[Scoundrel]

Took my ACE to Conconully, WA for some riding with Northwest Quad Association.
It was a GREAT trip, and the ACE LOVED Conconully.

Here's a short clip from a speed run up a service road to visit a mountain called Old Baldy. It was a bit bleak and desolate due to a recent fire.

Here's a longer speed run up a much rougher service road to a lookout tower on Buck Mountain:

Here's a trail I call "The Road Less Traveled":

...and then the sequel, "The Road Less Traveled 2":

And then here is a steep downhill trail we found. It was between 20 and 30 degrees for most of it, though the video angle doesn't really show it. Just note the speed and lack of engine noise, those will be the markers.

Here is the ACE perching on a rock at a remote meadow overlooking a lake:
View attachment 1151


And here is my camping setup:
View attachment 1152


And here's the lookout tower we visited:
View attachment 1150

 

[Hayseed]

Scoundrel, I really enjoyed all the videos. However, my favorite is your photo of your camping setup. That is AWESOME! Are those your dogs?

 

[Scoundrel]

Yep, that's Scooter on the left and Roscoe on the right.
Scooter is part Chihuahua, mixed with (we think) Mini-Pinscher.
Roscoe is part Dachsund, mixed with (we think) Rat Terrier.
They're both characters.

View attachment 1155

 

[ACE Ventura Polaris]

I need to come to Washington and ride ! Those Trails are awesome!!

 

[Scoundrel]

I'll lead a ride for anyone who makes the trip!

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

I'll lead a ride for anyone who makes the trip!

I was out in Washington State (Seattle area) back in '98. If it wasn't so far to drive from the east coast, I'd be there! Awesome trails, videos, and pictures! How'd the power steering check out?

 

[Scoundrel]

The aftermarket non-progressive EPS makes the ACE a little squirrely at speed, just like the RZR.
I would say now that my ACE handles pretty much exactly like my RZR does.

It's really nice for low speed twisty trails and not getting the wheel jerked around when hitting bumps.
Around 30mph or so, the steering starts to feel a little oversensitive.
At first, this effect felt very pronounced, but I quickly got used to it and learned to control it.

I do not regret putting the EPS on it, but I very much wish Polaris had given us an option for a factory one with progressive boost.

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

After working on Honda cars for many years, (since 1971) in my "spare" time, they made a progressive power steering that cut off the hydraulic assist after you reached a certain speed. That gave it a manual steering feel of rigidity and control at speed, yet when you were driving slowly, it was easy to steer such as in parking lots, or in traffic. Do you think the electric assist could be turned off once you reach 15-20 mph, or at a speed where you don't feel you need it because you wouldn't want to turn the wheel very far while traveling that fast?

 

[Scoundrel]

After working on Honda cars for many years, (since 1971) in my "spare" time, they made a progressive power steering that cut off the hydraulic assist after you reached a certain speed. That gave it a manual steering feel of rigidity and control at speed, yet when you were driving slowly, it was easy to steer such as in parking lots, or in traffic. Do you think the electric assist could be turned off once you reach 15-20 mph, or at a speed where you don't feel you need it because you wouldn't want to turn the wheel very far while traveling that fast?

The EPS that is built into many quads and RZRs does just that.
But the aftermarket kit that I bought for the ACE does not have such smarts, or a way to hook into the speed sensor in the ACE.
So there is no way for it to know how fast I am going.
That's why I said I was disappointed that Polaris did not offer that option.

 

[rzr570]

nice picks looks like great camping,i was wondering where you got that cool windshield?

 

[Scoundrel]

Thanks, and welcome to the forum!
That windshield is in the Polaris accessory catalog for the ACE.
Lock & Ride Sport Poly Windshield- ACE | Polaris ATV Store

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Allegro MicroSystems - Power Steering Systems / Electric Power Steering

These are interesting folks making all kinds of controls for electric power steering systems.

I tend to think about things more mechanically. If you could have a separate sensor to sense the point above say, 10 mph, maybe the voltage could then be reduced to the eps system with some sort of voltage dropping rheostat, or voltage dropping resistors. This wouldn't be a gradual reduction in assist as in vehicles with the computers, but it could be reduced when travelling at high speeds, and full-on when travelling slow.

 

[Scoundrel]

Sounds interesting.
But my approach of learning to control the vehicle by using smaller steering wheel movements at speed is pretty straightforward, and cheap!