The problems they cause outweigh the benefits in most cases. They add more leverage on your front end, so it makes the shocks softer and quicker to bottom out, it puts more stress on the ball joints, tie rod ends, and bearings, and it adds some killer bump steer. I had the front wheels on mine flipped when I got it, which has the same effect as wheel spacers. It did make it wider, but I was going through tie rod ends almost every time I rode it. I honestly don't think widening the front end that way really adds much stability or cornering ability, due to the fact that all the extra leverage on the shocks makes them softer, so you have more roll in the corners and it's still unstable. I would say just leave it stock.

 

what about widening kits...? or rear lowering kits...? or +2 a arms...?

 

Have you found any extended a-arms for the 87? I never heard of any that worked for it. Same as the widening kits (I assume you're talking about the Diamond J widening kits). There may be a widening kit for the 87's, I just never looked for one. The widening kits do work decent as a cheap alternative to extended a-arms, at least they let you keep your stock suspension geometry so you don't have all the negative side effects like wheel spacers have. They add a ton of extra weight to the front end though, as those kits are made of some THICK steel, and the last thing a warrior needs is more nose weight. the 140 lb engine takes care of that pretty well.

Lowering kits generally are a poor investment unless all you ride is flat track or street. Especially the rear ones with the dogbone type rear suspension linkage like the warriors have. The way the rear lowering link works is that it drops that shock linkage lower, so a 2 inch lowering kit makes that shock linkage sit 2-3 inches lower to the ground and it'll get hung up on everything. The front ones mess up the suspension geometry and aren't safe for jumping either.

 

what kind of shocks should i look for then..? mine bottom out going across a field well i dont know if they bottom out but they make a hard noise

 

They're probably blown or the bushings are shot if they're clunking out just going through a field. The stock shocks can handle about 5 feet of air onto a flat landing without bottoming out...

How much are you wanting to spend on shocks? If you're looking for low budget, stock banshee shocks are as good upgrade over the warrior shocks and can be found dirt cheap on ebay. If you want something a little better you can get a set of Works aftermarket shocks set up for your rider weight, riding style, etc. for under $350 for the front ones. I'd still go with a stock banshee rear shock either way. If you go that route you just have to make a small modification to the bottom of your airbox to make clearance for the top of the reservoir.

 

what if i get a complete set of upper and lower a arms with spindels for an 89 but all i want is the a arms will they work..?

 

I don't think the other a-arms will fit on your frame at all. It has nothing to do with the spindles, the only part of the spindle that ever changed was the mounting points for the cailipers. The entire front part of the frames were redesigned in 89.

 

I don't think the other a-arms will fit on your frame at all. It has nothing to do with the spindles, the only part of the spindle that ever changed was the mounting points for the cailipers. The entire front part of the frames were redesigned in 89.

 

any year banshee shocks....?

 

Yeah, they're all the same throughout the years. You probably want to try to find newer ones though, these things do wear out over time so buying the cheapest oldest ones you can find is probably a bad move.