I run 5 PSI in all 3 of my Sportsman, a 850 and 2 500HOs.

 

I probably won't be able to try it out until Friday, but do you really think that 5-4 PSI over would cause a sway this bad? I mean hell I really hope that this is the problem but I think that it's a long shot. It's never that easy with me.

 

Well it wasn't the air pressure. Aired down to 4 psi all the way around and still get the same sway problem. Man, I really want to know what this is. It's so damn squirrely. You are heading striaght one second and for no apparent reason you get jerked to one side or the other and its not the road conditions. It Just seems like it's so hard to control it when I'm out there. I'll ride for just a few minutes and be exhausted both physically and mentally. You never really know when the sway is going to happen. Could this be a bearing problem? How would you even check for that without taking the wheel apart? Sometimes I just get the feeling that that is the way these things ride. Is this normal for a 500cc Predator type quad and there is just some kind of adjustment period? I know it's like comparing apples to oranges but when I ride my neighbors 800 sportsman it's like comparing a brand new cadillac to a honda civic with the springs cut to lower it. I know that the sportsman is always going to be the more comfortable ride but WTF? I get the feeling like I'm going to die just going in a straight line. Sorry for the venting but I'm just really dissapointed and I feel like I bought a lemon for my first quad.

 

Have you tried to speak to the previous owner? You know the history on the bike? For all you know, you may be driving a bike that has been rolled off and has a twisted frame. Before calling it a lemon, I would check a bit further in the before life of the bike if you can.

 

I bought the quad from an RV dealer who happened to have it on their lot. So no, I cannot speak with the previous owner. That would be cool though if I could.

I might have made it a little bit better. I loaded the front shocks and it seemed to make it ride a bit smoother. Could the suspension being dialed in specifically for another rider cause this if I am a different size that the previous owner?

 

your sure its alighned right?

 

I have an 2008, 800SP, upgrading to Polaris HD spring in the front made a world of difference in the handling of the bike for me. I don't know if Polaris has a base for the ideal driver, but at 275lbs and 6'1", I could only imagine how the front of the bike looked when sitting on it. Already looked crouched down without me on it. I was not happy how it handled at higher speed then and went with said spring to find a very big difference.