ride height

[quaddy87]

whats is supposed to be the correct ride height on an mx quad.

[steve26]

it depends on the quad and track to be exact. but to get an idea... your rear should be somewhere around 7" and the front should be about 7 1/4 - 7 1/2". You need another person with you to measure. Sit on the bike in riding position, have someone push down on the bumper, turn the bars left to right, have them release then turn again. Then have the person mesaure the bottom of the frame near your footpeg to the ground, and right behind your a-arm mount to the ground.

[2000_mx_banshee]

Nice answer steve, exactly what he said, perfect explanation.

About the variations for different tracks or terain a general rule (do some testing) is the softer the sand and less packed it is the higher you should go. An example would be running 7" on a hard packed slick track and 8" in softer sandy tracks.
But remember... more spring tension caused by increasing preaload (which is required to raise the frame) means a harder ride, you should therefor back off some compression. The opposite is also true, when you lower the frame by backing off preload you are weakening the amout of initial tension on the springs and will therefor get a softer ride, so you need more compression.

On my particular set up I raise the frame like I said above, 1" for 2 of the soft tracks in my area. When I do so I increase my compression 6 clicks in the rear and 4 clicks in the front. This is just an example and a starting point, I will go out for practice then come in and make adjustments form there.

Steve mentioned having the front of your quad slightly higher than the rear. The measurments he gave is what Elka and Axis recommend in their Owner's manual. Again, do some testing. I found that on my particular quad and suspension set up I need to be equal. I'm not say you should be, I'm saying set as recommended then go from there. The Banshee is known for having quite a bit of sag in the rear. This is due to geometry and design. Even though my rear shock already has a heavier spring than it should for my weight it still wants to squat and give me very light steering. (This means that the rear end is squating so much that the front tires don't have enough wheight on them to get proper traction to turn in tight corners) By lowering my front frame height it put my quad in BALANCE, and it handles like a charm.

Anyways... I'm rambling!

the gc should be between 6-8 depending on the track.

[Flynbryan19]

You guys are also talking about ZPS suspension though..... You'll never get a stock suspended quad that low.

[2000_mx_banshee]

You bet!

[quaddy87]

thanks for the detailed answers!