P1000 Suspension help

[MontanaBighorn]

Due to the Bobcat Wildfire (Roundup, MT), my neighbor (who had already evacuated) asked me to store his Polaris in my steel shop to protect it so I hiked down to his property and drove his Polaris back down to my ranch. I'll never own another Polaris after the nightmares I had in the past with them, but the suspension on his new Ranger was like riding on a pillow in comparison to my '20 P1K5D. The difference was drastic. What suspension upgrades are available for my Pioneer, if any, that would give me a truly comparable ride like that?
Thanks,

 

[Admin]

 

[0860silverado]

Due to the Bobcat Wildfire (Roundup, MT), my neighbor (who had already evacuated) asked me to store his Polaris in my steel shop to protect it so I hiked down to his property and drove his Polaris back down to my ranch. I'll never own another Polaris after the nightmares I had in the past with them, but the suspension on his new Ranger was like riding on a pillow in comparison to my '20 P1K5D. The difference was drastic. What suspension upgrades are available for my Pioneer, if any, that would give me a truly comparable ride like that?
Thanks,

I've given up on that quest. The reason for the silky smooth ride of a Polaris is due to the suspension geometry. The A arms are nearly horizontal so when you hit a bump, the wheels go straight up and down with no energy transferred to the chassis. The A arms on a Honda are slanted downward so when a bump is hit, much of the energy is initially transferred to the chassis.

 

[MontanaBighorn]

Is there no type of arched A-arm available for the Pioneer that would correct the geometry? Why wouldn't every manufacturer want a ride this this? I loathe Polaris, they robbed me of four months of warranty coverage while my RZR was in the shop awaiting parts, but dang it really felt like I was riding on a pillow. I was literally out running a wildfire and was racing the trail hitting holes and rocks way harder than I ever have and I would instinctually tense up to take hits that just never came. They've done an amazing job on their suspension and I want that ride on my Pioneer.

 

[ohanacreek]

Due to the Bobcat Wildfire (Roundup, MT), my neighbor (who had already evacuated) asked me to store his Polaris in my steel shop to protect it so I hiked down to his property and drove his Polaris back down to my ranch. I'll never own another Polaris after the nightmares I had in the past with them, but the suspension on his new Ranger was like riding on a pillow in comparison to my '20 P1K5D. The difference was drastic. What suspension upgrades are available for my Pioneer, if any, that would give me a truly comparable ride like that?
Thanks,

Factory Honda shocks suck they were used to satisfy a bean counter. Honda cuts the amenities from their machines to make bean counters happy. Polaris cuts warranty, reliability, and testing from the machine. It’s a different way of looking at the big picture for the two companies. I’ll almost bet my machine Polaris profit margins are greater than Honda’s too.

I would look at Elka, Fox, or Walker Evans. If you can buy them with a custom spring rate and don’t carry a lot of weight try 225lb in the front and 275lb in the rear if you carry weight go for a 300 or a 325 in the rear. The springs can be changed so if you find a really good deal on a set of shocks I wouldn’t worry too much.

I wouldn’t try a dual spring setup on the pioneer shocks it’s almost too short to function well.

 

[rickoshea]

my observation:upgraded shocks will soften the ride but also increase the body roll in the softer settings and if you drop the tire pressure on the stock bighorns you'll increase the wallow factor even more.i can't comment on the swaybar removal effects as mine will stay in.i've been running my Elkas at 16 clicks> hard and manufacture recommended tire pressure and that seems to be my happy medium for my riding area.it's a mix of soft and firm for the more "spirited" riding i prefer.at least with aftermarket shocks you can search for your own happy medium.the oem shocks are horrible.

 

[TI722]

Elka Stage 4. Tell them what type of riding you do and they can valve them to your specs. I feel there is a bit more body roll but not enough to concern me. I also have the sway bar disconnected. But that's more for tough trails than cruising. I myself noticed little to no difference on body roll without it.

 

[0860silverado]

Is there no type of arched A-arm available for the Pioneer that would correct the geometry? Why wouldn't every manufacturer want a ride this this? I loathe Polaris, they robbed me of four months of warranty coverage while my RZR was in the shop awaiting parts, but dang it really felt like I was riding on a pillow. I was literally out running a wildfire and was racing the trail hitting holes and rocks way harder than I ever have and I would instinctually tense up to take hits that just never came. They've done an amazing job on their suspension and I want that ride on my Pioneer.

The only idea I've toyed around with in my head is to lower my P1K with shorter shocks to get the arms nearer to horizontal. I never need much ground clearance with the way I use my machine. I just haven't had time to do it but in my mind, it seems almost certain to give a better ride. (I had a Pol Ranger 570 midsize before my P1K. That thing turned the ride on washboard roads into riding on a salt flat!!!)

 

[rickoshea]

i read somewhere,or maybe it was a youtube video,where they installed the 2" lift and it relocated the shock mounts slightly,anyone know if that makes a difference?

 

[MontanaBighorn]

I'm thankful that we went to get his Polaris; its now the one thing he has left.

 

[ohanacreek]

I'm thankful that we went to get his Polaris; its now the one thing he has left.

Damn that beyond sucks

 

[aauman88]

Yes it’s a significant cost but Texas Tough Customs has two kits that make your pioneer way better. The red one has 3” lift with Fox shocks and white one has 6” long travel with stock shocks. The red one is way better than stock suspension and the white one is way better than the red one.
Both pushes front wheels out 3.5” and rear wheels back 3.5” so the wheelbase helps too.