I'm in the exact same boat, first time taking it trail riding today and was left wanting more. Following.

 

I believe you’ve done everything you can do to it stock. The next step would be springs. For 7 bills, it not a bad investment.

 

I can't compare the stock ride to the ST spring/crossover kit i put on my '18 XPT because i put the ST springs on it before i put any miles on the new machine.

Having said that....a friend who has 10 yrs in SxS's, could not believe how well the XPT rode with the ST springs.

People often say that upgraded springs should have been the first thing on their mod list.

 

I had Carl’s Cycle Boise, revalve my shocks for a plush ride. Best bang for the buck of anything else I’ve tried. Later I added Shock Therapy rear crossover springs for a small incremental improvement and I picked up a little ride height.
I had a 2017 S and thought the XP had a better ride but now it’s outstanding in rollers and stutter bumps.

 

Did you guys miss the thread “xp1000” Suspension set ups on this page? Read back a few pages has all your answers.
Up to you to pick what level you want to go with and money spend. And who you want to guide you is another choice?
There is NO one magical inexpensive way to make it all great and good. Starts about $550 and can go to $5500. All different levels of improvement.

 

Yeah I saw that and read through some of it. I fully understand how to achieve my dream suspension, and it would be easy to do if I felt like throwing $3k at it. My question, however, was what to do in adjustment to get the most out of the stock suspension.

I'll throw this out there too: What are you guys running for tire pressure in the trails? Im running factory recommended 15-16 psi which seems high to me on such a light machine with tires this big. I might try going down to ~10 and see what that does for ride comfort.

 

Too much air in your tires. I thought the same thing coming from my 900s until I adjusted the air pressure in my tires and adjusted the shocks. Big difference. The S is no comparison. Of course,it is an off-road machine so I don't expect it to ride like I'm on the freeway. And I pee standing up,lol.

 

Lower your tire pressure to about 8 psi. 10 max.
Sounds like your preload in rear is way too stiff. Jack up the rear till wheels are off the ground. Now, set spring preload (big top adjuster nut) so there is only a small amount of tension on springs. Ride it and adjust in more tension if desired. Always try to adjust with rig jacked up....its sooo much easier. If I remember correct...ground clearance should be about 1/2-1" higher in front.
This is from old threads...feel free to chime in if I mis-informed him!

 

Thanks I'll drop the pressure for sure. Also, I'll try taking some preload out of the rear. I will say the ass-end sits at about 13" and the front 14" right now, so I dont want to go too much. Thanks again.

 

Best think to do on the stock suspension is get the ride height set first. When I had my XP1000 I liked to run the front about 1/2" higher than the rear. The best way to set your ride height is to measure with you in the car. I would shoot for 13 1/2" up front and 13" in the rear with you in the car.

From there I set the compression settings on the softest settings and went for a ride. I adjusted the compression until I got the ride quality to where it was good for me. Your compression settings do not have to be the same front and back, meaning your front maybe 8 clicks and the rear can be 6 or maybe more 10. Does not matter.

The best thing to do on the XP1000 is to save up your money and have the shocks done by a shock tuner of your choice. The stock shocks are great, they just need some love from a shock tuner to be fantastic. Ed "Poundsand" has the stock shocks dialed as does Shock Therapy.

I have shock therapy on my XP1000.

 

Preload will not change ride quality only ride height and travel. Set the height with the back a little lower than the front like stated above.

The damping knob is just that. For slowing down the spring action. It is not a soft/hard dial a ride. If the setting is too hard (think slow) the car does not get on the springs and little bumps seem harsh. But..... if the setting is too soft there is not enough damping. Big bumps compress the springs a lot and then they rebound a lot and fast! This is why your car is bucking. I do not recommend full soft position. 6 front 8 rear is about right.

I run the stock tires at 12lbs with good ride and no problems with the tires. Aftermarket tires feel different in steering but generally are stiffer and ride rougher.

 

Both the Stock Fox and Walker evans shocks are POSITION SENSITIVE TYPE SHOCKS.
So ride hieght does make a difference! The lower the car sits, means the more the shocks are sitting closer to, or in the hardest part of the shock stroke. By utilizing a higher ride will allow the shock to sit in and use the softer part of the shock stroke LONGER, and the firmest part of the stroke sits further away.

There is nothing wrong with running the adjusters full open! If a driver is just out cruising trails at lower speeds, and NOT asking a ton from the car Suspension wise, then use the adjusters to get the most desired!

At a taller ride hieght and full, or near full open compression soft will get a driver a softer ride they are looking for, then run it that way!! If the car is not bottoming out hard with a someone’s particular driving style, then there is no need to run a car at harder settings than Nessasary. But firmer adjustments may be used front or rear to balance the machine to taste.

It is still up to the driver to choose what best suites thier personal style. If a car is driven SMARTLY, softer settings can be used even during more aggressive driving. But for the drivers that tends to drive in a manor that is less smooth to the terrain, may require firmer shock settings even at slower speeds. This is the truth of the matter.

And yes, the car will work better with the front sitting at a taller ride height. This puts more leverage on the rear of the car to help keep it planted. The stock front springs are a lesser spring rate from what they should be. And the rebound valving is slow. So the front will tend to dive, which in turn makes less leverage on the rear, so the rear can kick upwards. This is a compression bounce! The shock is not compressing easier or fast enough. This is NOT a rebound kick as some people feel it is.

Firmer ( higher rate) bottom front springs, and longer firmer top rear springs with crossovers levels and give the car a better balance front to rear.

 

Thanks Ed

1. Increasing pre load and ride height can soften the ride?

2. Too soft settings with larger bumps and faster speeds does not make the car bounce?

3. Increasing settings in the front and reducing them in the rear can reduce kick?

(Blue car has your shocks and springs. The red car is going to get them)

 

Great info! Thanks everyone!