The previous owner had the fronts set with almost the stiffest or most preload and the rear with no preload. What was he trying to do with that setup? I have since put everything to the midway point(including the rebound screw in the rear) to try to figure it from there. Any suggestions as to which should be stiffer, front or rear and why? I know I want to feel it for myself but any tips would be great.

 

General rule - soft is grip, stiff is slide. (oversteer, understeer, push, loose) many different terms mean the same thing.

Suspension takes in many things including tires, spring rate, dampening rate, rebound rate.

For the most part for fun riding you want the front to go where you point it and the rear to slide a little when under power. (dirt-track around a turn)

So with that said, your general setup would mean that the front is softer than the rear.

To obtain that, is mostly trial and error. Tires can give you nightmares if the sidewalls roll-under. So you need enough air in the tires to make them stable. Tall profile tires are more suseptible to roll-under. A 27x10x12 of the same or similar tread will never handle as good as a 25x10x12. (50 series tires on a car as apposed to 70 series).

Here are some general tips.

When you go into a turn and the front steers and the rear slides too soon that is oversteer (and you possibly have to do corrective steering - steer back the other way) then the rear needs to be softer or the front needs to be siffer.

When you go into a turn and the machine wants to continue to go straight and you need to steer more than what you would normally steer for a turn that is understeer and that means the front is too stiff and the rear too soft.

What you want is to steer into a turn and have the rear follow the front and when you get back on the gas for the rear to break traction and slide a little to the outside, until it hooks up. If it continues to slide then it is a little too stiff in the rear, or the tires are not getting enough traction to hook up. A little less air in the rear will probably correct that - assuming that you had a proper enterance with no understeer or oversteer.

Tires are like mini shock absorbers but without any control for dampening and rebound. With that said it is better to run hard tires and make adjustments to the spring preloads.

Things that contribute to good handling are low center of gravity, wide wheel base, and proper gearing. Tire tread design and ability to slide and also hook up. If given a choice it is better to have a tire that does NOT offer agressive traction - simply because they are harder to break-loose for that little slide that will get you around a corner the quickest. You need them to break loose so that the RPM's can build up so that when they hook up you are in a good power curve with your engine.

Once your suspension and tires are adjusted then casual riding will be a joy. Your bike will be balanced and perform great.

Hint - I personally run over the recommended air pressure in my front tires. I run 8lbs in the front and 5lbs in the rear. And I have 6ply tires. (I did the same with the 4ply OEM tires but ran 9lbs in the front most of the time, ocassionally 8lbs). You need to stop any 'ROLL-UNDER' especially from the front tires or tuning your suspension will give you a nighmare. Ocassionally 'roll-under' will simulate an oversteer condition - the rear will want to continue to go straight and the front will seem to tuck (not squat) giving you a sensation of doing a nose-dive over the outside front wheel. Similar to the feeling of going into a turn and then slamming the brakes on while in the turn. In any case your butt seems to come off the seat... lol..

Good luck...

 

Thank you so much! I have been searching for this exact type of advice for an hr now on the internet. I have been softening up my front by several clicks and it feels better all ready. However, I believe my tires are at around 4 psi right now so I might give them a shot at 6psi or so. Anyways thanks for the tips.

 

You're welcome, If I can help just give me a shout.

Once your bikes suspension is tuned you should be able to go about 10mph cut it hard to one side (loose dirt), lock the brakes and both the front and rear will slide the same (sideways - just like you had been on ice). It should do about the same thing at a faster speed (mabe 15-20mph or so) without the brakes (slide sideways - equally)

If you want the REAR to slide more increase the spring rate (stiffer) or soften the front.
If you want the FRONT to slide more increase the spring rate (stiffer) or soften the rear.

Soft is grip, stiff is slide.

 

Another note - because tires are mini springs/shock you can use them to fine tune your suspension. For example if the middle preload is too stiff and the next one down is too soft then use the softer preload and put more air and visa versa, use the middle preload and take out some air.

This is all fine until it comes to the front (you have to contend with 'roll-under' on the front more so than the rear. So with regards to the front it is prefered to use the softer spring setting and put more air in the tire for the desired results.

 

I got the bike with the front almost full stiff and the rear full soft. Its funny because one of my problems has been the front pushes or slides when I turn therefor making it hard to take turns. I thought it was just a characteristic of this atv, but obviously the front was too stiff and the rear too soft. Can't wait to play with it and dial it in just right.

 

You will have some fun with this project and learn alot too. The first and most critical part is getting rid of the 'roll-under' with the front tires. I started with 12lbs in the front and came down. At about 7lbs it was having a tendency to roll, at 6lbs you knew it was rolling and at 5lbs it was scary, I almost rolled my machine, the inside rear tire would lift right up off the ground, and I noticed that dirt got inbetween the tire and rim around the bead a little. 8lbs was good and 9lbs wanted to push a tad, and at 9lbs I could not go down anymore on my springs in the front so I had to go up in the rear one.

So for me 8lbs in the front 5lbs in the rear, softest setting on front second softest on rear for most riding. Really agressive riding 9lbs in front and middle preload in the rear.

Have fun, you will enjoy doing it. Takes some time but you will eventually get it and you will be able to tell the difference with 1 lbs of change in either the front or rear, which is really neat, which most people can't do....

 

My bike is much heavier than yours, trail ready with my winch, bumpers, gas and everything I am a chunky 800-850lbs, before I get on it. So with me on it I am over 1,000 lbs. That is a lot of weight to throw onto a front tire in a hard turn... Your ligher machine may not require as much air in the fronts for the 'roll-under' to go away.

 

Okay had some time to play with it today. I have got the front at full soft. Just seems better to me. Maybe I'm getting old. I have the rear at about 1/2 on the preload so it is stiffer than before. Adjusted my front air up to about 6 psi and my rears are still at 5psi. Now it is way easier to take turns faster and the back comes out nicely. Here is my new issue. When going fast in a field and using just my rear brakes the back seems to hop on me. Is this just because I need to use the front brakes at the same time or should I make another adjustment. The rebound is set at the midway point right now.

 

I have one brake for all my wheels. It would stand to reason I guess that if you just locked up the rear then it would hop some. Generally for good breaking you should have about a 60/40 bias. Meaning that the front should break 60% and the rear 40%.