2005 rear suspension

[PJVMAX]

Ok I tried a search and must not be doing it right as i Got 123 pages of stuff I know this has been talked about before but here goes.
2005 Vector just put in a Ohlins 36PCW shock Compression adjustable only. What is the best set up for this?? It rides harsh. Bottoming is NOT the problem. I can bottom it if trying to but typically this is ok. The problem is the smaller bumps feels like it doesn't move.

According to those ridding with me the front arm moves up and down it appears like the rear does not travel much

I tried changing the springs from Medium to hard this was surprisingly better

Right now the transfer rods are set to about full coupled this seems better than fully uncoupled as the sled stays flatter and more in controll but didn't make it softer.

Could somebody give me some tips on correct set up of the suspension with this shock?

I'm lookng for a smooth ride at medium speeds in medium trail chatter,maybe all i need to do is soften the compression damping?

I have an '05 vector with the Ohlins shock and love the way my sled rides and handles. I have about 6500 miles of trail riding in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada. I even have the original bogey wheels. This skid can be made to ride and handle well. I weigh about 200 lbs. This is my current set up:

Ohlins 5 clicks from full hard, rear spring cam on H, anti bottom stopper on lowest setting, minimal transfer, limiter strap in one hole, adjust front skid shock for desired ski pressure, ski shocks one turn from loose. Fine tune from there.

One of the best accessories I ever bought was the hand adjuster shock nuts from Pioneer performance. Makes tweaking the suspension a breeze, especially the front skid shock which has a dramatic effect on the ride and handling.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Hmmm, your adjustments sound familiar, except I like a little more transfer. Nice to hear from someone else that has gotten the skid to work the way they've wanted. I have no complaints after throwing the original shock away. Man, that thing was crap. What were they thinking?

 

[Groomerdriver]

Hmmm, your adjustments sound familiar, except I like a little more transfer. Nice to hear from someone else that has gotten the skid to work the way they've wanted. I have no complaints after throwing the original shock away. Man, that thing was crap. What were they thinking?

You guys have to admit you're in the vast minority on this issue.

 

[srvfan]

When I get it in the garrage I'll check the rear shock setting 5 from full hrd seems strange though I'd figure I'd go all the way soft. Bouncing up and down on the running boards right next to an 06 mono the mono was much softer . mine was very stiff in comparison and I had guys watch me ride a stutter bump section. Their comment was they could see the front arm going through it's travel but it looked like the back hardly even moved.

Will get the rods set at about 17mm and try 5clicks I have no idea where the shck is at now i never checked it.

When you say 1 turn on the front from no tension your talking with the sled suspended as in no weight on the skis right?

Funny i could get the proaction sleds like my XTC to ride very nice they where good except the Viper version. The A arm Vector front works better than the Vmax traiing arm but this rear is kicking my a**, litteraly.

 

[Groomerdriver]

When I get it in the garrage I'll check the rear shock setting 5 from full hrd seems strange though I'd figure I'd go all the way soft. Bouncing up and down on the running boards right next to an 06 mono the mono was much softer . mine was very stiff in comparison and I had guys watch me ride a stutter bump section. Their comment was they could see the front arm going through it's travel but it looked like the back hardly even moved.

Will get the rods set at about 17mm and try 5clicks I have no idea where the shck is at now i never checked it.

When you say 1 turn on the front from no tension your talking with the sled suspended as in no weight on the skis right?

Funny i could get the proaction sleds like my XTC to ride very nice they where good except the Viper version. The A arm Vector front works better than the Vmax traiing arm but this rear is kicking my a**, litteraly.

This is the "ProActive" skid.....not the ProAction.

 

[srvfan]

as an aside I don't have any handling issues no real bad ski lift or anything,little dart when i don't have duelly runners on but not real bad. i weigh 185 plus gear.

I just found a used M-10 on CL $350 Fox shocks probably blown as they only last a season and needs a few boggies. I notice FAST has an M-10 upgrade kit with thier Air shock/spring combo for $739. Anybody try an m-10 with the Airwave style shock in it? that would be a 1000 bucks total which i'm thinking might not be bad at all.

 

[Groomerdriver]

as an aside I don't have any handling issues no real bad ski lift or anything,little dart when i don't have duelly runners on but not real bad. i weigh 185 plus gear.

I just found a used M-10 on CL $350 Fox shocks probably blown as they only last a season and needs a few boggies. I notice FAST has an M-10 upgrade kit with thier Air shock/spring combo for $739. Anybody try an m-10 with the Airwave style shock in it? that would be a 1000 bucks total which i'm thinking might not be bad at all.

Is it a FAST M10 or a Polaris M10? There is a difference, but even the Poo M10 would be better than what you have. You'll need a $200 mount kit. Get that from Rich Motorsports who is a TY advertiser. Fox shocks don't always need a recharge yearly.

 

[srvfan]

Fast m-10 not POO I know they are different.

Yes I know that the Vmax and this are different have an 01 Phazer as well,which rides better.

 

[PJVMAX]

When I get it in the garrage I'll check the rear shock setting 5 from full hrd seems strange though I'd figure I'd go all the way soft. Bouncing up and down on the running boards right next to an 06 mono the mono was much softer . mine was very stiff in comparison and I had guys watch me ride a stutter bump section. Their comment was they could see the front arm going through it's travel but it looked like the back hardly even moved.

Will get the rods set at about 17mm and try 5clicks I have no idea where the shck is at now i never checked it.

When you say 1 turn on the front from no tension your talking with the sled suspended as in no weight on the skis right?

Funny i could get the proaction sleds like my XTC to ride very nice they where good except the Viper version. The A arm Vector front works better than the Vmax traiing arm but this rear is kicking my a**, litteraly.

If you have the ohlins on full hard, you will get a very harsh ride. The ski shock adjustment is one full turn from loose with the sled suspended.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Funny i could get the proaction sleds like my XTC to ride very nice they where good except the Viper version. The A arm Vector front works better than the Vmax traiing arm but this rear is kicking my a**, litteraly.

That statement always surprises me. Not sure how an old proaction skid could be considered comfy and a proactive harsh. those old proactions cornered great but had no travel and were not at all comfortable. My last sled was a Vmax and I'm glad I don't have to put up with that skid anymore. Just my opinion though and usually worth less than .02.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Hmmm, your adjustments sound familiar, except I like a little more transfer. Nice to hear from someone else that has gotten the skid to work the way they've wanted. I have no complaints after throwing the original shock away. Man, that thing was crap. What were they thinking?

You guys have to admit you're in the vast minority on this issue.

Not really Jim. The only folks that post about the skids are the ones that don't like it and are asking for advice on something different, and that's ok. There are thousands of others out there that are fine with it. You just don't hear from them because it's a non-issue. I know a lot of guys were glad when the mono came out though. To me, that skid is just another set of issues.

 

[srvfan]

depends on your bumps I guess and what year proaction it was. The XTC and phazer make the trail chatter just vanish on large bumps they are not as good. The viper and SXR versions where just awfull felt like ther was no travel at all. On our typical 6" frozen sharp edged stuff you can ride the XTC or Phazer at our typical trail speeds of 30-45 and it is much better.t 60-80 who knows? but our trails for the most part aren't big enough for that.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Could be. My wife rides a PZ500 and that is fairly comfy I guess but too spongy for the bumps. She's not aggressive so she likes it. It is a fun little trail sled. My Vmax was an SX model and it railed in the trails but beat me up in the bumps. Too stiff and no travel or transfer at all. It was geared toward something completely different than my Vector which I feel is a good all around sled. Not much of a jumper though.

 

[srvfan]

Got it in the garrage last night good thing!!! I had a stud ripped out that was wacking on the front heat exchanger.

I found the front rear shock spring set mostly hard backed it off to about half.

The rear Ohlins which was valved for me by Bruce at Pioneer was set most of the way hard. They say 15 clicks from hard is recomended considering how stiff it was I went a couple more.

Set the coupler at 17mm with me on it as recomended and we'll go from there.

the front was a few turns from full loose but I'm leaving that for now as I feel the front works for me better than anything else.

adjusting that shock is almost immpossable on the trail i had a hard time getting in there even in the garrage the nob is pretty hard to turn. I ended up taking the bottom shock bolt out so i could move the thing which made it much easier.

 

[twomorestrokes]

Yeah, that rear shock adjuster is a real pain isn't it? Good luck with the new adjustments.