I know lots of guys are under the impression that adjusting your shock preload , will change how "stiff" your suspension is.
This is NOT CORRECT.
Preload adjusts your ride height , and how much your dampener is sagging. Just because you have spaced the spring 1" higher in its cradle , does not mean that now the spring is stiffer..
ITS STILL THE SAME SPRING…
Picture standing on a BIG spring ,, now place a stool under that spring.. Did the spring change ? NO ,, what changed is your height…
By changing your ride height , it moves your CENTER OF GRAVITY higher , and this , in turn, changes how your quad handles..
Now , lets say you ONLY add preload to the front shocks , like lots of guys do .. why ? because they want to have less "roll" in the front end when turning.. Now most would say , that it added "Stiffness" and thats why it has less roll.. WRONG , it has less roll because the front has been RAISED , and that in turn changes the center of gravity , and makes the rear end take more of the weight transfer.. Also since the front is higher it has more to travel before it starts to "roll over" the front wheel.
Cranking up All four shock preloads will make your ATV more stable and less tipsy..
WRONG AGAIN
By cranking up your preloads , and raising your center of Gravity, it will make your ATV MORE tipsy , and LESS stable.
Lowering your quad will make it more stable , and less tipsy. The downside is lost ground clearance.
Lets say you have a HUGE rear cargo box on back , and that causes your quad to "SAG" you can adjust your preload and help remove the SAG , by raising the spring.. Nothing has changed ,, but your spring position is higher , and that lifts the rear.. The spring is going to be compressed the same distance regardless , and actually as it transfers weight to the front , it may compress less.
I hope this helps some , and I am not trying to debate with others.. Its a common misconception , and I myself was not clear on how it worked until recent years.
