dpnorth
North adventures south
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Well, I may be on to something here.... I'll post some more vids after I get a chance to thoroughly test them out.
H
Looks like the cushions off my outdoor patio furniture. Did you set'em on the existing P500 seats or did you remove the P500 seats and put them in place of them? Can't tell from the photos? Great idea.
T
Todd627
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dpnorth
North adventures south
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Managed to get some Sachs bolted up that I bought off eBay for under $40 for the set. Rears from a 500 Sportsman. They bottomed out on me riding hard. I had them set full soft. Got them up two notches now, want to give them the full shake-down before giving them the seal of approval. First impression, WAAAY better ride @ slow speeds.
Red500
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Actually that's where they came from patio furniture.My wife father gave them to use said try these no one uses them and they fit perfect over top of the seats and i have a little strap the attach with velcro in the back of the seat.
nctrailboss
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Todd627
HondaSxS Club Stress Management Director
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Do you have the link to the Ebay shocks you purchased? Did the Sportsman 500 rears bolt right up on the rear or the front?
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dpnorth
North adventures south
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Yes and no. I think they use a 10mm bolt, and p5 is 12mm. I had different sleeves for the bushings on hand that were 12mm. Change those out, and shoe-horn them in. They are a little less than 16" eye to eye. I used a spring compressors to get them to fit easily. Im not too worried about the suspension going full down. I dont think the axle can pop out. I wanted to ride it hard before suggesting they are truly a good match for the front.
As for the p5 rear, the sportsman 500 rears are way too long. Im going to figure out a bracket to bolt on a 15-16" shock.
dpnorth
North adventures south
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Well guys, i lied. the sportsman 500 rears will fit on the p5 rear too. needs maybe 3/4 of an inch more compression on the springs vs the fronts to make em fit, and also some 12mm sleeves inside the bushings. i got lucky and tractor supply had some hillman sleeves that fit nicely.
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dpnorth
North adventures south
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i got ahead of myself when doing the front and forgot to measure, but these lifted the rear 1 inch exactly with preload cranked all the way up. with least preload it sat same height as stock, but did hit the bump stops.
it is worth noting that there is a good deal of sag in the suspension that factory length shocks do not allow the machine to take advantage of. i wonder if honda does this intentionally to increase life of CVs, or if it is done purely as a cost savings to use the shorter shocks from another machine they had readily available.... i am guessing the latter.
These are a PIA to make fit, but it rides amazing so far. under $100 for all parts and pieces too--used shocks of course.
i plan on stress testing them soon.
it is worth noting that there is a good deal of sag in the suspension that factory length shocks do not allow the machine to take advantage of. i wonder if honda does this intentionally to increase life of CVs, or if it is done purely as a cost savings to use the shorter shocks from another machine they had readily available.... i am guessing the latter.
These are a PIA to make fit, but it rides amazing so far. under $100 for all parts and pieces too--used shocks of course.
i plan on stress testing them soon.
B
What can I do to improve the ride of my P500 without spending a ton of money?
So far I've upgraded to 27" radials, tire pressure is set at 6psi, I disconnected the rear sway bar...what else can I do? This thing rides like a little North Korean tank LOL
I'm coming from the world of Yamaha, and as far as SxS's, my last ones were Rhino's and a Wolverine. I know it's not fair to compare them, but to be honest, the only reason I sold my Yamaha and bought the P500 was its small size. Had I known it rode this rough I might have made a different decision.
Again, money is a key issue, as I don't have much of it
Pic for attention...
View attachment 143502
If you can stand a wider track, try installing wheel spacers. This makes for a longer lever arm for the springs which effectively makes them appear to be softer. Spacers are fairly inexpensive and they can be removed if you need stock width for a 50 inch trail. I’m running 2 inch spacers and they also make the machine more stable on side slopes.
dpnorth
North adventures south
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Ok, so finally got to rip my p5 with sportsman rear shocks all the way around. I LOVE them! Way more plush at slower speeds. Probably not for those that like to get airborne..., but I don’t recall bottoming at all. 40+ mph over some big washes and abrupt dips, soaked them right up! I do get a clunk in the front when wheel drops to full sag quickly. Might be CV but idc. Worth it IMO if I have one fail prematurely. Also, it doesn’t do it often or in a real shocking way. Just an audible thud. I’d be surprised if one failed the way I ride. I didn’t have to mod my machine at all to bolt up. But I had to play around with bushings and sleeves washers. 12mm bolt on p5s. I found these are best and priced right:Energy Suspension 9.9176G UNIVERSAL LINK FLANGE TYPE BUSHING SET But need drilled out a bit
Have the rears at max pre-load, and fronts one or two clicks down from full. 1” of lift all around. 11.5 in rear 11 in front I think with my 27” Zillas. I have 5+2 wheels to, so a little wider.
the wife has a lot of miles in it with me. She ended up driving it for 30 min or so with new shocks. She let me know how great it road without being asked. Said she felt a huge difference. This was coming right out of her AC/textron prowler 500–which rides way better than a stock p5.
Have the rears at max pre-load, and fronts one or two clicks down from full. 1” of lift all around. 11.5 in rear 11 in front I think with my 27” Zillas. I have 5+2 wheels to, so a little wider.
the wife has a lot of miles in it with me. She ended up driving it for 30 min or so with new shocks. She let me know how great it road without being asked. Said she felt a huge difference. This was coming right out of her AC/textron prowler 500–which rides way better than a stock p5.
dpnorth
North adventures south
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Mudder
NTC Ambassador of Walls
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@dpnorth[/USER] . So these may be good for those slow but bumpy trails? I seldom get over 3 rd gear or 15 mph on the wooded/rocky trails. Funny that a google search for Polaris sportsman shocks pulled this up. 16 inches = 400mm,,12 mm bolt.
https://www.amazon.com/Newsmarts-Ad...bers-Universal/dp/B07LCMFD63/?tag=sxsweb24-20
I submitted a question on their site, will see what they reply.
Or another brand, 12 mm. https://www.amazon.com/Mallofusa-Mo...750cc-Kawasaki/dp/B06WP5YFRF/?tag=sxsweb24-20
https://www.amazon.com/Newsmarts-Ad...bers-Universal/dp/B07LCMFD63/?tag=sxsweb24-20
I submitted a question on their site, will see what they reply.
Or another brand, 12 mm. https://www.amazon.com/Mallofusa-Mo...750cc-Kawasaki/dp/B06WP5YFRF/?tag=sxsweb24-20
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dpnorth
North adventures south
Lifetime Member
Yeah, I have A LOT of experience with those RFY shocks. Was running them on the front of my kids RZR170. Not good results. I did try them on the front of my P5 for S's&G's. They fit, but are much too soft. Also, the bushings that come with them are trash. They are basically Ohlins rip-offs. If you arent a guy who can rebuild a motorcycle shock, stay away from these. They do not ship them with enough oil or air in them. They had zero rebound dampening on the 2 sets I had. I ended up swapping the springs from the RFY's to my kids RZR's factory shocks. Success!! Soft and plush, not pogo-bouncing down the trail.
dpnorth
North adventures south
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Not the XP Sportsman, the old one w/ MacPherson strut front suspension. Also, the sleeves in the bushings wont work w/ P5 factory shock bolts. Need to fit an M12, PoPo is sleeved for M10.
You want just the rears, like these:
You want just the rears, like these:
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dpnorth
North adventures south
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I looked around, and a new replacement shock runs about $90 (not including spring, adjuster/perch, & bushings).
So dont get gouged by eBay sellers!
So dont get gouged by eBay sellers!
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