If you've got a wife that will even get close to helping you work on a quad you are a lucky fellow. Better send her some flowers after the setup is done.

 

LOL [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] She's a great woman. When I started dating her I knew I had a catch. Not only is she beautiful......She rides TOO!!!! Nothing as fun as sharing your favorite past time with the one you love. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Although she thinks I spend too much time working on my quad and not enough riding it..........

 

And were worried about our suspension LMAO


Flyn I am thinking about where your taking your measurements because the Pred doesnt have a high ride height and the difference may just be the measuring point etc. I am thinking it doesnt matter as much to where you measure beyond using it for comparison or explanation like whats happening here but as long as its working right or better then thats what your looking for, right?

Something I was thinking about with my set up was going to taller front tires. Currently running 22" fronts and figured I could pick up another 1/2" going to 23's, and wondered if or how making a change could effect yours too. Well something to think about I guess.

I know in stock form the pred is more prone to be "loose" in the rear and I thought that was from a more flat bias or even that the front was lower (sort of like my orig problem) or atleast thats how the ones I have rode felt. Thought this was actually what polaris was after to make the front feel more plush or something.

 

That is what they were after 026, but I don't think it worked how they had intended. As where most quad frames have a natural slop from front to rear the Pred is basically flat. And what I have noticed is that most polaris owners leave it setup how it was from the factory. Unfortuantely from the factory, your exactly right. They have more sag in the front then the rear. Which makes it ride nose low......as mojave said, Very bad for a quad. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I noticed as soon as I got the rear to sit lower than the front I could corner 100% better than before!! And here I just thought I had no clue how to ride... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] lol

I got mine setup pretty good, and just lowered it more last night. Once I get a dry day I'm gonna try it out with the new lower ride height. I recorded the distance from the top of the threads to my preload collar on my shocks so that I can put it back exactly how I had it prior if I do not like it.

My only concern with going so soft is if the front end is going to wallow in the corners. The rear is easy to correct this problem as I have Compression adjustment, but for the front its preload only. So the only way for me to keep the fronts up in the stroke is to keep the compression up. BUT, I won't know till I test it, so theres really no point in reading to deeply into it until I can try it anyway. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

As for the tires and measuring points, that is a good point as well. I'm not sure if I measured from the "right" spot or not? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] For the rear I measured right in front of the footpeg bracket, and for the front I measured right behind the mount bracket for the a-arm closest to the footpeg.(rear lower bracket I guess you could say) I was looking at the Pred/Yfz comparison last night(now I'm reading too deeply into this, lol) and did notice that the Pred does sit quite a bit taller than the Yfz in reference from frame to ground measuring. I don't think you'll be very happy with the 23" tires though. My father inlaw has them on his, and they have WAY to much shoulder roll to be effective in corners on sport quads.

 

hey thanks for all the info. ni have a stupid question for some of you gurus, i put a 250r shock on my mojave, and to get clearance on the frame i had to crack the rezzy line to the shock and turn it. could this have any effect, im not sure if it is nitrogen charged or anything like that. thanks for any insight, also mojave addict i see in another post you got some works(i think) for sale what are you asking for them. p.m. if you want.

 

Since many shocks are gas charged (nitrogen) including the one you have when the lines are opened up the gas can escape, and this will deff cause the shock not to perform properly. You may or may not be able to notice the change on a used one since it could have been needing a charge long before you got it.

 

hey, i need a new rear shock for my lt250r. i have a rear shock on it and it worked good, but i blowed it the other day.i was wondering what kind of shcok would be best for me i do alot of jumping and motocross.not looking to spend alot of money but i can,please help
scott

 

Alright guys I am going to ask and I know most of you guys work on and race sport quads. I am trying to set up a Prairie 700 I am going to be doing Hare Scrambles and maybe some GNCC type cross country racing. I am like a lot of guys trying to do this on a shoe string budget. I am planning on buying the Elka progressive springs for the front struts. I have not decided if I can justify the expense for the elka rear spring an shock assembly $775.00 was quote for the rear with self sagging device. I haven't been able to find a high proformance replacement strut for the fronts. Any experience setting up struts verses shocks. I know a lot of guys are racing Prairies in the utility classes. One has said he will send me info on his custom rear set up sounds fairly trick. It seems that a lot of things are different when setting up a utility quad. I know some of the guys are beating some of the sport quads in these type races. I am hoping someone who has experience with these beast will help me out. I can't dump 2 or 3 thousand just trying things out, I need to get close a dial it from there for least possible expense. I have learned tons from these forums and it has helped me greatly to get the most performance for the least expense. Threads like these are a great idea because for someone like me who has only had quads for about 2 years and is trying to get into racing them these are worth a fortune verses learning it all the hard way. It is like when I started racing cars as a kid, we adapted what ever we could get to try for the best results with least spent. Had a blast and learned a lot in the process. I have taken in everything here as best I can because I am looking into getting a V-Force and I have been saving this info over to Word so I could use it if I get one. Keep up the good work.

 

I have been reading these (at work of course) for the better part of 3 1/2 hours. I think this is great and have become a supporting member for I saw the benefits of a forum like this. I have to say I cant wait to go home and work the "bugs" out of my zilla, for he (it has ***** hence no girl name for it) has been bottoming the front end since I bought the works 2rate rezzies. I always blamed me landing it all 4 tires at once. Since I have landed more like a dirt bike (back just a hair before the front) all has been fine. My question for you and 440EX026 is how come nobody has brought up tire pressure being a major factor in suspension and how it effects the ride. I know that I am running the Klaws up front. The tire says 5 pounds max operating pressure and I run any where from 2-3 pounds with three making the suspension sort of harsh and 2 making me worry about breaking the bead around a good fast turn. The rear XCT Holeshots do not seem to have the same effect as the front. The rear says 10lbs operating press. and I run about 5-7 with good results, however, unless you guys think I am way off, with my settings and PLEASE inform if this is the case, but I believe any one that has a harsh or mushy feeling should first make sure tire pressure is not a factor for with out checking and "playing" with this all this excellent knowledge and work plus $$$ is in vain...... just my 2cents.

 

Novalt250,
a big part of your decision will be based on what front shocks you are using as you want them to be matched not by mfg but by type and style. If you have say zps in the front you will want it in the rear, and if not then not in the rear either. Also if your running and intend to continue with the stock fronts you may want to consider saving a bundle of $$ and just rebuilding the current rear if you were happy with it before, and you will only be happier once its rebuilt.



DirtVh,

You assumption on working with sport quads is correct for me at least, but I dont know about the other members etc.

I know that the basics or principals are the same for a sport or utill but there are deff a lot of differences in the materials and designs etc. You seem to be on the right track with getting info from those who have done suspension mods to the same model you have, and this is where I have learned much about the good and bad of the 400ex suspension both stock and aftermarket. Plus pickin brains is both free and fun.

It also sounds like you have figured out what you need and now only need to figure out how to justify the price of this insanely expensive stuff. I went round and round before finally deciding on a brand (Houser/Elka) and then did it again when justifying the thousands of dollars that needed to be spent to make an ATV ride right. It can be a tough sell untill you get to sample the difference, and even once sold you dont have to like what these guys rob us for this stuff.

Sorry I dont have more info or a better answer for your exact model or type, and I hope mojave has some input when he sees it etc.


Chromezilla.
I am pretty sure that Mojav had talked about tire size, pressure as it relates to set up, and tire pressure absolutely has an affect on handling also.

I have the kenda klaw fronts also and can pretty much run them right up to max-psi and beyond without problem, but deff with a change in how the quad handles and how the suspension reacts to things etc. The rears will also have an affect though you may not notice it as much, and this as well as the fact that you are looking to run so low a pressure on the front tells us that there is something in how your suspension is set up that makes it this way.

Taking a guess here but if your fronts are so stiff that there is a need to reduce tire pressure to "soften" the ride you may want to consider reducing the preload to soften things up a little and you can replace some of the change in ride height by pumping more air into the tires.

I am finding that I really like the klaw fronts and they dont push much if any and track straight. There is a little concern with the 4ply rating and I had punctured one the first day they were installed while getting caught not paying enough attention decending a large rock hill at hatfield mc coy's. Then again if you read thru this my concerns have been more with the rear, lack of traction and how the lower front has caused or contributed to all this.

So I dont think that tire pressure has been totally overlooked and I know it was going to be coming up later on after the major issues were tackled, and I also am pretty sure that most of the issues with tire pressure are some sort of a result of suspension and set up.


Hope that answered what you guys were looking for etc. and I know I may have missed something trying to answer all three at once when it was getting late [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]