Agreed!!!!! I don't think it changes the cv angles to dangerous levels, but it will most likely shorten the life of the cv joints. I'm not sure how that guy broke nine cv joints, probably just some bad luck.

 

Stew,
First of all, you do sound a little condescending, but thats OK, I have no right to point the finger. LOL

As far as the lift, you are talking about a different lift than what we are talking about. The lift that goes aboth the strut definitely changes the CV joint angles. If you put a spacer under the springs, and you do not pull the strut out of the housing, you have stiffened the springs eliminating sag, but the cv angles are still within tolerances. What I suggest is that you install the spacer and lift the strut up about .75". This keeps the cvs angles very close to stock even though you have installed a 1.5" spacer. I have never broken a CV joint with this setup regardless of tires.

As far as the spacers, I would not recommend them. The problem is that it puts too much strain on the lower rear a-arm where it connects to the bearing housing. This bolt has a tendency to break and cause about $300 damage. If you never jump the bike, or ride real hard, it may last for a while, but eventualyy, I am guessing you will pay. It also leads to premature hub wear, and the front end is more likely to jerk sideways and snap cvs. Just my 2 cents.

Greg

 

Regardless of how you lift it, the cv angles increase when the height of the quad is increased. By placing spacers in with the spring, I would think this would deterierate the ride greatly. I'v replaced my springs with the Polaris HD springs, they are very resonable to buy ($18 per side) and they install in about a half an hour. I didn't measure before I installed, but it sits about an inch taller than my friends...and yes the cv angles increased. Tear it up...tread lightly.

 

Another concern about a "spacer lift kit" is you now have added preasure on the strut itself. Under normal circumstances there is very little spring tension when the suspension is relaxed. What I mean by this is if you were to jack up the quad by the frame, you should be able to turn the spring with very little effort. What keeps the suspension from falling out is the strut cartridge itself. If the spring is preloaded, this could cause premature strut failure from the added tension when the suspension is in a rebound mode. Also with the "spacer lift kit" you have just shortened the over all travel of the suspension. It seems to me all this work might make it ride like a Honda, I'm not trying to bash Honda, but the plush ride of a Polaris is certainly an asset.

 

There has to be a big difference in the way we ride our machines. My ’99 SP had around 3000 miles on front and rear lift kits (HighLifter), stiff Polaris front springs and 26” Mud Runners, when I changed it all back to stock to sell it. I never once experienced a CV problem in those miles. Right now I have about 1200 miles with those same mods on my “new” HO with the same great results. The only difference in mods between the two machines is I had an Easy-Steer Kit on my ’99. That kit reduced the lock-to-lock turning radius which may have helped protect the CVs. Most of the posters with CV breakage describe backing over an obstruction in AWD with the steering at an extreme angle. I’ve tried to be very aware to NOT do this.

I’m getting ready to take my mods to the next level. With all the snow in our riding area (still 3’ on the ground) this spring promises to be a muddy one. I’m now considering more aggressive tires that the Mud Runners. The 27” Tri-Bi Claw combo with aluminum wheels, to be specific. The MRs are already an aggressive tire and I can feel the power they rob with their weight so this is probably the main factor in my decision. From the information I can find, it appears that going from my 26” MRs on stock wheels to the 27” Tri-Bi Claw combo on aluminum wheels would decrease my rear tire weight by 12 pounds (pair) and increase my front tire weight by 6 pounds, leaving me with a net REDUCTION in overall weight of 6 pounds. On paper this appears to provide the best of both worlds, more aggressive tires, more ground clearance and a reduction in weight/power consumption. Not that I expect to notice the loss of 6 pounds, I just don’t want to loose any more power than my current setup consumes and this seems to achieve that goal.

If I do this “upgrade” I’ll probably add spacers to my steering stops to prevent the extreme turn angles that seem to be the death of CVs. Depending on how it handles, I may make an Easy-Steer Kit for it instead, which would limit the extreme turn angles AND reduce the steering effort, although the HO doesn’t need much help in that area.

Does any of this sound logical? Better ideas?

 

Sounds ok to me, but what do I know. Has anyone used GBCs mud sharks? I just ordered 26x12x12s and tried to order 26x9x12s for the front but I was told they are now labeled as 26x10x12. From what I have read about them, they appear to be somewhat light for a mud tire. I also ordered 12x7 steel wheels and a highlifter lift kit. Any comments, opinions, critisizms or concerns will be taken into consideration. I have installed a HL lift on my friends Foreman, it works pretty slick.Tear it up...tread lightly.

 

One thing not mentioned in any of the above posts is that allot of people that have tried a lift kit have found that they often break. two of the polaris dealers I go to. Quit putting them on for people because they were constantly comming back with them broke. If you put on a lift kit, it is now the weakest thing on your atv, plus the added stress on cv's and such. That fact has kept me from buying one. I think the above suggestions of some custom designs might be ok.

If your going to go to 26 inch tires, you do not need a lift kit for sure. For me, when I went to 26 inch mudbugs, I had some tire/fender rubbing, so I bought from highlifter, there progressive lift setup which was heavy duty springs and cams and they dont change any angles. I have now gone to 27 inch mudbugs and still no tire fender rubbing due to having that progressive lift kit.

I like that the best. to me the only goal for an actual lift kit, is to raise the body up a little bit to help you out in deeper water, so your engine dont die. I decided, its just not worth it.
I do think the above people that made some custom lifts are probably pretty good ideas and better then the standard lift kit.

rangerchet 2000 polaris xpedition 425 cc 5-speed.

 

Hmmm?

The reason for the lift has nothing to do with the depth of the water... it has to do with ground clearance.

The suspension travel is not limited by spring compression... it is limited by the strut itself. Compressing the spring by one one is not noticeable, and travel stays the same. If you are usinmg a 1.5" lift, and one inch of that is used up by the spring compression, the bike is only lifted .5" over stock tolerances. This will not cause problems in my opinion. Also, I did not say that this does not lift the bike. By putting more tension on the springs, you are removing sag. This does result in lifting the bike but not beyond stock tolerances.

I am not going to argue the point any further. Maybe you guys that are arguing this point know more about Polaris's than me.

Greg

 

Hows the ride with the spacer??? Cause its good with the firm front strut spring. Also it looks to me that a two inch spacer would cause the spring to bind and this is why.
The free length of the stock front spring is 11.5 inches long. (SP500HO)
The compressed length of the spring is about 3.5 inches.
The listed travel for the front suspension is 6.7 inches.
The spacer used to compress the spring is 2 inches?
Now if we take the 11.5" spring and compress it 2" with the spacer we have a 9.5" spring. Now the travel of the front strut is 6.7 inches so if we hit that big bump in the trail and compress the front suspention all the way!!! what happens to the spring, it gets compressed down to about 3.5 inches at the point of coil bind. Now lets add up the numbers 3.5 + 6.7 = 10.2 inches and thats fine with no spacer but with it you have lost 2 inches of spring length so now its not the strut and its rubber bumper that bottom out its the spring because its only 9.5 inches long!!!
bowtiepu1, gregsims or somebody else using a spacer to preload the spring. Please let me know if its the spring or the strut that bottoms first because its got to be very close.

P.S. Why did I type this? Well I'm just bored cause the wife and kid have been in england since feb 27th and won't be back till mar 29th so I need to argue with someone. LOL

 

You bring up a good point. I do not have an answer for you. I do not have a lift on my bike, but when I did, I had a 1.5" spacer. I lifted the strut out of the housing .75" so I only compressed my spring .75". This was a pretty good setup, and the ride difference was not noticable. I know all bikes are different, but my bike had about 1" of sag already. This lift took most of that out. So, on my bike, using the spacer as spring compressor had little or no effect on the ride.

Greg