I Chickened Out

[JohnnyG]

We took the XP5 on Yankee Boy Basin road on Saturday. About a mile from the top, there was a deep hole on the left side of the trail. I could have bypassed the hole on the right, but that was a pretty steep slope that leaned towards the hole. Not wanting to role the XP5, I ended up backing down the trail so I could turn around.

We have only had the XP5 for 2 months and like others have said, it feels top heavy/tipsy. I have pointed the XP5 up some pretty steep slopes and it handled them with ease. But those side slopes still scare me.

If anyone knows the spot I am talking about, would you have done it?

Is the XP5 as tipsy as it seems to be?

For what it is worth, the DW was very happy that I did not try to get past that spot.

-JG

 

[johndeerefarmer]

We took the XP5 on Yankee Boy Basin road on Saturday. About a mile from the top, there was a deep hole on the left side of the trail. I could have bypassed the hole on the right, but that was a pretty steep slope that leaned towards the hole. Not wanting to role the XP5, I ended up backing down the trail so I could turn around.

We have only had the XP5 for 2 months and like others have said, it feels top heavy/tipsy. I have pointed the XP5 up some pretty steep slopes and it handled them with ease. But those side slopes still scare me.

If anyone knows the spot I am talking about, would you have done it?

Is the XP5 as tipsy as it seems to be?

For what it is worth, the DW was very happy that I did not try to get past that spot.

-JG

I don't know the spot but yes very tippy. I highly recommend the SATV long travel kit. Mine with 6+1 rims is 76" wide.

 

[JohnnyG]

I don't know the spot but yes very tippy. I highly recommend the SATV long travel kit. Mine with 6+1 rims is 76" wide.

Thanks.

I am trying to stay away from making the XP5 wider than it is. One of the things we like about it is that on a narrow cliff road, we feel more "safe" when having to move over for a jeep or truck coming in the other direction.

What does a upgrade like that cost? I'm assuming $5K or more?

Thanks
JG

 

[Keyster]

I flipped my 2 door General doing something like you're describing and broke my collar bone/ACL during the roll from end to end. Still bothers me two years later. If you have weird vibes on a trail, listen to your gut. Wish I would have. You made a good call.

 

[JohnnyG]

I flipped my 2 door General doing something like you're describing and broke my collar bone during the roll from end to end. If you have weird vibes on a trail, listen to your gut. Wish I would have. You made a good call.

As I was backing down the trail, a small Kawasaki SxS was coming down the trail. He (and his young family) made it with no problem. But as you suggest, I was not feeling it, so I bailed.

In reality, I could have filled the deep hole, but that would have taken some time. On the low side, the hole was 2 feet deep, on the high side, 3 feet. It would have swallowed up 37" tires. So, my 30's wouldn't have been a match. The only option was to go around.... which as I said, I don't trust the XP5 in those tippy situations.

JG

 

[johndeerefarmer]

SATV long travel kit is around $4k depending upon whether you want new ball joints or not. You can sign up for SATV emails as they have sales of 20-30% off fairly often. I also installed Schmidty spring and put 200 psi of nitrogen in my shocks at the same time. My springs really sagged bad as I carry 200-300lbs worth of stuff

 

[Ryan]

The Schmidty (SRS) spring kit and 200 psi of nitrogen is a must. It gave me back the 3 inches of sag and the machine rides so much better than it did with stocks springs new. (which wasn't bad from a ride perspective) It was one of my best upgrades. I haven't pulled the trigger on long travel but it's on the list. I did add 1 inch wheel spacers on each side and that has helped a little on the tippyness. The wheel bearings don't like them much though... lol

 

[JohnnyG]

The Schmidty (SRS) spring kit and 200 psi of nitrogen is a must. It gave me back the 3 inches of sag and the machine rides so much better than it did with stocks springs new. (which wasn't bad from a ride perspective) It was one of my best upgrades. I haven't pulled the trigger on long travel but it's on the list. I did add 1 inch wheel spacers on each side and that has helped a little on the tippyness. The wheel bearings don't like them much though... lol

Does the 200 psi of nitrogen go in the stock shock?

 

[Ryan]

Yes, you can replace\upgrade the end caps with Schrader valve caps. There are many out there. I have read that some have experienced empty or very low PSI on new shocks. MTS Off-Road Schrader Valve Reservoir Caps (FOR FOX SHOCKS)

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I used the Schmidty caps since I bought the springs from them FOX Shock UTV High Volume Nitrogen Reservoir End Cap | Schmidty Racing Suspensions

Since I was also installing a couple mini splits I bought my own nitrogen bottle and regulator (use it for pressure testing the mini splits as well as charging the shocks)

 

[JohnnyG]

Do you all disconnect your sway bars? Would that make the XP5 less tippy?

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I have the front one disconnected. I just tied it up with cable ties at each end. Rear is still connected.
I think it actually makes it more tippy. Because you can lean farther. With the front sway bar on and one wheel falls in a depression that axle stays the same height as the one that's on the level ground. With the sway bar off that one will fall down in the ditch and you lean that way
With the sway bars off it rides better but at the same time it's more tippy. I guess you got to decide which is the most important

 

[JohnnyG]

With the sway bar off that one will fall down in the ditch and you lean that way
With the sway bars off it rides better but at the same time it's more tippy. I guess you got to decide which is the most important

Less tippy is way better. Tippy is the only thing I worry about on the trails here in Western, CO.

 

[Scrappy]

Less tippy is way better. Tippy is the only thing I worry about on the trails here in Western, CO.

Johnny,

I didn't recognize the name of that trail until you mentioned western Colorado. My wife and I did do Yankee Boy and Governor Basin last year and what an amazing ride!. The views are spectacular! We did encounter a section that we had to back out of but I think it was on Silver Basin road which is just off Yankee Boy? It was very narrow and uphill. It had a very steep right to left slope and we reached a ~15ft creek that was flowing across the road that freaked us out. My wife got out and walked back down the hill. She wanted no part of that.

Just after that we went down the Imogene Pass Road and saw this Jeep that got too close to the edge (below). That road made us feel very tipsy also and we bailed after a mile or two. I highly recommend Ouray to anyone that hasn't tried it.

 

[JohnnyG]

Yankee Boy and Governor Basin are amazing, for sure.

Locals are saying that the trails are in bad shape. Yankee Boy was great until it wasn't. But that could just be my inexperience talking. If I were with others, I might try it. By ourselves.... nope.

Imagine is not open all the way to Telluride. From Ouray, the trail is open to the top. They say you can't go much past that. Hoping to do that trail before we leave at the end of September.

JG