Speed UTV

NIKAL said:
I think the testing will be much quicker, and more about fit & finish as all the hard parts and power & drivetrain are the same as the 4 seater, and that has been well tested. 
 

Really besides the body work it’s 100% the same car with the exact same components. 
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I was talking about the production line,  and getting the process down for each model.

 
NIKAL said:
Since the show was moved to Saturday. And since Buff isn’t going to answer my questions. And because Sand Shark has a hard on for 200 pages. Let’s play name these 3 people. At least this will have some substance though not directly Speed related, I can get all 3 people six degrees of separation to Speed UTV. 

 

So name these people. 
 

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I am lucky to get to see Sara regularly, she is a stand up person and younger than most think she is with all the things she has done, not sure she is 30 years old yet.  Her Boyfriend is a pretty good Motorcycle rider s well............

 
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Cookie said:
I am lucky to get to see Sara regularly, she is a stand up person and younger than most think she is with all the things she has done, not sure she is 30 years old yet.  Her Boyfriend is a pretty good Motorcycle rider s well............
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Her boyfriend is alright.  LOL!

She can wheel an off-road car.   

 
DTA said:
I talked to Gary after one of the first Speed outings, he git a ride and was there for some input. I'm sure Tommy is giving some as well. 

All good news and between them 2 and Robby, that is a chit ton of shock knowledge. 
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Gary is a good dude.  He would camp with us in Glamis way back in the Rhino days.  

 
So you CanAm and Polaris guys take your SxSs to Tom and he charges you how much to dial your suspension in for you?

I'm thinking that since he already helped tune the Speed shocks before they were sold to the public, it won't take much for Speed owners to dial them in further for individual taste.

Thanks Robby! Just one more thing we don't have to spend extra money on, like the roll cage!     :lol:  

 
Lord of the Dunes said:
So you CanAm and Polaris guys take your SxSs to Tom and he charges you how much to dial your suspension in for you?

I'm thinking that since he already helped tune the Speed shocks before they were sold to the public, it won't take much for Speed owners to dial them in further for individual taste.

Thanks Robby! Just one more thing we don't have to spend extra money on, like the roll cage!     :lol:  
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Shock Therapy was $2100 when I did my car. Springs and valving. IIRC Tom was more money and shipping would have been required. I really wanted to send him my shocks but was not worth the extra money. At least to me. 

 
Lord of the Dunes said:
So you CanAm and Polaris guys take your SxSs to Tom and he charges you how much to dial your suspension in for you?

I'm thinking that since he already helped tune the Speed shocks before they were sold to the public, it won't take much for Speed owners to dial them in further for individual taste.

Thanks Robby! Just one more thing we don't have to spend extra money on, like the roll cage!     :lol:  
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He mainly does Can Am Shocks.  I don't think he messes with the RZR stuff much.  Around $2500 is what he charges.  As far as I know he has not touched the Speed shocks.  He is just one of the guys that taught RG a lot of stuff about suspension.

I know of a few future Speed UTV guys that already have plans to have the shocks done.  I asked them why and the response was "it can always be better".  LOL!

RG has the luxury of tuning the shocks for a specific terrain - desert.  The big manufactures don't have that luxury.  The sell to a much broader market so you get a much more generic set up.  

 
onanysunday said:
Shock Therapy was $2100 when I did my car. Springs and valving. IIRC Tom was more money and shipping would have been required. I really wanted to send him my shocks but was not worth the extra money. At least to me. 
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I would of figured Shock Therapy would be in the same price range. 

 
Sand Shark said:
He mainly does Can Am Shocks.  I don't think he messes with the RZR stuff much.  Around $2500 is what he charges.  As far as I know he has not touched the Speed shocks.  He is just one of the guys that taught RG a lot of stuff about suspension.

I know of a few future Speed UTV guys that already have plans to have the shocks done.  I asked them why and the response was "it can always be better".  LOL!

RG has the luxury of tuning the shocks for a specific terrain - desert.  The big manufactures don't have that luxury.  The sell to a much broader market so you get a much more generic set up.  
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RG has said that they will be posting shock tuning tips for specific terrain as part of their after sales support. IIRC, he said they'll have a website or forum somewhere where Speed owners can share info and Speed can help owners out.

 
Sand Shark said:
He mainly does Can Am Shocks.  I don't think he messes with the RZR stuff much.  Around $2500 is what he charges.  As far as I know he has not touched the Speed shocks.  He is just one of the guys that taught RG a lot of stuff about suspension.

I know of a few future Speed UTV guys that already have plans to have the shocks done.  I asked them why and the response was "it can always be better".  LOL!

RG has the luxury of tuning the shocks for a specific terrain - desert.  The big manufactures don't have that luxury.  The sell to a much broader market so you get a much more generic set up.  
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I spent $3.5k per RZR to ST

abc

 
Lord of the Dunes said:
RG has said that they will be posting shock tuning tips for specific terrain as part of their after sales support. IIRC, he said they'll have a website or forum somewhere where Speed owners can share info and Speed can help owners out.
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I do remember hearing that.  Hopefully that happens.  
 

 
Sand Shark said:
He mainly does Can Am Shocks.  I don't think he messes with the RZR stuff much.  Around $2500 is what he charges.  As far as I know he has not touched the Speed shocks.  He is just one of the guys that taught RG a lot of stuff about suspension.

I know of a few future Speed UTV guys that already have plans to have the shocks done.  I asked them why and the response was "it can always be better".  LOL!

RG has the luxury of tuning the shocks for a specific terrain - desert.  The big manufactures don't have that luxury.  The sell to a much broader market so you get a much more generic set up.  
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Good dune setup is not a good desert setup, and vice versa. You can get a spring set to work for both, but there’s still tweaking between the two…. Unless your idea of “duning” is marching down Sand Highway, turn south to Olds, hit it a couple of times, park, crack a beer or twelve, then head back to camp on the same route. 

Point being: Speed UTV will probably still benefit from some tuning to work optimally in the dunes. 

Or….

Its a magic carpet ride that will be able to drive anywhere without spilling your latte, including right onto the water of the bay over 4th of July weekend, then drive granny to COTA, throw an F1 downforce package on it and dominate, no porpoising.   :biggrin:

 
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Rockwood said:
Good dune setup is not a good desert setup, and vice versa. You can get a spring set to work for both, but there’s still tweaking between the two…. Unless your idea of “duning” is marching down Sand Highway, turn south to Olds, hit it a couple of times, park, crack a beer or twelve, then head back to camp on the same route. 

Point being: Speed UTV will probably still benefit from some tuning to work optimally in the dunes. 

Or….

Its a magic carpet ride that will be able to drive anywhere without spilling your latte, including right onto the water of the bay over 4th of July weekend, then drive granny to COTA, throw an F1 downforce package on it and dominate, no porpoising.   :biggrin:
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Didn’t you know the unicorn sprinkles magic?

 
Rockwood said:
Good dune setup is not a good desert setup, and vice versa. You can get a spring set to work for both, but there’s still tweaking between the two…. Unless your idea of “duning” is marching down Sand Highway, turn south to Olds, hit it a couple of times, park, crack a beer or twelve, then head back to camp on the same route. 

Point being: Speed UTV will probably still benefit from some tuning to work optimally in the dunes. 

Or….

Its a magic carpet ride that will be able to drive anywhere without spilling your latte, including right onto the water of the bay over 4th of July weekend, then drive granny to COTA, throw an F1 downforce package on it and dominate, no porpoising.   :biggrin:
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F2D35789-FC28-4F29-ABD6-2EA941209CB5.gif

 
Well, look at that. Two of the slowest kids in class are finally learning something.

Maybe there is hope for the world, after all.

:lol:

 
Sand Shark said:
That included swaybars? 
 

when shock therapy did my XP1000 it was $2500.  That was a long time ago and I think it was the first time they were set up at Vendors. 
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Yeah,, … I had a pile of parts. Told them do the MOST they can do, no budget, etc.

abc

 
Rockwood said:
Yes. Kool said tastes goooooood. Must. Drink. Kool. Aid. 
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No kool aid required, just a little bit of critical thinking.

RG has been driving trophy trucks for... maybe 30 yrs or more? During that time, he's been driving through all kinds of desert terrain at speeds up to 130 mph. Those are all facts. So it seems reasonable to surmise that he would know what well tuned, well designed shocks handle like. He's obviously not the only driver who has this sort of knowledge. Human nature being what it is, most people take the easiest route. They would take the best shocks they could get from Fox or King and rework them until they get the handling performance they wanted out of them.

But what if someone feels he can get better performance from a different design? A design that Fox and King don't make? So he designs his own shock that does perform at the level he wants. That's probably the hardest way to get what you want, designing it yourself and making it different somehow. That's what RG did, then he scaled it down slightly for the Speed UTV.

Are these shocks tuned to handle perfectly in dunes or desert trails without adjustment? No. However, the difference isn't as dramatic as a F1 shock vs a desert shock. There can be enough range in the adjusters that the shock can be adjusted with the external screws to do very well or excellent in both types of terrain. I had my 8 shocks on my sand rail (it's actually a Foddrill dirt car) adjusted to the middle so that there's enough adjustment in the bypasses that I can get a great ride in both types of terrain.

I'm pretty confident that RG knows a lot more than I (or any of us) about shock tuning and has put enough range in the adjusters to get the performance he wanted both in the sand and dirt. As Sand Shark pointed out, this is aimed at a specific type of terrain, not as general purpose as other brands doing mudding, forest trail riding, etc.

RG has spent a lot more time testing and tuning these shocks than I ever expected and I'm pretty confident he wasn't just goofing off. He drove around giving people rides, which gave him performance data on 4 passengers vs 2 passengers. That also makes a huge difference in shock tuning. So I really don't feel there's any Kool aid involved. Just plain old fashioned experience, hard work and intelligence.

 
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