rapidroy5858
Newbie
I want to set the suspension on my wifes 05 RX1 that I just bought so that it will handle as good as possible on trails.Had my 1st chance to ride it yesterday as we received 9 inches of snow.The limiter strap looks like it is really loose and the sled wants to pull the nose up on acceleration.I would like to find a good starting point to make this thing as managable as possible on trails!.Any info would be appreciated
It has a single shock on the rear of the skid.
It has a single shock on the rear of the skid.
stingray719
TY 4 Stroke God
I use to have an Apex and the setup for me that worked the best (I am 155lbs) was medium setting for front, stiff on front shock on rear skid and soft on rear shock in skid. Set up right it would carry the skis about 2 to 3 inches on normal acceleration which made it feel light. Was miserable set for what you would normally set up a sled.
RxThunder
Expert
The 05 has a Monoshock suspension, I haven't had the same luck with it as I have had setting up the older Pro Action suspensions (no action). If the sled is lifting the skis too much one place to look is the transfer rod/control rod in the back lower part of your skid. I had one come loose and back off itself while I was riding, I ride pretty hard, soon enough I was able to stand it straight up in the air when I would accelerate, after a day full of that I bent it in half. I usully set up my sleds for a little more transfer than normal, I shim the skies to do away with darting, on the RX's I let the limiter straps all the way out in the front and bump up the preload in the rear since I'm a little over 200lbs without gear.
RxThunder
Expert
stingray719 said:
What Apex did you have that had two shocks in the skid?
rapidroy5858
Newbie
RX thunder...If I leave the limiter strap loose will it not allow a LOT of lift on accel? Will that hurt turning ability on trail riding?
stingray719
TY 4 Stroke God
RxThunder said:
Too many sleds over the years I guess......I remember the settings and you may be right it may have been a monoshock. I do distinctly remember the settings though to make front of skid stiff and back soft for the transfer. But if memory serves me right it was a 2007.
Attachments
RxThunder
Expert
rapidroy5858 said:
In my experience, letting the limiter strap all the way out it allows the front of the skid to have more travel by allowing the front of the skid to expand further. When I did this on my 03 I was trying to take as much weight off of the skies as possible to ease the steering and horrible darting issues I was having. I believe if you tighten your limiter strap some it will put more weight on the front end and help keep the nose down. But it may make steering harder to turn. I would be looking at the transfer rod first though, small adjustments can make a lot of difference. I don't claim to know it all about suspension. I have learned everything from this site and have spent hours on my 03 playing with different adjustments on and off the trail until I finally have it where I want it to be. This will be my first season on an Apex and I anticipate I will be spending a lot of time making adjustments to fit my riding style. If you search the site you may find some threads with more experienced members in the suspension department.
As RXThunder said, there are some old posts here describing good handling set up. What I recall is loosening the front shocks up to lower the front end. You want your a-arms to be parallel with the ground. Another must on an 05 is to get a 12 or 13mm torsion bar. I will be working on my daughters 05 today, I had set that up for handling when it was mine, I had the limiter strap and transfer rod optimized as well and will post the set up for you. I had also added an Apex seat and a 2" articulating handlebar riser which moved the bars forward. The seating repositioning helps a lot. Then, I remounted the gauges so that you can see them.
RxThunder
Expert
I agree with RedRX1, I took a lot of preload off of the front of my RX's. They had too much ski pressure stock. The 13mm sway bar is a huge improvement along with the Apex seat and riser. I went from riding as hard as I could to keep up to waiting at every stop sign for the guys behind me. whether you ride hard or not it's the comfort and handling factors that are improved the most. I also shimmed my skies and don't run the junk carbides that come on these sleds stock. I have had amazing luck with Stud Boy shaper bars, 4 or 6". And they last twice as long.
I took a look at the rear suspension strap and coupling rod set up. I have 3 monoshock sleds, all set up the same and handling well. I have the straps in the second from longest hole. On the Coupling rod, measuring from the base of the adjusting knob to the ledge the locking nut fastens against, mine are set at 1-7/8".
As I had mentioned on the aarm shocks, you want the arms horizontal and the nose of the sled low. I jack up the sled so the skis are off the ground, then back off the preload until you can easily rotate the spring on the shock body. Then I use micrometers to make sure I have both sides set the same....Good Luck. BTW...I have widened aarms and the 12mm bar on the RX1's and standard aarms and a 13mm bar on the Apex. The wide front ends make them handle nice, but I have had major problems with bending the bolts that attach them through the ski legs. I'd recommend sticking with the stock aarms and going to the heaviest torsion bar you can get, I think that is 13mm.
If you are using stock skis, you need to shim under the heal of the ski leg. I have Pilot skis on 2 sleds and stock with the heel shimmed on one. I like the pilot's best. I hear the new yami skis are good as well.
As I had mentioned on the aarm shocks, you want the arms horizontal and the nose of the sled low. I jack up the sled so the skis are off the ground, then back off the preload until you can easily rotate the spring on the shock body. Then I use micrometers to make sure I have both sides set the same....Good Luck. BTW...I have widened aarms and the 12mm bar on the RX1's and standard aarms and a 13mm bar on the Apex. The wide front ends make them handle nice, but I have had major problems with bending the bolts that attach them through the ski legs. I'd recommend sticking with the stock aarms and going to the heaviest torsion bar you can get, I think that is 13mm.
If you are using stock skis, you need to shim under the heal of the ski leg. I have Pilot skis on 2 sleds and stock with the heel shimmed on one. I like the pilot's best. I hear the new yami skis are good as well.
