I am a lighter guy and have trouble throwing my 10 800 rmk on its side. Would removing the sway bar help in the mountains and how hard is it to remove? Anything else I can do to help?
Sway bar removed?
- Thread starter Khellnd
- Start date
It will help it roll over, definitely. On the older ones (edge chassis), the easiest way is to cut them out. Problem is, once they are cut there is no going back. That's what kept me from ever doing it on my 2004
Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but the swaybar should just unbolt on the IQ chassis.
Mine is removed on my 08 dragon but if you still run the stock WE air's I would change those. I have almost killed myself looking around and having my sled tip without me intending to do it.
Mine is removed on my 08 dragon but if you still run the stock WE air's I would change those. I have almost killed myself looking around and having my sled tip without me intending to do it.
What kind of shocks do you switch to and how much do they usually cost.
I left mine in on my 10 600 and have no problem. I weigh 150. Can't imagine an 800 should be that much different. Have you got the front ski spring tension cranked up or something? You could narrow the ski stance by an inch if you haven't done so by moving both spacers to the inside on the ski mounting bolt.
You could do Raptors.
You could do Coil over walker evans off of a '11-'12 PRO
I personally did Fox Zero's. I got mine from a guy off of ebay that sells new and will fit them to your sled. I just told him the length CtC and my weight along with my riding style.
Dragon or RMK... 155 or 163...??
You say you have an RMK, not a Dragon? That year Dragon had a different style swaybar, similar to the Pros that you can unhook and then zip-tie out of the way to try it out, and if you want to buy a quick-disconnect for it they are out there. When you do unhook, it helps to up the spring pressure up front since without swaybar they need more pressure.
If it is an RMK with the style of swaybar that goes into a bushing on the end of the bottom A-Arm, you can remove those too, just not quite as easy, but I have removed 2 of them (08 Dragons, same style swaybar as 08-10 IQ RMKs), and I have put one back in without any damage, just a couple pop rivets and some labor. If you want the steps I used to do it PM me and I will post back into this thread. No swaybar destruction necessary, and if you don't like it some rivets and an hour or two of your time and it is back to stock.
Shocks:
Don't spend a fortune. If you have an RMK instead of a Dragon you should not have the WE Air shocks, they should be some coilover shocks (stock) or aftermarket shocks... if they are worn out stockers they would be good to replace, if they are rebuildable make sure they are in good work order or you can have diving behavior without the swaybar.
If you do have WE Air shocks there is a relatively cheap fix for those too - just get them revalved and rebuilt (Fabcraft does a GREAT job, and can add adjustable chambers if you want but I just had the rebuild / revalve on my shocks and no diving issues). WAY cheaper than some of the aftermarket stuff to improve what ya got.
I have run the rebuilt / revalved (Fabcraft) WE air shocks front and rear with great results, without swaybar and with. I have had an 08 155 800 and 08 860 163 Dragon (I weighed about 170 pre-gear at the time) and I have to say that the 155 with swaybar was easier to throw around than the 163 with OR without the swaybar. That is my experience. My wife's sled was an 08 700 155 and we had it with and without swaybar. I put it back in when we sold it. With the Fabcraft rebuilt WE Air shocks in every sled I tried this with. No diving. Tippier, yes, unpredictable, no.
Limiter strap can make a big change in handling too, taking some of the weight off the skis makes it easier to tip. Along with tightening up the front track shock spring, if it has one. Fresh recharge on the WE rear shocks if they are the Air / Dragon style.
I cannot get the 163 to handle / tip like I want it to even without the swaybar. It does feel less stable but does not tip like I like it to, at least in spring snow in the bowls. So I have a set of 155 rails and a 155 Camo X track that is going to go under the sled when I get a chance, so I can get back to the handling I had on the 08 Dragon 800 155 I had previously... probably going to put the swaybar back in with the 155 and try that combo.
Note that with the swaybar bushings of the style that are in the end of the A-Arms (triangle shape) they can get grooves worn into them which makes the sway bar not move smoothly which can make handling feel jerky / dive with the swaybar in too. Combine that with the WE Air shock stock valving... not good...
You say you have an RMK, not a Dragon? That year Dragon had a different style swaybar, similar to the Pros that you can unhook and then zip-tie out of the way to try it out, and if you want to buy a quick-disconnect for it they are out there. When you do unhook, it helps to up the spring pressure up front since without swaybar they need more pressure.
If it is an RMK with the style of swaybar that goes into a bushing on the end of the bottom A-Arm, you can remove those too, just not quite as easy, but I have removed 2 of them (08 Dragons, same style swaybar as 08-10 IQ RMKs), and I have put one back in without any damage, just a couple pop rivets and some labor. If you want the steps I used to do it PM me and I will post back into this thread. No swaybar destruction necessary, and if you don't like it some rivets and an hour or two of your time and it is back to stock.
Shocks:
Don't spend a fortune. If you have an RMK instead of a Dragon you should not have the WE Air shocks, they should be some coilover shocks (stock) or aftermarket shocks... if they are worn out stockers they would be good to replace, if they are rebuildable make sure they are in good work order or you can have diving behavior without the swaybar.
If you do have WE Air shocks there is a relatively cheap fix for those too - just get them revalved and rebuilt (Fabcraft does a GREAT job, and can add adjustable chambers if you want but I just had the rebuild / revalve on my shocks and no diving issues). WAY cheaper than some of the aftermarket stuff to improve what ya got.
I have run the rebuilt / revalved (Fabcraft) WE air shocks front and rear with great results, without swaybar and with. I have had an 08 155 800 and 08 860 163 Dragon (I weighed about 170 pre-gear at the time) and I have to say that the 155 with swaybar was easier to throw around than the 163 with OR without the swaybar. That is my experience. My wife's sled was an 08 700 155 and we had it with and without swaybar. I put it back in when we sold it. With the Fabcraft rebuilt WE Air shocks in every sled I tried this with. No diving. Tippier, yes, unpredictable, no.
Limiter strap can make a big change in handling too, taking some of the weight off the skis makes it easier to tip. Along with tightening up the front track shock spring, if it has one. Fresh recharge on the WE rear shocks if they are the Air / Dragon style.
I cannot get the 163 to handle / tip like I want it to even without the swaybar. It does feel less stable but does not tip like I like it to, at least in spring snow in the bowls. So I have a set of 155 rails and a 155 Camo X track that is going to go under the sled when I get a chance, so I can get back to the handling I had on the 08 Dragon 800 155 I had previously... probably going to put the swaybar back in with the 155 and try that combo.
Note that with the swaybar bushings of the style that are in the end of the A-Arms (triangle shape) they can get grooves worn into them which makes the sway bar not move smoothly which can make handling feel jerky / dive with the swaybar in too. Combine that with the WE Air shock stock valving... not good...
It is a RMK, not a dragon. It has walker Evans without any coil overs on the front. How do you know if they need to be rebuilt? Can I rebuild them and have them charged, or just have someone else rebuild them. What does that company charge to rebuild.
I just changed the limiter straps to the lower hole. Hope that helps. Any other tricks to try?
Thanks for the help everyone.
I just changed the limiter straps to the lower hole. Hope that helps. Any other tricks to try?
Thanks for the help everyone.
This is what Fabcraft charges for the Walker Evans air:
Shock Component
Retail Price
Spring Rate Chamber $95.00 ea
Piston Upgrade Kit $40.00 ea
Shims (usually 4 per shock) $2.50 ea
Labor (includes oil, nitrogen) $40.00 ea
The $95 charge is if you want the extra chamber added but it isn't necessary.
I only did the piston upgrade and shims and it made a big difference, plus you can have them set the pressure higher specifically for running without a swaybar. Worked for me. Once the piston upgrade and shims are done, you just need to recharge once a season unless you put on a lot of miles in which case you should have the oil and possibly seals done too.
If you can afford the coin for "upgrade" shocks there are a lot of options out there but most of them are pretty pricey, these shocks can be made to work this way, it is what I run. I also picked up an extra set locally with chambers on them, have not tried them yet... adjustability would be nice too.
Curious, what length track is it?
It's a 155 track. Do shocks really make a difference in the powder? I stopped and looked at a dragon in town last night and the front suspension felt stiffer than mine. I know these may be weird questions, but I'm new to this so thanks for bareing with me.
Don't take this wrong but seeing as how you're new to this are you familiar with the concept of countersteering to get it to roll over to one side? It really makes for easier maneuvering in deep snow and sidehilling.
I was working on counter steer, but seems like I loose it half way through while trying to do a 180 and head the other way. Have my most trouble in tight spots trying to do quick maneuvers and avoid the bottom ground where you don't wanna end up haha
The way I learned - Don't lean much but shift my weight to the side I want to lean and start to counter-steer a little at a time. You will find the balance point or at least I did 
Now it's like second nature. It doesn't take much lean to carve in a meadow. The stiffer shocks that I now have help me not dart on the trail.
Now it's like second nature. It doesn't take much lean to carve in a meadow. The stiffer shocks that I now have help me not dart on the trail.
Yeah, I hear you. LOL Just a matter of practice to find and maintain that balance point.
This! it took me 3 years to figure that out and it is so true.
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