P1000 Stiffen up the 1000-5

[ohiohunter]

Hey all I wanted to pick everyone's brain to see what I can do or you all have done to stiffen up your 1000-5? this thing is pretty top heavy and my wife hates that about it. We used to have a Polaris Ranger and I had the shocks setup pretty stiff and and you can't do the with the Honda unless I"m missing something, she liked that she could feel the road and didn't seem so top heavy. Can I just go with a stiffer 8 ply tire, will that make enough difference? Any ideas would help if anyone else has ran into this or has done anything to stiffen up the suspension.

Thanks,

 

[Admin]

 

[Smitty335]

Hey all I wanted to pick everyone's brain to see what I can do or you all have done to stiffen up your 1000-5? this thing is pretty top heavy and my wife hates that about it. We used to have a Polaris Ranger and I had the shocks setup pretty stiff and and you can't do the with the Honda unless I"m missing something, she liked that she could feel the road and didn't seem so top heavy. Can I just go with a stiffer 8 ply tire, will that make enough difference? Any ideas would help if anyone else has ran into this or has done anything to stiffen up the suspension.

Thanks,

I would start with 8 ply's and see how it feels. I up graded shocks and what a difference in body roll.

 

[joeymt33]

8 ply tires will help

Chop the cage will help but not for everyone.

HL lift kit will help because it moves the shocks out

Add spring spacer to all four corners to increase spring rate.

The most expensive of course is to buy a good set of shocks with adjustment for preload and compression

 

[ohiohunter]

I would start with 8 ply's and see how it feels. I up graded shocks and what a difference in body roll.

what shocks did you go with? Did you loos your auto level in the back?

 

[ohiohunter]

8 ply tires will help

Chop the cage will help but not for everyone.

HL lift kit will help because it moves the shocks out

Add spring spacer to all four corners to increase spring rate.

The most expensive of course is to buy a good set of shocks with adjustment for preload and compression

I agree on the "chop the cage" not for me.
lift kit not top of my list, I don't like breaking things.
spring spacers would be great idea I think, Any ideas or any aftermarket ones you know of?
What shocks you thinking of, anyone out there running any that would do what I'm looking for?

 

[Plongson]

Believe it or not, adjusting the front alignment to the 1/2" toe in will help how it corners. The way these units are shipped with around 1.5" toe out they PLOW going into corners. It made all the difference in the world in how our unit handles and corners...we can actually hang the rear end out on corners and it tracks like it's on rails.

My wife is totally happy now where before she always thought it was going to roll. Do a search and make the correction...cheaper than suspension.

 

[Smitty335]

what shocks did you got with? Did you loos your auto level in the back?

Elka Stage 5's all the way around, If you ride hard and your shocks are set up right you won't need auto leveling and with the stage 5's you can take the torsion bar off, makes every thing work better in the rocks.

 

[joeymt33]

I agree on the "chop the cage" not for me.
lift kit not top of my list, I don't like breaking things.
spring spacers would be great idea I think, Any ideas or any aftermarket ones you know of?
What shocks you thinking of, anyone out there running any that would do what I'm looking for?

The lift kit won't break things, how you drive it will though.

The spring spacers are pieces of thick wall pipe the guys are cutting. I don't know the measurements but @drfubar recently did his.

I had walker Evans and they are great. Now I have Elka stage 3 and they are also great. I first went with 225# front springs and it was too soft. I switched to 250# and it was much better. I also switched the rear springs from 250# to 275#

 

[joeymt33]

Believe it or not, adjusting the front alignment to the 1/2" toe in will help how it corners. The way these units are shipped with around 1.5" toe out they PLOW going into corners. It made all the difference in the world in how our unit handles and corners...we can actually hang the rear end out on corners and it tracks like it's on rails.

My wife is totally happy now where before she always thought it was going to roll. Do a search and make the correction...cheaper than suspension.

Great point. The OP should check alignment.

 

[Montana]

I put 3/4 inch spacers in and that raised the front about two inches. I put a sleve in the spacer to keep the springs centered. It is an easy fix. I have two spacers extra if someone wants them. You can buy tgem on ebay also. Thanks

 

[GlockMeister]

Yep spring spacer are cheap and easy. I running 7/8 up front and 3/4 in back.

 

[JTW]

8 ply tires will help

Chop the cage will help but not for everyone.

HL lift kit will help because it moves the shocks out

Add spring spacer to all four corners to increase spring rate.

The most expensive of course is to buy a good set of shocks with adjustment for preload and compression

What joe joe said...

I really like my HL lift and the way it feels now.

 

[drfubar]

3/4 spacer in the front and 3/4 in the back... I really like it. Stiffened a little but not bad. The lift is really noticeable the first time you climb in. All it costs is your time.

 

[drfubar]

The lift kit won't break things, how you drive it will though.

The lift kit, the spacers, larger tires, etc. I'm glad someone finally came out and said the obvious! Thank you @joeymt33 for doing that.

 

[dale5740]

The lift kit won't break things, how you drive it will though.

The spring spacers are pieces of thick wall pipe the guys are cutting. I don't know the measurements but @drfubar recently did his.

I had walker Evans and they are great. Now I have Elka stage 3 and they are also great. I first went with 225# front springs and it was too soft. I switched to 250# and it was much better. I also switched the rear springs from 250# to 275#

I did 3/4 then tested still to soft up front then 1" still to soft then 11/8" still little soft but not to bad left those in!! Now I see that someone makes those for the front but not the rear. so 11/8 in front if aggressive and I do mean aggressive driver or not still comfortable not to stiff!! rear I put 1" just to take the slack out doesn't really need spring help in rear anyways just levels it makes me feel better about it!! lol

 

[Delton]

Another vote for the HL lift kit. It really makes a big difference in how stable the machine is. Along with spreading out the shocks as mentioned, the braces work like strut tower braces for fwd cars and helps stiffen the frame. Best 190 bucks I ever spent.

 

[knuckledeep]

Who's making the spacers

 

[drfubar]

Who's making the spacers

You do

 

[knuckledeep]

What's the best thing to make them from I have seen love to steel exhaust pipe

 

[GlockMeister]

What's the best thing to make them from I have seen love to steel exhaust pipe

I used sch. 40 steel pipe.