Made my 08 Dragon handle like the PRO chassis.

CoyoteGirl · Apr 20, 2011

Atleast in my opinion she now handles that easy! :heart::face-icon-small-coo

I spent a good month on a Pro and upon going back to my 08 the first thing I noticed was needing more effort to dig that front in, get it to do what I had so easily been able to do on the PRO... carve/cut/spin it on a dime!

I went with the Timbersled Barkbuster A-Arms and spindles, already had the Zbroz Exit shocks. Removed sway bar.

Now she "dips" much easier, smoother and cuts a carve much tighter.

Found myself able to cut back up hill very precisely this past weekend through the trees. Confidence building for sure! Which led to lines like this with broken branches as my trail left behind... SO FUN!

Another side effect I've noticed with this change is the sidehill stability has increased. I was initially hesitant without the sway bar in there, but it really digs in and holds a line fabulously!! Which I'd have to say is a combination with the rear skid as I immediately felt an improvement in the chassis' sidehilling stability when I installed the rear Mtn Tamer. As a stocker I often felt like my sidehilling resembled a rodeo...

Last but not least... trail handling. Trails are a neccessary evil in my world and with the new front end I noticed less darting which means less energy expended on my way to the hill. YAY!!!

For those who aren't upgrading to a PRO I'd highly recommend these 3 things to improve your current ride - Zbroz front shocks, Barkbuster front and Mtn Tamer rear suspensions. You won't be disapointed! :nono:

milehighassassin · Apr 20, 2011

Good report. That is the path I'd like to take. I'll probably go zbros a-arms for they are narrower.

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Jkinzer · Apr 20, 2011

milehighassassin said:
Good report. That is the path I'd like to take. I'll probably go zbros a-arms for they are narrower.

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timbersled offers a 38" front end as well
BarkBuster link

would definitely have to agree on the suspension upgrades though, they make a night and day difference on the iq raw chassis, with the rear suspension set up properly it also helps get away from the trenching issue that all pre PRO chassis Polaris's have

richracer1 · Apr 20, 2011

CoyoteGirl, which Barkbuster kit did you get, the 38" or 40"?

I have the 38" kit on my 09 700RMK and love them. My ski stance can go from 36 1/2" to 37 1/4 to 37 3/4 if I did my initial install measurement right - started at the narrowest stance and crudely measured 36 1/2". The spacers provided are 5/8" thick. I have Fox Float 2s set at 80psi on my sled.

I will say, this very narrow stance makes trail riding a bit interesting as you need move around on the sled a lot more to compensate, but if you stand on one side of the boards the sled, not moving, will lean to the side that your standing on. i have now the spacers on each side of the mount, thus giving me the 37 1/4" stance. I'm leaving it there.

BROX · Apr 21, 2011

Jkinzer said:
timbersled offers a 38" front end as well
BarkBuster link

would definitely have to agree on the suspension upgrades though, they make a night and day difference on the iq raw chassis, with the rear suspension set up properly it also helps get away from the trenching issue that all pre PRO chassis Polaris's have

Do you have any set-up tips to prevent trenching on the stock rear suspension? I would love to upgrade to the mtn tamer but don't think it is in the budget. Thanks.

Jkinzer · Apr 21, 2011

ftx drop n' roll, under $400 and improves the chassis a lot! the stock skid doesnt allow for much improvement at all... the drop and roll will help a lot with the trenching issues though, i have it on my stock dragon 163 with the stock rear suspension and stouter adjusting blocks. night and day difference over stock

mountainhorse · Apr 21, 2011

Naomi looks good... Who is that riding her??? (just kiddin)

Pics look great!!

Good to see you got her so dialed in.... That can take a while but persistence pays!!

AndrettiDog · Apr 22, 2011

If you decide to buy a Pro, let me know if you are selling your 700. I like your mods. Miss my old 700 - it was an overachiever.

CoyoteGirl · Apr 24, 2011

mountainhorse said:
Naomi looks good... Who is that riding her??? (just kiddin)

Thanks Eric. That is my evil twin....:devil:

BugIto said:
If you decide to buy a Pro, let me know if you are selling your 700. I like your mods. Miss my old 700 - it was an overachiever.

Thanks.... probably this fall!

richracer1 said:
CoyoteGirl, which Barkbuster kit did you get, the 38" or 40"?

I went with the 38. I have never been very fast on trails... and this didn't make me any faster. lol But that is fine with me, I don't mind that with the trade off of it being more nimble in the hills. :face-icon-small-coo

Did some ravine riding this weekend and the front end really shined in this environment. Steep downhills with an immediate transition back up the other side. Most of the time it required a sidehill down into a transition to a sidehill back up the other side. Handling this with ease with this front suspension.

Also put the rear suspension to some more testing on a few jumps. Came off a kicker and landed in a bombhole. The suspension neither bottomed out nor bucked on the rebound (whewwww). Had another 08 do the same thing with stock rear arms but Fox Floats and got bucked pretty hard. It was nice to see the difference.

gerrman · Apr 25, 2011

Great post, CoyoteGirl. These machines do handle great and can be better with a little twicking. I have a 09 163 with Zbros Exit front shocks, no sway bar and NexTech's Fox Float rear suspension conversion kit c/w the add-on air reservoir chamber. It rides like a Caddy, turns on dime. Could not be happier. Will add a set of BetterBars this off season. These machines are not done yet!!!:face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo

CoyoteGirl · Apr 26, 2011

gerrman said:
NexTech's Fox Float rear suspension conversion kit c/w the add-on air reservoir chamber.

Is that the funky carbon fiber one armed dude?? LOL (sorry for the description!!! :face-icon-small-blu) Pics??

gerrman · Apr 26, 2011

CoyoteGirl said:
Is that the funky carbon fiber one armed dude?? LOL (sorry for the description!!! :face-icon-small-blu) Pics??

Not quite. It is a Fox Air shock c/w air chamber & torsion bars that replace the existing stock shock, torsion bars and torsion springs. You also relocate the lower mounting point for this kit. What you are referring to is their complete suspension replacement option. :face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo

CoyoteGirl · Apr 28, 2011

gerrman said:
Not quite. It is a Fox Air shock c/w air chamber & torsion bars that replace the existing stock shock, torsion bars and torsion springs. You also relocate the lower mounting point for this kit. What you are referring to is their complete suspension replacement option. :face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo

Ah, cool. Thanks for the picture.

diamonddave · Apr 28, 2011

gerrman said:
Not quite. It is a Fox Air shock c/w air chamber & torsion bars that replace the existing stock shock, torsion bars and torsion springs. You also relocate the lower mounting point for this kit. What you are referring to is their complete suspension replacement option. :face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo

Interseting...what did this set-up run?

I'm running the Carls rear set-up with the Front skid Fox float and the rear Zero-pro that still uses the rear stock springs. I have found that you don't want to run the big boy springs with their set up.

skooter · Apr 28, 2011

ride

I got my 09 dragon to handle like my pro or even better also for $200:face-icon-small-hap. Had walkers revalved at Kurts polaris in mt sled has never handled so goooooooooood since i owed it .

gerrman · Apr 29, 2011

diamonddave said:
Interseting...what did this set-up run?

I'm running the Carls rear set-up with the Front skid Fox float and the rear Zero-pro that still uses the rear stock springs. I have found that you don't want to run the big boy springs with their set up.

Basic Kit is $695 cdn and with the add-on air chamber $849 cdn. Here is a link to NexTech's site "http://carbonsled.com". I originally changed the rear skid shocks to Exits and tried both 0.375/47* & 0.347/47* torsion springs, finally using the 0.347/47* ones. I go 240 lb geared up. So...this past season I rode a buddies '09 163 with the NexTech Kit...What can I say, even though the Exits and different torsion springs were much better than stock...this kit is over the top, at least for me. Rides like a Caddy. Sold the Exits and bought one... Over 200 lbs I would go with the add-on air chamber. I know it is a little pricey...but what aftermarket add sled components are not these days. :face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo:face-icon-small-coo

R_8_N · May 13, 2011

good stuff here. :face-icon-small-coo

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Made my 08 Dragon handle like the PRO chassis.

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