V-Force FAQ

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Q. Why does my V-Force with its 700 twin motor get passed in long races by quads with lesser motors?

A. Because the factory primary spring is a "beginner spring" installed by Kawasaki to make the V-Force easy to ride even for beginners. A more aggressive spring and its associated stall would potentially scare off buyers who were not used to it.

Q. What exactly is the problem with the stock spring?

A. It offers almost no stall and causes the CVT to shift much sooner than it should. Picture a rider on a manual quad shifting 1000 RPM's too early in every gear.

Q. What is stall?

A. Stall is the revving of the motor to a certain RPM before the belt engages and the quad moves. Some springs offer instant engagement while drag race spring may stall over 5000 RPM's.

Q. Do I need a spring with some stall?

A. You do if you want to win a drag race, even a friendly one against your buddies. Stall will enable you to break your wheels loose a little instead of standing the front end up and you will get to your max RPM's quicker. If you've ever drag-raced with an automatic car, you know a stall converter is a must, same principle with an auto quad. If you just casually trail ride then you will be more comfortable using a spring with little or no stall.

Q. Will the stall affect my trail riding?

A. If you put in a spring with stall and ride with it for a while, you will hardly notice it after a few rides. If you only try it for one ride, you may think that you can never get used to it.

Q. Can I use a really high-stall spring like some of the Polaris drag quads use?

A. Not if you want your clutch to last. Engagement of the Kawasaki clutch is much harsher than the Polaris'.

Q. What do the numbers mean that are used to measure the primary springs?

A. Basically the springs are installed on a special scale and compressed to their installed length (the length of the spring after it has been installed in your clutch) and their full travel length (the length of the spring when it is fully compressed) The numbers you get will then give you an idea of what your engagement will be (0 being instant engagement with engagement RPM increasing as the number increases) and what your shiftout RPM (higher number equals higher RPM's) wil be.

Q. What is shiftout?

A. Shiftout is the RPM point where your CVT shifts. Contrary to what many people think, auto quads do shift. Once your motor hits its shiftout point, the CVT will continually shift at that RPM until you run out of gear.

Q. What about the pink spring everyone is talking about?

A. The pink spring or something similar should have been the stock V-Force spring, but its hardly a "performance" spring. The stock spring is rated approx. 0/136 while the pink is rated at approx. 0/161. If you expect anything more than a mild performance increase you're going to be disappointed and you're surely not going to be a threat to piped Raptors, Banshees, etc.

Q. What would be a good spring, especially if I have a set of dual exhausts?

A. A spring with a minimum shiftout rate of 180 should work well. My advice would be to go as high on the shiftout number as possible while keeping the stall at a point that is comfortable to you. I have settled on the HPD plain 32/235 with 3 shims as the best combination. People who ride only in sand could easily use a stiffer spring since they are rarely dodging trees at low speeds.

Q. What are shims and what do they do?

A. Shims are large thin spacers that fit under the primary spring effectively making the spring longer. Up to 3 shims can be added before you risk binding the spring. This will increase both your stall speed and shiftout RPM. Kawasaki part # 92026. Polaris shims will also work and may be easier to get from a dealer.

Q. What does the secondary spring do?

A. The secondary spring controls the side pressure on the belt and your backshifting (downshifting). A stiffer secondary spring will put more tension on your belt resulting in less slip and will cause quicker backshifting. The tradeoff is that more tension equals more friction that will rob horsepower.

Q. What about the black secondary spring people are using.

A. While it may be helpful to have less belt slip on the Prairies that will be in low range and 4WD often, it is not needed on the V-Force as the stock spring seems adequate.

Q. Can I tune the clutch with different weights?

A. Changing the weights has the same effect as changing the primary spring. Lighter weights equal a stiffer spring and vice versa. Ideally everyone would have many different sets of weights and springs to tune with, but at $125 a set for the weights its much more practical just to tune with the springs at this point.

Q. What set of pipes should I get?

A. From all I have read, there is very little difference in the HP of the good brands, therefore looks and sound should be of primary concern.

Q. Why did you choose the DMC Aliens?

A. In my opinion they were the best-looking pipe on the market and TeamGreen has been having good success racing with them.

Q. Do I need to re-jet when I put on my pipes or modify the airbox?

A. Any time you allow the motor to breath better, there is a possibility that you will need bigger jets. Check your plugs constantly as incorrect jetting will most definitely hurt performance.

Q. How do I re-jet the carbs?

A. Its easier than you probably think. Remove the rubber clutch snorkel and the black trim piece above it. Look under the plastic and you will be looking directly at the carbs. Remove the 4 phillips screws from the bottom of the carb and you will be looking at the main jet in the center of the carb. Remove it with a regular screwdriver.

Q. Where is a good place to buy jets for the V-Force?

A. I buy all of my jets from www.sudco.com. They are cheap and ship fairly quick. Get the jets for the Keihin CV carburetors.

Q. Does the K&N filter help?

A. The K&N will surely flow better than the stock foam filter, plus you can remove the inside screen for even less restriction.

Q. How can I get results as good as yours?

A.
1.) CHANGE THE PRIMARY SPRING
2.) Make sure you are jetted correctly. I check my plugs OFTEN and I'll change the jets 10 times if I need to when I'm tuning.
3). Put a good set of pipes on. I was really surprised at the NOTICEABLE power increase the pipes gave.
4.) You MUST be able to launch the V at full throttle. Practice if you need to, but this is very important.

Q. How do you launch the V-Force in a drag race?

A. I give the V just enough throttle to engage the belt and hold on to the rear brake to keep from moving. If you wait until the race has started to hit the throttle, you are losing time due to belt lag and will get too much tire spin. I start way back on the seat and as soon as I get the sign to start, I throw myself over the bars as far as possible to help keep the front end down. On a perfect launch, you will get just a little tire spin and then you will be gone. A tuned auto should ALWAYS get the holeshot.

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Mickey Dunlap, he is the builder of these kits so you should give him a call and he can answer all your questions! 814-842-6159 between 3:00 and 6:00 eastern time! Our most popular kit is a 785 big bore piston kit which requires cylinder re-sleeving. We also have our cam and valve springs set built for that kit. Total price is $1,040 exchange on the cams. If you need more information, you will need to call.

Mickey Dunlap

Run the unit for 1/2, 3/4 and full throttle run for 1/2 to 1 mile each. Kill the engine while holding the throttle open at which ever run you are checking for ( 1/2, 3/4 or WOT). Check you plugs AND your piston wash. Dial your jetting, needles till your have the nice coffee with cream plug colour AND a nice area the size of your ( average size person here ) thumbnail on the piston head at the exhuast ports. (remember 2 stroke)

Once this has been achieved THEN we turn on the digitron and record the temp readings. THIS is the temp you will allways jet for no matter what temp and/or elevation or mod addition or what ever, you will always be spot on if you are running the reference temp. Basically we are verifiing our jetting by the color and wash and using the digi reading as a reference for when the variables change.

Springs:

  • Erlanders DRS20 Color: Pink Engage/Shift Lbs: 0/161
  • Erlanders DRS12 Color: Red Engage/Shift Lbs: 60/140
  • HPD HPD6 Color: Plain Engage/Shift Lbs: 55/216
  • Dalton Color: Orange/Blue Engage/Shift Lbs: 25/167
  • Black Comet Color: Balck Engage/Shift Lbs: 50/198

Spark Plugs:

 

  • Stock NGK (Iridium) CR7E
  • CR7EIX NGK (Iridium)
  • CR8EIX NGK (Iridium) Hot (NAPA part # 4218)
  • CR9EIX NGK (Iridium) Hotter
  • Truck BKR5EIX-11 V-6 Rodeo
  • http://www.rockauto.com (866) 762-5288 Spark Plugs

Jets Keihin N424-27-XXX O.E.M CV Carb

  • Stock 135 Front 138 Rear
  • Have 143 Front 148 Rear
  • Order No. Size
    019-174 #90 Lean
    019-175 #92
    019-176 #95
    019-177 #98
    019-178 #100
    019-179 #102
    019-180 #105
    019-181 #108
    019-182 #110
    019-183 #112
    019-184 #115
    019-185 #118
    019-186 #120
    019-187 #122
    019-188 #125
    019-189 #128
    019-190 #130
    019-191 #132
    019-192 #135 stock front
    019-193 #138 stock rear
    019-194 #140
    019-195 #142
    019-196 #145
    019-197 #148
    019-198 #150
    019-199 #152
    019-200 #155
    019-201 #158
    019-202 #160
    019-203 #162
    019-204 #165
    019-206 #170
    019-207 #172
    019-208 #175
    019-209 #178
    019-210 #180
    019-211 #182
    019-212 #185 front with K&N, 12 Holes, Exhust, Ignition
    019-213 #188     rear with K&N, 12 Holes, Exhust, Ignition
    019-214 #190
    019-215 #192
    019-216 #195
    019-217 #198
    019-218 #200 Rich
  • Drill Jet 1/8" and run Dial-A-Jet
  • Order No. Size
    019-030 #35 Lean
    019-031 #38
    019-032 #40 * stock
    019-033 #42 * 800cc
    019-034 #45
    019-035 #48
    019-036 #50
    019-037 #52
    019-038 #55
    019-039 #58
    019-040 #60
    019-041 #62
    019-042 #65
    019-043 #68
    019-044 #70
    019-045 #72
    019-046 #75
    019-047 #78
    019-048 #80 Rich

Fourm Q&A:

Bulbs:

  • Wagner 6260A NAPA Part
  • Stock 92069-1114 BULB,12V 45/45W,T15

Belt:

Bearings:

A-Arms Part # 92046-1046

Needle Bearing Timken part # TA 1725Z

Size ID17 x OD24 x L25 mm

MOTION INDUSTRIES, INC.
Eastern Bearing Company Div., 53.B South Jefferson Road
Whippany, NJ 07981
Phone: (973) 428-0915
Fax: (973) 428-0905

Applied Industrial Technologies
140 Furler Street
Totowa, NJ 07511-1825
Phone: (973) 785-2200
Fax: (973) 785-1293

http://www.mrsbearings.com/nrbirproddetail.asp?prodid=19

Tie Rod Ends: Use 2005 Honda TRX450R

53157-HP1-003 END, R. TIE ROD $17.11
53158-HP1-003 END, L. TIE ROD $17.11

Tires:

  • Stock Rear: 10x8; 3+5 offset; 4/137 bolt pattern
  • Stock Front: 10x5; 3+2 offset; 4/144 bolt pattern
  • Rear Rims ITP Baja T-9 9x9 4/137 bolt pattern w/ Maxxis Razor II's 22x 11x 9
  • Front Rims ITP Baja T-9 10x5 4/144 bolt pattern w/Maxxis Razor II's 23x 7x 10
  • Rear Rims Hiper Tech 9x9 Rear 3+6 offset Dual Beadlock 4/137 bolt pattern w/ Maxxis Razor II's 22x 11x 9
  • Front Rims Hiper Tech 10x5 4+1 offset Single Beadlock 4/144 bolt pattern w/Maxxis Razor II's 23x 7x 10
  • FYI if you install 400 ex hubs on your V with 400 ex lug nuts use 1989 Geo Metro from parts store.
  • Patchboy.com Tire Patches Rema Tip Top PN-2 3 1/4" with 203 Cold Vulcanizing Fluid
  • Skat-trak.com Extreme Haulers 24x 11x 10 9 paddle or 8 paddle (turnablity) $285.00 $38.00
  • Skat-trak.com Edge 24x 11x 10 10 paddle (rec tire) $297.00 $38.00
  • Prowlers Speed & Custom 800-368-3593 10 x 11 Douglas Rims V-Force "Kenny"
  • ITP Sand Star 22x 11x 10 $181.99

Parts:

Tricks:


Prairie 650 700 - Drive pulley mod for increased top speed

Various people have discovered a way to machine the drive pulleys to allow more motion of the moveable sheave. It allows your Prairie to turn lower rpms over 60mph and achieve higher speeds. Realizing that going fast this is dangerous, you should perform this mod only if you feel your ATV is stable at those speeds. I list it here because it is public info. Perform this mod at your own risk. More details will follow, but basically you remove the drive pulley, dissaseble it and take the sheaves to a machinist to machine about .040 out of the very inside of the pulley faces (not the whole face, just in the center). This allows the pulleys to close further (you go faster as a result). The spider has rectagular knobs on the outside face that much be machined down about .080 in order to allow the sheaves to move together. Other people might tell you different numbers. The info I have here is just preliminary. Kisssofeath machined only the moveable sheave and he machined the faceplate thinner instead of machining the spider. He used washers as spacers under the bolts. It worked well, but some people suggest that he would have balancing problems as a result. So, I feel that if you go to the trouble to do this, you should machine both pulleys and the spider.

Simple plug reading 101

Warm your quad up for a 15 to 20 min. Run it wide open with a load on it for 5 to 10 sec. Kill the motor and come to a stop. Pull the plugs out and look for the carbon to be burned off in the middle of the 90* corner of the ground strap. If the carbon is burned down around the corner towards the plug threads it is too lean. If it's closer to the tip of the ground strap it is too rich. Carbon line should be right here. The frt. is about a half jet richer then the rear which is fine. The white electro show that this #7 plug was a little hot for hard riding and was changed to a #8 that will cool it down 5*. It doesn't matter what color the plug is because with different fuels you will get different colors.

 

 

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