I am new to the yamaha world, I used to have a Honda Rancher 350. I really like everything about the Kodiak, except for the excessive body roll in the front end. Does anyone have a solution for this? I have stiffened the front end shocks but it does not seem to help.

 

Iramthun,
On a recent ATV television they covered this body roll question, they said putting on a set of radials would stop it. A regular ATV tire the tread rolls under when cornering causing the sidewall to flex causing body roll. A radial tire the tread stays in contact with the ground when cornering, the side walls do not flex that much. In simpler terms....... A regular tire has a softer sidewall, And a radial has stiffer sidewalls to keep the tread from rolling under. This making any sense??????[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Others please help me out if im not correct[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

i dont know about all that tire stuff, kinda make sense i guess. but I owned a honda 300 fourtrx before my grizz, and ya you sure notice a body roll, for awhile, then you get use to it. I don"t much notice mine anymore

 

Yup 400Kodiak you are 100% correct. I suggest getting the 25" Holshot ATR's which are 6ply (stiffer sidewall) and that should fix the body roll on the kodiak and make it ride 100% better.

 

I noticed that on mine too. It just isnt anywhere near as stable as my foreman.
I noticed the camber of the tires (bottoms are closer together than the tops), is probably got alot to do with it, but the camber, is fixed and is nonadjustable.
Then i checked the toe, and it was way off. It was almost 3/4 of an inch off. So i set it to the factory specs, which is 0 to 3/8 " toe in. That made it alot more stable, but its still not great. I was thinking of trying wheel spacers next.
Wouldnt it be better to use stiffer sidewall tires, like on a 6 ply tire, to keep the body roll from happening? I would think softer sidewalls, would give a better ride, but would also allow it to mush in corners.

 

Good point hondabuster! I was thinking the same thing about the softer side walls, and that a 6ply tire would help reduce the tires from rolling over the rim causing body roll.

 

I bumped the tires from 3.5 to 5 pounds and it helped take some of the tire squat out as I turn.

 

I have a 2005 Kodiak 450 – it was the same as you described, after I had a set of 27” ITP 589’s installed; she seems to be a lot more stable

 

MudDawg450, Thats what i would think, those 589s are 6 ply tires and have a stiff sidewall. Are the wheels stock, or do they have a different offset from stock?
Hows the power level with the big tires? Did you lose much?

 

Got to agree with these guys. The tires are a big factor in body roll. My Bear does the same thing on the stock tires. My buddy has the 6 ply Dirt Devils and his body roll was reduced. Think I may go after some 6 ply Mud-lites. I'am just not familiar with the radials on an ATV.