Will this help me???

[400grl]

Hi guys!

I am thinking I need to change my setup a little.....the problem is I get arm pump about the beginning of the 4th lap in my motos....especially when it's cold outside or the track is particularly rough. I know this will happen when you can only ride on weekends, like me anyway - but I think my setup might be exasberating the problem a little.......

I'm running +1+3 up front, (have the triplerate Elkas) with the little holeshots up front (I believe they are 20x7x10's).....went with the smaller fronts for better turning, but I am thinking I need to go back to stock size. The little tires are great for turning, but they just dive into holes and ruts, and it's all I can do to keep the bars in my hands when I throttle through that stuff.

I was also considering getting a steering damper. I haven't, up until now, because I have ridden a quad with one and the steering felt very stiff. But I'm thinking if I go bigger up front and get the damper, this might help me keep the arm pump away for a little longer.

Any comments? Any suggestions??? Thanks!

[infantry317]

Hey I know you've raced more than me but I've heard on here that filling the handlebars with clear silicone helps, I would assume that good handlebars with more flex is a good thing. Softer grips. Dampner is a must for any riding IMO. They also make the fancy wrist resters. Just what I've heard here and at the races!
Good Luck! :devil
Scott

[Doibugu2]

I have a new dampener, which I have not gotten to ride with yet, but they are adjustable. So maybe the one you rode was just set to hard for you liking. Just a thought.

[QuadTrix6]

before you start switching to bigger tires pick yourself up a denton rebuildable steering stabalizer, you will never want to ride without it...as for the one you rode that was stiff, this is adjustable..7 different settings so you can soften it or make it harder how ever you want, it will help out arm pump a lot ..good luck :cool:

[Razorback]

Originally posted by 400grl
Hi guys!

I am thinking I need to change my setup a little.....the problem is I get arm pump about the beginning of the 4th lap in my motos....especially when it's cold outside or the track is particularly rough. I know this will happen when you can only ride on weekends, like me anyway - but I think my setup might be exasberating the problem a little.......

I'm running +1+3 up front, (have the triplerate Elkas) with the little holeshots up front (I believe they are 20x7x10's).....went with the smaller fronts for better turning, but I am thinking I need to go back to stock size. The little tires are great for turning, but they just dive into holes and ruts, and it's all I can do to keep the bars in my hands when I throttle through that stuff.

I was also considering getting a steering damper. I haven't, up until now, because I have ridden a quad with one and the steering felt very stiff. But I'm thinking if I go bigger up front and get the damper, this might help me keep the arm pump away for a little longer.

Any comments? Any suggestions??? Thanks!

The +3 a-arms helps for handling, but it will cause the bump-steer and just general rough riding on your arms. I have +2, but use offset rims, so I'm effectively at +3 also, and have the same problem.

The steering damper will help quite a bit. It will make your steering feel a little different, but works great for rough tracks. Also, either a hydraulic clutch or a MSR Raptor clutch with a reducer will help tremendously. The hydraulic clutch is one of the best mods I've made for arm pump reduction.

Also, a good set of aluminum bars will help to reduce fatigue. If you're riding hard pack tracks a lot, try some grooved radials, because they will slide better and not dive so much. One note about radials though, is that they don't do worth a darn in thick, loose dirt or sand. They just won't bite. You can't beat them on a nice packed track :) Don't change to a bigger tire. You won't be happier.

If you get a steering damper, get a rebuildable one (like was mentioned earlier), and I would recommend the Denton or the other ones designed like the Denton (where the connection is to the front of the frame, not to the motor mounts like the PEP).

[abcracing]

arm pump is caused by holding on to tight.go onto www.motocrosstrainer.com and it will explain everything there. it is a great site and will help out a lot.as far as ur tires go,if ur running mx don't go any bigger than 20 inch tires. what u could do is work with ur air pressure to fix ur problems. a stering dampner will help but i know i don't like running one. ur shock setup might be wrong also if ur getting that worn out so fast.try these diffrent things and hopefully they will help you.

[400grl]

Hmmmmmm.....good info. I'm not so sure I'm going to go to bigger tires now.....maybe I will wait on that and try some other things first. I like the hydrolic clutch idea - I've seen those, but always thought of them as a luxury item! Sounds like it might help me alot.....I do hang on tight...our tracks get hard packed and rutted.....and they are fast, so you are hauling around at some places in 5th gear pinned - I have the grip of death on my bars at those places! I like the idea mentioned in that website about relaxing your hands over the jumps! I can do that......we have some nice big tables that would be perfect for a little break! :)

I have Renthal ATV bars...and Renthal medium compound grips.....do you think switching to soft will make much of a difference?

I will have to think about the dampner idea (how do you spell that, anyway???).......they just feel wierd.

My shocks are set really soft right now, since my last race. I've adjusted the rebound and the compression......I think it's helped a little, but I don't want them too soft.....

This is great - thanks for the input - keep it coming!

[Razorback]

Originally posted by 400grl
Hmmmmmm.....good info. I'm not so sure I'm going to go to bigger tires now.....maybe I will wait on that and try some other things first. I like the hydrolic clutch idea - I've seen those, but always thought of them as a luxury item! Sounds like it might help me alot.....I do hang on tight...our tracks get hard packed and rutted.....and they are fast, so you are hauling around at some places in 5th gear pinned - I have the grip of death on my bars at those places! I like the idea mentioned in that website about relaxing your hands over the jumps! I can do that......we have some nice big tables that would be perfect for a little break! :)

I have Renthal ATV bars...and Renthal medium compound grips.....do you think switching to soft will make much of a difference?

I will have to think about the dampner idea (how do you spell that, anyway???).......they just feel wierd.

My shocks are set really soft right now, since my last race. I've adjusted the rebound and the compression......I think it's helped a little, but I don't want them too soft.....

This is great - thanks for the input - keep it coming!

You've got good bars, so I wouldn't worry about getting any others. The softer compound grips would be of assistance too.

A couple more things: Make sure your throttle cable is in good shape. If you've had the quad for a while, just get a new one. It's like $15 from www.servicehonda.com. Also, be sure not to over-tighten your gloves and make sure they are big enough. If your gloves are too tight, they won't let the blood circulation flow well through your hands and arms.

You're doing the right thing working with your suspension. Don't make the mistake of getting it too soft though, because that can cause you as much problem as setting it too stiff. You'll probably have to change it from track to track if the terrain varies a lot.

Make the cheap and free changes first :D

[Nausty]

take asprin before a race to thin your blood which helps a lot, also eat something inbetween your races and other than that your gonna wanna stretch before the race and at the gate to keep losened up. ANother thing is don't fight the quad and just try to relax. I found when I fought the quad and tryed to muscle around I was constantly losing momentum and getting tired half way through the race. Just learn to be able to launch of ramps out of corners while sitting down as not to use up energy and keeping rythem through the whoops and using ruts and downsides of landings to your advantage. I think your main problem is the +3 a-arms though. Thats all that I can think of off the top of my head. Personally I don't think the grips and bars will make that much differance and the same with the hydrolic clutch. It might make a small differance but i don't think it would be worth the work/time/ and money. The main thing like I said is to relax, stretch and to ride smooth.

Also i'd look into that mx training link and see what options you have to strenthen your arms and build endurence.

[raptor_02]

hey i ordered a SPEED LINE steering stablelizer. Are they good and are they rebuildable?????

[QuadJunkies]

Originally posted by 400grl
Hi guys!

I am thinking I need to change my setup a little.....the problem is I get arm pump about the beginning of the 4th lap in my motos....especially when it's cold outside or the track is particularly rough. I know this will happen when you can only ride on weekends, like me anyway - but I think my setup might be exasberating the problem a little.......

I'm running +1+3 up front, (have the triplerate Elkas) with the little holeshots up front (I believe they are 20x7x10's).....went with the smaller fronts for better turning, but I am thinking I need to go back to stock size. The little tires are great for turning, but they just dive into holes and ruts, and it's all I can do to keep the bars in my hands when I throttle through that stuff.

I was also considering getting a steering damper. I haven't, up until now, because I have ridden a quad with one and the steering felt very stiff. But I'm thinking if I go bigger up front and get the damper, this might help me keep the arm pump away for a little longer.

Any comments? Any suggestions??? Thanks! I just experienced what this whole Arm pump thing is this last week,cold morning riding too,I was wondering if you ever have pain in your wrists after a race or just after riding hard all day?? I have noticed the last few rider hitting the whoops and rougher terrain my wrists are just killing me !:( :confused2 I ride much harder than I did in the beginning so it didnt usedto bother me then. Its been 2 days since riding and they still hurt...:( Any suggestions? Let us know what you end up modding and the outcome...;)

[infantry317]

Tina, you may want to look at the angle of your wrists. My wrists were hurting from tight corners because my Fly Quad bend handlebars were sweep back too far for me. I switched to Tag X-5 Cr Double-Hi which is much more straight, feels great. Just a thought. ;)

[400grl]

Quadjunkies.....ya know, there are times my wrists hurt, especially after a nasty landing off a jump, usually when I landed crooked with my stock suspension....I could actually hear my wrist crack. Then it would hurt for a week or two.......I haven't had that happen since I modified my suspension. My ankles actually both cracked loud one time, too - I launched off this big jump with a kicker when I first started racing - and just dropped out of the sky and I think my ankles would have broken if I didn't have my Alpinestars on! :)

I don't really know why they would hurt, other than you are putting more strain on them then they are used to - maybe vibration in the handlebars is aggravating them? I know that the more I raced the less they hurt - and my cushy suspension helps tremendously. I don't really have any jarring landings anymore........

Nausty, everyone - thanks for the help. I think my gameplan for now is to make sure I'm in good shape, make sure I warm up before the moto (I'm bad about that....) - and I will practice relaxing my hands as much as I can while I'm riding.......I'll see how far this gets me, and then if none of that seems to work, I will check out more mods.

I would like to take aspirin before the races, but ever since I heard it can be bad if you crash and have internal injuries (the blood won't coagulate very quickly and you will bleed alot more) I have been afraid to take it. When I crash, I usually crash big so I don't want to take that chance! :)

Thanks again, everyone!

[QuadJunkies]

HAHA ..I tried to relax my wrist on Sat, and it darn near was too much:eek: I was full throddle and hit sometinhg that threw me off a lil my hand slipped off, and I fell forward..scared the pee right out of me:o well I do monitce more so in the jumos they hurt more and I dont even jump big air yet, but I do ride harder on whoops..

[trx440]

Corry,
Infantry is right, the sweep of your bars can take a toll on your wrists. I used to run Renthal ATV bend and after a couple of races I thought my hands were gonna fall off. This Old-timer showed me the perfect set-up. I now run a +2 Houser stem with Pro Taper RM 125 bend bars. Add to that the Houser Wristrester and the Denton steering stabilizer. I can pound thru the whoops all day at the dunes and never feel it. I also run +3's on the front end [w/TCS SCS shocks] so it is probably set-up pretty close to yours. I might show you my steering secret if you show me how U did your front end. ;) -Rob

[OCCRA288]

Also give Oury ATV grips a try, they are big and really soft but durable. They help you to relax and take soome more shock away from your arms.

[QuadJunkies]

Originally posted by OCCRA288
Also give Oury ATV grips a try, they are big and really soft but durable. They help you to relax and take soome more shock away from your arms. Will these fit on the 300ex also?I was thinking on trying to grips from the Raptoron mine they are really soft ,right now Im using Renthals firm grips

[OCCRA288]

Yeah Ourys will fit on anything. I like em! In fact they get these guy's:chinese: :bandit: approvals.

[300exazzkikr]

Can't you put that insulation in a can foamy stuff in your handle bars? I would think if you fill the bars up with that stuff it'll decrease the vibrations.

[MX26]

Razorback - Excellent info. I agree 100%

Bigger tires will do nothing but make you mad at yourself. Just like Razorback said, your front tire choice is a key factor in your quads handling. For soft, loamy tracks a knobby(Holeshot, Razr) is superior, but on hardpack and bluegrooved track a radial handles better.

I also think that I would get a steering dampner before changing anything. Bump steer is enhanced by a widened front end, but a dampner and anti-vibe stem would make major improvments.