[bearmde]

OK,..since this is the place for getting questions answered, thought I would post and see. I have searched the forums and archives and cant find the answer. I have a bone stock 06 700R. I weigh 245 pounds, and I am an experienced rider. I am by no means an A rider, but have raced. I usually just trail ride, technical trails, and hills, creeks..etc. I do not motocross. I love to ride hare scrambles loops etc. I am having a hard time dialing in my suspension. Does anyone here on the forum, have their STOCK setup, dialed in that has similiar skills, and weight that can share their suspension settings. The front seems way to stiff, and tends to push in turns, and the back end seems to have the shock absorbtion of a rock. The raptor is NOT broken in yet, as I cant ride in the below zero temps too much. I believe that the suspension is set in the middle of the range for a 175# rider. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

MIKE

 

[bearmde]

I forgot to mention that I have already checked the suspension for the big guys forum.. It did not really answer my question on the stock shocks, and stock tires. Thanks.

 

[BJH]

Others may disagree but at 245 plus gear, you will never get there with the stock suspension. At the very least you will need springs that can handle your weight. Trying to over compensate for under sized springs with stiffer compression settings is not a good idea. You are riding too low in the shock stroke where the valving is supposed to be stiffer to avoid bottoming. Just my .02

Have you already at least adusted the preload to get the ride height up in the shock stroke (ride sag)? If you haven't then adust the rear shock to 9" between the lock rings on the rear and set the fronts to position "D" or "E". The fronts are preload adjustable only so you are kind of screwed. It seems counter intuitive I know but you need to get the ride height (sag) set as correctly as possible before you start messing with compression and rebound. You won't get there at your weight but you will have to get as close as possible. Max gear and rider total weight with the stock suspension is 220lb.

Look to pages 4-14 through 4-18 of your owners manual. You don't need a special wrench as described in the manual by the way. Just jack the quad up so that the wheels are off the ground and tap the lock rings loose with a hammer and big straight blade screwdriver. Then they will move by hand. Spray a alittle WD-40 on the threads and make sure they are clean first.

It seems as though you are not willing to upgrade the suspension, but you are better served AT LEAST getting a TCS/Eibach spring for the rear shock. The fronts suck on the standard R. Plain and simple. I ditched mine long ago in favor of aftermarket TCS shocks. The rear can be re-sprung and re-valved. TCS may be able to hook you up with springs for the fronts but they don't advertise them.

kbm450 is one of our site sponsors and he deals with TCS.

 

[bearmde]

no , I havent messed with the sag at all...just started reading the manual, and adjusting the screws...Ok...if the stockers wont get me there...there is tons of talk about the YFZ 450 shocks,...I see that there a bunch on ebay at times, and people have them for sale here off and on...They seem to be around the 200-225 mark....Would that be a better route to go, then getting aftermarket springs,etc..or that still would not get it....I am not against upgrading...just didnt think that was needed this fast...I just sold a Honda 450 that I thought had the worst suspension in the world, compared to my z-400 that I had,...but now..I am thinking the raptor fits in that category...and I did see the 220 pound limit on the raptor..lol...thanks in advance..

 

[BJH]

Make your sag adjustments first and see what you think.

The 450 front shocks are an upgrade, but they have a weight limit too. I just can't remeber what the hell it is. I can tell you that they are not tuned for a 245lb. rider. They are also moto tuned as in stiffer ride.

The rear shock isn't bad and it can be made to work. I would suggest at least a spring upgrade though. PM kbm450 for a price if you wish. Retail is $120.

Honestly, if I were you (and I'm not) I would consider getting some decent shocks for the front. TCS carries sport series non-resevoir, standard travel, triple rate spring, fronts for $615 retail price. Again you can do better on that and you can upgrade them to add the resevoir at a later date if you ever feel the need. I personally believe that is the best bang for the buck deal out there. These fit stock a-arms by the way.

If you get 450 shocks and find that you have to re-spring and / or re-valve them you will be at the same price or above. A 450 front shock spring kit is conversion is $250 and a 450 front conversion is $500. Again those are retail prices.

I know it's a bitch to spend the money but for $735 (front shocks w/rear spring only) to $940 (front shocks with converted rear) you can have a dialed in set-up to your weight and riding style both front and rear that fits you, and it will be far better than ANY stock suspension set-up. TCS custom builds VERY good shocks. I know kbm450 can knock some bucks off those prices too. I did not get mine from him because I did not know of him when I bought mine. But he has been laying down some killer deals for other Raptorforum members.

I have long travel TCS fronts with +2 A-arms and I couldn't be happier with them. I have never heard of or read a single bad thing about TCS. I can't say that for any of the other suspension outfits except Pep and Custom Axis. But that is a whole other price category.

Here is a link to TCS if you want to study. http://www.tcsracing.com/index.html

 

[Guest]

Hey guys, I truly know the benifits of aftermarket suspention but until I can sell the Vforce and finish paying the raptor off what is the best setting on the stockers with rebound and high and low speed comp. It's an 07 with the yfz style shocks. I like pretty soft ride but good handleing or a happy medium.

 

[bearmde]

BJH, I appreciate your response. I will have to save up a tad to do the upgrade. My wife and I both work, and I have always bought, sold, traded,..my "hobbies" with extra money that I make on the side. I am in law enforcement by trade, but own a small business on the side. Unfortunately this time of year, my side business is at a stand still.lol....I will keep watching, and waiting until spring. In the mean time, I will adjust the sag..etc and hope that helps.

Again, I appreciate your comments.

 

[BJH]

Hey guys, I truly know the benifits of aftermarket suspention but until I can sell the Vforce and finish paying the raptor off what is the best setting on the stockers with rebound and high and low speed comp. It's an 07 with the yfz style shocks. I like pretty soft ride but good handleing or a happy medium.

Unfortunately this is a question that nobody can answer for you. No two riders are the same. You will just have to experiment with the compression and rebound settings until you get the ride you are after. Just make sure you get your sag set before you start fiddling with the clicker settings. Keeping a log book of the settings will help. Write down the stock settings then make a small adjustment log it and see how you like it. Just be careful with the rebound adjustment. It can lead to crashes if you under cook it.
Ride sag a.k.a ride height a.k.a Preload: This is a two man job. With the wheels off the ground measure the total suspension travel at a good refference point. Then set the quad on the ground. YOU need to now be on the quad in your riding gear with a full tank of gas. Get in your regular riding position with your feet on the pegs and looking straight ahead. Have your buddy measure the front and rear suspension lengths at the SAME refference points that you measured "free sag" from. DO NOT turn around and watch your buddy taking measurements. It will throw off your weight transfer on the quad therefore making the measurements incorrect.
The front ride weight sag should be roughly 20% less of the SUSPENSION TRAVEL from the free sag measurement.
The rear ride weight sag should be roughly 30% less of the SUSPENSION TRAVEL from the free sag measuremnt.
(Refer to the manual or your aftermarket suspension specifications for your suspension travel. Also consider you want the quad as level as possible.) Example: The stock rear shock travel is 10.08" so 30% of that is 3.024" so subtract 3.024 from the free sag measurement. That is where you need the ride sag to be.

Example: (rear suspension travel x 0.30= X) free sag distance - X = desired ride sag. Same with the front but at 20%.

I say roughly because it doesn't always work out exactly to 20/30. Just use your head and hit the best happy medium. If you are FAR more than these numbers you are probably too heavy for your current springs or your shocks may be clapped out.
I'm 190lb. dressed to ride and my numbers are a little more than 20/30.
If you have aftermarket zero pre-load shocks these 20/30 numbers will not work for you. You need to refer to your aftermarket suspension supplier to tell you what your sag numbers should be. Zero preload shocks are built and valved to lower the ride height for higher cornering speeds.

When adjusting sag make sure you double check both ends a couple of times comparing the two. You are looking for a happy medium between the two.

 

[SMIB fursure]

man i have to tell you i have read everything i can find recently on suspention tuning and thats the best ive ever heard it explained. THANKS for the info, ill be checking mine asap :thumbsup: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Markcuda]

bearmde, how do you like the 12 inches of snow we just got? :'( :'(
Lets do the Badlands some time :thumbsup:

 

[bearmde]

Hey I finally got a little more seat time in the raptor..lately, all I have been gettingon is my polaris 4 x 4 trying to dig out this blizzard...and I aint having much luck..I gotta call in to a local farmer to come down and use his back blade to move the mountains of snow..lol...I love snow..two days off of work..and tons of snow..but I cant ride..lol...oh well..yes we will do badlands...when it thaws...

 

[Markcuda]

Cool, I just bought a 3 place atv trailer, so you could if you want, put your quad on my trailer.
I work at Caterpillar and I do work tons of Saturdays and Sundays but I'm sure we can get something going soon :thumbsup:

 

[bearmde]

THat will work...as soon as the weather breaks...otherwise...keep shoveling snow...I just spent the last two hours on the Polaris pushing the snow in my driveway out of the way,,,then digging out a couple of neighbors..lol

 

[woods-700r]

ok, i need it in plain english. I rode for several hours this weekend and couldnt really get it right. it seemed too soft in teh front and the back wanted to bounce me over teh front. in simple english what does teh screw at teh top of the shock do and how will it help and then what does the screw at teh bottom of teh shock do and how will it help. thanks im thinking i will need new springs and a revalve as i am 270