. From there as you get more comfortable with your ride, you can adjust how you do it. It is all about how you feel yourself in the air, and know what kind of adjustment to make.

 

Since you feel that 5ft of air on a DS is a little jump, I'll assume you know alittle about jumping already.
Try adjusting the rebound clicker on the rear shock (that's the adjuster at the bottom of the shock) in 2 clicks (that's clockwise). This should keep the DS from kicking up the rear over jumps. If you feel the rear is too stiff or rides too high you can loosen the rear spring by adjusting the collar on the top of the shock. One or two full turns there makes quite a difference.
Lets hear what you find out.
I

 

I could be a little off base here but I felt the same as you do. With my 400Ex i just gave it a little extra throttle and it launched and landed like a pro. I tried the same with the DS and the nose always seemed to dive on me. I had set the sag and adjusted the rebound and compression where I thought it should be. I had set the rebound and compression in 13 clicks as I am 190lb. Seemed to be right till yesterday the trails we were riding were getting really choppy. So I backed off four clicks on both to softern my ride. Well I got to the jumps and hit them the same as usual but noticed the front end was staying up higher. I got to thinking, and the only thing I could come up with was, I was set to stiff and when I hit the top lip the back end was pushing up. Now with it softer when I hit the top lip the rear is compressing more and the rebound is set slower so it launches with the front end higher. I could be all wet on this one however it goes to show that sometimes a little adjustment here or there might just be the ticket. Just take you a small screwdriver and make a few adjustments try them then try a few more till you get what you want.

 

I found that i had my rear shock to stiff. It felt good trail riding, but too stiff for jumps. I softened it up and it does alot better. Now it dont catapault me over the bars. I didnt know about the smaller screws, so you guys really helped me out on this. Again thanks for your help.
John