Upgrade And Info 2009 Dragon Walker Evans "air" Shock Changes

For 2009 Dragons... Polaris and Walker Evans changed the valving and piston on the Front-track W.E. Air shock.

The IFS (ski shocks) will be getting bumped up to 225 psi pressure but will retain the same valving and piston as the 2007/2008 models.

The rear track shock remains unchanged.

All the new 2009 deliveries will have these changes

For the front track shock, a new 2 piece high flow piston and preloaded valve stack is used to get rid of some of the diving and stiffness problems encounterd with the 2007 and 2008 WE Air Shock equipped dragons.

A replacement Piston and pre assembled valve stack is available from Walker Evans directly for less than $50....
Walker Evans Racing, (951) 784 - 7223

The new front track shock specs are ALSO up the pressure to 225 (from 215) and run 60cc of oil.

This WILL NOT be a warranty claim or change from the factory.

Walker Evans also has upped their quality control on the charging methods used to give a more consistant nitrogen charge. For those that dont know... Walker is located in very hot Riverside California... the temps are often over 90 in the plant... they will be charging the shocks to compensate for this difference as well as doing a 2 step charging process.

The Walker shocks are an emulsion design (nitrogen and oil are mixed)... when you charge the shock initally, the oil and nitrogen reach an equilibrium with each other as the gas mixes with the oil.... after a short period of time (24 hrs) a lower pressure is read... the second step is to bring all the shocks to 225lbs nitrogen pressure after they have set out for a while... this gives more consistant charge that has been such a problem in the past.

If you are doing these yourself, it may be a good idea to do the initial charge to 200 psi... then put them in the freezer... then, while still cold, charge them to 225 psi.

I will try to post the chart with the temp/pressure cross for charging the shocks when it becomes available (for charging when warm)

These upgraded pistons are actually the same 2 piece piston that is used in the IQ racer coil-over shocks for the past few years... There is also a piston/valvestack available for the IFS shocks that uses this high flow piston, 5cc more oil and 225 psi... this will give a bit firmer ride while still being compliant thru the bumps.

In my research on these shocks, I have found that they do not perform well when used in colder temps (below 10 deg F) and have a tendency to blow out seals when used below zero degrees... If you use them in sub zero temps... you may want to use a different, lighter viscosity, oil in the shock...
A lighter weight oil will have less chance of seal blow outs on big hits when its real cold out.

I do NOT have any other technical info on this.

Stock Walker Evans oil is 5 weight oil.
There are 3 and 2.5 weight oils out there as well.

SLP carries lighter weight oil..."Extra light"
http://www.startinglineproducts.com/catalog.cfm?pageID=detail&catalogID=9&catID=74&productID=817

Maxima as well as Klotz make lighter oils as well... 3 weight.
http://www.deycore.com/universal_parts.htm

Carls cycles and TriCity Performance have had very good results in revalving these shocks and setting them up as well..
www.carlscycles.com
www.tricityperformance.com

Curt at FTX motorsports has been using a lighter oil with good success. Try contacting him... he can do all of the piston/valving updates as well if you are not equipped for this.

http://www.ftxmotorsports.com/

Justin... the new swaybar, according to my sources has the same torsion rating as the previous years but cleans up the install as well as being able to be disconnected easily.

The 225 is what they settled in on after a lot of input from their dealers like TCP, Carls and others. It seems to give good results.

I think the 2 step charging is a step in right direction...

The WE airs are a good, Basic mountain shock, but by Walkers own admission is not intended for hard trail use or sub zero use...

Cold weather... replace the oil with 3 wt, IMO.

The new valving and pressures on the WE Air shocks that will be on all of the stock 2009's was on all of the demos that you rode. This was worked out over last seasons validation settings and field testing on the 2009 mountain sleds prior to the Demo sleds being released to the dealers and the public as well as the validation (proto) sleds that hit the snow mid season.

Of the dozen or so that rode the 09 proto (our group) everyone noticed the improvement in handling, in the pow & on the trail.

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Those "proto" sleds HAD the new pistons/valving/pressure/oil volume on the front track & 225 lbs (verified) on the front ski shocks compared to the 215 lbs of the 2007 and 2008 WE airs... those changes make a big difference. PLUS many of the 2007 and 2008 WE airs suffered badly from undercharging of the shock....so there is a strong possibility that the 07/08 Dragons you were comparing them to were undercharged with nitrogen in the shocks (unless you verified this before riding)

The above changes are not a "mod" setup... but rather the refinements that the factory has developed to fine tune the chassis.

These new pistons and valving stack (on the front track shock) and pressures will be on every RMK that leaves the factory in 2009.

This will bring the 2007/2008 up to the 2009 STOCK standard and will provide more control in the chassis... just as the 2009 sleds have benefited from the improvement and evolution in design.

The new valving, oil volume and pressure add more linearity and have less stiction than the previous years Walker Evans Air Shocks in the front-track position... especially since this is the smallest shock on the sled with the smallest emulsion volume. Temp changes have the most effect on the front track shock as well... because of this smaller volume.

As far as I know... the Dragon RMK's, Dragon SP's are the only ones to get the new fwd mounted swaybar. The Assault will have the brackets and the A-arm mounts for the swaybar if the customer wants to install one on their own... The assault A-arms are the same 43" wide parts as the SP. You can see the stud for the lower linkage mount on the A-arm of the Assault in Wallpaper pix on the www.polarisindustries.com website. The remainder of the sleds with the plastic style front bumper will be getting the 2005-08 style swaybar from what I know as the plastic of the "old" front end will not accomodate the new swaybar without cutting. But hey....Poaris could change anything they want over the summer.

A couple of points that I disagree with you on...(but thats ok too)

The 2009 swaybar mounts to the LOWER A-arm via a linkage with sperical bearings on the ends.... not the upper a-arm

A swaybar does nothing control front-to-rear weight transfer (diving or squatting) in a sled.. it is a device that helps to control side-to-side roll. Example: It takes no differnt force to push the front end down on a sled with a swaybar than without... the swaybar pivots in the mounts.

When the sled "dives" the sway bar pivots freely in the swaybar mounts and applys NO force [ by design] on the chassis or suspension as the bar floats in the mounts on the chassis. The invention of the swaybar was desingned NOT to change the front to rear transfer while it reduces body/chassis roll.

You probably noticed better handling and less dive in the Assault as well, this sled does not use a swaybar at all.

Thru the use of better quality shocks (better than the very basic WE airs) and especially tripple rate, high quality, springs (or EVOL floats)... the need for the swaybar is minimized or eliminated on a true mountian machine (as in the Cat M's or the Assault). High quality shocks and springs are much more coslty than a swaybar for the factory.

On a trail sled, just as in a road race car... a swaybar (anti roll bar) is a key player in stability and handling in high speed turns. Much less so on a mountain sled.

Retro fitting to the 2008 and previous, IMO would have no advantage other than the look, that you could hook up a quick disconnect (like on the XP's) and they will hold less snow/ice. I think the reason for the relocation was to get the swaybar up and out of the snow path in light of the new 2009 design with the A-arms more exposed to the snow. I'm not sure if the new swaybar will fit into the different fenders of the 2005-2008 sleds... but it might... for the A-arms, you wouuld just have to weld a mounting stud to the a-arm for the lower end of the linkage to fit to.

A 2008 can be upgraded to the 2009 Bumper/fenders/nosecone for about $400... the swaybar bracket is part of the bumper bracket mount.

2009 Dragon SP Swaybar (same as the Dragon RMK)


The 2009 Swaybar bushings attach to the chassis with the studs on the bottom of the front bumper bracket (#16 in the illustration)

AO ... dont be too quick to sell the swaybar assy.... Mark will be building the new swaybar linkage stud into his 2009 A-arms.

Ron,

Were all of your IFS shocks gassed up to 225 psi (cold) on your 2008/07 sleds?
Were all of the front track shocks on those 2008 sleds set up with the 2 piece pistons and preloaded valve stack and 10cc LESS oil?
2007 & 2008 front-track shock oil volume... 70cc 5 wt walker oil... 2009 front-track shock 60cc 5 wt walker oil.

From what I was told by the service dept at Carl's, their upgrade on the dragon shocks was strictly in valving and not a piston change which would allow the valve stack to be preloaded by .020"

We'll see, on the swaybar topic...

The bar diameter, material, distance to the pivot and the attaching point distance to the bushing/pivot are the the same on the 2008 and 2009 sleds... One is a linkage setup one is a bushing mount. (like the summit Adr and X models)

And Ron, you hit the nail on the head... sometimes the subtle changes are the ones that matter most!

We will be able to tell about the "home run" factor on sleds that are setup IDENTICALLY (same shocks, valving, oil qty, pressure) with the new bar and with the old...

But this all gets away from the topic of this post... what do you need to do the extensive changes that Polaris introduced on the front-track Walker Evans air shock.... and the pressure change and method of charging on the IFS shocks.

These are not issues for me, actually, as I will not be runnning a swaybar or the Walker shocks.... Tripp rate ARS-FX and the new 2009 Holz in the rear. Yaa Hooo!

Ron,

I certainly did not mean to phrase that as a put down.... not my intent at all. If you feel that it was a put down in any way, my apologies.

You put out some of the best info on this site that is helpful to a lot of people... AND we can "agree to disagree" without issue.

I did say

And Ron, you hit the nail on the head... sometimes the subtle changes are the ones that matter most!

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And I meant it to agree with you.

When you said that:

Even though the new bar is the same bar as the 08 it works better and is a more positive factor in sled handling.

Click to expand...

I simply was pointing out that you could not separate the improvements you were feeling as being the just the sway bar because your demo/proto sleds, in addition to the 2009 sway bars, had the 2009 shock valving and pressures and that your upgraded units with the coilovers or Carl’s upgraded settings did not have the exact same "mix" of front and rear setup as the 2009's with the only exception being the new fwd mounted sway bar. Small pressure changes, oil level changes, piston flow characteristics and valving are a very "fine line" of balancing that takes a while to dial-in... The subtle changes ARE very important.

I have also said all along that the WE Airs are a good BASIC shock, but no where near the sophistication of a Zero, Float, ARS, Walker coil overs or other top notch shocks

I is my understanding, in talking to some factory contacts at both Polaris and Walker that all of the dealer demos and the factory validation sleds had all of the new shock changes in them... which should have included the demo sleds that your group rode.

Walkers’ suggestion to use the 225 psi and 5cc more oil was posted up on the old forum in late 2006 when the first RAW Dragons were showing problems...(many of which can be related to low pressure due to leakage or under pressurization)

Polaris installs OEM Walker for many reasons, one of the big ones is price.... and willingness to pro-actively tailor to Polaris' needs.

Carl’s is a top-top notch service and performance center with some of the best performance people in the busines , with no doubt, and I have been putting forward their info on this thread... even since the first post.

In fact, with Carl's EXTENSIVE knowlede and testing of the Fox Zero shocks on the the RMK chassis and their super tight relationship with Polaris in the R&D of our mountain sleds, I think it's sad that Polaris does not draw on this knowledge and use the Fox's on there sleds from the factory... especially in the top of the pile Dragon models. The custom valved Zero's that I've ridden on from Carls fitted to the skis and rear skid were a big improvement in how the sled rode.... IMO because Carl's set these up for use as a "system" of shocks and springs... not just some hodge podge assembly of different components.... they are very good at that... evidenced in how well their big bore kits kick-azz and their full suspension packages work.


Polaris knew about TCP, Carl’s and others use of 225 psi of nitrogen as well as Walkers input on this but never specified this in their order with Walker for the 2008 models. Walker knew about this and was telling Dragon owners that took the time to call in to first confirm that the shock had 215 psi and if you wanted a bit stiffer ride, to up it to 225psi after trying the 215 (since many reached the customer with sub 200psi readings as new deliveries)

I would have liked to compare this Demo of a 2009 Dragon (photo) with new rear shocks and previous years sway bar (from the factory) to the one that you rode with the new shocks AND new sway bar to see the difference in the handling. That would truly be a good way to see the any differences related to the sway bar alone.
Early 2009 Demo D-RMK sled with the original sway bar.


If the 2009 demo/proto sleds that your group was riding were new enough to have the new style sway bar, according to my contacts, it would have ALSO had the extensively changed front-track shock (pistons, valving and oil volume) as well as the front ski shocks that have an additional 10psi in them [compared to the previous years] and that that pressure setting in all of the "Air" shocks went through higher levels of quality control. To be fair, this is second hand knowledge in that I didn't install or witness the shocks being installed on your demo machines, but certainly not 2nd hand "rumor mill" varied info.

It would be hard to make a fair evaluation that the new sway bar was THE major player or the shocks were because the new sway bar and shocks were installed.

how do you know what difference Walkers shock changes will make other than what they told you?

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I don't know what will make a difference, in truth, but this is what I base my comments on....

I have ridden, on my own sled, with WE Airs that had the new piston/60cc of oil/and the 2009 valve stack in the front-track. I also ran the ski shocks at 225 psi with and without the new piston and preloaded valve stack. The "before and after of this setup were very distinctive" in how it handled... the diving was much less prevalent as well as better overall handling and bump characteristics without the wallowing feeling that I noticed before the change. For my style of riding, in 20 degrees F + temps, this was the best setup that I've found on the Walkers.... I never did try the lighter oil, but with our temps in the Sierras I never felt the need.

IMO... that difference was related to the lower level of stiction that the preloaded valve stack has as well as a different emulsion volume. I belive this stiction (also prevelant in Motocross/MTB forks) is one of the major factors in the "lurching" with the Walkers. This stiction seemed much more pronounced at lower levels of pressure in the shocks... I tried 200 psi for "kicks".

I sold my last set of Walker pistons/valves to Outlaw Addict on the 4m here... and since sold all of the WE Airs as they didn't perform the way that I was hoping.... again going along with my contention since that the WE Air shocks are a good shock for a mountain specific sled that is not "trailed" much or used often in the rough.

I tried a Carl’s zero pro in the rear-track as well as a re-valved Ryde FX clicker in conjunction with the Walker Air front track.... I liked the Ryde clicker better, but prob not a fair comp to the Zero as the Ryde was a remote resi shock.

My favorite setup was actually a set of the snow checked Ryde FX coilovers with Renton springs front and rear, all revalved...and being a lighter rider, the rebound was of special concern. I tried the EVOLs on the skis... still have them and will compare them to ARS this season... I have high hopes for the coil-over shocks

I'm hoping for good results out of the ARS-FX shocks with trip rates on the ski and the 2009 Holz/Float on the rear with the add-on EVOL chamber and a DSC remote clicker.

...you may be taking a big leap of faith with the assumptions you make.

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If you were riding the pre dealer/customer demo 2009 sleds in Jan/Feb... it is possible that you rode one without the new shock setups in it but with the new sway bar... I will certainly conceed that.

I can’t remember if it was Walker that was making claims that didn't pan out or if it was the marketing team in Roseau when they made the sales brochures for the sleds.

IMO... I think the Dragon RMK's should come with comp adjustable WE needle coilover shocks like the SP has on the front (in the RMK length of course) and the WE needle coilover in the front-track position.... IMO... but those would have cost Polaris WAY more than they are willing to spend on shocks for an already expensive sled to build (long tracks, big motors, wide skis, light weight parts)

The important thing is that they seem to be making good sleds for 2009 as evidenced by your rides on the demo/proto sleds... That’s the good thing...

Like I've said in PM's to you and in posts here, I respect your opinion and hope to see more of it... it can only help the "family" here on the 4M.

Be well my friend!

Happy 4th to everyone.....

2009 DRAGON SP (SHORT TRACK SLED)
REAR SUSPENSION