MX vs. Woods setup?

[KC Tony]

What are the differences between an ideal MX and Woods setup. Mine will be setup for mainly MX but i would like to run a Woods race from time to time. can i get away with just making suspension adjustments and runnin different tires or will i need to make alot of changes from one race to the other?

[batgeek]

your biggest obstacle will be width.

suspension adjustments will be easy. if you are running +2 or +3 arms and +4 axle, yu will find there are many places you wont fit.

[Bill Fuller]

I have beat many tricked out MX bikes on the track.I love to see their faces when I would pull up to the line with a decked out XC bike and lay the smack down to them.MX in my opinion is 100% rider.I race mainly XC but occasionally will get on the MX track to help with cornering and passing.

[KY Woods Rider]

As Batgeek said, the width is going to be the biggest problem. While you may do fine with +2s up front and a +4 in the rear in some sections, you'll have to be more careful and in some sections you may not be able to fit through at all. You could always keep the stock a-arms and axle to put back on for XC, but then you run into another problem, your front shocks. Either you'll have to switch back to stock front shocks or your already stiff front shocks will be so stiff that they'll be practically unrideable with stock width a-arms. Of course you may have to switch back to the stock rear shock too, because running stock fronts with a rear that's set up for MX, you're probably going to have some imbalance problems that you may not be able to tune out completely with the preload and clickers.

You'll need skid plates

You'll need different tires, which may or may not require regearing.

An extra set of uncut front fenders would be extremely handy, otherwise you'd better have a few pair of roll-off goggles (one to start the race and at least one for when you pit), because you're going to get covered with mud and water if you're running shaved front fenders.

That open airbox you run for MX won't work too well when you start hitting mud holes and creek crossings, so you'll need the lid back on there for most races, which also means rejetting.

If you're planning to run the GNCCs, the pipe you run for MX may or may not pass the new sound checks.

If you've got a motor set up for a strong midrange hit and top-end horsepower (like is common for MX), you aren't going to be very happy when you start having to climb muddy and very technical hills and when you start working your way over big logs and rocks. You can still do it, but you'll slip the clutch more in 30 minutes of woods riding than you have in your entire life of riding on an MX track.

That's all I can think of right off the top of my head, but I'm probably missed something.

As Bill Fuller said though, you can take an XC quad and do pretty decent on an MX track, but using an MX quad for XC just doesn't work very well. I occasionally take a trip to the MX track and I'm even running stock shocks (still in college and can't afford most of what I want:( ), and all I do is turn up the preload and turn up the compression to keep from bottoming quite so easily (still bottom at least 5-10 times a lap though:rolleyes: ). I can't do the really big doubles and it's hard to hang with a widened and lowered MX quad in the high speed sweepers, but it's still possible to do pretty decent. If it happens to rain and turns into a big mud fest, look out, the XC set-up can rule the track in those conditions.

[southbeach14]

i'am in the same boat i do both mx and trails,, iam going with an adjustable axle and plus one a-arms,

[Chanman420q]

id go with the +2 a arms and get 4:1 rims for XC and 3:2 rims for MX

[Tommy 17]

i'm in the same boat...

i'm gonna run +1.5 - 3.5 lsr axle and adjust it...

then arens +1 long travel a-arms with elka quad rate shocks set up for GNCC...

18inch tires for mx 20 inch for gncc...

and 21 inch stock offset front tires...

i hope my rear end isn't 2 wide for gncc... i know rico has a similar set up to me...

[KC Tony]

Originally posted by Chanman420q
id go with the +2 a arms and get 4:1 rims for XC and 3:2 rims for MX



Aren't stock rims very cose to 4:1?

[Chanman420q]

yes there like 3.5:1.5 or something in that nature

I do both and i run +1 arms with 4/1 wheels for XC and 3/2 for MX.

An adjustable axle helps also. I run my LS axle at +2 over stock at all times.

[cletusEX]

Rico, how is that axle in the woods? Have you ever had any problems fitting between trees at a GNCC?

Originally posted by cletusEX
Rico, how is that axle in the woods? Have you ever had any problems fitting between trees at a GNCC?

No problems at all. Now I've had a few problems at smaller harescrambles but a GNCC track is like a Highway compared to the smaller circuit races...:o

would 18" rear tires do very good??

[jonc623]

another thing for a xc setup is ground clearance most xc guys want as much as they can get (i do anyway) i run 23 -7-10 tires in thefront and 22-11-9 in the rear some guys use 22 in front and 20 in rear but i think 18 would be horrible in the woods

[xrracer36]

i started woods racing (and eventually mx racing) last year on my mojave (first quad, did it on a bike before that) did very well on it.
got hurt mxing my bike (yz400) mid-season, so i was side-lined the rest of the year, so i sold mojave to buy a 400ex. way better quad. better handling, better suspension (although still too soft at high speeds and in some mx corners)

anyways, what i've learned of set-up:

my 400 came with a +2,+4" LSR axle. inner (+2) settings work just fine for woods riding (aka "harescrambles" around here, which i will refer to as HS from this point on)

put 22" maxxis alltraks on rear rims (came with stock 20"s) for HS.
definitly what i've found to be the biggest factor for HS racing. now my only problem is getting hung up behind lappers who only have 20" tires, getting hung up in ruts. still run stock 21" fronts and do just fine.

for mx, i swap over to the other set of tires i bought for it (20"f/18"r kenda klaws on ITP alum. rims)

and i bought an extra set of rear plastic/seat for mx off ebay at a deal. put a gripper seat cover on mx seat, will put one on HS seat once i get the extra
-anyways, extra rear plastic means i can beat up stock rear red plastic in woods mud and stuff, and easily swap to maier black plastic (which i put # plates on) for mx, and looks great (not scratched)

i am leaving front fenders uncut. you'd have to be brain-dead to want cut fenders i think. they are there for a reason. yeah, you're gonna get muddy with full fenders eventually, too, but you're grips and goggles will stay clean a lot longer.

oh, and i switched to a twist throttle cuz my thumb would go dead on me. (just used to a bike, so i have none of the "control" issues that some have with this mod. way better for my riding style.)

and i run some acerbis flag handguards. plus i sometimes add some big hand sheilds (msr elephant ears, or the mits that go on bars for winter riding). they are a big advantage in really muddy races in the woods.

as for suspension, i run (and bottom out) stock suspension in both. :huh
what can i say?, i'm cheap. i have a hard time justifying the cost of aftermarket suspension. $$$:eek2:$$$
shock wears look cool over stock shocks and keep mud-and-crud out of them

get nerfs. definite safety feature.

but mainly, the only thing i difference between MX and woods races is tires and moving the spacers on the LSR axle out so that the tires are set wider (+4") for mx, and skinnier (+2") for HS.
i have even left the 22" tires on (and set "skinny")for a few mx races, and done just fine. it is a little tippier, but you just gotta compensate for that in your riding style.
that's what most of racing is until you get to the upper B/Aclass levels anyways. rider skill.

racer36


:macho

[marksuttonjr]

Originally posted by Bill Fuller
MX in my opinion is 100% rider.

I have to disagree. MX has a lot more to do with the quad than what XC does, but a good rider can make a huge difference. XC is a lot more rider tham quad, because of how technical the trails can get, and the fact that you can not get the wider MX quads on those trails.