mountain max boondockers, how are your shocks set up?

[Backwoods M Max]

So I got out for the first time over the weekend. Tore 2 consecutive lugs off my brand new challenger, not too happy about it but I covered up the exposed cords with E6000 (another thread) and it should be good to go.

I was having some difficulty sidehilling and getting tossed around in general so I was wondering what you guys have for setups that you really like and ride well with minimal effort?

Here is how I WAS set up this weekend. Front shocks preload 4, front skid shock Preload 4, rear skid works shock in stiff full rate cranked up to the same ride sag as the steel shock. I have the limiters set at 25mm per Tom Hartman's set up directions with the 151" kit

I am not doing huge drops or anything of the like, just tree riding out here in the east so sidehilling and getting it over easy is my primary concern. For all intents I plan on keeping the sled on the ground. I will admit I got greedy about ride height when I put the viper trailing arms on and I cranked up the preload to get the front high but it seems to be working against me now. I'm 240-250 lbs fully dressed to ride. I have made the following changes after I got back.

Front shocks preload 2, front skid shock preload 3, rear skid shock took off 2 turns of preload and moved back to the middle of the full rate adjuster. I have the mpi transfer strap kit on so I can't measure transfer gap, but when I'm sitting on the sled the lower part of the scissor is tipped a little past vertical to the rear and the soft part of the dual rate shock squishy now like it's suppose to be. I didn't feel like I was getting the initial soft ride before with the extra turns of preload and being in the stiff full rate setting.

I'm thinking of cranking back the front skid shock back up to 4 to encourage transfer with the front end light. Even it crazy deep snow the sled didn't really want to lift the front end. Excessive lift would be bad, but I had nothing. the sled is much easier to pull over on flat ground now and keep it there with the springs softer on the skis. before you would almost be rocking on the ski, then once the sled passed the balance point the shock would extend and sort of throw me. Now I feel like I'm rocking on the track (which is what I want, and why I think I should keep the front skid at 4) and letting the ski shocks compress and stay there.

How does this compare to setups you guys have established that work well for you? I had the limiters at 30mm last year on the 141 and she climbed much better. I started with them all the way out thinking I wanted all the travel I could get, and feel like I trenched real bad that way. Thinking of going back to 30mm if this setup works good just to try it.

I also made some covers for my muffler vents since I was filling the muffler hole up with snow. I have a race can and it was just packing in there around the can.

 

[YooperMike]

I'll take a pic of mine when I go home for lunch today. Just the front end, got a different rear skid in mine.

 

[YooperMike]

Dog must have eaten something in the garbage that didn't agree with him cause he had vomited and there was garbage everywhere when I went home. Needless to say I didn't get into the garage to take a good photo. But here's a zoomed in one from another pic I took previously. I think that would be the #2 or #3 setting. I'm a big guy, and this setting works well for me on the front.

 

[Backwoods M Max]

Yeah that looks like your on setting 3. I'm not small but not huge, going to go out on 2 and see how it goes. The fronts are a pain to turn down unless the weight is off the shock, but I can turn it up if I need to.

My radius rods are far from parallel with the settings I had them at. The bottom of my front bumper is 16" ride height, so I can afford to give a little bit of that up to have a sled that rolls easy.

 

[snowdad4]

front of skid shock all the way stiff, rear shock softest position, tra in the center, limiter straps with about 1/2" of thread showing on the bolts. thats your starting point. from there its just a matter of finding the happy spot with the limiter straps for the snow condition.

i dont factor in the ski shocks with the transfer. i go soft as it makes the sled easier to roll over. fine line between bottoming on the trail to the top and handling. price you pay making the mtn max off trail worthy. i fore go handling for off trail performance.

front stabilizer or no? where are the transfer straps set? you may want to go a bit longer here. rear scissor likes to be vertical with no weight on the sled. scissor bolts arent hitting the rails are they?

 

[Backwoods M Max]

I think I was heading in the wrong direction with my setup. It was more ready for hill climb racing than twisting through the trees.

I have the limiter straps long enough so that when the skid is hanging on a track stand the bottom scissor is just slightly forward of vertical. With the weight of the sled on the suspension the bottom scissor is about vertical with a little bit of hang in the straps. I did trim the bolt per the instructions so it can collapse all the way without hitting the rail. The stabilizer came out last winter, and that made a huge difference then. I'm just feeling it out being a 151 now and seeing how it needs to be.

When I get home from work I'll take another turn of preload out of the rear shock, put a click back in the front shock to bring it back to 4 and leave the skis at 2 and see how it is. I can drop the skis to 1 out in the field pretty easy, but working on the skid in deep snow with the skid packed full is kind of tough.

 

[snowdad4]

heres my rule of thumb for off for the front end: sled sitting flat on the shop floor it should be effortless to turn the bars full range left and right.

you can achieve this by a few means, ski shock pressure, limiter strap length, and front of skid shock pre-load. you want just enough front shock pre-load to eliminate bottoming of those shocks and still be able to turn the skis on the floor. fine line of balance, set for the ride.

you may want to reconsider your transfer strap length. i set all mine midway for a starting point. +2 if you have the directions(i think)

 

[jet101ski]

I use the same settings as snowdad4. Rear skid shock all the way soft. Front skid shock maxed preload with limiter straps as long as they need to be to have very minimal ski pressure. Ski shocks set very light, not sure on the position as I have installed viper mtn shocks that have screw adjusters. Remember you will have to loosen the track if you lengthen the front limiter strap.

 

[norwegian]

Forget the stock shocks, they are long long long gone. Get some shocks that actually work and try again.

 

[Backwoods M Max]

Forget the stock shocks, they are long long long gone. Get some shocks that actually work and try again.

The rear skid shock is a works dual rate, just not sure if I want to get it re-valved over the summer. I have a front skid off a viper that I need to get re-valved over the summer and the right spring for a mountain sled. For now I'm stuck with the front steel shocks. viper mtn shocks are getting pretty hard to find and the ones on e-bay rival a set of works shocks in price.

The general consensus seems to be that I was way too stiff all around with the exception to the center skid shock. Hoping there is good snow to get out close to home when I get home and play with it with a stiff center shock and everything else being soft. Wish I had soft ski shocks last time out, would have made the day more enjoyable I think.

 

[Backwoods M Max]

I tracked down a set of aluminum KYB's that came off a 98 mountain max. The seller is going to confirm they are the 15.38" short body shocks before he ships them. It sounds like someone already did the viper shock upgrade to their sled before it got parted out. Hopefully they are and I can throw them on. I will most likely be sending them out to pioneer to have them revalved along with the front skid shock this summer. I don't know how the progressive rate compares with the straight rate springs on the mountain max shocks but I will most likely start them at 25% preload according to the viper manual and see how they go from there.