[ogrant]

ok suspension junkies i need some advice on this 600pro-x of mine.

for the past couple of years i have been trying to get this machine of mine to turn with confidence. i have tried USI px-301 skis and all it did was give me heavier steering and better turning in the sloppy snow.

the other day i was convinced that my rear shocks were pooched because i could push my rear of my sled down with great ease at the bumper even with my dials on 9!! i pulled my shocks and pushed them into the ground and found that they have tons of resistance, not to mention they get harder to push as i increased the numbers on the dials.

but i do notice that my rears suspension, while the sled is sitting on the concrete floor, is only touching the floor at the rear of the skid(about 10" of it). the front of the skid is sitting about 1.5" off of the ground.

this does not seem right to me. should it not be sitting flat on the floor for trail riding?? i do have my limiter straps pulled up to the 2nd hole but even when it was in the stock hole it stills sits off of the ground at the front.

i also noticed that when the sled was in the stock hole on the limiter straps, they seemed to be very tight and not loose like my friends pro-x.(they were a little limp when the sled was parked and his sled handles night and day better than mine)

so since i had the skid out i drilled one more hole above the stock hole and put the straps at that position. but i have not put my skid in as of tonight to see if this should work.

has anyone noticed this?? my friends xc sits flat on the floor and when i ride it is much more trailable than mine. not to mention it is lighter on the bars when steering.

any help or insight would be greatly received.

oh ya i am 205lbs with gear.

 

[ogrant]

well i didn't get the suspension back in tonight but i did put it back together with the shocks and newly punched limiter straps.

what i found was that my limiter straps are still tight. does this seem right?? it doesn't to me. i could always adjust limiter straps on all of my sleds until they were a little loose.

hmmm....anyone know were i can buy blank limiter strap material so i can experiment and make my own?? maybe even ones from another sled that are a little longer??

 

[jbshocks]

You should not have to suck up that limiter strap that much. how much sit in do you have? Is every thing free in the rear. Spring rollers ok? How many miles on it?

 

[n2oiroc]

can you post pics of the suspension? maybe the limiter strap shaft is in the wrong hole.

 

[Needsnow]

Originally posted by ogrant@Sep 12 2005, 08:48 PM
ok suspension junkies i need some advice on this 600pro-x of mine.

for the past couple of years i have been trying to get this machine of mine to turn with confidence.  i have tried USI px-301 skis and all it did was give me heavier steering and better turning in the sloppy snow. 

1) the other day i was convinced that my rear shocks were pooched because i could push my rear of my sled down with great ease at the bumper even with my dials on 9!! i pulled my shocks and pushed them into the ground and found that they have tons of resistance, not to mention they get harder to push as i increased the numbers on the dials.

2) but i do notice that my rears suspension, while the sled is sitting on the concrete floor, is only touching the floor at the rear of the skid(about 10" of it).  the front of the skid is sitting about 1.5" off of the ground.

3) this does not seem right to me.  should it not be sitting flat on the floor for trail riding??  i do have my limiter straps pulled up to the 2nd hole but even when it was in the stock hole it stills sits off of the ground at the front. 

4) i also noticed that when the sled was in the stock hole on the limiter straps, they seemed to be very tight and not loose like my friends pro-x.(they were a little limp when the sled was parked and his sled handles night and day better than mine)

so since i had the skid out i drilled one more hole above the stock hole and put the straps at that position.  but i have not put my skid in as of tonight to see if this should work. 

5) has anyone noticed this??  my friends xc sits flat on the floor and when i ride it is much more trailable than mine.  not to mention it is lighter on the bars when steering. 

any help or insight would be greatly received.

oh ya i am 205lbs with gear.
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1) Shocks have NOTHING to do with the ride height or carrying capacity of the suspension, They only control the movement of the suspension.

2) With the bumper pulled up and the rear set gently on the ground, that would be normal.

3) I'm not sure if I'm following this 100%, but, the shorter you make the limiter strap, the more angle you will have on the skid before preload/sit in.

4) That doesn't seem right for a totally stock set up. You should have a slight bit of slack like your freinds if the sled is pushed down with the skid in the preload/sit in state. If the sled is sitting as discribe in #2, then there should be no slack. What holes are the shocks bolted into. Which set of holes is the cross member that the lower part of the limiters bolts to, at??? How much preload does your rear shock spring have??? Is the skid bent or twisted in any way???

5) That could just be in the set up. How you adjust the rear shock spring, the couplers, the preload on the torsion springs, and the preload on the front shock springs will all effect the handling too.

 

[ditchbangin]

i am 6 ft 210 pounds riding an 03 pro-x 800 and this set up works great for me. i am able to sit down thru 2-3 ft moguls, the faster you go, the smoother it gets, here it goes, front shocks- compression set on 3, springs 2 full turns tight, it is easy enough to change the front suspension, just play with it for a day, pick the same strech and take different approaches, in the rear i run the heavier rear hairsprings (two-up) with the front limiters sucked all the way up. 121x .91 track with 96 studs. rear track shock compression set on 5, front on 4. ski pressue is extremely important on trailing arm suspension. i have had the same set of powder pros since i got the sled, they make a huge difference, even with 10,000 miles on them. i run 6 " carbide because i like a little slide in the front end. not studding the outside belt of your track will let the machine slide too, they have to slide in order to turn with any confidence. good luck :gasthrower:

 

[OnTheEdge]

Correct me if I'm wrong... but won't the limiter straps always be tight with the suspension OUT of the sled?

 

[ogrant]

i think you are right edge..i was thinking that today. i will check them again when i get the skid back in.

 

[n2oiroc]

Originally posted by OnTheEdge@Sep 15 2005, 11:11 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong... but won't the limiter straps always be tight with the suspension OUT of the sled?
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[/quote]
mine arent very tight.

 

[xc-mark]

let the limiter straps back to stock get a 120lb per inch center spring , only put about 3 turns maybe 4 on it from the point where it rattles.... get a set of Powder pros with 6" shaper bars if your unstudded (7.5" for up to 144) then play with the front spring preload to fine tune your turning....

 

[ogrant]

is the 120lb spring stiffer?? and how does it effect the handling??

 

[jbshocks]

120 is softer

 

[Needsnow]

Originally posted by xc-mark@Sep 16 2005, 03:23 PM
let the limiter straps back to stock get a 120lb per inch center spring , only put about 3 turns maybe 4 on it from the point where it rattles.... get a set of Powder pros with 6" shaper bars if your unstudded (7.5" for  up to 144) then play with the front spring preload to fine tune your turning....
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[/quote]

Just to make sure people are on the same page here, you are suggesting a 120lb STRAIGHT rate spring, correct??? That would be the one a lot of people have switched to.

 

[danoptex]

why is that everyone is changing to this rear spring?? also same with the fronts?? everyone reccomends 110 or 120's right, what about a heavier guy like 220 w/ gear?

 

[jbshocks]

the 120 is straight rate and the reason is the front arm is a bit stiff for normal trail riding. It won't change the handling if you adjust it correctly. Prox stock springs range from 160-180 pounds depending on year and model.

Danoptex this is a fine set up for 220 pounds. As for the ski shocks I prefer tunable dual springs or dual rates over the straight rate but many do like the 110 straight rate on the skis.

 

[ogrant]

jb, thanks for the info on the spring. how would i order this part?? is it from another sled or is there multiple listings for the pro-x??

would you be able to tell me something about my rear skid shocks??

i have noticed that my track is sitting level now. i added a hole in my limiter straps to allow them to be a bit longer and reset my front shock springs closer to stock specs(i had them pretty tight last year).

when i push down on the back of the sled with the shocks set on 1, they seem to be almost the same as when they are set to 9. there seems to be compression dampening and some rebound dampening. this also is the case if i was to jump up and down on the sled.

the fronts seem fine and have a noticable change from 1 to 7.

the shocks have 2900miles on them and haven't been all that easy. would this sound to you that they would be blown..or just need a good cleaning, fresh oil and recharge.

also what would you recomend for oil in these?? thanks in advance.

 

[Henn1357]

Sorry to jump in on this, but all the talk about getting a softer spring for trail riding, is this suggested if you ride agressive, like to jump...just curiouse as I have my rear shock out now..and it would be easier to switch now.
and Ogrant the sled you were talking about that seemed to look ok sitting, is that the one I got? or is my sled gonna be wonky too...I havent noticed the track sitting funny, but no the shocks are out so I cant look..
Thanks

 

[ogrant]

henn1357...yep ..you ripped it right from under my nose. i wanted to stop by marks one day and take some measurements. don't worry that sled runs and rides real nice. the guy that had it before him set it up real nice.

by the way..i saw shawn today at adver. he said he was through with sledding. man..that will be a long and boring drive for him to hooters now!!!

 

[Henn1357]

Ya, I have to post his sled on here for sale....If you want, you can come grab some measurements when I have it back together...no prob, Im not too far from him or Adver...lemme know

 

[jbshocks]

Henn, if you like the ride don't change the spring. Most people just find them a bit stiff especially on small bumps.

Ogrant the spring comes from polaris and the prox performance manual list optional springs of many rates. As for your shocks it is hard to tell pushing on the bumper how the shock is. A general refresh is all you probably need. There are many oils that would work well. I would have them done with Ryde FX or Amsoil Synthetic but there are other good oils as well. Fox racing oil is good and so is maxim oil. Standard fox oil, polaris oil or cat oil I would not use.