P500 p5 suspension

solrus

solrus

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Looks great @solrus !

Did you gain any ground clearance ?
No, I kept same distance from eye to eye of upper and lower mount = 36 cm , see pics. 9.5 " now. I would gain clearance if I would push a arm down , I did not. I set up WE shocks preload to minimum also.
IMG 20161114 081150969


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Chooglin

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No, I kept same distance from eye to eye of upper and lower mount = 36 cm , see pics. 9.5 " now. I would gain clearance if I would push a arm down , I did not. I set up WE shocks preload to minimum also. View attachment 26359

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That's a bit confusing , you are setting at stock height but yet you have 26" tires now ?............you should be at least somewhere around 10 1/2" clearance now , unless you lost 1.00" from running 6psi in your tires !
 
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solrus

solrus

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I think I lost an inch of clearance on 26" tires, because few factors:

1. WE shocks came already preload adjusted, with a locking nut about an inch down from from the top, I eased it even more until the spring became loose and then i tighten it back but about 1/2" up from the original position.

2. Then I think WE shocks springs are softer then originals so some sagging

I guess I could push a arm down until it stops and then weld mounts. It was anyway not too much travel down, from my measurements, tires off and just let the a arm go down with its own weight, eye to eye of mounts with original shocks was 36 cm, after taking off lower end of shock and pushing a arm down , eye to eye was 36.5 cm, 5 mm only gain.

I'm going back tonight and I will remeasure it again , it will be from the bottom to the edge of lower frame end.
 
solrus

solrus

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Even I lost an inch , I still extremely happy with improved ride.

Just looked up new 2017 model specs , they say - Ground Clearance 8.5 inches.
So I'm still an inch up from stock, and could go up by an inch , by pumping tires to 10 psi and going back to original WE preload .
 
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Chooglin

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Even I lost an inch , I still extremely happy with improved ride.

Just looked up new 2017 model specs , they say - Ground Clearance 8.5 inches.
So I'm still an inch up from stock, and could go up by an inch , by pumping tires to 10 psi and going back to original WE preload .
Ground clearance for the 15's & 16's is 9.6"

It really doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it.........I was just curious why you didn't retain the stock height !!!
 
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solrus

solrus

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Ground clearance for the 15's & 16's is 9.6"

It really doesn't matter as long as you are happy with it.........I was just curious why you didn't retain the stock height !!!


I did not measured what height I've had prior to change. :( , was too excited to made the change, between hunting trips .

I tried to race :), sort of , not like Jak, but went on local highway and once got to 40 mph mark went off road, crossing 45 angle ditch , my tackle angle was 45 degree too and did not roll over, and very smoothly crossed it. My dad was very impressed how smooth it was to cross different obstacles. He tried to talk me out from doing rears . Well he originally did try to talk me out from doing fronts. :)))))

So , I will wait when he goes home and do it later. Just hard to work when no mental support and no knowledge in suspension work except fear of breaking it so he would better stay with stock.
 
chrisC

chrisC

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Even I lost an inch , I still extremely happy with improved ride.

Just looked up new 2017 model specs , they say - Ground Clearance 8.5 inches.
So I'm still an inch up from stock, and could go up by an inch , by pumping tires to 10 psi and going back to original WE preload .
It can go up easy . Just give it more preload. The preload will determine ride height if what all i've read is right? I have mine set about the same . Not much preload at all . I'm chasing a great ride!
I'll try putting in an extra 3/4" preload before my ride this evening and report back on ride height change and subjective view on ride quality. I usually run 3-4 lbs in my tires because of the terrible rocky terrain here. My tires are pitbull growlers and are pretty stiff and heavy. I think the back ones are 40lbs each! They are 27's and supposed to measure 27.7 i believe. With the low pressure they only measure about 26" if i remember correctly.
I cant see any reference to spring rate on the WE site. Anyone know what they are?
 
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Chooglin

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I just received some information on the 425 STANDARD shocks (they have been discontinued according to JCMOTORS)
The 429's replaced the 425 standard shocks !
 
solrus

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I just received some information on the 425 STANDARD shocks (they have been discontinued according to JCMOTORS)
The 429's replaced the 425 standard shocks !
Have you returned 425 hd ??

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Chooglin

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I finished fabbing up the top prototype bracket for the rear shocks. I changed the way I originally designed it.There will be two side brackets and a bracket that will trap the two side brackets (this will support the side brackets from the upward force of the shock).the side brackets will also be bolted to the stock mounts
20161114 201242
This is a crude drawing of how it will be installed on the frame.
20161114 205615
A gave them to the machine shop , to have him make a set of them, so I can get them installed and welded on my machine !
 
chrisC

chrisC

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my front tires with 4lbs air measure an actual 26" and give a 10" clearance .
9.6" seems high for stock clearance on those little stock tires.I still have my original wheels and tires with less than 200 miles on them. . I'll stick those on and measure the difference. What real diameter are the stock tires? I just remember hitting a lot of rocks off the bottom with them.
 
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solrus

solrus

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Ok, remeasured, 9.5" with BH 2.0 26" at 6 psi. I know what has happened, Chris had 18 mm space , I came up with 15 mm, I think if I moved it to 22-25 mm I would be at 10-10.5". BH 2.0 not so rigid , so they compress with 6 psi, so next time in the shop I will put at 10 psi and crank preload by 1/2" up.

Was busy cutting two lambs tonight , :)


Image 0 02 02 ff7791713884c368de54c4a6a300442cfba7b6e3bb7e475b5dd02f3922fd3017 V
IMG 20161114 193316864
IMG 20161114 193352981


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Chooglin

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I wanted to mention something and some of you probably already know this.

When you tighten down your shock mounting bolts , make sure the bike is setting on the ground (a flat level surface) not up on jack stands or jacked up off the ground !
 
chrisC

chrisC

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excellent point! You would be twisting or loading up the rubber mount

The WE shocks have a spherical bearing on the mounts that take care of this...nice units
I got response from WE ....the front units they sell are 250lb springs.20160910 104125 001 1
 
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Jshell3

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I know it's been some time since you have seen or can remember a stock P500. Ha.

I took pics before I changed my wheels.

24" stock tires clearance
IMG 2558
24" stock tires rear fender
IMG 2535
24" stock tires front fender
IMG 2534

After changing to 26" tires.

26" tires clearance
IMG 2552
26" tires rear fender
IMG 2557
26" tires front fender
IMG 2555
 
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solrus

solrus

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We need from the floor to the front OEM skid plate surface
 
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