[bcorbett]

When riding around the yard I've noticed that the suspension seems very stiff. Sharp turns, even at low speed will lift the opposite back tire clear off the ground. I know the springs are adjustable but can't seem to find documentation on the proper method of adjustment. I'm assuming I would want to allow more travel.

I've only noticed this since I've taken the plow off so I'm assuming the previous owner stiffened it up the account for the weight of the plow.

This is on a 2009 Max 800R XT.

 

[Deadman]

The spring collars will most likely be threaded. Unlock the second collar and loosen the springs.

 

[BLinindoll]

He has an XT. It's not going to be threaded. Just a notched collar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so please excuse my fat finger syndrome.

 

[styk]

Is it diving in sharp turns?

 

[bcorbett]

Is it diving in sharp turns?

Now that I think of it... Yes, it is diving. So maybe I need to stiffen up the front springs? I haven't taken the covers off to see what's under them yet. Have to change the brakes this weekend so plan on tackling all of that then. Just trying to get a sense of what I need to do before I get it pulled apart.

 

[Factoryrat]

Crank the fronts to the top. That will tighten it up a bit. I ended up putting a spacer in mine to get rid of the sag.

 

[jimo]

Do yourself a favor and jack the bike up before you attempt to adjust. Getting the weight off of the shock makes it a lot easier to turn the adjuster and you run less of a risk in breaking it. Doesn't hurt to lube it either.

 

[Factoryrat]

Agreed. Get the weight off the shock, and get the adjuster as clean as possible. Makes the job way easier.

 

[bcorbett]

Thanks! I'll give that a shot. I'll have it jacked up to do the brakes anyways so that shouldn't be an issue. Taking it to the trails next weekend for the first time so want to be sure I can enjoy it doing something other than moving snow.

 

[toxicwaste29]

I have mine turned all the way up and it still dives and lifts one wheel or another in hard turns.

 

[jimo]

I made 1.5 spacers for the front shocks. Made it better. Elkas on the way. Will make it way mo better. Lots of info here on shock spacers and installation tips.

 

[choPppps]

The lifting of the rear wheel is due to the design of the rear sway bar. Unless you disconnect that you won't have full independent suspension. But, if you do, now you have tons of body roll. I find using some body english really helps.

 

[bcorbett]

Checked the adjusters while I was changing the breaks tonight. Best I can figure out is that they're all at the max compression. So should I look into adding spacers or is it best to just leave it as is?

Could the tires also have an affect on it? It came with Mudlite tires. I haven't checked the pressure yet but the tire says not to exceed 18psi because of flotation reasons.

 

[Electrical_Tech]

18 psi is wayyyy high on an ATV tire. Most I've ever seen is 7 and I typically run around 5 - 6 in my tires.

You can tell what preload you're on by the steps on the adjuster. The lower the step (closer to the bottom of the shock) the higher your preload is.

As for the springs, the Can-Am fronts at least are wickedly soft. I had my neighbor (machinist) make me a set of 1" spacers which improved sag by 2" on the front. I never changed the compression setting (middle notch stock) as I am only really using the quad for plowing right now. Once I get a few trail rides in I will be better able to decide what to do.

To give you an idea of just how soft they are, on a newyears trail ride (pre-spacers) I had my chainsaw (Stihl 180) and 10litres of gas bungeed onto the front rack of my Max. Wife on the rear passenger seat. Any yes-mams taken over 20km/h lead to the front shocks bottoming out!

The rear performed stellar!!

The Outlander weirds me out a bit how it lifts the inside rear on sharp turns but I'm sure I will eventually get used to it. My Polaris (granted at almost 2" wider) feels far more stable to me. All things in their time.

 

[bcorbett]

I bought mine in September and other than tearing up the back 40, I've not used it for anything other than plowing. I'll have to see how it handles on the trails and decide if I like it or not. It's the first 2UP that I've ever ridden so I'm sure it's going to feel different from the start but that tire coming off the ground does throw me off a bit.

I'm not sure what the pressure is currently in the tires. Just happened to notice the ratings on them while I was pulling them off last night. I've gotta take it into town for a bath (old owner must have liked the mud) this weekend so I'll stop and set the pressure to 5psi all the way around and see how that goes.

 

[bcorbett]

Took it yesterday to check the pressure in the tires. Three were at 12psi and one was at 6. Not sure why the difference but set them all to 6. Seems to be a bit better on cornering in the driveway but still get some wheel lift. Guess it's just something I'll have to get used to.

 

[KSOWIN87]

Do yourself a favor and jack the bike up before you attempt to adjust. Getting the weight off of the shock makes it a lot easier to turn the adjuster and you run less of a risk in breaking it. Doesn't hurt to lube it either.

^^X2^^ Just had to order a new set of adjusters for mine... $13 each

Also Can am sells Heavy duty springs that you can install to fix this problem and they are only like $70 for a set... I had a spring compression lift on mine, worked for a while but the springs were still too worn out even on the highest setting so i ordered the HD springs...

 

[toxicwaste29]

Is it possible to put rear canam shocks/springs on the front of a g2 to stiffen up the front?

 

[A10ThunderboltII]

I have mine turned all the way up and it still dives and lifts one wheel or another in hard turns.

Suspension is too soft, even when I have it turned up to notch 5. I bought a set of 2" pipe lift rings (recommended by several riders here) over the Winter. Going to put them on next week.


In NASCAR, they'd call these things Spring Rubbers..but these are machined aluminum alloy, not rubber

 

[bcorbett]

Done some searching for pipe lift rings but not finding anything. Do you have a link to what you bought?