[M-Spec]

Here's my 2015 570SP trail build so far, I have made a lot of changes and upgrades since I picked it up last fall. My main goal with the Ace was to keep it reliable, maneuverable and tough. Most of you guys know I'm in a wheelchair and have MD so having a capable machine to climb through/over what ever is in front of it and making it back to the parking lot in one piece is very important.

So first things first I got a set of Suregrip hand controls for it and they where easy enough to use and really simple but where pretty sloppy and just kinda weird to use as a brake and throttle it did the job but left a lot to be desired so I set it up so just the brakes worked with the hand controls and used the gas pedal with my leg but the throttle spring wore me leg out really fast. The next challenge I ran into was the steering even though it had EPS which made it a lot more easy to steer I found it hard to steer on twisty trails with the 2.5 turns from lock to lock steering, compared to a regular ATV that is .5 of a turn lock to lock it just seemed ridiculously slow to me for a trail machine. I started thinking maybe the Ace steering system would be better off set up like a traditional ATV with a .5 turn lock to lock steering ratio and a handle bar which I find more comfortable any ways. After lots of messing around and trying a Scrambler 1000 type set up that gave me way to much acherman angle I scrapped it and made a mini "swing set" type system that is common on desert trucks and that was able to get the steering angles back within OEM specs it also gave me the .5 turn lock to lock I was looking for, it also ties the front A-arms together with some cold rolled 3/16 steel so you will never rip a front A-arm off.

Next was setting up some handle bars, I ordered up some Protaper handle bars, risers and a Motion Pro ATV twist throttle kit. I made a aluminium adapter plate that attaches to a dragon fire quick release hub so it can be taken off easily, I also found it hard to get to the key and 2/4WD switch when fully strapped in the 4PT harness so I got a weather proof box and relocated the 2/4WD switch, ignition key and toggles for LED lights to the handle bar hub so its really easy to get at. I tried it with the typical dirt bike handle bar set up but dirt bike bars are pretty wide for inside an Ace so I cut them down a good chunk and added mountain bike steer horns lol what ever works right and was like an air craft yoke and was pretty comfortable and real adjustable so I'm going with that for now.

So far its working out much better for me given what I have to work around, the twist throttle is really light and smooth, the steering is much faster and the Ace turns much better just like a regular quad but I still would like more power out of the electric power steering and don't really like "progressive" EPS steering Polaris uses, a constant steering rate is more ideal for me. I'm thinking about building a full on electric hydraulic power steering system for it soon as I don't think the Super ATV EPS is any stronger it is just non-progressive.

 

[M-Spec]

I've also done a bunch of other custom mods

- Aluminum roof Ryno lined
- Lexan windshield
- GoPro mount front and rear
- Seat mount to un-recline the seat to a proper seating position
- Extended gear selector
- More to come I sure

Bolt on upgrades
- DFR 3" racing harmes
- DFR quick release hub
- Super ATV 1.5" forward A-arms
- Warn 3500 winch
- Polaris extreme front bumper
- Garmin Etrex 20
- Rear view mirror

 

[M-Spec]

Wheel and tire set up

Wheels - STI HD Beadlock 12X7 with 4+3 offset
I got a set of the machined raw ones and had them coated with a custom gloss black finish and added red beadlock rings. They reminded me of jeep wheels and thought they would be a tough set of wheels

Tires - Interco Reptile Radials 6PLY
Front - 27/9/12 Rear - 27/11/12

I picked Interco because I had a few sets on my jeeps over the years and they proved to be really tough tires that shined in the nasty stuff and after a few rides on them they seem to hold up very well and get some insane traction on a variety of terrains.... cant wait to get them in some deep mud.

 

[G2bc]

Another fellow from BC!
Thanks for the hello on my introduction.
Your Ace looks awesome!

Did you encounter any power loss with the oversized tires?

Your mobility mods are very impressive.

 

[hotrodace]

Wow, that's an awesome ace! Great mods, looks like the perfect machine for your situation. I'm wondering about power loss with the 27's also?

 

[M-Spec]

Thanks very much guys .... every ride its getting closer to where I want it. I read some where that Polaris recommends up to 27" on their sxs's with out the need to re-clutch so I went with the 27's and so far they seem to hook up pretty close to stock belt/clutch wise, I can spin them from a stop but they have a crap load of traction so they hook up pretty quick.

Well if any ones ever headed to the island for some riding hit me up... its a great place to ride with thousands of miles of offroad

 

[Vole]

Those 27" are quite big. So you do not have any spacers, no lift kit and all tires are running free, no rubbing?

Did you measure the weight of the rear wheel with the new rim + big tire?

 

[M-Spec]

Vole, yup no spacers on there, from what I found most strut failures have had wheel spacers on them which will increase the strain/load on the strut. I opted for 1.5" forward A-arm's from Super ATV that allows you to run up to 28" tires with no lift. I like the setup more clearance, still skinny enough for the tight trails and less stress on the weak ass struts.... and no rubbing at all, it even had enough room to run 11" wide tires on the front, I tried it but it turned like a semi truck. I think the rear tire weighs in around 35 pounds or so.

 

[Vandal]

Great job M-spec. your Ace is looking like a first class build...Enjoy

 

[Vole]

Vole, yup no spacers on there, from what I found most strut failures have had wheel spacers on them which will increase the strain/load on the strut. I opted for 1.5" forward A-arm's from Super ATV that allows you to run up to 28" tires with no lift. I like the setup more clearance, still skinny enough for the tight trails and less stress on the weak ass struts.... and no rubbing at all, it even had enough room to run 11" wide tires on the front, I tried it but it turned like a semi truck. I think the rear tire weighs in around 35 pounds or so.

Thanks for the info :eagerness:

 

[M-Spec]

Thanks very much Vandal... trying to keep it clean but effective. Vole no prob, forward arms is a great alternative to running front spacers

Here's my next Ace project, I got rid of the Suregrip hand controls for the brakes and am working on getting a hydro drift hand brake hooked up to all four brakes. Its a bit of a task but just a matter of swapping out the single port drift cylinder for the Polaris master cylinder that has the front/rear port and brake sensor, re-routing the brake lines, extending the sensor harness and a custom lever.

So far made a mount for it .... now for some plumbing

 

[Vandal]

Thanks very much Vandal... trying to keep it clean but effective. Vole no prob, forward arms is a great alternative to running front spacers

Here's my next Ace project, I got rid of the Suregrip hand controls for the brakes and am working on getting a hydro drift hand brake hooked up to all four brakes. Its a bit of a task but just a matter of swapping out the single port drift cylinder for the Polaris master cylinder that has the front/rear port and brake sensor, re-routing the brake lines, extending the sensor harness and a custom lever.

So far made a mount for it .... now for some plumbing
View attachment 15393

M Spec....you are quite creative. Good luck on this project. I have no doubt you will figure it out.

 

[M-Spec]

Well finally got the brakes finished up.... of course all ways more of a challenge than anticipated. The drift brake could of worked but would of had to order up a load of AN conversion fittings and all new lines so I made the original master work. The Polaris master is not the typical 2 bolt master so I had fab up an entire new hand/drift brake.... break out the welder and strip the Ace down again LOL.

Once I got the bracket figured out and welded up, it was plumbing time. I pretty much just reversed the brake lines (front to back) which moved the master to right beside the seat. I did have to get some longer SS lines for the back that was no big deal. Next was extending the wires for the brake switch .... pretty easy, lastly I set up the brake lever to swivel back to make entry and exiting the Ace easy, it has a notch at the bottom and a safety locking pin at the top with a pivot in the middle.

Had a chance to try it out last weekend on the trails and it works great, pretty easy to lock up if needed and much much better than those wacky sure grip hand controls, not to knock them they are a great place to start but this set up has a lot less throw and better fulcrum position for maximum braking power.

 

[M-Spec]

Next issue I wanted to get rid of was the speed sensitive EPS steering Polaris uses, I personally dont like how it stiffens up at speed.... so it had to go. I was also going to try to get some more power out of the steering system because we have a lot of twisty tight off camber trails here that really demand some rock crawler like steering power. I ordered up a SATV EZ-steer system for a RZR 900 as it had the highest power rating (a whopping 400 Watts) of all the EPS units I've looked at. Being for a RZR 900 meant every thing had to be custom made to fit, so made a new extended steering column, new bracket to work with Polaris EPS brackets, new custom steering shaft, was a bit of work but not too bad considering it was not meant for an Ace.

Got it in the same position/spot as the original Polaris unit, had to trim a bit of the plastics to get it to fit but not too much. I also tried it out last weekend and made trailing much easier, was much better at speed with a consistent steering feel. Had a lot more steering power in the deep ruts, mud and off camber stuff so not bad at all.... I still really miss the effortless hydraulic steering on my Jeeps but the Ace is getting closer to where I want it at.

 

[M-Spec]

Of course to power such a beast of a EPS unit I installed a larger RZR sized battery, The Motobatt AGM Battery fitted in perfect and should provide lots of power.

Specs
PART NUMBER (CE): MBTX30U
BATTERY VOLTS: 12V
AMP HOUR (10 HR): 32
PERSONAL WARRANTY: 24
DIMENSIONS IMPERIAL: 6.5 X 5.0 X 6.9
DIMENSIONS METRIC: 166 X 126 X 192

Installed on the Ace

 

[BillyBlaze]

Very nice work my friend, looks fantastic

 

[M-Spec]

Thanks Billy....its shaping up nice. Now that those mods are done its time to light it up, going to order up some LED light bars and cubes next or maybe HID's not sure yet.

 

[BillyBlaze]

Thanks Billy....its shaping up nice. Now that those mods are done its time to light it up, going to order up some LED light bars and cubes next or maybe HID's not sure yet.

Post up what you decide on getting, I am looking at doing the same myself.
There are SOOO many options on the market...
I am looking for a good plug and play kit that I dont have to take out a second mortgage to buy lol

 

[shanemcg]

Next issue I wanted to get rid of was the speed sensitive EPS steering Polaris uses, I personally dont like how it stiffens up at speed.... so it had to go. I was also going to try to get some more power out of the steering system because we have a lot of twisty tight off camber trails here that really demand some rock crawler like steering power. I ordered up a SATV EZ-steer system for a RZR 900 as it had the highest power rating (a whopping 400 Watts) of all the EPS units I've looked at. Being for a RZR 900 meant every thing had to be custom made to fit, so made a new extended steering column, new bracket to work with Polaris EPS brackets, new custom steering shaft, was a bit of work but not too bad considering it was not meant for an Ace.

View attachment 18434

Got it in the same position/spot as the original Polaris unit, had to trim a bit of the plastics to get it to fit but not too much. I also tried it out last weekend and made trailing much easier, was much better at speed with a consistent steering feel. Had a lot more steering power in the deep ruts, mud and off camber stuff so not bad at all.... I still really miss the effortless hydraulic steering on my Jeeps but the Ace is getting closer to where I want it at.

Hi ya, I know this is an old post but, I just got 400w eps kit for the rzr as well and I want to do the same thing you figured out to my 2015 ace. any tips? I noticed you mount the motor out the topside of the ace, is that because the 400w motor would not fit down below? can I use the mounts that came in the kit, my ace had no eps stock but was an option, any info would be great Thanks, Shane