I (literally) won a Roxor…now what?

[ChukarHunt]

Find someone with a long travel and ride in their Roxor before you do anything to the suspension aside from maybe a shackle lift or shocks. Otherwise you’re likely to spend your money twice on the suspension.

I agree with what your saying 100%.... buy once cry once. But I have only talked to a few people that even know what a Roxor is, let alone own one. Polaris is king in my area for off-road/utility vehicles, it is not even close. So finding one to ride in may take awhile. At least the shocks were free and I'm making a deal with another user on here to get the shackles and a few other items in new, unused condition. He can get them out of his garage and I can get a good deal. So at least the cost will be minimal before I splurge on a full long travel setup if I do end up going for it. Let me know if you have any other suggestions for me, here to learn.

 

[Hummingbird Ranch]

While you can improve the suspension over stock, nothing you do will ever make it ride anything like an IFS suspension on those SXSs, so don't spend too much money trying to make it so, or you will be sorely disappointed. But don't think too negative about an old school bullet proof straight axle. I would argue that the straight axle is superior to the IFS for crawling where one wheel in up on a rock and the other wheel is down in a rut. The more you push one side up, the more the other side is pushed down, and you will never slam the frame down on the ground like an IFS. You might also try removing the sway bar as that will give you more of that travel offroad and help keep both tires on the ground at the expense of more body sway in hard corners on the pavement. But if you don't drive hard on the pavement, you will hardly notice it missing.

 

[TomRox]

Taking the sway bar off is up there as a first thing
Unless you are 100% on road

With it on it has the flex of a piece of 3/4” plywood

You will get stuck even in 4wheel on small obstacles

 

[TomRox]

I would go with the shackle lift, shocks, larger tires at 15psi for year

Maybe the Roxor isn’t your thing after a year

The long travel kit is a big jump in $$ and effort

 

[ChukarHunt]

While you can improve the suspension over stock, nothing you do will ever make it ride anything like an IFS suspension on those SXSs, so don't spend too much money trying to make it so, or you will be sorely disappointed. But don't think too negative about an old school bullet proof straight axle. I would argue that the straight axle is superior to the IFS for crawling where one wheel in up on a rock and the other wheel is down in a rut. The more you push one side up, the more the other side is pushed down, and you will never slam the frame down on the ground like an IFS. You might also try removing the sway bar as that will give you more of that travel offroad and help keep both tires on the ground at the expense of more body sway in hard corners on the pavement. But if you don't drive hard on the pavement, you will hardly notice it missing.

Thanks, I will stick with realistic expectations. Even the cheap KYB shocks have made a noticeable difference. Is the sway bar easy on and off? Or it is more of a once it is off, it stays off? As of now, the road use will be minimal and it will primarily be used off road. So i'll probably do that.

 

[txroadkill]

I took my sway bar off when I did a level lift and left it off. No big noticeable difference between stock springs/sway bar and level lift springs and no sway bar. After I did the long travel kit there’s a huge difference in felt sway IMO. however I’m still gonna run it with no sway bar, off and on the roads

 

[ChukarHunt]

I would go with the shackle lift, shocks, larger tires at 15psi for year

Maybe the Roxor isn’t your thing after a year

The long travel kit is a big jump in $$ and effort

Appreciate all the insight. I think that is about exactly what I am settling on for now. Shackle lift, the shocks are already in, and the bigger tires are picked out. I wired in the LEDs that I had laying around and they work/look good, and then maybe the sway bar. I will probably just drape a tarp somehow over the cargo bed and build a little platform with scrap wood to elevate and secure the dog kennels. Like you said, if I discover it's not for me, i'll sell it without feeling like I wasted a bunch of money on stuff.

 

[ChukarHunt]

I took my sway bar off when I did a level lift and left it off. No big noticeable difference between stock springs/sway bar and level lift springs and no sway bar. After I did the long travel kit there’s a huge difference in felt sway IMO. however I’m still gonna run it with no sway bar, off and on the roads

Thank you, that's good to know. I'll watch some videos on how to do it.

 

[TomRox]

You can modify a quick release kit for YJ Jeep to keep the sway bar but quick disconnect

After a month or two I noticed I Never hooked up the sway bar, so I just removed the whole works

I can’t tell a difference on road

Off road
There is a softer ride and more axle flex which is needed

 

[ChukarHunt]

You can modify a quick release kit for YJ Jeep to keep the sway bar but quick disconnect

After a month or two I noticed I Never hooked up the sway bar, so I just removed the whole works

I can’t tell a difference on road

Off road
There is a softer ride and more axle flex which is needed

What a great place to learn all this stuff for a novice like me. Thanks!

 

[txroadkill]

Thank you, that's good to know. I'll watch some videos on how to do it.

Two bolts/nuts on the frame rail and two more on the steering box. Then the bolts that are on the axle. It can be slid out the side of the frame but might be tight without a level lift, in that case just remove the arms completely and/or remove the front wheel. Very easy. Takes less than a beer to do.

 

[Plainsman]

You could always build a removable dog box out of plywood, with storage for other items. You could paint it black and custom fit it to your roxor. Use it for hunting and remove it when you want to. I have the long travel kit and bilstien shocks and love it. That being said, the new shocks you’ve already installed and good aired down tires will be a noticeable improvement. Don’t be afraid to make it fit your personal needs.

 

[ALOT2C]

Howdy Roxor Community,

(My original post from today got deleted, not sure what happened, I’m new to this)

Here we go. This is the first forum I've ever been a member of and/or made a post on. As the title states, I won a new 2023 Roxor HD All Weather edition a couple weeks ago in a raffle at an annual hunting tournament here in northern NV. I'll be honest, I had never even heard of Mahindra or the Roxor until the night before during check-in and I saw it sitting outside. Didn't think twice about it since nobody actually wins those grand prize things...well, so I thought.

It will primarily be a hunting vehicle. As you can guess from my username, I spend basically every weekend (and any spare day in between) from October through February chasing wild chukar across the NV landscape. That, and pursuing any antelope, deer or elk tag I can draw out here in the west! In NV it will be difficult to register for on road use, so it will be trailered most of the time and primarily used off road. Yes, i've looked into DirtLegal and MontanaTags and that may be in my future, but even then, it would be mainly around town considering the interstate to get to a lot of hunting in the state has a speed limit of 80 mph. I only say all this to give a sense for my use case. Never say never, but for now, no i'm not going to go rock crawling with it or go 'mudding' intentionally. I don't need 35-inch tires for wheeling around. I don't care that it only goes 55 mph because that is way faster than I need on small, washed out and rocky, mountain two tracks. I want it to reliably haul myself and maybe a buddy or two, and bird dogs, into the mountains and any animals we put down, big or small, out of the mountains. I know, I know, lame.

I have an idea of the minor mods i'd like to do. But I don't want to buy things that I don't really need for what I plan on doing. If you have good or bad experiences i'd appreciate the input. I also don't want to modify things to an extent that they cause accelerated wear or damage to components. In no particular order:

--235/85/16 tires. My understanding is I can get this little bigger of a tire for improved ground clearance without needing wheel spacers or lift. And i've seen some highly rated mud terrains that I know are good for less than $600 on ebay, or $630 mounted and balanced. And maybe I can sell the current A/Ts with less that 50 miles on them for $200-300? Anyone interested?

--Speaking of lift, a 1.5-inch shackle up front and 1-inch shackle in the rear. I read doing a front level only will change caster angles and what not and should be corrected with a shim. So will also doing a one inch in the rear negate that? Or will any level at all change stuff to wear out faster?

--The first trip I took into the mountains was...harsh. I am used to the ride of a Polaris General which I haves access to whenever. Yes, I know a leaf sprung vehicle will never (without extensive suspension upgrades) match the ride of a typical sxs. For my use case, I just don't feel like I need the long travel kit from Max. Wade said my best and simplest bet would to put in the shackles, upgrade the junk OEM shock absorbers, put on a bigger tire and run it at a low psi. Doing all that should soften the ride over factory by a lot. Thoughts/Experience? (I got a set for free of four new KYB 5473 gas-a-just shocks that I already put on). I know they aren't Bilsteins, but considering the OEM Gabriels were doing nothing, and the price was free, I went with those.

--Speaking of suspension, why do people bag on the composite leaf springs from Arc suspension. The videos looks like a drastic ride quality upgrade. Do they just not hold up or what? The quality? The price?

--Think I need some hub lockers? Seems some people say they are a must, while others say they ended up taking theirs off and were glad they did. Mine will primarily be used off road, so the fuel savings aspect of unlocking doesn't really apply to me.

--I was looking at the hardcabs or rallytops to fully enclose the machine. Or looking locally for someone to fabricate a bed shell to keep the dogs and gear out of the elements. Wade said he has sold many factory cabs when people do something similar. Is there a market for the factory cab? Not sure how i'd go about shipping something like that.

The only other non-functional changes I was looking at doing for now was the Willy's style grille from Diesel Freak in red to match and putting in a light bar and two square led flood lights that someone had given me awhile back.

I bet I will have more questions along the way and if you're wondering "how does he not know that?" or " why don't you just build it" I don't claim to be a motorhead at all. I can change the oil and put on shocks, but I don't work on cars, weld, or fabricate. I'm a civil-geotechnical engineer and engines just aren't my thing. I've read through this forum a bit, called and talked to Wade at Diesel Freak (who was great by the way) and checked out other places like On the Rox, Roxor Parts Direct, and GritShift. Also, seen my fair share of youtube videos as well. I've had many people give me their opinion, with a couple saying I should sell the Roxor and buy a Polaris or Can Am. Or sell it and invest the money (kind of a side gig of mine). But most people say I should just enjoy the once in a lifetime win and play with it for a year or two. Then if I decide its not for me, sell it then. The more I learn about this machine, the more I plan on keeping it. I love how simple and robust it is and the fact it sounds and feels like i'm firing up and driving a tractor around, oh and my young kiddos love it too. Thanks for your input, I know this forum has vastly more knowledge than I could possibly garner on my own and i'm looking forward to hearing people's opinions or experiences.

View attachment 14334

Dirtlegal will solve you registration issues. Ask for Brooks

 

[ChukarHunt]

You could always build a removable dog box out of plywood, with storage for other items. You could paint it black and custom fit it to your roxor. Use it for hunting and remove it when you want to. I have the long travel kit and bilstien shocks and love it. That being said, the new shocks you’ve already installed and good aired down tires will be a noticeable improvement. Don’t be afraid to make it fit your personal needs.

I have removable, semi-self-built dog kennels that attach to the bedslide in my truck. Luckily, it just barely fits in the roxor bed. Like you said though, I just need to build in some storage. I would also prefer to NOT constantly have to switch them back and forth so I may be building something. I have also been keeping an eye on Craigslist for those aluminum dog crates people have built for side by sides. I see them show up every once and awhile.

I have noticed a tremendous difference in ride quality with the shocks, aired down tires and sway bar removal. That's how i'll keep it for now. However, that long travel kit is on my shortlist if I do end up keeping this thing longer term. Thanks for the input.

 

[ChukarHunt]

Dirtlegal will solve you registration issues. Ask for Brooks

Awesome thanks. My only concern is that NV will honor the MT plate through reciprocity, however technically for only a period of 15 days. So even with an out-of-state plate, it would only be good for 15 days.
Not sure how they could enforce that though, unless they were keeping track of how long I had it somehow. Seems very unlikely. Not to mention i've passed cops on the road already, without any registration, and have yet to be stopped.