RX-1 MTN Suspension Question

[151Viper]

I just installed a 03 RX-1 MTN suspension in my viper and it seems to be pretty stiff. Does this skid have a tendency to be stiff in the stock form. I loosened up the rear shock all the way and adjusted the 3 position deal for the shock also. It seemed to make a little difference. I am just curious if this is normal or not. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[4-play]

Hi 151Viper,

I weigh 250 and at times my RX-1 seemed stiff too. Try the Full Rate adjuster all the way up to the top, or A position as they call it, which is softest. You can loosen the rear shock spring and the rear front shock spring up also as they are related. The control rod nuts can be opened up also and than the suspension won't couple the front shock and rear shock so soon which stiffens things up. What I do is adjust one thing at a time and write down what that did on the same section of trail for example.
This is how I learned what change does what. I cranked the front shocks all the way up stiff and rode a bumpy section and found that was terrible. Then I would go the other extreme, totally soft. By doing the extreme you can see how they really work. You want to do this by yourself or you'll drive your buddies nuts. Good Luck, and have fun, you'll get there.

4 Play

 

[Frostbite]

Stiff as a board is a pretty accurate desciption!

The transfer enhancement kit from Mountain Performance helps the skid transfer weight much better. You'll need your front shock spring up just a click or so from full soft and your full rate adjuster as 4-play says.

Good luck

Frosty

 

[BlgsRX-1mtn]

Also check the left rail just ahead of your rear axle. the bolt for the rear pivot hits it (at least mine did). My suspension has the FRA ( 3 position deal for the shock as you called it) modified to a set up similar to Holz and it is still a stiff ride (I weigh ~270 with full gear).

Jim

 

[151Viper]

Thanks you for letting me know that this is a stiff suspension in general. I did forget to mention that I have the MPI transfer straps installed. Now for another question. Does the mod that blgsRx1 make a big enough difference to make it worthwhile? Thanks again.

 

[BlgsRX-1mtn]

Thanks you for letting me know that this is a stiff suspension in general. I did forget to mention that I have the MPI transfer straps installed. Now for another question. Does the mod that blgsRx1 make a big enough difference to make it worthwhile? Thanks again.

I might be a enough of a differenc to try it. I shortened my bars that run along each side of the shock by 1 1/2" to make it ride stiffer. Before doing that; it had about 3" of sag with no weight on it and it would bottom out on me. It was after making the two bars shorter that I realized the issue of the bolt through the rear scissor hitting my rail rather than the suspension bottoming out. If I was to do it all over again; I would but I would have left the linkage along side the rear shock as it came from the factory and tried it with the bolt cut of to miss the top of my slide rails first.

Here's the thread with pictures of the modified skid. As you can see; I did this mod in '05. http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?p=128291#128291

As of right now, I'm still running the same set up as in the pictures with the only exception being it now has a 162" track and a Stage 1 Super Charger that I installed in Dec. '05. I also put the skid in the top hole of my drop bracket last season to lower the rear of the sled. This seemed to allow the sled to get more rear transfer and it trenched less than with the back jacked up in the air.

Edit; I think tundra's buddy did my mod as did one other member (can't remeber who though).

Jim

 

[151Viper]

Thanks for the info BlgsRX1. I still have the stock skid out of my viper so I may try this mod with some of those parts because they seem to be pretty much the same. Then if for some reason I don't get it to work I can go back to the original. Another thought I just had is if I leave the bars that parallel the shock the original length I could put my stock viper rear shock in and try it. I believe this shock is valved and sprung stiffer. I did notice that there is an impression from the threads of the rear scissor bolt in the top of the slide rail. I will have to trim that bolt. It seems odd that yamaha would let something like that slip by.

Thanks, Jamie