450i lift kit

[2015uxv450]

So this last weekend my wife and I went on a 60 mile ride with a local atv club for charity. In the process I did some damage to my skid plate, pretty well totaled it. I didn't have the ground clearance of all the other machines. I only had 8" ground clearance front and rear.

Well I decided to move the front shock mount to the outside as the are 2 possible mounting locations. Then I preloaded the front springs. So now I have a full 12" clearance in the front.
The rear shock mounts also have another option to mount them, but in order to do that I would have to disconnect the sway bars, or Fab a new one, which I don't have the know how to do. So a buddy of mine is making a bolt on shock mount lift that I could place on the lower a arm. Without the new lift the most clearance I can get is 9 1/2" at the rear with springs preloaded.

Anyone else run into this issue, or lift their 450i

[airshot]

    Mine came from the dealer with about 8" clearance and I adjusted the shock springs to get 10" frt and rear. I have never been anywhere where I needed more clearance. Some areas are for trucks and I just don't go there. As far as the skid plates go, when I made my mount for the snow plow I needed to add extra crossbracing above the skid plate to allow for the plow mount so now my skid plate has additional support and attachments from the stock mounting area.  The factory skid plate screws are pretty weak so I drilled and tapped for a beefier screw to hold the skid plates. I understand a lot of folks like to go thru some really knarly territory but not my cup of tea so my machine does not see that kind of abuse so I have not had any issues with the skid plates. I see I have another inch or so of adjustment for the front shock springs which I will add when the plow blade is mounted over the winter.
The 450i is a great machine for the money, probably one of the better buys on side x sides, however I do not believe they are designed for "extreme" offroad conditions. If the machine set to high it would become quite tippy with its narrow stance.  Do let us know what you find........

[2015uxv450]

I'm not looking for a crazy high lift. Just looking for some additional clearance. The trails I was on wasn't that bad, I was following too close to the machine in front of me and couldn't avoid a large rock. Plus a few stumps on my property had done some previous damage to the skid plate.

I did make a new skid plate from 16g steel. Painted and re mounted with all the same drainage and access holes. Should hold up a little better

[airshot]

 Plastic and steel both have their advantage/disadvantage's ...plastic returns to shape and easily glides over objects but cant hold up weight. Steel is stronger but once you get a few dents in them they can really drag and hold you up. It all depends on where you ride and what you ride over. I probably do better with the plastic due to the added cross members and additional mountings bolts as these all work together to make the plastic skid plate more rigid. Heck if that steel plate works out do post some pics for us to see....we all enjoy homemade ideas that can save us some coins to improve our machines.

[k9bitten]

So thWell I decided to move the front shock mount to the outside as the are 2 possible mounting locations. Then I preloaded the front springs. So now I have a full 12" clearance in the front.

Anyone else run into this issue, or lift their 450i

Have you noticed any negative affects since changing the front upper shock location? Handling, etc. I'm thinking of doing the same.

[2015uxv450]

I have not noticed any negative effects as of yet. But I haven't had the time to take it on a decent ride yet either. Just around the yard so far and it seems to ride the same. I talked to my dealer and he said most manufacturers of lift kits tell you to delete the sway bars. So more than likely when I get time i am going to delete them and move the rear shocks to the other mounting location. in that position I will probably end up with 12-14" clearance on the rear

[airshot]

   Just keep in mind that getting your machine up that high will put a great deal of wear and tear on the CV joints. I have known many to jack theirs up high and go thru CV's once or twice per year or at least do a rebuid on them. The extreme angle causes the boots to tear more easily and also puts extra strain on the joint itself. From calculations on my machine and the angle of the shafts mabey 11"in height would be about the max angle recommended before extreme wear would fall into play.

[2015uxv450]

Thanks airshot. My plan is to relocate the shocks to the outer mount and adjust the preload on the springs to just stiff enough to give a comfortable ride, but not to make  unsafe riding conditions.

[kickstart]

   Just keep in mind that getting your machine up that high will put a great deal of wear and tear on the CV joints. I have known many to jack theirs up high and go thru CV's once or twice per year or at least do a rebuid on them. The extreme angle causes the boots to tear more easily and also puts extra strain on the joint itself. From calculations on my machine and the angle of the shafts mabey 11"in height would be about the max angle recommended before extreme wear would fall into play.

Wonder why Kymco would put optional mounting brackets/holes to relocate the shocks if what you say about the CV joints is a possibility.

[airshot]

Wonder why Kymco would put optional mounting brackets/holes to relocate the shocks if what you say about the CV joints is a possibility.

For the same reason people want extreme lift kits, it is just a fact that running Cv joints at extreme angles will shorten their lives and will need to be rebuilt sooner than later. Some folks just like extreme ride heights or they use there equipment where high lift is needed but no matter what the reason people that do so are prepared to rebuild their CV's more often. After looking at the optional mount on my 450i I don't think it would be that severe to cause extreme wear but will probably shorten some the CV life. Rear mount can't be used unless sway bar is removed from what I see.  I set mine to max height with the factory mounting holes and get about 10.5" lift and it increased the CV angle a little but not extreme.

[2015uxv450]

I'm not into extreme riding, however some of the trails around me require a little more clearance than I can acquire through the stock mounting locations. I still haven't moved the rear shocks and not certain if I will. I will however pass any info forward when and if I do

[kickstart]

For the same reason people want extreme lift kits, it is just a fact that running Cv joints at extreme angles will shorten their lives and will need to be rebuilt sooner than later. Some folks just like extreme ride heights or they use there equipment where high lift is needed but no matter what the reason people that do so are prepared to rebuild their CV's more often. After looking at the optional mount on my 450i I don't think it would be that severe to cause extreme wear but will probably shorten some the CV life. Rear mount can't be used unless sway bar is removed from what I see.  I set mine to max height with the factory mounting holes and get about 10.5" lift and it increased the CV angle a little but not extreme.

I looked at the rear end and not quite sure about running without a sway bar.

[k9bitten]

I looked at the rear end and not quite sure about running without a sway bar.

I moved my front shock mount and it made a noticeable difference on my boulder strewn Maine trails. A lot of Ranger guys remove the rear sway bar and say it helps quite a bit with trail riding but can get twitchy at speed. I swapped out the stock 25" tires for some 26" Bighorn 2.0's and I now have all the clearance I need with nothing being overly stressed. Picture shows 26" left rear and right is stock 25".

[airshot]

   Hey it looks much better with the bigger tires on her.  I have often thought about going to 26" when I need to replace my tires and your pics confirm they look better.  Next question is...any performance difference with the bigger tires?  Any loss of getup and go?   I know sometimes a bigger tire lessens the hole shot or the low end grunt, please let us know.

[kickstart]

Looks good K9bitten, more choices. Does your screen name have anything to do with Bigdog's?