450 Yamaha Fat Paddle big wheel camp bike

Keep picking at this thing to make it better. Stock seat is like sitting on a board so I installed a guts racing cover and their 1 inch taller softest foam. Also a set of taller wyndham rm bend pro taper bars. Riding position should be a lot better. I do have a question for two-wheeler riders out there. How do you set your suspension up. I can't remember when I used to ride a regular two-wheeler in the dunes. I have it at full firm compression and rebound right now which is great for the g outs but it does ride very stiff on the bumps. Need to start backing down the clickers next trip I guess. Give-and-take I suppose. Not sure how old this paddle is but it's already starting to chunk pretty good. Not sure if any other options could be considered for the back tire. Rubber still feels pretty soft though. Firestone did end up paying for a new front rotor from Yamaha after they bent it on their tire machine. Still need to install that. $158 part. Glad they stepped up.

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Found this in a thread over at Thumper talk. Think I will try it.

Fork

Comp- run the clickers at about 4-6 from full hard. You need to have a stable chasis in the sand. Anything remotely soft will cause excess chasis movement and will wear you out fast.

Rebound- 18-20 A fast rebound is needed to let the fork extend as fast as possible to "reach out" to the next whoop. This will help the bike from falling down inbetween the whoops.

Shock

Comp run the low speed at about 4-6. see reason above for the need of stiff compression.

Rebound slow it down to 5-7. Since the rebound bleed path is bidirectional, this will add compression damping. Just watch for packing which will cause the rear to swap. If this is noticed, back out rebound 2 clicks at a time until it settles down.

I would rather have a rider commenting on a slightly harsh ride than to have him come back white as a ghost from trying to hold onto a bike that is bouncing all over the place.

Take Care, John
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https://thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/360093-sand-suspension-set-up/

 
Been seeing ALLOT of Fat-Tire MX Bikes on teh FB this past week, this trend seems to be more popular then I recall in the past... :thumb:

 
Crusty said:
Been seeing ALLOT of Fat-Tire MX Bikes on teh FB this past week, this trend seems to be more popular then I recall in the past... :thumb:
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You probably saw this bike on Facebook. Belongs to my buddy Louis. We were camping together and he had seen my bike. I told him about BVC that does the Hondas. His CR had only been ridden 6 times and was sitting around not getting used. He just took it down to Tucson and had them do it up. Can't wait to go riding together.

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xtracrispy said:
Nice bike

Just picked this guy up for my Dad. 02 WR426 with the XFR kit. Can’t wait to try it in the sand. Let’s see if it drives me to get a missile kit for my 250r 

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Sweet! Same tire setup I had. I do like the Carlisle knobby way better than the ribbed tire. Especially when you get in the ruts. You might want to check it out but I remember the Missle kit bikes being twitchy at high speeds because the shorter rake angle. Just what I remember hearing. It sure looks short just looking at it.

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/303935534293?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=303935534293&targetid=1262749492222&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9030007&poi=&campaignid=13920230762&mkgroupid=124965367356&rlsatarget=aud-622027676548:pla-1262749492222&abcId=9300614&merchantid=6296724&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthLdAginmeDyxj41DFznXMOMaLiaUJtoo2WudK8Eo_tdlwnXl_gw5-RoCkSoQAvD_BwE

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onanysunday said:
Sweet! Same tire setup I had. I do like the Carlisle knobby way better than the ribbed tire. Especially when you get in the ruts. You might want to check it out but I remember the Missle kit bikes being twitchy at high speeds because the shorter rake angle. Just what I remember hearing. It sure looks short just looking at it.
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Wonder how the big wheel would do with a smoothie front. In any case not going to change too much until we actually ride it. How did that folding triangle stand work, is it long enough to use with the hole in the swingarm?

Yeah I've heard the complaints about the Missile kit handling, but they sure do look cool!

 
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xtracrispy said:
Wonder how the big wheel would do with a smoothie front. In any case not going to change too much until we actually ride it. How did that folding triangle stand work, is it long enough to use with the hole in the swingarm?

Yeah I've heard the complaints about the Missile kit handling, but they sure do look cool!
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I don't think a smoothie would work well. When you push the bike hard into a corner I am thinking it would wash out.

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There are some things you can try to make it less harsh over the small bumps. They vary in price, some are free. 

1. Fork Air Bleeders. The air gap inside the fork develops pressure from temp changes, altitude, and just from the heat of riding. You can bleed them with a flathead screwdriver, or buy the little push button bleeders. The forks are more harsh when the air gap is pressurized. I press my little bleeders before every ride and often hear them hiss out pressurized air. 

2. Lower the fork fluid height. Similar to above the air gap acts like a little buffer. Lowering the fluid height creates a bigger air gap which produces a smoother ride over the small bumps.

3. Set race sag for the rear shock. Most bikes like around 90-110mm but newer bikes might be different. Once you set the race sag, check the Free Sag. The idea is that if you have to crank down on the rear shock preload so much that your free sag is gone, that means you need a stiffer rear spring. If you ever see a racer pull up on the rear fender real gently when the bike is on the ground its them checking free sag. You can get a lot of info from that little amount of play. Sorta like how adjusting the fuel screw can give you info on the pilot jet. 

4. Are they the stock fork springs? If you weigh more than 180lbs a lot of the bikes require stiffer springs. Newer bikes might be way different. 

5. Fork clickers: Setting the rebound to fully stiff might not be the best choice. Assuming the front wheel weighs more than stock, that means it would take more force to change its direction and push it back down. So you would not want the rebound being too stiff and restricting. That can cause the forks to get stuck lower in their travel and produce a harsher ride. A similar thing happens if you back out the compression too much. You might expect the suspension to feel softer. But sometimes that can cause the forks to be further down in their stroke, and produce a harsh ride over the small bumps. All that is amplified if the spring rate is too soft for the rider.

 
I had to modify that folding stand. I did keep it so now I have a second stand. Very handy when you move the bike around you just go place the second one where you're going. It comes standard with maybe a 1-inch long piece that normally goes into the hole in an axle. Of course these bikes don't have a hole in the axle and the hole in the swingarm is up higher so you have to use a 2 by 4 underneath to get the right height. I just machined a piece of tubing down to fit snug in the hole. Drilled a couple holes and filled the holes with weld.Then that whole piece screws on.

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wopachop said:
There are some things you can try to make it less harsh over the small bumps. They vary in price, some are free. 

1. Fork Air Bleeders. The air gap inside the fork develops pressure from temp changes, altitude, and just from the heat of riding. You can bleed them with a flathead screwdriver, or buy the little push button bleeders. The forks are more harsh when the air gap is pressurized. I press my little bleeders before every ride and often hear them hiss out pressurized air. 

2. Lower the fork fluid height. Similar to above the air gap acts like a little buffer. Lowering the fluid height creates a bigger air gap which produces a smoother ride over the small bumps.

3. Set race sag for the rear shock. Most bikes like around 90-110mm but newer bikes might be different. Once you set the race sag, check the Free Sag. The idea is that if you have to crank down on the rear shock preload so much that your free sag is gone, that means you need a stiffer rear spring. If you ever see a racer pull up on the rear fender real gently when the bike is on the ground its them checking free sag. You can get a lot of info from that little amount of play. Sorta like how adjusting the fuel screw can give you info on the pilot jet. 

4. Are they the stock fork springs? If you weigh more than 180lbs a lot of the bikes require stiffer springs. Newer bikes might be way different. 

5. Fork clickers: Setting the rebound to fully stiff might not be the best choice. Assuming the front wheel weighs more than stock, that means it would take more force to change its direction and push it back down. So you would not want the rebound being too stiff and restricting. That can cause the forks to get stuck lower in their travel and produce a harsher ride. A similar thing happens if you back out the compression too much. You might expect the suspension to feel softer. But sometimes that can cause the forks to be further down in their stroke, and produce a harsh ride over the small bumps. All that is amplified if the spring rate is too soft for the rider.
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Good stuff. I did have bleeders on my KTM. Yes they are handy. I weigh 174 and guessing the suspension on this bike is all stock. I did loosen the nuts on the rear shock and dropped it down a little. Bike still sits high and I have long legs. Have not actually measured it yet. Been a long time since I have checked sag.

OK, Just walked out and by myself without someone to help and no boots or helmet I am getting 65 mm sag.  Need to get all my gear on and set that. Sounds like it is way off. Front tire alone is about 16lbs so it has to be a lot heavier than stock. Rear swingarm is steel and add in the jack shaft I am assuming more sprung weight. I get it about the rebound to stiff and sounds like it can be a lot better. Just started turning clickers last trip and went full stiff. Thinking we can make it a lot better. Also with the correct sag the back end will drop down and should make it less stiff. I don't see anything on that spring to make me believe it has been changed out. Never know though. 

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Well thats good news!!! I havnt checked my race sag in years either. Simple and free adjustment could make for a much nicer ride. When i got a stiffer rear spring i think it was a different color than stock. Could find an online picture of your bike and observe the spring color. Or maybe take a set of calipers to it. Or do nothing and just ride baby ride. Given the position of the locknut, with the weight of 175 and only 65mm of sag it wouldnt be crazy to assume thats a stiffer rear spring. I would of expected the locknut to be further down on the threads if its only sagging 65mm. 

On paper just thinking about it that could be ideal for a fat tire bike. Stiffer spring for the heavier tire. But then back off the locknut until your sag is closer to what is recommended. Ive often seen around 100mm. More sag for straight line stability. Less sag turns better. 

 
wopachop said:
Well thats good news!!! I havnt checked my race sag in years either. Simple and free adjustment could make for a much nicer ride. When i got a stiffer rear spring i think it was a different color than stock. Could find an online picture of your bike and observe the spring color. Or maybe take a set of calipers to it. Or do nothing and just ride baby ride. Given the position of the locknut, with the weight of 175 and only 65mm of sag it wouldnt be crazy to assume thats a stiffer rear spring. I would of expected the locknut to be further down on the threads if its only sagging 65mm. 

On paper just thinking about it that could be ideal for a fat tire bike. Stiffer spring for the heavier tire. But then back off the locknut until your sag is closer to what is recommended. Ive often seen around 100mm. More sag for straight line stability. Less sag turns better. 
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Well, With gear on it was at 83 mm or approx. 3.3 inches. I had already given it some more sag but it was still off by quite a bit. 100 mm is almost 4 inches so it dropped it another almost 3/4 inch. Thinking this will make a difference. Bike was twitchy at higher speeds. This pic is adjusted at 100mm. 

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I wanna try this thing!!!! It looks sooo fun!

 
With the buggy broke I ended up taking this on a long ride with the buggies today. What a complete blast. 33 mile ride. Only tipped over once towards the end when I was getting tired. I ended up about six klicks from firm on compression both front and rear.. And then a lot less rebound in the front. I think 19 klicks from firm on the front. Rebound on the rear I think was around seven or eight klicks from firm. Bike feel so good I feel like I don't even want to turn the clickers. Setting that sag and ride height really helped. Super fun today with smooth sand so I could bite off nice edges inside or outside of the buggy tracks. Definitely a handful once you get in the tracks and I would not want to do a super long ride if it's completely rough out here. I am in pretty good shape now doing lots cardio exercise after my heart attack but I imagine I will be pretty sore tomorrow. Pics are the swing set and olds. Nobody at either location on a Thursday. Pretty sweet. Ended up going 19 miles before pouring some fuel in it. Luckily one of the guys in the group had a cool little bladder to carry some fuel with. Thinking now I will probably want to put a bigger tank on it as much fun as it is. It would be fun to have a group of guys on these bikes duning together.

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Bike is for sale. See ad under two wheelers. 

 
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