Rough Riding

[B B]

My property sucks for riding, nothing but glacier rock. It's always been rough riding, but it's getting worse. I have a '24 with low miles, I don't ride nearly as much as others. Every time I go out I'd swear the ride is getting rougher. I already have shocks set to the softest setting and have for a while, but still every ride seems to get rougher. I'm also running stock tires at 10 pounds. I'm not dumping anymore money into it for a new suspension. What, if anything, can be done to to give this thing a better ride?

 

[DogRunner2]

Have you adjusted the preload on the springs? If you're not "dumping" any more money into that thing then that's about it.

 

[JTBarlow]

As @DogRunner2 said, adjusting the spring preload to regain proper ride height will make a big difference in the ride quality. The Fox QS3s on the Xpeditions has a internal spiral bypass, and if the height is too low (or too high) it sets the piston near the end of that bypass, and reduces the effectiveness of it.
Another thing I’ve found is that the nitrogen pressures in the QS3s has been all over the place. Getting the proper nitrogen pressure set will improve the ride quality as well. To accomplish this, the nitrogen reservoir caps need to be drilled and threaded for HPHT Schrader valves, or you can buy reservoir caps with them already in them from the likes of Schmidty Racing, Shock Therapy, and others.
The service manual says the front shocks should be at 100 psi and the rears at 150 psi.

 

[JTBarlow]

If all else fails, jump in a General or Ranger and do the same ride. This is guaranteed to improve the ride experience in the Xpedition instantly!

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Schmidty says put 200 psi in your shocks which is what I did. New springs will help.
You can't fix the ride without putting money into it other than adjusting the springs

 

[JTBarlow]

There’s a range of pressures that’s ok on the nitrogen. I originally had the 200 psi recommended by Schmidty, but it was a little stiffer than I liked. So I dropped them to 150.

The pressures in the service manual I take as a baseline.

And I agree on new springs. OEM springs always sag after a while, and require too much preload to maintain proper height. Good quality springs, like Swift or Eibach will maintain their height and spring. I don’t recommend MTS as we’ve seen too many problems with them.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I haven't rode mine enough to know about the 200 psi yet but will keep your suggestion of 150 in mind. Thanks

 

[DogRunner2]

There’s a range of pressures that’s ok on the nitrogen. I originally had the 200 psi recommended by Schmidty, but it was a little stiffer than I liked. So I dropped them to 150.

The pressures in the service manual I take as a baseline.

And I agree on new springs. OEM springs always sag after a while, and require too much preload to maintain proper height. Good quality springs, like Swift or Eibach will maintain their height and spring. I don’t recommend MTS as we’ve seen too many problems with them.

What kind of problems? I put MTS on about 500 miles ago and haven't had any issues.

 

[JTBarlow]

What kind of problems? I put MTS on about 500 miles ago and haven't had any issues.

Our previous suspension guy had the equipment to measure their spring rates. MTS consistently measured under what their rates said. And the ones I’ve seen had a tendency to bow, causing rubbing from the spring dividers on the shock body, Even with the tails aligned properly.

 

[DogRunner2]

Our previous suspension guy had the equipment to measure their spring rates. MTS consistently measured under what their rates said. And the ones I’ve seen had a tendency to bow, causing rubbing from the spring dividers on the shock body, Even with the tails aligned properly.

Interesting. I feel they got the rates right and have no bowing. I guess time will tell.First I've heard of this.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

From the Xpedition service manual

 

[SteelBoss]

I did the shock therapy upgrade to mine and notice a wonderful feeling in the ride especially over the small bumps, and rocks . They are more progressive from the stock spring set up.

 

[garciava]

I went with the STI single springs. Rides great and no worry about spring rubbing on the shock body.

 

[DAKOTA]

I went with the STI single springs. Rides great and no worry about spring rubbing on the shock body.

What kind of riding do you do? Been thinking of getting single rate springs. Their setup makes sense due to the weight of the machine

 

[garciava]

I live in Western Colorado, so we do all kinds of riding. Rough mountain roads to rough desert Moab type riding including some rock crawling. I like the spring set up. My son has installed several sets on Xpeditions including brand new Xpeditions for our local Polaris dealer. I PM you with more info

 

[EricB]

As @DogRunner2 said, adjusting the spring preload to regain proper ride height will make a big difference in the ride quality. The Fox QS3s on the Xpeditions has a internal spiral bypass, and if the height is too low (or too high) it sets the piston near the end of that bypass, and reduces the effectiveness of it.
Another thing I’ve found is that the nitrogen pressures in the QS3s has been all over the place. Getting the proper nitrogen pressure set will improve the ride quality as well. To accomplish this, the nitrogen reservoir caps need to be drilled and threaded for HPHT Schrader valves, or you can buy reservoir caps with them already in them from the likes of Schmidty Racing, Shock Therapy, and others.
The service manual says the front shocks should be at 100 psi and the rears at 150 psi.

I just ran across this Shock Therapy review/first impressions for the Xpedition. In that video they talk about the spiral shock bypass and how ride height effect ride quality,

Xpedition First Impressions

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I just ran across this Shock Therapy review/first impressions for the Xpedition. In that video they talk about the spiral shock bypass and how ride height effect ride quality,

Xpedition First Impressions

With my Schmidty springs and 200 psi in the shocks, mine rides great on the rocks. Schmidty sets ride height by the amount of shock piston showing

 

[DogRunner2]

I've had MTS springs for awhile but just put caps with Schrader valves in and charged them to 180. Front shocks didn't have much pressure in them.