PEP shock question

[toomeyshee87]

hey guys this is basically for people with PEP ZPS shocks only but if you know alot about shocks, please post your opinions.

i have a banshee with +2+1 a arms and PEP ZPS shocks standard travel.

i have been having some trouble with the front shocks bottoming. they are valved for 160 pound rider and i am around 155 with gear on. my rear PEP ZPS was bought used and is for a 190 pound rider and i have had no problems

i tried to get the shocks to stop bottoming by cranking the compression. the compression is now all the way up but it still acts the same. by the way the shocks are only about a year old and are for a b class mx rider. the jumps that i was doing werent very big, but when i would come up short from about 7 feet in the air on a table i could feel them bottom. what should i do?? put in the crossover rings?

i also need to adjust the rideheight. i have the fronts almost all they way up but the back is still higher. i tried loosening the locknut and turning the zps nut but i went 5 turns left and checked it and no difference, so i went 10 right and still no difference. anybody got any ideas?? if not i suppose i will hafta call Wayne or Baldwin but your help would be appreciated.


sorry for the long post.........thanks guys

[toomeyshee87]

anybody got any ideas???

[Mikey]

Sounds like you need a stiffer main spring or you need to put some preload into your front shocks and take it out of your rear shock. First thing to is to spin the upper spring collar down to put preload into the shocks and set the ride height. Next set the compression to all the way soft. Now spin the spring collar on the rear shock up to lessen or remove the preload out of the rear shock until it lowers the rear a 1/2" blow the front. Go hit your jump and see how it lands. Bring the compression up a click at a time until you like the feel. If you can't stop the front end from bottoming out, you need stiffer main springs. Were these shocks set up for the wide arms? If not, that is the problem as the arms are over leveraging the springs. Hope that helps.

[toomeyshee87]

the shocks were bought by me from pep for the exact setup i have. wayne set them at what he said would be good for me. are you talking about the front or rear shocks?? i have the snap rings on the fronts not the screw. i put 2 more crossovers in each shock and have the compression at 10 so we will see how that works.
thanks for the info!!!! i knew someone had to know

[CdaleXtreme]

Deep Breath! Read slowly, and take it all in. :rolleyes: ...

First off you cant put preload in your shocks they are ZERO PRELOAD. Ive been using PEPS for a while now and they are your best bet when setup correctly. Spinning your ring up and down in the rear, and moving your clips up and down in the front should be for ride height adjustment only. Not to stiffen your ride. You spent that much for your shocks, you might as well have them work to thier full potential. And you can only do this by setting them up correctly. Sure popping the springs up will cause a little less bottoing, but you get poor weight transfer and more body roll in the corners. Also. When you Move your ring up in the back, Try sitting on it...Then Measuring to the Ground. That should make the difference. But you need to be sure you acually have a ZPS rear. Do you have the small Silver take-up spring in the Rear?

If you are using your quad for MX only, you want to have the Bottom of your Frame 7 1/2 to 8 inches, from the ground with you sitting on the bike with about 10 lbs of gear on. Many pros run as Little As 5 inches, but that gets sketchy on rough rutted tracks. You need to measure right in front of your footpeg. that will give you a good idea of where your rear shock is. and you need to measure Up near where your front part of your Nerf is. That will get you your front shocks' height. Adjust that so your frame is in tha zone, and is Level, or the front can be slightly higher than the rear by about 1/2 inch. This will give you weight transfer resutling in better traction, but will move your weight bias rearward. Do this Disreguarding how your shocks will ride. (Stiff or Soft).

Now Go for a Ride, and try to pay attention to exactly what it is doing. If its still bottoming, in the front you could go with a little crossover, Via the spacers. Put the smallest spacers you have laying around, under the white spring, this will engage your 2nd and main spring sooner, resulting in a more progessive action. Because of the added spacer, you will need to compensate for a slightly raised ride height. by moving your clip upward once again. Measure first!, it only needs adjusted, if it needs adjusted. This definetly should make a difference. If it is still bottoming, you will need some internal adjustments. Via revalving, etc...

You should have your shocks serviced at least once a year, This can be contributing to the soft problem as well. I suggest you take some notes, On how its performing, write down exatcly what you think, and when you send your shocks in, give them your notes, it may help them understand how to better suit your needs. There is a Million and one shocks companies out there....if you send them to PEP you will get them back this winter. If you don't know of anyone you trust to do your shocks Drop me an e-mail. Kyle@cernics.com I have a guy who does awesome work, the price is right, and he has a super fast turn-around. Hope this may be of some help.

[toomeyshee87]

THANKS ALOT MAN!!! i did what you told me except i put a crossover under the white and one under the red spring. it will probably be too stiff but i can always change it. my rear IS a ZPS and it has the spring. i just turned the compression down and it went down then. the only problem was that it took forever because i had to turn the ring with a hammer and screw driver. with me not on the quad it measures about 10 1/2" up front and 10" in the rear. that should be pretty good for me cuz i know it will go down when i sit on it.

i cant belive how much better it feels!! i havent ridden it yet but just sitting on it makes the handle bars feel higher which i like, and the rear end dont sit so damn high. i love it

i dont think my shocks need serviceing yet being that they probably only have 10 hours at the most on them. i got them last winter and havent ridden on them much

my rear shock was used but it has yet to bottom.

thanks for the help!!