How is this done and what are the bennefits?

Also have you guys messed with the rear spring setup on your bikes? I weigh 170#'s and haved ridden it enough to know if I need to.

Thanks

 

I had never ridden a P650 or 700 when I purchased my 03 P650. The 700's were out and the 650's were on sale. I just knew I wanted one and brought it home. I was horrified at the steering stiffness. It was awful. I had a 2000 Yamaha Kodiak that steered very nicely and this was a horrid comparison.
I knew the OE Dunlop's were part of the cause and even pumped them up to 6 psi to get relief without much success. Mine was toe'd in enough to make steering difficult. Then I read Nyroc's notes on Toe-in. See Below. A little bit of movment on the adjustments goes a long way. I ended up rotating my rods only 1/2 a turn to get Zero. It was a major reliefe. Then I put ITP HoleShot ATR's on. Even better.
I weigh 240 so my rear spring is fine. I love my Elka fronts.

Nyroc's notes. Try goin Here?

Too much toe causes the handlebars to jerk on uneven terrain at higher speeds. The Toe in speciificatio for the 650 should be 0 to .79 inches. Mine came toed out .75 and it wandered, I then set it toed in at .5 and it over corrected back to center a lot more than I liked. Finally, I set it at 0 toe in. Now it handles simply awesome! Other people have said 1/16 toe, well that may be as good, I don't know. What I do know is that a lot of toe + or - is bad for handling. I suggest setting it for 0, then when your weight is on the quad the toe will actually go in a little.

I used strut spring compressor clamps (the cheap kind) to pull the steel bars into the tire until they made contact with the rim. I wanted to make sure the bars were parallel to the wheels, and not just sitting somehow on the tire, so I had to put really cheap tires on that would be easy to compress (I took mudzillas off the front and put the stock dunlops back on). I used the measuring tape to measure the distance between the bars just in front of the tires, then again 25" in front of that point. The difference is the toe. Wider in front is toe out. Narrower in front is toe in.

Some people are able to measure the toe by measureing the track in front of the tires and behind the tires. Mark with a ball point pen (or somthing visible) a vertical line near the centerline in the front of each front tire. Measure the distance between those marks. Roll the quad forward until the marks are toward the rear but not so high that you can't measure them. If the rear measurement is greater, then the tires are toed in. Get a friend to help, and be very careful to hold the tape accurately to get as good of a measurement as possbible.

You loosen the tie rod nuts on all four tie rods and rotate twist both tie rods the exact amount in the same direction (unless you need to center the handlebars). Make sure when you tighten the tie rods that they are not binding against each other (the rods can rotate freely) after tightening.


Here?

 

This should also help with tire wear right?

 

Front End Alignment

I have this saved as a word document on my PC, so I will post it again...

I have posted this in the past, but I will do it again for the new site. Here is my way of checking and adjusting the toe, on a quad or a car.

Supplies needed:
String
4 Jack Stands (or anything about the height of the hubs)
Tape measure
Typical Tools
Level ground (garage floor)
Straps to secure the handlebars

Place the quad on a smooth flat ground, like the garage floor. I start by loosening the tie rod nuts on both side and make sure they turn freely. This is easier to do before you set up the string.

Next, make sure the air pressure is the same in the tire across from each other. So the two fronts have the same pressure and the two rears are the same.

Now climb aboard the quad and make sure the handlebars are perfectly straight. Take the two tie down straps and secure the handle bars so they will not move. I use the foot pegs to secure the straps, but I am sure the rear racks would work as well. Just make sure the straps will not slide at all.

Make sure your shocks are set to “ride height.” This is probably more of a concern for performance “sag” shocks. But ideally you want your body weight on the shocks or at the very least the normal ride position. I usually jump up and down on the front and rear a few times and let the quad settle into position. This is because if I pull up on my quad, the front will sit about 2+ inches higher until I sit on it.

Now you are ready for the string. Place one jack stand on each corner of the quad. About 1 foot in ahead of each front wheel and about 1 foot behind the rear wheels. Now tie the string to each of the two jack stands on each side. When you secure the string to the jack stands, make sure it will not slide at all, for this will throw off the measurements. I use masking tape to make sure the string stays in place. Also, you want the string to pass down the side of the quad at the same level as the center of the hubs. So when you are done, you should have a string line down each side of the quad, from a foot in front of it and a foot in the rear passing past the wheels at the center of the hubs.

Here is the fun part…the measurements. During this setting up process, you want the string to stay taught. (Do this by moving the jack stands further apart.) Now start at the rear wheel on one side. Move the rear jack stand so the string is one inch from the rear tire. At both the front and rear of the tire. I like to use the rim edge as a reference point, but watch out if you have bent rims. So I slide the rear jack stand and measure so the string is 1 inch from the rear part of the tire. I then move the front jack stand so the string is also EXACTLY 1 inch from the front of the rear tire. This is the part that takes the most amount of time, and do take your time. If this is off, everything else will be as well. The goal is create a string line down the side of the quad, exactly parallel to plain (direction) of the rear wheel. You will have to play with both jack stands to get it perfect. Once you complete one side, do the other the same way.

Once you have completed the string line on each side of the quad, you are all set to begin the toe adjustment. First adjustment is to make sure the front wheels are on the same plain. Or rather have a zero toe. This will make it easier to set the final toe, and to make sure the actual toe measurement is equal for both front tires.

Start by measuring the distance from the front part of the front tire to the string. Make note of the measurement. Now measure the distance from the rear of the front tire to the string. Make note of the measurement. You goal in this step is to make the distance the same for the front and rear of the front tire to the string. This will make the front tires point in the same direction as the rear tire. Turn the tie rod until you get an equal measurement for the front and rear of the front tire. Then do the same for the other side.

Once you have a zero toe on the quad, find out what you are going to set your actual toe at. I race MX and set mine to 1/8 inch toe in. So what I do is split the total of desired toe in half and set each side to that new distance. In my case, I put the left front tire so the front measurement is 1/16th of an inch in further than the rear. By doing this on both sides, I get a total measurement of 1/8 inch spread out equally between both wheels. Once I have the desired toe set, I finger tighten the tie rod nuts and measure everything all over again. Even the rear wheels. In a perfect world, everything would be all set and I grab the wenches and tighten the tie rod nuts tight. Measure again to make sure and then I am done. You would then have given you quad a proper alignment. If you were off before, you will be amazed at the difference in handling.

A few notes…
- You can never measure too many times. So always keep checking everything.
- You WILL knock over, or move the jack stands. When this happens, say your swears, grab a beer and start all over again. Been there Done that!
- The first few times you complete this task it will take a little bit of time. Once you have all the bugs worked out, it will be a 20 minute job.
- Have a buddy come over to help. Makes the set up go a lot faster with once person on each jack stand. Also, when you are done with your quad, your buddy can roll his into the string box and all you have to do is set the string line to his quad.

Have fun, and take your time. The rewards of a true alignment on a quad is very noticeable. Not to mention all your buddies will be amazed at how smart you look. And in case any of you are wondering, I picked this method up while working on a pit crew for stock cars.