DeRisi Racing

Always set Ride Height first!

You will need two people to do this.

The following is a suggested starting point for setting your ride height. 

1. Try to find a level concrete floor.

2. Make sure you have the correct tire size and tire pressure on all four tires that you will be riding/racing with.

3. Put on all your protective/riding gear on and sit on the quad in normal riding position.

4. Have someone push and hold down on the front bumper while you turn the bars left and right a few times (This lets the front-end settle down where it should be)

5. Stand up and bounce up and down a few times to work the suspension in and then sit back in normal riding position.

6. Have someone measure at the bottom of the frame by the foot pegs to the ground and write that number down.

7. Go forward 20 inches from the pegs and measure again from the bottom of the frame to the ground and write that number down.

8. Take the two numbers and refer to our chart below to see if you are within our guidelines.  Please take in consideration that the higher the front is than the rear the more rear wheel traction you will get but if you get the front too high you will notice that the front will start pushing towards the outside of a turn. 

Below is also an example:

Say at the foot pegs your measurement is 7″
Then your front measurment is 7 1/4″
So your front is 1/4″ higher than the rear so you have a 1/4″ of rake. (You never want the rear higher than the front!)

Below is a good starting point on your ride height for each quad:

TRX450R

XC – 7″ at pegs and 7 1/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

MX – 6 1/4″ at pegs and 6 3/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

TT – 5 1/2″ at pegs and 5 5/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/2″

Desert – 7 1/2″ at pegs and 7 5/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″

KFX450R

XC – 7″ at pegs and 7 1/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

MX – 6 1/4″ at pegs and 6 3/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

TT – 5 1/2″ at pegs and 5 5/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/2″

Desert – 7 1/2″ at pegs and 7 5/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″

LTR450R

XC – 7″ at pegs and 7 1/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

MX – 6 1/4″ at pegs and 6 3/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

TT – 5 1/2″ at pegs and 5 5/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/2″

Desert – 7 1/2″ at pegs and 7 5/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″

KTM450/525

XC – 7″ at pegs and 7 1/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

MX – 6 1/4″ at pegs and 6 3/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

TT – 5 1/2″ at pegs and 5 5/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/2″

Desert – 7 1/2″ at pegs and 7 5/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″

YFZ450, YFZ450R/X

XC – 7″ at pegs and 7 3/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

MX – 6 1/4″ at pegs and 6 5/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/4″ (Standard Travel setups may run a little higher)

TT – 5 1/2″ at pegs and 5 5/8″ at front measurement + or – 1/2″

Desert – 7 1/2″ at pegs and 7 7/8″ at front measurment + or – 1/2″

Tips on different track conditions: 

Muddy races with tacky mud that sticks to the quad run a higher ride height and a little more compression damping.
Sandy whooped out tracks run higher ride height with more compression damping so you will not bottom as much and that will also help with swapping and kicking.

These measurements are just starting points everybody has their preferences some make like it higher or lower and some might like more or less rake so you will have to find out what works for you!

Camber Settings:

 Camber is not adjustable with most stock a-arms but it is on most aftermarket a-arms.

Note: Always set camber first because this WILL change toe, if at some point camber is adjusted, you must go back and re-adjust toe!

The following is a suggested starting point for setting your camber:

Set Camber with no rider aboard

1. First take two tie-downs and hook from the handlebar grips to the grab bar or foot pegs and tie the bars down to where they feel straight to you.  Once this is complete, you don’t have to worry keeping the bars straight. 

2. Take a L square and butt it up against the sidewall of the front tire in the center of the axle.

3. Measure the gap at the top from the sidewall of the tire to the edge of the square (pay attention to the raised lettering on the sidewalls, this can mess you up on your measurements).

4. You want the top of the tire leaning in towards the chassis between 1/8″ to up to 1/2″.  If this measurment is off then you will need to adjust the upper ball joint in or out until you reach 1/8″ to 1/2″ and make sure both sides are equal.

Again these settings are rider preference and vary for different front-ends and type of riding.

Below are our suggested starting points for different types of riding/racing:

XC/Desert – 1/8 to 1/4″ all models
MX/TT – 1/8″ to 1/2″ all models

Toe In Settings:

The following is a suggested starting point for setting your Toe In:

Set Toe In with no rider aboard.

You will need two people to do this.

1. First take two tie-downs and hook from the handlebar grips to the grab bar or foot pegs and tie the bars down to where they feel straight to you.  Once this is complete, you don’t have to worry keeping the bars straight. 

2. Find a straight edge that is long enough to go from the rear sidewall of the rear tire to the front sidewall of the front tire.

3. One person holding the straight edge at the rear of the quad, butt it up against both the front and rear sidewalls of the rear tire at the center of the front and rear axles (The other person is holding the other end of the straight edge at the front tire).  The straight edge should not be touching the sidewalls of the front tire (Rear should be wider than the front, if not use a two by four and put it against the sidewalls of the rear tire and put the straight edge on top of the two by four using it as a spacer).

4. Measure the gap from the rear sidewall of the front tire to the straight edge, and measure the gap from the front sidewall of the front tire to the straight edge and subtract the two measurements and that is how much toe in you have.

Note: Again when doing this pay attention to the raised lettering on the sidewalls, this can mess you up on your measurements.

For example:

If the rear sidewall measurement on the front tire is 1″ and the front measurement is 1 1/4″ then you have a 1/4″ of toe in, if the rear sidewall measures 1″ and the front measurement is 3/4″ then you have 1/4″ toe out. 

5. You want to always have toe in not toe out!  You will always want to have between 1/8″ and 1/4″ of toe in.  If this measurement is off then you will need to adjust the tie rods in or out until you reach 1/8″ to 1/4″ of toe in, and make sure both sides are equal.

Again these settings are rider preferance and vary for different front-ends and type of riding.

I know some of this is going to be hard to understand, we will be adding some pictures soon that will help you understand all of our measuring points and how we do things so check back often!  Also if you have any questions about setups please feel free to contact us.

Coming soon - Tips on adjusting air pressures for air shocks, compression adjusters, rebound adjusters, and so much more!