Standard UTVs are designed to help you dominate rugged terrain and blaze new trails so they usually have capable suspension systems that can handle potholes, bumps and several obstacles with ease. However, you can tune the shocks to ensure they are prepared to take on different kinds of terrain!
As your local UTV dealer in Lincoln Park, MI, we at Bright Power Sports know what it takes to properly tune your shocks. To help you make the changes yourself, we’ve compiled some information below. If you want professional UTV service or repair in Wayne County, get in touch with our expert technicians for further assistance. We also have a wide selection of UTVs for sale!
We’ve created a general guide to dealing with your UTV shocks, which can be applied to a lot of standard models. Sometimes, though, your model might have some differences (such as single, multiple or no tuning options) and that information will be given in your owner’s manual or on the manufacturer’s website. The more familiar you are with your model, the more you can adapt your DIY maintenance steps to suit it.
If you’re planning to head out to conquer mountain trails, you should tune your UTV shocks by thinking of the kind of terrain you’ll be navigating. Mountain trails are often part rock crawling and part flat riding. To get your side by side ready for this, you should tune the suspension to be quite soft because you won’t be hitting those top speeds that can cause your vehicle to buck or bottom out.
As a general rule, when you’re riding in the mountains, your UTV will have a high ground clearance so its chassis doesn’t collide with any obstacles. However, a high clearance can lower the traction your tires get, which can result in them spinning in place instead of moving forward. This is why you want a soft compression and a neutral rebound. You want the suspension to respond fairly quickly but not too fast.
Across the nation, you’ll come across pretty much the same kind of sand dunes. There will be some cross chatter (that’s when UTV tracks criss-cross each other) and razorback dunes (which have a gradual curve on one side and a sudden dip on the other). You should already have the right tire type to ensure your UTV stays afloat on the sand and maximize your suspension to ensure the ride is comfortable.
For this terrain, you should tune the compression to be soft initially so it can handle the small cross chatter. It should then stiffen up in the large transitions so you can go over large dunes with ease. You want to keep the rebound settings low so your side by side stays stable even when faced with a large bump or transition. Slower rebounds are also helpful when you’re transitioning a razorback sand dune.
The desert regions have sand but they’re a different kind of terrain, which requires different shock settings on your UTV. In the desert, you’ll come across different areas, like silt beds, shale hill climbs and even sand washes. You’ll also have to ride over rocks of varying sizes, whoop sections and rain ruts. Desert terrain continuously changes so both you and your side by side have to be prepared for that.
Your compression should be tuned to be as soft as possible. However, don’t make it so soft that it bottoms out when you have to go over bumps. Your UTV should make quick suspension adjustments for all the terrain changes. Keep in mind that the faster the speeds you hit, the more your compression has to work to absorb all the high-speed impacts. Adjust your front rebound to be quicker than the rear one so the side by side doesn't buck after an impact.
Remember that tuning shocks takes some time to master so you’re probably not going to get it right the first few times. You’ll probably need to test ride a bit and make adjustments to ensure you’ve got the right combination for the terrain. If you need professional UTV service and repair near Detroit, MI, get in touch with the expert technicians at Bright Power Sports. If you want to browse UTVs for sale in Wayne County, contact our sales team to check out our wide selection of models!
