track not flat on ground

pup55

New member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
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285
Age
64
Location
Boylston Ma.
Guys I am trying to set up my rear suspension and I noticed that the track is not sitting flat on the ground and the rear of the track is off the ground. Should the track be sitting flat and if so what is the best way to get it flat. This is my sons sled an it is all stock with 2200 miles on it. he is having troubles with the rear end sliding all over the place so I was going to try and adjust it for his weight. He weighs about 160 with all his gear on. The transfer rods have the gap at the top when not sitting on the sled and when he sits on the sled the gap does not change at all. The limiter straps are set at about 25mm and are loose. Some help needed.
 
I watched a pro action tuning video that I found on this site and it sounds like you should tighten the rear spring and the limiter straps.
 
I watched the video also and got alot of information from it but I did not see anything on the track sitting flat on the ground. There was a thread i found last week on this but I can't seem to find it.
 
I didn't see anything on the video either about the track not sitting flat but a buddy of mine has the same problem but he went to a long travel rear setup without doing the front, hence, the front is pulling down-lifting the rear up. Is yours up in the front or the rear?
 
How much preload is on the center shock? If it is excessive you'll get a teeter totter effect. I have run all my Proaction skids with virtually no spring preload in the center shock. Soften it up and increase the rear shock until the transfer rod gap is at least 50/50. I run my 136'd Viper about 60/40 (60 on top) because I jump and pound on it. Just rode it for the 1st time in 3 yrs. at the Feb TY ride. Front Ohlins and a rear Ohlins, she'll still boogy down a bumpy trail and land great from some good sized jumps LOL!
 
You can't just tighten the limiter straps. When you do that it really loads the center shock. Try softening the spring and THEN pull your straps if it needs it. Always do these 2 steps in conjunction. Keep that center shock SOFT!
 
I would try cranking up the front ski springs raising the front of the sled which would teeter the rear of the skid back down flat, along with softening the front spring of the rear suspension so it's not pivoting around on the front of the suspension. Just go a little at a time till you get the right balance/ ski pressure.
 
so what I will try first is to loosen the center spring preload and tighten the rear preload till I get the gap at 50/50. The sled is set at all stock settings. Like I said when my sled sits on the sled the gap does not change at the top of the transfer rods. I weight about 200lbs with all gear on and when I sit on it I have about 40/60 with the top gap beeing 40. I set the FRA from the middle to the top setting and made the transfer gap a little better. Do you guys make all your adjustments with the skid in?
 
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This is how I have mine set up;
Front ski suspension, 3/4 tight, 8" carbide, GYTR ski's, 5/16" wedge for rear bias
Front skid suspension, set on Med. 5MM of threads on limiter bolts
Rear skid suspension, set on Med. Adjustable transfer rods as loose as possible.
4th wheel kit, custom made
track set at 1.5" at 15lbs pull 144 1" studs center and outer
I weigh 210lbs not suited
I like the weight transfer forward and aft. No darting or wagging
 
It sounds like I need to take the preload off the center spring and then preload rear spring till the gap on the transfer rods are 50/50?
 
Start by setting the FRA to get the 50/50 gap and tighten the center shock spring not the rear one as it sounds like it's probably set too stiff as it is now for his weight.If you cant get the gap by adjusting the FRA then soften the rear spring up until you do.

There's a link on a thread here that will take you to the Proaction setup video it would be worth your while to see if you can find it as there is a wealth of info on it.
 
Fourbarrel I did watch the video and do a ton of research on the pro action suspension. The video tells you to adjust the fra witch i did and it really didn't do anyting. After that is where I am getting confused. I don't have much time to work on his sled as I work in Pa and travel home on the weekends so I just need the right direction to head in. Most of the post I read tell me to loosen preload on center spring and then set preload on rear till I get the gap 50/50. The rear of the sled seems very stiff and when he sits on it it doesn't even move. I will try and watch the video again and go from there.
 
It is normal for the rear of the track to be off the ground when just sitting without rider.
There should be no gap on the bottom spacer of the transfer rods when sitting with no rider. If it has gap, there is wear in the suspension bushings allowing it to sag or, the suspension is binding and not traveling all the way back up.
With rider on, there should be the 50/50 gap as already mentioned. Also, run the center shock with little to no pre-load like already stated. If the center shock spring is set too tight it can also hold the suspension up. If the gap doesn't change with the rider on, something is either binding or the main shock pre-load is too much.
There was some threads on TY talking about running the center shock pre-load very high and the main shock pre-load to a minimum. I've tried it both ways and the set up with no pre-load on the center shock and using the main shock to carry the load works better and rides better.
The FRA has small effect on the transfer rod gap. It isn't used to set ride height. Use the main shock spring for this. With a 160# rider you can run the FRA in center or top position for a softer ride.
A sled with no studs will slide around a lot with the stock track on icey conditions and powdery loose snow.
Make sure the suspension is well greased.
Also, read the "Suspension help for you guys" by betheviper at the top of one of the threads.
Good luck!
 
you should have one third sit in distance down if you have 9 inches traval when you sit on it it should sit in 3 inches.ive always set my suspension so when you sit the sled on the floor the track should hit the floor even.
 


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