Yesterday my wife and I were doing some technical trail riding involving steep ascents/descents with off camber stuff, too. My Sportsman was able to crawl through the nasty stuff, no problem. But the Prairie, on the other hand, is too tippy in these situations. When descending, the front springs are way too soft, and the front track width is too narrow. That thing was on the brink of rolling several times, and did roll once. Has anyone put wheel spacers on the front of their Prairie? Does it make a big difference? I did a search here, but found nothing relating to wheel spacers on a Prairie. New front springs are already on the wish list, but I figure wheel spacers might be a cheaper quick-fix. I'm currently running stock tires. Pros? Cons? Opinions please.

 

Try some good tires first.

 

1st off... any time any of the ATV mags test the Prairie, one of the 1st things they say, is how stable it is... however, the soft stock front springs & stock tires are most likely what you are feeling... if the riding you are doing is technical, I'd stay away from wheel spacers... & just purchase a set of good all round stable tires ( IMO, from what you are describing, a lower profile, stock O.D. tire like the ATR's, or Big Horns ), mounted on a set of C series wheels ( these wheels have a 1" wider off set... adding that 1" to the rears will also increase your stability )... If this doesn't give you exceptable stability, then the Elka springs IMO, are the next upgrade for you... If money is a serious issue, try pumping up the air pressure on ( at least ), your front tires...

 

The Prairie has a very low center of gravity compared to any other big bore. Get yourself some new tires, it makes a world of difference.

 

I like the idea of the 'C' series wheels with the 1" offset. I already tried pumping up the front tires more, but the benefit was only marginal, although the high-speed handling had a noticeable improvement. Most of the terrain out here is dirt and rock. The Maxxis Big Horn seems to be a good choice. Going to a lower profile tire might be a handling benefit, but I'm already scraping rocks, so it's out of the question.

Newbeatle, you said you would stay away from wheel spacers for the technical stuff. What's the drawback?

 

IMO, ( & I use wheel spacers for mud racing ), you don't want to ride exended rides, & rides with technical rock crawling & or pounding, with spacers, as they generally aren't as strong, & have twice as many connections to loosen up, over just installing the wider offset wheels...

 

With low profile tires you have to run the higher part of the trail. Also in some cases you will find that you can steer so much better that you can go around the high parts of the trail. I run 25" muddrunners and climb over rocks and logs are not a problem. The Part I don't like about low profile tires is in extream mud and snow because you need more clearance there. I would look at 26 muddrunners. The side walls are great. I don't like the extra wear and tear that spacers and lift kits do to your bike.

 

Wiley,

You would benefit from the Elka springs on the front and Bighorns all around. If those are a bit too heavy then consider one of the other new radials. The Bighorns can stand up to the rocky abuse you may see. So, that may offset the weight issue some. Regardless, the P700 has the power to turn them.

I agree with Mike regarding not using the spacers. The issue isn't tire clearance or center of gravity. Your tires just suck and the front suspension is a tad too soft.

 

Just one other idea if your wife is small you might check to see if the rear shock spring is set to hard forcing more of the weight forward. My friend who bought a 03 650 from a different dealer than the one I bought mine from had the rear preload cranked way up from the dealer. He is a skinny guy and lossing the preload up helped the way his felt a bunch. I don't even have to shift my weight much on my prairie in some of the places that some of our friends are leaning pretty hard on the their polaris 500s. Tires make a world of difference, I have ridden a prairie with aftermarket tires and they make a huge improvement. I am buy tires for mine as soon as I decide for sure which ones.

 

I'm going to go ahead and throw down for some new springs. I'm thinking the stock front springs have a straight rate, as opposed to a rising rate, which would stop that excessive spring compression. I visited the Progressive Springs web site, and the Elka Springs web site. Now I just need to decide between the two. Any thoughts? And by the way, how hard is it to take out the struts? Do I need a spring compressor to safely remove them?

I'm going to take all your advice, and put the Big Horns on ASAP. Keep in mind, folks, that my handling complaint occurs at about 3 mph. This is really slow speed stuff, but spooky nonetheless.