GRIZZ SWAY BAR
#2
12-17-2001, 08:33 PM
Extreme Pro Rider
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Mountainburg, AR
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Do it man. If you don't like it, its only about 20 minutes tops to put it back on, and most of that is jacking it up and removing the wheels.
I took mine off in late August, maybe one of the first ones to do so, and I have never found any reason to put the stupid thing back on. I've put it through every situation I can find numerous times, and never found any downside to taking it off. It helps a buttload with articulation in the rear, especially after the shocks break in some.
My 2 cents- if anyone wants to buy a 660 sway bar, I'll sell it to you for 10 bucks. I have no use for the thing.
I took mine off in late August, maybe one of the first ones to do so, and I have never found any reason to put the stupid thing back on. I've put it through every situation I can find numerous times, and never found any downside to taking it off. It helps a buttload with articulation in the rear, especially after the shocks break in some.
My 2 cents- if anyone wants to buy a 660 sway bar, I'll sell it to you for 10 bucks. I have no use for the thing.
#4
12-18-2001, 01:18 AM
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Its a frame mounted bar that connects to each rear a-arm on the independant 660 to help stabilize it on off-camber situations. All it really does is limit the independant travel of the rear end, thus eliminating any advantage it gives other than ground clearance.
Your kodiak has a solid rear axle. You don't have any sway bar to worry about.
Polaris IRS quads have a sway bar as well, but it does not limit the rear as much. The yamaha design is poor, and works 5 times better with it removed. The way it works is it connects to the a-arms with a little pivoting rod with ball joint type things on each end. They allow each wheel to move about an inch or two up or down from the other. With the bar removed, independant wheel travel increases greatly, and the quad will keep all 4 tires planted on the ground in a lot more situations.
I have not found it to have any effect on the quads handling. 500 miles, first 150 with the bar, and the rest without it. If you bought the quad for its IRS capabilities, take the sway bar off and stick it in a corner somewhere.
Your kodiak has a solid rear axle. You don't have any sway bar to worry about.
Polaris IRS quads have a sway bar as well, but it does not limit the rear as much. The yamaha design is poor, and works 5 times better with it removed. The way it works is it connects to the a-arms with a little pivoting rod with ball joint type things on each end. They allow each wheel to move about an inch or two up or down from the other. With the bar removed, independant wheel travel increases greatly, and the quad will keep all 4 tires planted on the ground in a lot more situations.
I have not found it to have any effect on the quads handling. 500 miles, first 150 with the bar, and the rest without it. If you bought the quad for its IRS capabilities, take the sway bar off and stick it in a corner somewhere.
#6
12-18-2001, 01:55 AM
Panhead9~
I took Andy's advice and took my sway bar off tonight. I just put the 27" Claws on and I CAN NOT believe the difference it makes in articulation. Andy's right, it's completely different than with the sway bar on. I don't know what kind of a difference it will make in riding, but I'm going to find out this weekend.
Andy~
Those claws and ITP rims are everything you said they were and more. I am very impressed. Thank you very much for the sound advice. I will put them through the test this weekend and see what I think of them on a real ride. The offset is quite a bit more then stock, and it sure gives the machine a whole new feel.
I spent the day putting together wifey's new Black Kodiak. It just came in and was in the steel framed crate from Japan. Quite the chore to get it out of my truck, but using the ramps I have, finally made it happen. I was rather surprised at how much there is to putting one of those buggers together, but at a $1200.00 savings, I'm not about to complain. What even surprised me more though was once I had it done, and filled 'r up, she fired right up. Amazing. Probaly the only thing that I see that I don't like is the plastic skid plates. I knew the ones on the Grizz were not as thick as Arctic Cat's, but didn't realize how cheap they were until I was holding one ready to install it. Replacement skid plates and A-arm protectors are a must. I think you could spit on these cheesey plastic things Yamaha puts on their quads in cold weather and crack 'em.
I got the winch mounted, but still haven't done the winch wiring, wife is still deciding where she wants the switch to be, and is not quite sure if she wants me drilling on her new fender (where my grizz's switch is) or just tie it to the front rack. Personally, I don't care for it on the front rack (my Cat's switch is there, and it's inconvenient) I was also a little disappointed that it didn't come with the roller fairlead, but with the cast deal. All my winchs (quads to truck) have came with the roller and I'll have to pick one up for her. I would think that cast deal would shorten the life of your cable. She's all set to take it out for the "maiden ride" tomorrow.
Once I was done with her ride, I went to work on the Grizz, first thing was yanking the sway bar off, then putting the new Claws on. It kinda funny, I never realized how much that sway bar limited your suspension. It was harder for me to pick up the 300 AC from the rear and move it in the garage then it was to pick the Grizz up in the rear and move it around. I know the 300 is lighter than the grizz, and the suspension doesn't have as much travel as the Grizz, and lastly it's shorter than the Grizz. All these things would make me believe the Cat would be easier to pick up and move, but the Cat's suspension would just keep letting down until I was about out of lift, and the Grizz, piece-o-cake. Now with the sway bar off, it's a whole new story. The Grizzes suspension seams to let down more than it used to because it's a helluva lot more difficult to pick it up from the rear to move it. I'm sure a few inches of added height with the new claws adds to that perception, but certainly couldn't account for all of it. I'm going to take some flex pics of the Grizz with the sway bar off, and post them. After looking at Rides4Fun's flex pics of the AC500I, it has made me curious. I know it can't flex as much as that incredible beast, because it has less front end travel, but it should do well.
While in the garage working on the Grizz, my wife came out to oogle her new black bear, and then looked at the Grizz with the claws. I do believe there is no longer a choice in the matter, she wants them on her machine, with ITP rims. (Glad I had them bolted on before she came out [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img])
Sorry about the ramblin...been an exciting day, and can't wait to get them bears out mauling some dirt (or snow as the case may be) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Happy Holidays,
SilverBear
I took Andy's advice and took my sway bar off tonight. I just put the 27" Claws on and I CAN NOT believe the difference it makes in articulation. Andy's right, it's completely different than with the sway bar on. I don't know what kind of a difference it will make in riding, but I'm going to find out this weekend.
Andy~
Those claws and ITP rims are everything you said they were and more. I am very impressed. Thank you very much for the sound advice. I will put them through the test this weekend and see what I think of them on a real ride. The offset is quite a bit more then stock, and it sure gives the machine a whole new feel.
I spent the day putting together wifey's new Black Kodiak. It just came in and was in the steel framed crate from Japan. Quite the chore to get it out of my truck, but using the ramps I have, finally made it happen. I was rather surprised at how much there is to putting one of those buggers together, but at a $1200.00 savings, I'm not about to complain. What even surprised me more though was once I had it done, and filled 'r up, she fired right up. Amazing. Probaly the only thing that I see that I don't like is the plastic skid plates. I knew the ones on the Grizz were not as thick as Arctic Cat's, but didn't realize how cheap they were until I was holding one ready to install it. Replacement skid plates and A-arm protectors are a must. I think you could spit on these cheesey plastic things Yamaha puts on their quads in cold weather and crack 'em.
I got the winch mounted, but still haven't done the winch wiring, wife is still deciding where she wants the switch to be, and is not quite sure if she wants me drilling on her new fender (where my grizz's switch is) or just tie it to the front rack. Personally, I don't care for it on the front rack (my Cat's switch is there, and it's inconvenient) I was also a little disappointed that it didn't come with the roller fairlead, but with the cast deal. All my winchs (quads to truck) have came with the roller and I'll have to pick one up for her. I would think that cast deal would shorten the life of your cable. She's all set to take it out for the "maiden ride" tomorrow.
Once I was done with her ride, I went to work on the Grizz, first thing was yanking the sway bar off, then putting the new Claws on. It kinda funny, I never realized how much that sway bar limited your suspension. It was harder for me to pick up the 300 AC from the rear and move it in the garage then it was to pick the Grizz up in the rear and move it around. I know the 300 is lighter than the grizz, and the suspension doesn't have as much travel as the Grizz, and lastly it's shorter than the Grizz. All these things would make me believe the Cat would be easier to pick up and move, but the Cat's suspension would just keep letting down until I was about out of lift, and the Grizz, piece-o-cake. Now with the sway bar off, it's a whole new story. The Grizzes suspension seams to let down more than it used to because it's a helluva lot more difficult to pick it up from the rear to move it. I'm sure a few inches of added height with the new claws adds to that perception, but certainly couldn't account for all of it. I'm going to take some flex pics of the Grizz with the sway bar off, and post them. After looking at Rides4Fun's flex pics of the AC500I, it has made me curious. I know it can't flex as much as that incredible beast, because it has less front end travel, but it should do well.
While in the garage working on the Grizz, my wife came out to oogle her new black bear, and then looked at the Grizz with the claws. I do believe there is no longer a choice in the matter, she wants them on her machine, with ITP rims. (Glad I had them bolted on before she came out [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img])
Sorry about the ramblin...been an exciting day, and can't wait to get them bears out mauling some dirt (or snow as the case may be) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Happy Holidays,
SilverBear
#7
12-19-2001, 12:10 AM
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#8
12-19-2001, 12:45 AM
The main purpose of the sway bar is to reduce the bike's tendency to lean on corners. After reading Andy's post on removing his sway bar some months ago, I removed mine as well. I does limit the bike's ability to articulate a considerable amount. However, I had difficulty keeping up with the boys with scramblers on the trails due to the excessive body roll. I have never been on two wheels so much in my life [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I have since reinstalled it. I may have to take Andy up on his offer to sell his sway bar so that I can modify mine with some sort of clasp or removable pin. Similar to the concept of what they make for Jeep Wranglers to maximize off-road capabilities (aftermarket product). I'd like to have the best of both worlds.
#9
12-19-2001, 01:02 AM
Perhaps I should elaborate on my previous post. If you cut the sway bar tube in the middle and inserted a solid (stepped) shaft into one end and a machined pipe over the other and welded each new piece to the sway bay. Then slip the shaft into the pipe (with the sway bar installed) and drill through both. Insert a hardened bolt and your done. Keep in mind all you heavy-duty thinkers, there are thrust collars crimped onto the sway bar that will prevent the two halves from separating when you remove the bolt for full articulation. This is an untested design guys, experiment at your own risk – or buy Andy’s for a back up plan.
#10
12-19-2001, 01:06 AM
Update~
Couldn't stand it any longer, so after work tonight I took the Grizz out with the new paws. First order of business was the snow burm along side of the ingress of our country road right of US95, with all the varing levels of piles of snow & ice, I figured what the heck. The Grizz really articulates now. I never had more than one tire off the ground, and this was very deep/high & jagged. I'll keep ya all posted...no sway bar is the way to go.
SilverBear
Couldn't stand it any longer, so after work tonight I took the Grizz out with the new paws. First order of business was the snow burm along side of the ingress of our country road right of US95, with all the varing levels of piles of snow & ice, I figured what the heck. The Grizz really articulates now. I never had more than one tire off the ground, and this was very deep/high & jagged. I'll keep ya all posted...no sway bar is the way to go.
SilverBear