The Foreman 450 E/ES Energy Transfer System "ETS" is the result of over a years worth of testing and design effort which resulted in the kit you see here. A.D. Boivin started out with a goal of making the Foreman 450 E/ES a better riding utility ATV. The Foreman suspension is, being very polite, is probably the worse on the market in its class. The kit was designed and developed to increase the smoothness and improve overall handling of the ATV while riding through all types of terrain. The kit has been particularly designed with rut and pot hole marred trails in mind. In other words, a plusher ride in rough terrain. When you look at the list of overall improvements that are claimed by A.D. Boivin, you are amazed that the kit is so compact and arrives in a rather small box. Based on the list of overall improvements below from A.D. Boivin, I was expecting monster box with new shocks, frame members, welding instructions, and a ninety page installation manual. The largest component was the cross-shaft at 1" O.D x 12.157" in length. I was pleasantly surprised by the overall compactness and quality of the components. Overall Improvements:
If you look closely at the kit picture above, you'll see that very few components are installed to completely transform the front suspensions behavior. If you step away from the front of the ATV and look straight at the front wheels you'll see the wheels have a positive camber meaning the top of the tire is leaning out from the ATV. Negative camber is just the opposite. When you have a negative or a positive camber situation, you also have less tire contact with the ground. Only at 0? camber due you have 100% of the contact patch of the tire on the ground. The camber on the ATV is actually a result of the front shock mounts and factory geometry. The camber is not adjustable from the factory, but the camber angle does affect the path the wheel will take when you have a violent front impact with a rut or hole. Front Suspension Modifications: Let's start the kit installation with the front. Step one is to raise the front or lift the whole ATV. Remember that safety is important and the ATV weighs several hundred pounds. If you start off the day with it falling on you, you're going to have a pretty bad rest of the day. With the ATV 'securely' lifted, remove the front wheels. Yes, the wheel does make a nice seat while you're working on the front end. J Remove the lower shock eye bolts and the bushings. The new mount and old bushing is mounted into the lower eye of the shock and the original bushing is put back between the original shock mounting ears. Now you can place the new front shock bracket on each side of the old mount and install the shock onto the new mounting bracket. The original bolt is used for the shock in the new lower mount position. Be sure to torque all the bolts according to the directions. Once the new lower mounts are installed on each side, the top mounts are not touched, you can re-install the shocks and tighten them securely. Now the front spring spacers need to be installed. A nifty little tool is provided that you should place in a good size set of Vise-Grips?. The installation is simply, just remember to install the spacers opposite each other on the shock. Once the spacers are installed, the front end suspension modifications are complete and you can re-install the front wheels. Be sure to torque them down appropriately. The two spacers added between the coils of the springs are like getting new adjustable shocks. The spacers change the spring characteristics so they are more supple at the beginning and stiffer at the end of travel. The rebound of the shock is not altered by the spacers. The spacers are not going to fall out or be lost on the trail from what we've found. After several hundred miles, the spacers are still present and accounted for and they haven't moved around on the shock at all.
With the front suspension kit installed , you'll notice the angles of the front shock absorbers are now slightly modified. The new angle will apply, under impact, a VDF or vertical down force on the chassis. The same theory of VDF is the A.D. Boivin secret of success for the snowmobile suspensions. This VDF allows for a more efficient suspension travel through rough terrain and provides a supple feel to the driver. Rear Suspension Modifications: Now it's time to remove the rear wheels and start the rear installation. Remove the original lower shock bolts on both sides of the ATV. Unlike the front suspension, the original bushings stay in the lower shock eyes. Place one bushing between each of the original shock ears. A.D. Boivin provides the new bushings in the kit. Bushings are provided for each end of the cross-shaft that ties the new shock mounts together. The bushings are placed between the new brackets in the top hole of the bracket. A bolt ties the two brackets together with the cross-shaft. The new brackets are installed on the outside of the old shock mounts with a bushing in the center of the old mount. Loosely install all the bolts for the new shock mounts and the cross-shaft. You will notice that the mounts are held rigidly in place with the cross-shaft to the other wheels shock mount. To keep the shock mounts and cross-shaft from being pushed down with an impact, the cross-shaft needs to be anchored with the anchor bracket to the ball hitch platform. The cross shaft bracket, which is slide over the cross-shaft prior to it being installed on the new shock mounts, will be fastened to the ball hitch mount with either the new ?" bolt or an existing ball hitch. The kit does not prevent the use of a ball hitch it you don't have one already installed, you can add it later. Once the anchor is installed on the ball hitch, you can tighten and torque all the nuts and bolts of the rear suspension kit. Put the rear wheels back on and you're ready to hit the trails with a renewed ride.
You'll notice the new lower shock mounts have been move forward and down of the original locations. Like the front suspension, the new mounting location will also increase the VDF. This increased VDF results in a better ride and more comfort on the long treks over the mountains. The Conclusion
The statements made about the improvements you'll experience are not only true, their really understatements of the transformation the suspension will go through. Before the kit, riding at a 5/10ths space on a rough trail was a white knuckle experience. Now, you are zipping along at a 7/10 ths or 8/10 ths pace without thinking about your speed. The kit inspires confidence and adds to the riding enjoyment of the Foreman tremendously. The kit changes the shock mounting positions front and rear and besides all the ride quality improvements, you gain ground clearance! The kit looks to raise overall ride clearance about 4" to 5" down the centerline of the frame. For the price $149.95 USD, this is one of the best improvements you can buy for your Foreman period. I'm sure A.D. Boivin will be looking at other ATVs to work their magic on in the future too, so keep checking AD Boivin's site for your ATVs suspension kit. If the Foreman kit is a glimpse of what is to come, A.D. Boivin will not only be a suspension miracle worker for snowmobiles, but ATVs too.  www.adboivin.com
adboivin@adboivin.com Contact the author Matthew Baynard at baynardm@off-road.com
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