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So a while back Kyle8ton had a thread:
http://www.club700xx.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2737
Well he did what he said he was going to do and developed a sway bar that is an OEM replacement! Not too long ago, I sent him a PM to see what ever happened to his Idea and he quickly got back to me that he had actually fabricated a prototype that he wanted tested out. We made some arrangements and soon I had the prototype bar and new mounting hardware/bushings!
I have since put about 163 miles on the new setup (50% trail, 35% technical XC, 15% Moto) and can report back to all of you what I have found:
First off the kit itself: The kit consists of (1) black powder-coated sway bar that is A LOT stiffer than the OEM one. This bar is a direct replacement and mounts in the same fashion as the OEM bar. New brackets and the corresponding bushings which are specifically made for sway bars are also included.
Installation: This is straight forward and will take between a half an hour and 45 minutes to complete. The fit was perfect! The new mounting brackets and bushings are necessary to accommodate the increased diameter of the bar. Everything lined up and there was no tweaking or modifications necessary for anything to fit. Linkage from the stock sway bar to the lower A-Arm is reused and once again the fit was flawless. (Note: I have taken this on and off a few times now in comparing it to the OEM bar and find it easiest to attach the linkage to the new bar off of the quad and then attaching it back to the a-arm while fitting the bar into position.) Also note if your sway bar rattles and you discover the linkage is worn now would be a good time to replace it.
And now for what everyone is waiting for:
The ride is completely different! For those of you who do not like the XX’s drastic body roll in corners this is definitely for you! Just turning it on the driveway while loading it onto the trailer for testing I noticed HUGE changes in the stability and turning ability of this machine-Push = 95% gone! And on the trails I found the same thing. It handles much more like a SRA quad however all articulation is not lost! Extremely easy to drift around corners and do donuts! (I was actually laughing doing donuts because of the difference) I am going to break this down a little further so I can capture the strengths and weaknesses a little better….
Trail: (Fire-road, logging trials…etc) Wonderful! I did about 60 miles of trail this past weekend with this bar and about the same with the stocker. I like this bar over the OEM bar due to the fast paced nature of these trails for me. I am not a leisure rider! I had a tremendous time flying down these trails and drifting through corners with all my SRA friends…but still had the comfort of the XX and Ground clearance!
XC: (Tight technical trails, harescramble style through hills, ravines, creeks, and woods) This one took some getting used to as I have adapted quite well to the XX and the riding style associated with it. I am a traction junkie and love what IRS offers. I also enjoy the extra articulation and the jarring that it saves my body. This being said with the sway bar some of that articulation is lost but high speed and low speed cornering is greatly increased. I personally prefer the “feel of the OEM sway bar” here but this is where facts have to come out. At Embarrass river ATV park there is a five mile loop that takes the quad through the paces and has about everything any track would offer. The OEM bar was a cushier ride….The new sway bar averaged 23 second better lap times! Just means I need to get in better shape now…
Moto track/Flat track: On tight flat and banked corners is where this thing shines!!! Cornering is Tons quicker! However jumping…and I am not a pro…requires you to land the jump squarer than with full IRS. (We won’t go into how I figured that one out….I don’t know if the OEM sway bar would have saved me either). Overall quicker on the moto track as well….sorry I don’t have #’s
Also note:
1.)Never did anything bind/rub/ or malfunction. 2.) Parts show no signs of wear…including the bushings 3.) I did not receive any prompting, my prototype bar was not free, I was encouraged to lay it all out good and the bad. 4.) Kyle as I have never met him, seems to be a stand up guy, great communication, and holds to his word. 5.) Any and all questions I can answer I will, Price, availability…is all Kyle I have nothing to do with any of that…I just want to provide you all with fair unbiased data.
Pictures attached are of Prototype bar and actual bushings….Production bar WILL be powder coated…This one is not!
(sorry about spelling and grammer)
http://www.club700xx.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2737
Well he did what he said he was going to do and developed a sway bar that is an OEM replacement! Not too long ago, I sent him a PM to see what ever happened to his Idea and he quickly got back to me that he had actually fabricated a prototype that he wanted tested out. We made some arrangements and soon I had the prototype bar and new mounting hardware/bushings!
I have since put about 163 miles on the new setup (50% trail, 35% technical XC, 15% Moto) and can report back to all of you what I have found:
First off the kit itself: The kit consists of (1) black powder-coated sway bar that is A LOT stiffer than the OEM one. This bar is a direct replacement and mounts in the same fashion as the OEM bar. New brackets and the corresponding bushings which are specifically made for sway bars are also included.
Installation: This is straight forward and will take between a half an hour and 45 minutes to complete. The fit was perfect! The new mounting brackets and bushings are necessary to accommodate the increased diameter of the bar. Everything lined up and there was no tweaking or modifications necessary for anything to fit. Linkage from the stock sway bar to the lower A-Arm is reused and once again the fit was flawless. (Note: I have taken this on and off a few times now in comparing it to the OEM bar and find it easiest to attach the linkage to the new bar off of the quad and then attaching it back to the a-arm while fitting the bar into position.) Also note if your sway bar rattles and you discover the linkage is worn now would be a good time to replace it.
And now for what everyone is waiting for:
The ride is completely different! For those of you who do not like the XX’s drastic body roll in corners this is definitely for you! Just turning it on the driveway while loading it onto the trailer for testing I noticed HUGE changes in the stability and turning ability of this machine-Push = 95% gone! And on the trails I found the same thing. It handles much more like a SRA quad however all articulation is not lost! Extremely easy to drift around corners and do donuts! (I was actually laughing doing donuts because of the difference) I am going to break this down a little further so I can capture the strengths and weaknesses a little better….
Trail: (Fire-road, logging trials…etc) Wonderful! I did about 60 miles of trail this past weekend with this bar and about the same with the stocker. I like this bar over the OEM bar due to the fast paced nature of these trails for me. I am not a leisure rider! I had a tremendous time flying down these trails and drifting through corners with all my SRA friends…but still had the comfort of the XX and Ground clearance!
XC: (Tight technical trails, harescramble style through hills, ravines, creeks, and woods) This one took some getting used to as I have adapted quite well to the XX and the riding style associated with it. I am a traction junkie and love what IRS offers. I also enjoy the extra articulation and the jarring that it saves my body. This being said with the sway bar some of that articulation is lost but high speed and low speed cornering is greatly increased. I personally prefer the “feel of the OEM sway bar” here but this is where facts have to come out. At Embarrass river ATV park there is a five mile loop that takes the quad through the paces and has about everything any track would offer. The OEM bar was a cushier ride….The new sway bar averaged 23 second better lap times! Just means I need to get in better shape now…
Moto track/Flat track: On tight flat and banked corners is where this thing shines!!! Cornering is Tons quicker! However jumping…and I am not a pro…requires you to land the jump squarer than with full IRS. (We won’t go into how I figured that one out….I don’t know if the OEM sway bar would have saved me either). Overall quicker on the moto track as well….sorry I don’t have #’s
Also note:
1.)Never did anything bind/rub/ or malfunction. 2.) Parts show no signs of wear…including the bushings 3.) I did not receive any prompting, my prototype bar was not free, I was encouraged to lay it all out good and the bad. 4.) Kyle as I have never met him, seems to be a stand up guy, great communication, and holds to his word. 5.) Any and all questions I can answer I will, Price, availability…is all Kyle I have nothing to do with any of that…I just want to provide you all with fair unbiased data.
Pictures attached are of Prototype bar and actual bushings….Production bar WILL be powder coated…This one is not!
(sorry about spelling and grammer)
