Venture lite suspension upgrades

[Hilux]

Hello all, I don't recall if I've posted here before but I have certainly gained a lot of knowledge from the site. UP's steering kit, rose joint and ATV linkage, tunnel icing and exhaust rerouting to name a few.

I currently own two 2009 Venture Lites (which appear to have a number of MP upgrades) that were used as trail groomers (Edit - they were actually trail monitoring and maintenance, and only pulled a small sleigh, I clarified this with the first owners). They have been great fun and have a unique handling experience.

The only problem I have, is I occasionally bottom them out on large jumps/drifts. I was wondering what sort of longer/firmer suspension is available for them? I suspect something made for a Phazer or Nytro would fit the front and rear suspension. Has anyone done such an upgrade?

Couple of pictures of the 2, and the MXZ.

 

[Mooseman]

Welcome to TY!

I have never seen one of these sleds all black. Looks wicked!

At first glance, I can tell they are Lites because of the passenger foot rests. In that case, you already have the stiffer springs compared to the early MP's. What MP upgrades do you think these sleds have?

Two things you can do. Turn the front 2-up spring block up and turn the rear spring block to the stiffest setting. Even that may not be enough. I bought some aftermarket spring adjuster blocks that has two higher settings. I have mine at the 4th highest and it's perfect for my 340lbs. carcass. Unfortunately, I can't find the maker/seller of the ones I got about 3 years ago and trying to find the other brand X-Clicks, I get dead ends and "no longer available". Anyway, try the stiffest settings and see if they help.

 

[thelake]

I am loving the black. I think this is what I will do within the next couple of seasons. Best looking venture yet.

 

[Hilux]

Thanks! I love the black too, it really seems to make the design flow better.

The skidframe has all the additional wheels, and it has the hitched rear bumper. I expected the MP would have stiffer springs due to it's off trail characteristics.

I already have the rear adjustment at maximum, I recently played with the front skid spring which made a big difference (though now it's even more tippy). I am needing a new set of ski shocks soon, and there are several types out there for Nytros and Phazers. I understand they have a little more travel, but as long as the mounting points are the same I think it would work, no?

 

[Mooseman]

Yes, in fact I just installed a pair of Fox Floats from a Nytro but I had to modify one end of the mounting bushings as they were wider. Phazers are a direct bolt in. The GYTR are a nice upgrade and adjustable.

Although I didn't put it in the Lite vs MP page, the 2007 to 2009 came with the lighter spring because it originally didn't come with the passenger seat from the factory. 2010+ all came with the passenger seat and higher rated spring. I noticed the difference when I had to replace my destroyed original skid with one from a VL. It bottomed out a lot less but I still needed more preload due to my weight. It makes for a harsher ride but I don't have much of a choice.

You can't go by the wheels alone as I have seen VL's with and without the extra wheels. The skid I bought didn't have them. The hitch could have been added afterwards too since they were used for grooming (first time I've heard of these sleds used to do this). The real way to tell would be by the shocks as only the MP has high pressure gas aluminum bodied shocks. VL had steel oil/hydraulic shocks.

 

[Mooseman]

I found my original receipt and I had bought the spring cam tensioners from Muffin Works. Found the original thread too. Only thing though is they are not on their website but if you email them, they might still have them.

 

[Hilux]

Oh those do look rather nice, but I feel my rear spring is sufficient for now. It was more the front (which I later found was on setting 1) and the ski shocks. I just ordered some GYTR piggyback shocks for the front with a little longer travel. I suspect they are from a Nytro or Apex, exactly what did you need to modify on your lower bushing? Just shave a little of the thickness to fit the A-arm mount?

 

[Mooseman]

That's right. Just used the bench grinder to shave the plastic bushing and the metal insert.

 

[Mooseman]

But, that was on a pair of Fox Floats. The GYTR have rubber bushings pressed into the rod end so it might not be doable unless you replace the bushings.

 

[Hilux]

I guess I'll find out in a few days. At worst, I'll cut and reweld the arm mounts wider.

Until then, the stock units will do.

 

[YukonMP]

That photo makes my day. I never imagined an MP that far off the ground unless it fell off the truck. Photoshop was the first thing that came to mind but I know it is real. No wonder you guys wear helmets.

 

[Hilux]

Glad to hear it! I actually quite enjoy jumping this sled, the weight balance allows it to land pretty flat each time. This photo is a still taken from a video.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

Yeah, the black looks cool.. I've been thinking about that for awhile but it wouldn't look so good with my grey seat. Did you paint yours? I see you have the exhaust extended as well... did that work out good?

 

[Hilux]

It's been almost a year, but time to get back in the winter mood!

So last year, I acquired some GYTR front shocks for the Venture. I can't recall now what they were off of, but I think it was an Apex. They were not the simple fit type of a Phazer for sure. The lower mounts were about 1cm wider than the Venture arms would accept. At the time, the easiest way was to just grind down some of the material on the shock mount to fit. However, this allowed me to note a new problem - they were much longer. So long in fact, that I couldn't install them with the springs seated. For the time being I backed off the adjusters which allowed them to just fit at maximum suspension droop.

Driving impressions with these were good in a straight line, but cornering became a problem as the front end was now raised to an unusual height, and I had about the same overall travel as before.

So this year, I endeavored to relocated the shock mounts on the A-arms allowing the shocks full range of travel and keeping the ride height low enough.

With everything disconnected, it became an X-wing venture.




It really seemed a shame to cut into the arms, and ruin the paint. Eggs and such...




To fabricate a new mount, I used some flat plate, cut and bent to replicate the shape of the old mounts. I also made them wider so the full width of the lower shock mount could be accepted. No more Venture shocks for this setup.
The mount was also moved outwards about 1.5cm which allowed the shock to be installed at full length with travel to spare.




This is was measurement I was basing most of this off of. I wanted the skis to be almost level with the belly pan at full compression, yet extend far enough to utilize the full range of travel when landing after a jump. There is about 2 inches more movement than shown in this picture, and also the bump stop.




Once everything was repainted and reassembled this became the standard ride height for the front. It could probably use a little tuning to get the most of these shocks, but the handling and bump absorption is much improved.




Now I need to do something about the rear suspension - the front center shock in particular. Could use a little more travel, and definitely more dampening. Any ideas what could fit there?

 

[Mooseman]

Fabrication at its finest!

As far as the front skid shock is concerned, I don't have a clue except for the HPG shock from the MP but they...... aren't....... cheap! I have the VL shock currently and I miss my HPG shock. It blew out when I destroyed my rear skid a few years ago.