softer shocks for 2011 pro rmk assault

[Hollywood99]

just lookin to replace my factory shocks on my 11, assault rmk, something closer to the pro rmk shocks. anyone have any suggestions? shocks more suited for sidehilling and carving.

 

[AndrettiDog]

You want softer and better sidehilling? I can say that the stock Pro WE's (not the Assault) are soft and provide great sidehilling. I don't like them because they don't offer enough bottom out resistance and rebound. But you could probably swap somebody straight across for yours.

The other options are Fox Floats (more rebound with Evol R's) or Exit shocks

 

[mountainhorse]

Exactly as bug said... I used to have another take on what sidhilling was as far as shocks were concerned... I learned a lot in the last 5 years.

In a prior post....

edit: Here are some things that I learned that worked for me and made for less effort riding for my style of riding. I was excited to to learn this and thought I would pass on an experience that made my riding better. There are many better riders out there than me... many of them have a different style all their own that works very well for them.

Also, side-hills: I learned from Allen Mangum, Dan Adams, Chris Burandt recently that I had a misconception about a-arms and side-hill...

I thought that you wanted the uphill front suspension arms to collapse to allow the sled to maintain a more level approach to the hill wnen in the sidehill.

What I have learned is that when the suspension can do this, there is not enough travel left in the a-arms/shocks to make up for the terrain differences (lumps, bumps, ruts, ices, stumps, rocks) that pop up.... the result is you get pitched back down the hill.

I also learned that weight transfer is much more important than "yanking" the sled on its side... since that yanking will have the sled self correcting and pitching you back to a neutral position.

From what I've learned, and what made these maneuvers easier, is that the front suspension needs to be firm enough to allow the sled to act in a predictable manner, to hold its position on edge, not to let the side panels "ride up" on the snow pack from a collapsed front on that side, and bite into the hill to hold the edge.... But soft enough to deal with the terrain you are riding on.

If you have SledHeads 5, check out the Bret Rasmussen section for some good head on side hill shots that show the suspension in slow motion.

With poor health and overall weakness last season, I discovered a better way to stay in control in the mountains in tricky terrain with less effort.

Setup is personal, that is mine that I learned from people that I trust.

Others have different ways and I'm sure that many of those different set-ups can ride circles around me and my abilities.... At that point, I think it is the rider more than the sled.

A good rider can make a poorly setup sled look good.. a well setup sled look even better... and a Poor rider (or one that is out of shape) on a Superbly setup sled look terrible.

.

 

[mountainhorse]

Mountainhorse:
Here is an adaptation of a post I put up a while back.


When the shock is collapsed, there is little travel remaining to deal with rough terrain or crusty snow. Even more evident on a steep side hill when the body panels are riding deep in the snow and want to push you back down the hill…much less evident on a PRO RMK than the Previous models.... usually resulting in a roll over or requiring that you turn down the hill and going, usually, where you don’t want to go.

Truly getting the sled "on edge" DOES require more effort (to learn) and balance... It takes a practice to get comfortable with it... but the efforts over a few days of riding will, IMO, transform your riding. Once you "get it"... there is not much effort to the technique and you don't get tired on long sidehills.

The sled will get up on edge well and hold a line without the shock collapsing on a steep sidehill... and kept the travel in the shock to deal with terrain and not get bucked back down the hill...Nor buck you off when doing powder carves in a meadow.

Yes, you can throw it around easier without the swaybar out...BUT... this is a dead-giveaway that you need to work on your riding techniques...In most cases.

I had the same misunderstanding and needed to work on it. This is the key to better riding on a Mountain sled IMO.

Cranking up the preload on the spring or putting more air in the shock is not the answer either as you can get into coil bind or the air-shock does not want to compress fully and gets super stiff… especially in the standard floats. Plus… this throws off the engineered balance of the sled as it increases the ride heigh of the sled... though some people adapt to it.

In the end... it boils down to practice... get into a packed out field and spend the day getting and keeping your sled on edge in left and right turns. Throttle control is important here too. Sometimes, like for me, it took an hour of literally walking next to my sled with it on edge and controlling the throttle, skis and balance of the sled before I could ride it that way.

You should be able to ride on one ski indefinitely, with little effort, once you have perfected the technique.

...

 

[ak49er]

The A-arms are different lengths on these two sleds, (Assault, PRO), aren't the shocks different lengths too?

I used to ride a '09 IQ Assault with '08 IQR shocks, which were a bit longer than the Assault OEM lengths, and did ok, but going the other way would be an issue.

I think this would be an issue for the OP as these shocks are different lenghts, and an issue for the "tradee" as these shocks don't have bump stops.

I would think the OP should go with softer springs first on the front shocks, and relocate the FTA and Front Shock upper bolt mount to make the tracks approach angle less aggressive.

 

[mountainhorse]

IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING IT ON EDGE

Have a look at this video...

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Rasmussen at :50 and Whelpton at 1:39

You can see that the sled is on edge as compared to having the shock compressed on that side... This allows the shock to still have travel to do work if you hit irregularities in the snow.

It is more work to learn it... but worth it IMO.

Have a look at this one...

​

at :28 , :48 1:13, 1:18 ... you will see that on the extreme sidehill... the uphill front suspension is basically still fully extended... the sled is on Edge... not "squatted" on that side.

THEN, FINALLY HAVE A LOOK AT THIS ONE...

Bret, at 1:54 seconds... "bumps" the tree on an extreme sidehill... the shock/suspension absorb the impact and then extends agian... If the shock was "squatted" on that side.. there would have been effectively no travel left to deal with that obstacle and he would have been bucked down the hill.... Pretty amizing move!!

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,

 

[FCR112]

Yeah but what do those guys know...

 

[POLZIN]

I guess I will go without since my assualt does not have one. Im thinking after 5 seasons sidhilling a 900 I wont notice either way.I really believe this is a matter of personall preference and there are to many variables in riding style/personal preference to say one size fits all.

 

[m8sandman]

not compessing the shock gives you a higher center of gravity. also letting the shock colapse will let you ride more on the bottom of the ski not the edge. i'll stick with mine colapsing and having more control for my style of riding. just because brett says it works great for him doesn't mean it'll be what you want. they also say leave the sway bar in, tried that one out the first ride, mine's been on the bench ever since. try it both ways and use what works for YOU...

 

[AndrettiDog]

Some really good points by mh.

But I think the big variable is the sled itself. Some have to use softer shocks because some sled chassis' are not as side hill happy (I won't name them ). I agree with the concept of not having your shock compressed to where you have nothing left to absorb as you are sidehilling. I also agree that removing the sway bar (on recent sleds) is not a good thing. If you cannot sidehill a Pro, then you just need to practice and learn the sled. It becomes an extension of your body very quickly.

Good catch on the Assault shocks AK49er. He would have to switch his a-arms to use Pro shocks. Some have said they can make it work but you are really messing up your shock geometry (less rebound, more compression).

Hollywood99, no offense but I wonder why you went with the Assault. I know a lot of people have bought Assaults because they wanted the suspension. But with that you get longer a-arms, a harder balance point because of the shocks and sometimes a very stiff track.

 

[mountainhorse]

Just like M8sandmand said, lots of ways to get across the mountain... and my bad for not stating that it was "In my opinion" ...
I'll correct that. The only reason to show Bret or any of the other riders was because they have good slow-mo vid on youtube. The cats, with different geometry and stiffer springs don't use a swaybar from the factory.

If you truly want it softer and easier to compress.... and that is your riding style... try removing the sway bar. It will have different "trail manners" as well.

As many of you may already know, he sway bar helps to distribute the the weight between the two shocks but still allow them to operate independently ... pull the sway bar and either side will be easier to compress on its own. It's a "freebie" to try out to see.

 

[POLZIN]

Just like M8sandmand said, lots of ways to get across the mountain... and my bad for not stating that it was "In my opinion" ...
I'll correct that. The only reason to show Bret or any of the other riders was because they have good slow-mo vid on youtube. The cats, with different geometry and stiffer springs don't use a swaybar from the factory.

If you truly want it softer and easier to compress.... and that is your riding style... try removing the sway bar. It will have different "trail manners" as well.

As many of you may already know, he sway bar helps to distribute the the weight between the two shocks but still allow them to operate independently ... pull the sway bar and either side will be easier to compress on its own. It's a "freebie" to try out to see.

now Im confused. how do two suspensions that are mechanically coupled act independently?