So i got to spend the last few days in WV testing out the 814's. Keep in mind I came from fox shocks in the front only and had the Highlifter lift.
I started with the recommended setting on the front an rear for compression and rebound. Right off the bat it was weird. The first trail we were on was smooth as butter. I found my self clenching for bumps that I never felt. It was a lot of small pothole size bumps and the ride just glided across them. Took some getting use to but loved it!
Next thing that happened was a little disappointing but I want to keep this 100% honest and up front.
One of the trails we were riding had lots of dips and humps. The front handled it beautiful. The rear.. not so much.. Now i was concerned from the start with the way the rear was sitting. But knew i needed to ride it first so everything could settle. When the shocks compressed It would rub my fenders pretty bad, note this was going 25-35 mph over these sections, not enough to jump, but enough for it to be an issue. I messed with the setting in the rear by raising the compression and lowering rebound but just couldnt make it stop. Im 90% sure i just needed more preload. Im also running 29" tires which I needed Aarms on the front, so might be looking to do those on the rear too.
I also had one instance on a straight stretch with the whoops type depressions that I was going too fast over (I was over confident after what the shocks were doing with most bumps). Rear end started bouncing bad and almost got sideways. I was holding on waiting for it to flip but never did.
I talked to Craig that night and explained where I was at. He is thinking defiantly preload to keep from rubbing, but maybe need heavier springs for my riding style. Also the 5 seat pioneers have more weight in the back (of course) so might need a little more adjusting because of that. He recommended some settings to try the next day, and they helped with the bigger stuff but the smaller stuff got works.. which I knew was going to be the case but this is only temporary for the weekend.
Overall:
I absolutely love them and its the best thing ive done to the Honda. Ride quality is wayyy better. I understood going into this that It was going to be trial and error for them to get setup right, but its teaching me about suspension which is what I wanted as well as being able to tailor it for my riding.
I feel very confident that with adjusting preload I will be able to bring the compression back down and get where the whole thing rides smooth. I also will probably quit trying to be cheap and get the rear SATV a arms if i can find them at their old price. The customer support from Craig is awesome. Really a stand up guy. Dont regret even the slightest going this route over the fox shocks.
your machine is one of the best riding/handling rigs I’ve ridden in. Much better than either one of mine. Your are correct,there is a lot of improvements to be made over a stock machine,but at what point do we just accept what the machine is and stop sticking money into them for minimal gains? Is it just time to get a sport rig instead of a multi purpose/utility rig?
