P500 p5 suspension

[pFive]

Before a stereo?! Lol...guess I have my priorities all mixed up.

Just going from my personal experience...
(Loud music often makes me think I am a hero...mix in some rum and you get my P5 on it's side)

 

[Admin]

 

[trigger]

Just going from my personal experience...
(Loud music often makes me think I am a hero...mix in some rum and you get my P5 on it's side)

Yeah, cranking an aggressive playlist definitely makes you push the machine a little harder.

 

[illinoisdave]

i have a question on this instead of changing the shock/ mounting location would it be easier to change the coil over springs? we used to do this on dirt modifieds we never changed the shocks just the coil overs for what weight we wanted it to compress at.

 

[solrus]

i have a question on this instead of changing the shock/ mounting location would it be easier to change the coil over springs? we used to do this on dirt modifieds we never changed the shocks just the coil overs for what weight we wanted it to compress at.

That OEM shock hard to disassemble, not sure if valving is ok and its not adjustable like WE , to relocate mount on my second try was an hour deal.

 

[illinoisdave]

ok i am not afraid to cut and fabricate but i have always tried to operate under the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) always looking for the easy/ cheaper way to do something.

 

[solrus]

ok i am not afraid to cut and fabricate but i have always tried to operate under the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) always looking for the easy/ cheaper way to do something.

Try to disassemble the OEM shock. I could not without spring compressor. And dont want to , easier just to buy new 2017 shocks with adjustments.

 

[illinoisdave]

definitely have to have the spring compressor to change but i see your point easier to buy the new setup without fighting it.

 

[JWB]

My air suspension saga has reached completion as of yesterday, after spending three days on the H.M. trails. Had a short day on Friday, and confirmed that the improvement in ride does not degrade with speed, and that, once the air pressure is adjusted for load and balance, cornering ability can actually be improved over stock, and that's with the sway bar removed. On Saturday, we made an 87 mile round trip (7 straight hours of hard riding-burned 6 gallons of fuel) over 'difficult' level trails, and although we were exhausted when we got back, I had no seat belt bruises, and was not beat up at all. On Sunday morning, my brother jumped in with me for the ride to last years game stopper- Trail #32. His first comment to me about the machine- he had never ridden in it before- was "this dam thing rides better than my truck!" When we got to the steep climb- the part that stopped me last year, I set the front shock valves to 'articulate', lowered the front shock pressure a smidge, and rolled. My P500 successfully clawed it's way to the top of trail 32 with me, my brother, and the cargo box full of fuel, ropes, air lines, stock shocks, etc, without any drama whatsoever. Kept all four wheels firmly planted and pulling the whole way up!! Trail 32, and me getting beat half to death on the previous H.M. trip, was the whole inspiration for searching out a suspension mod. I had forgotten how steep that climb was, let alone the near vertical ledges that the machine had to climb up, and on-to, to continue the climb. After 'conquering' 32 YA!!! we rode back to the cabin, picked up my brothers machine (850 Scrambler) and made another 80 mile round trip on mostly 'easy' trails. We were averaging 20-30 mph on that ride, and at one point, went through a stretch of moguls/whoops at full throttle 5th gear getting air on every one. I won't say it was graceful by any stretch, but, no bottoming, no rebound 'bounce', and no getting bucked into the seat belt. If I had done that before, me, the machine, or both of us would have come home with broken parts. Just to add icing on the cake, I was able to help two other riders that we met on the trails. One guy had a tire going flat, so I connected my 25' air hose and opened a valve- done! Another guy with a group of bikers ran out of gas. Pulled one of my 2 gallon cans out of the cargo box- he was rolling in 5 minutes. Sweet! A great trip all round. So that's it. I am completely satisfied and comfortable saying, that the 'JWB mod' is a totally viable, functional, and so far, reliable, (300 miles of pure abuse) very affordable, performance enhancing in every aspect, suspension upgrade for the P-500. Gotta say it- this feels good!! and thanks to all you guys for helping me think 'outside the box' this is y'alls success too.

 

[Chooglin]

This is great news @JWB , I have to say , I thought there would be issues with air loss one way or another.
It sounds like it is a very dependable and reliable setup. I am really glad there are guys like you that are willing to stick your neck out and try these mods............great job man !

 

[JWB]

This is great news @JWB , I have to say , I thought there would be issues with air loss one way or another.
It sounds like it is a very dependable and reliable setup. I am really glad there are guys like you that are willing to stick your neck out and try these mods............great job man !

THANKS! If I find issues in the future I'll let y'all know quick.

 

[KYhillbilly]

Thanks for the update I may have to go with your setup. I live about 1.5 hours from the HM trails and 10 minutes from Rush offroad but have not ridden either one. I need to check them out. Typically short rides 1-10 miles on old logging roads on private property.

 

[pFive]

We go to Brimstone later this month, I hope to have good results. I kept the rears stock for now, we will see how it goes. Thanks JWB!

 

[JWB]

We go to Brimstone later this month, I hope to have good results. I kept the rears stock for now, we will see how it goes. Thanks JWB!

You're welcome! The fronts really make the biggest difference. Look forward to hearing how it does.

 

[Montecresto]

My air suspension saga has reached completion as of yesterday, after spending three days on the H.M. trails. Had a short day on Friday, and confirmed that the improvement in ride does not degrade with speed, and that, once the air pressure is adjusted for load and balance, cornering ability can actually be improved over stock, and that's with the sway bar removed. On Saturday, we made an 87 mile round trip (7 straight hours of hard riding-burned 6 gallons of fuel) over 'difficult' level trails, and although we were exhausted when we got back, I had no seat belt bruises, and was not beat up at all. On Sunday morning, my brother jumped in with me for the ride to last years game stopper- Trail #32. His first comment to me about the machine- he had never ridden in it before- was "this dam thing rides better than my truck!" When we got to the steep climb- the part that stopped me last year, I set the front shock valves to 'articulate', lowered the front shock pressure a smidge, and rolled. My P500 successfully clawed it's way to the top of trail 32 with me, my brother, and the cargo box full of fuel, ropes, air lines, stock shocks, etc, without any drama whatsoever. Kept all four wheels firmly planted and pulling the whole way up!! Trail 32, and me getting beat half to death on the previous H.M. trip, was the whole inspiration for searching out a suspension mod. I had forgotten how steep that climb was, let alone the near vertical ledges that the machine had to climb up, and on-to, to continue the climb. After 'conquering' 32 YA!!! we rode back to the cabin, picked up my brothers machine (850 Scrambler) and made another 80 mile round trip on mostly 'easy' trails. We were averaging 20-30 mph on that ride, and at one point, went through a stretch of moguls/whoops at full throttle 5th gear getting air on every one. I won't say it was graceful by any stretch, but, no bottoming, no rebound 'bounce', and no getting bucked into the seat belt. If I had done that before, me, the machine, or both of us would have come home with broken parts. Just to add icing on the cake, I was able to help two other riders that we met on the trails. One guy had a tire going flat, so I connected my 25' air hose and opened a valve- done! Another guy with a group of bikers ran out of gas. Pulled one of my 2 gallon cans out of the cargo box- he was rolling in 5 minutes. Sweet! A great trip all round. So that's it. I am completely satisfied and comfortable saying, that the 'JWB mod' is a totally viable, functional, and so far, reliable, (300 miles of pure abuse) very affordable, performance enhancing in every aspect, suspension upgrade for the P-500. Gotta say it- this feels good!! and thanks to all you guys for helping me think 'outside the box' this is y'alls success too.

Awesome news JWB!!!

 

[JWB]

Here's the link to the final climb up #32.

 

[pFive]

Thanks for the video!

 

[JWB]

Thanks for the video!

You bet! Had a blast making it! The video ended right there cause the camera died!

 

[bikeman]

You bet! Had a blast making it! The video ended right there cause the camera died!

jwb: i am ordering parts for this mod. i am going to use clippard fill and bleed valves on each wheel end to allow me to drop or raise one side of the machine. the question that i have for you is which viair compressor did you use and does it work adequately with out a jack tank. and i have some confusion on the part # of the gabriel shocks my notes said you used 49304 is this correct? the viair compressor i am going to order is the model 98 unless you think i need a bigger one. one more question do you think based on your experience will we need to exceed 120 psi in the system
regards
bikeman

 

[JWB]

jwb: i am ordering parts for this mod. i am going to use clippard fill and bleed valves on each wheel end to allow me to drop or raise one side of the machine. the question that i have for you is which viair compressor did you use and does it work adequately with out a jack tank. and i have some confusion on the part # of the gabriel shocks my notes said you used 49304 is this correct? the viair compressor i am going to order is the model 98 unless you think i need a bigger one. one more question do you think based on your experience will we need to exceed 120 psi in the system
regards
bikeman

49304 is correct, and I am using the viair 98c pump with a .5 gallon tank. This is working well, I probably don't need the tank, and so far, 120 psi is plenty- with the machine unloaded. In other words, if you have a pressure gauge connected, and pressurize the fronts to 70psi, and the rear to 90psi with no load in the machine, and then climb in and add some gear, the pressures will all go up quite a bit. It's not a problem, except when you want to stiffen up the suspension on the fly. With my system at 120 psi I needed a little more pressure to get the rear a little stiffer with the box loaded and me in the machine- I don't have a pressure gauge so I can't give you exact numbers. My compressor switch has a momentary position so I can override the pressure switch when I need to, but I never had to run the compressor more than 10-15 seconds past the 120psi cut-off to firm it up while loaded and going down the trail. The 98c literature says 130psi max, so it seems to be enough. It will fill the whole system to 120psi from 0 in about a minute. Without the tank, probably 40 seconds. What really surprised me, is that once you get the machine to a comfortable 'base' setting, it takes very small changes in pressure to make a big difference in handling, or bottoming resistance. If you think you might have a need to get the machine on the 'tips of it's toes' so to speak, while loaded, you should definitely consider a higher pressure compressor, just to make your life easier.

 

[bikeman]

49304 is correct, and I am using the viair 98c pump with a .5 gallon tank. This is working well, I probably don't need the tank, and so far, 120 psi is plenty- with the machine unloaded. In other words, if you have a pressure gauge connected, and pressurize the fronts to 70psi, and the rear to 90psi with no load in the machine, and then climb in and add some gear, the pressures will all go up quite a bit. It's not a problem, except when you want to stiffen up the suspension on the fly. With my system at 120 psi I needed a little more pressure to get the rear a little stiffer with the box loaded and me in the machine- I don't have a pressure gauge so I can't give you exact numbers. My compressor switch has a momentary position so I can override the pressure switch when I need to, but I never had to run the compressor more than 10-15 seconds past the 120psi cut-off to firm it up while loaded and going down the trail. The 98c literature says 130psi max, so it seems to be enough. It will fill the whole system to 120psi from 0 in about a minute. Without the tank, probably 40 seconds. What really surprised me, is that once you get the machine to a comfortable 'base' setting, it takes very small changes in pressure to make a big difference in handling, or bottoming resistance. If you think you might have a need to get the machine on the 'tips of it's toes' so to speak, while loaded, you should definitely consider a higher pressure compressor, just to make your life easier.

jwb since your the only guy i know that has done this suspension mod i need to bug you again with regards to the sizing of the compressor. viair 380c will pump to 200 psi but costs around 150.00 dollars i and my wife are both 200 pd plus people, i do ride where ground clearance is a premium. in your experience could i get by with a 150 psi compressor which is considerably cheaper or should i bite the bullet and get the the bigger one i have no frame of reference to make a judgement except that i am trying to keep this build around 800. dollars and one more question do you observe that the fill times to the shocks a reasonable with 1/8 line all around . i appreciate any wisdom that you have in this matter.
bikeman