How To Soften Suspension ?

4745 Views 28 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Joester, Mar 28, 2009

gioc

Discussion Starter · Mar 18, 2009

i have recently purchased an 05 yfz 450. I took it out for its maiden voyage which was not bad at all. But by the end of the second day my wrist where hurting pretty good. the suspension was super ruff. im not realy sure how to soften it up, is it possible to do so without by new suspension? another thing is that it was leaking front brake fluid any idea as to why?
well any help would be appreciated. thanx.

1 - 20 of 29 Posts

Joester

· #2 · Mar 18, 2009

there is a screw on the outside top of all the shocks which is compression setting

there is a screw on the inside on the bottom of the fronts and on the right bottom of the back which is rebound

to adjust ride height/preload you turn the spring which i believe is quite self explanatory (questions just ask)

screwing the comp sping in makes it harder, out for softer
screwing the rebound screw in makes it faster and out for slower.

take a look at the 450 garage wiki and take some time to read this. its alot, but it helped me a whole bunch

http://quadhub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_setup

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Joester

· #3 · Mar 18, 2009

oh, check the bolts for the brake fluid depending on where its leaking

gioc

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 26, 2009

QUOTE (Joester @ Mar 17 2009, 07:32 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=758977

oh, check the bolts for the brake fluid depending on where its leaking[/b]

thanx for the help it worked

07hooligan

· #5 · Mar 26, 2009

QUOTE (Joester @ Mar 17 2009, 10:31 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=758975

screwing the rebound screw in makes it faster and out for slower.[/b]

I thought the rebound screw was rebound dampening force, where if you screwed it in that would cause it to rebound slower. :icon_eek: Either you accidently worded it wrong or this is why my suspension is screwed up and bucks me.

gtilley45

· #6 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (07HOOLIGAN @ Mar 26 2009, 08:30 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762457

I thought the rebound screw was rebound dampening force, where if you screwed it in that would cause it to rebound slower. :icon_eek: Either you accidently worded it wrong or this is why my suspension is screwed up and bucks me.[/b]

Rebound has nothing to do with dampening. Rebound controls how fast the shock "rebounds" after it is compressed. It very well could be why your suspension is messed up and is bucking you. If you have the rebound too fast, the shock will spring back too fast and it'll buck. Or if the rebound is too slow, the shock will "pack" through whoops and it'll feel like it's bucking then too. Most people run their rebound as fast as they can get it without it bucking.

Joester

· #7 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (07HOOLIGAN @ Mar 26 2009, 05:30 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762457

I thought the rebound screw was rebound dampening force, where if you screwed it in that would cause it to rebound slower. :icon_eek: Either you accidently worded it wrong or this is why my suspension is screwed up and bucks me.[/b]

yeah, i was confused about that. the manual words it realy weird, but im 65% sure its in=faster out=slower, lol

gtilley45

· #8 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (Joester @ Mar 26 2009, 08:35 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762675

but im 65% sure its in=faster out=slower, lol[/b]

Then go with the OTHER 35%. :mhihi: As long as you're talking about rebound, it's just the opposite. Loosen (out) is faster rebound, tighten (in) is slower rebound.

Joester

· #9 · Mar 27, 2009

crap.

gtilley45

· #10 · Mar 27, 2009

Ah, don't sweat it man. Everybody's gotta learn somehow, right? :icon_cool:

Joester

· #11 · Mar 27, 2009

hold on a second...

Joester

· #12 · Mar 27, 2009

http://quadhub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Su...n_setup#Rebound

thats where i learned... stupid quadhub... lol sidewinder.

click on the sub-section rebound and read the last few lines

Joester

· #13 · Mar 27, 2009

http://quadhub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Su...n_setup#Rebound

thats where i learned... stupid quadhub... lol sidewinder.

click on the sub-section rebound and read the last few lines

fail... or maybe YFZs are different

HFA_Ultima

· #14 · Mar 27, 2009

Hey I got a quick question on this as well. I have messed with the screw-ins to get it better but I was looking at my Raptors shocks, and my friends 07 YFZ shocks. They have a actual nut around theirs, what does this do?

Joester

· #15 · Mar 27, 2009

it doesn nothing to my knowledge, but on the 08 yfz it is high speed comp adjust i think.

HFA_Ultima

· #16 · Mar 27, 2009

I dont have a manual to either of mine. But I knew theres the screw on the bottom of the shock and on the resevoir. Then on the newer shocks it like a adjustment nut. You dont thinkm it does anything?

gtilley45

· #17 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (Joester @ Mar 26 2009, 08:53 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762698

http://quadhub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Su...n_setup#Rebound

thats where i learned... stupid quadhub... lol sidewinder.

click on the sub-section rebound and read the last few lines

fail... or maybe YFZs are different[/b]

Well, I just looked in the manual I have for my '04 and it has a picture of the rebound adjuster and says.....
"Direction A (right or tightening)---->Rebound dampning force increased (rebound slowed down)"
"Direction B (left or loosening) ----->Rebound dampning force decreased (rebound sped up)"

Joester

· #18 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (gtilley45 @ Mar 26 2009, 05:10 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762663

Rebound has nothing to do with dampening. Rebound controls how fast the shock "rebounds" after it is compressed. It very well could be why your suspension is messed up and is bucking you. If you have the rebound too fast, the shock will spring back too fast and it'll buck. Or if the rebound is too slow, the shock will "pack" through whoops and it'll feel like it's bucking then too. Most people run their rebound as fast as they can get it without it bucking.[/b]

thats what you were talking about here ^^

QUOTE (gtilley45 @ Mar 26 2009, 06:11 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762715

Well, I just looked in the manual I have for my '04 and it has a picture of the rebound adjuster and says.....
"Direction A (right or tightening)---->Rebound dampning force increased (rebound slowed down)"
"Direction B (left or loosening) ----->Rebound dampning force decreased (rebound sped up)"[/b]

yeah, i found that confusing. in the manual it seems as though INCREASING the dampening force would actaully slow it down.. and i just tried it out, and i cant really tell, but it does seem slower when you turn it in. so well go with that.

gtilley45

· #19 · Mar 27, 2009

QUOTE (HFA_Ultima @ Mar 26 2009, 09:10 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762714

I dont have a manual to either of mine. But I knew theres the screw on the bottom of the shock and on the resevoir. Then on the newer shocks it like a adjustment nut. You dont thinkm it does anything?[/b]

The screw on the bottom is the rebound adjustment. The one on the resivior is the compression adjustment. On the newer models (started in '07 I THINK) they have a high and low speed compression adjustments. The outer one (I THINK) is high speed, and the inner one (I THINK) is low speed. I know that's how my Fox shocks are, and I think the stockers work the same. The way my suspension guy explaind it to me was the low speed is mainly for traction and weight transfer (body roll, front to back weight transfer so the rear tires will hook up, etc.) and the high speed is for square edge bumps and big jump landings.

QUOTE (Joester @ Mar 26 2009, 09:15 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=762719

yeah, i found that confusing. in the manual it seems as though INCREASING the dampening force would actaully slow it down.. and i just tried it out, and i cant really tell, but it does seem slower when you turn it in. so well go with that.[/b]

You are correct. Increasing the dampining force will slow the rebound. Decreasing dampning force will speed up the rebound.

As for you not being able to tell.............and not to sound like a d!ck, but do you really know what to look for? What I mean is, how did you check it? Did you just push down on the quad and see if you could visually see it rebound faster? Unless you are REALLY good at dialing in suspension and know shocks inside and out, it'll be hard for you to see it. The guy that does my suspension will push up and down on the grab bar really fast (as to simulate going through whoops) and if the rear shock doesn't rebound right, he can tell that way. But then again, he's been building shocks and setting up quads since most people on this site have been old enough to walk, even longer than some of the younger guys around here have been able to walk. :mhihi:

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Joester

· #20 · Mar 27, 2009

i just pushed down and let it come back up, and did that with the screw all the way in, and then all the way out. i could kinda tell a difference.

and i think it started in 08. my 07s only have low speed with a silver un-movable thing around the screw, while my friends 08 shocks have a gold nut around the inner screw.

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