Snowshark: Come on out we will treat ya like one of our own. Hope you can find room with all the California's moving in. Don't sell sleds but would guess you could get a deal because of the lack of snow and sales last season.

 

>>> Stiffening up the springs on the rear of a Sportsman will make no difference in how the tire leans.... The problem with that is the front uses struts and a sigle a-arm. The rear uses shocks and a double a-arm. Where lifting the front changes the angle, it does not on the rear.

Greg <<<<

Au contraire, mon ami.

I just had my Sportsman 500 up on a rack in the garage with the rear wheels off of the ground.

With the rear wheels off of the ground the bottom of the rear tires angle in.

When I take the quad off of the rack and apply a load to it the top of the rear tires angle in.

So... even if the system has dual A arms the travel of the rear suspension is in a mild arc.

As Thor said, if the quad was proceeding down a smooth road and the rear suspension was loaded down past the neutral pivot point the top of the tires would angle in and the bottoms out. It is just the way the system is designed, not a quality control defect.

The travel of the rear wheels is not perfectly vertical but a mild arc.

 

Odin,

I stand corrected. However,If both springs are adjusted the same and the bike is sitting level, the only explanation for wheel lean on one side is poor craftsmanship. Shouldn't both sides have the same mild arc and shouldn't they sit at the same angle at the same point in that arc???

Greg

 

Haven't I read that the tires are designed to be a little askew? And this is referred to as "toe-in"?

 

The front suspension is designed to be a little "askew". You are correct, the factory specs call for 1/8th inch of toe out on the front wheels which helps to stabilize the quad under varying trail conditions. Racing quad front ends are also designed so that the top of the wheels lean in to also add stability.

I have to agree with Odin's assessment of the rear suspension on a Polaris Sportsman.

Variations involving only one wheel could be the result a difference in stiffness between the two rear springs. (which could be a result of quality control)

 

If one sping was softer than the other, then the whole machine would be sit low on one side. This is not the case. With the machine sitting level on a concrete floor, the left wheel is almost straight vertical and the right is angled in at the top. The only thing that would make it do that is the geometry of the A-Arms is different from one side to the other.

 

Don't forget... the sway bar links the two sides together and could pull up the sagging side of the body.

The only observation that is important is the one that is made while your Sportsman is underway when viewed from the rear by yourself or another observer. The observation should be made on a smooth flat road or a long driveway.

It could be bad geometry but I would put my money on spring tension and sway bar adjustment.

 

I guess I'm not making myself clear on this. Technically, you could put the machine on a jack, take the springs and shcoks off the rear and there would be zero effect on the suspension geometry. It is a minor issue and not worth arguing about, but I'm sure that for the sake of manufacturing economics and weight, there is no adjustment for the rear wheels. The only reason I posted the question in the first place was to see if others had seen this and if it was something to be concerned with. I guess it's not. Thank you for all your responces.