Shock upgrade - on the hunt...

[Spike99]

I am "on the hunt" for a better rear shock for our '03 Predator 90. I'm hoping to find a "same fit" inexpensive adult size quad shock (for example, front shock from a Grizzly) that has adjustable rider lbs. For example: 120-130 lbs for my son and 160-170 lbs for my wife. If wondering, the Works Performance shock (or equivelant) is way too expensive for my wallet and doesn't have multiple lb range settings that I'm looking for. I'm not too worried about exact shock brackets. Any good welder can re-do the brackets for only $30.00

Has anyone tried installing an adult size shock on their mini's Rear Swing Arm? If so, can you tell me the results.

thanks.

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[mxmike17]

Trextommy from some of the other forums had put a couple different yamaha front quad shocks on the rear of mini's. My budy has one that he converted now and it works great but you cant adjust the weight like you are looking to do. Look him up and he maybe can guide you better.

[Spike99]

Thanks - I'll send TRexTommy a PM (on the other forum). Thanks for pointing my compass in this direction...


For your buddy's setup, I would appreciate if you could send me the details of his modification. For example, the year/model of his mini, if he's using stock A-Arm and what adult size shock he installed. By knowing what works great for him, I might be able to bring it one step further. For example: 1 adult size quad shock at 125 lbs and another adult size quad shock at 160 lbs. Purchasing 2 adult sized shocks (with different fixed lbs) could be less expensive then a Works Performance set at a "one lbs only" setting. Thanks for any feedback from your buddies setup.

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[mxmike17]

Tommy built my budys set up I believe. Just tell him Rhett Sims old scrambler 50 and he knows all about it. My budy bought it from teamsimsracing from the other sites and he would also be good to talk to. They both are very good people and im shure would be glad to help ya.

Good luck

[newnick]

Spike, I saw the ad on miniatv's for teamsimsracings fourwheeler and I pm'd him and asked him about the setup he had, I'd send it to you but it disappeared. He said he had a Dinli swingarm , which is 2 or 3 inches longer than a Eton or Polaris and he used the front shock from a Warrior. It gave him about 8 inches of travel. A while back I'd emailed Justin at maximumrpm.com and I believe he told me a stock swingarm was 75.00 and I found a place on ebay that sells used shocks and found a Warrior shock for 40.00. He said that a shock of about 14 inches would work. If you contact teamsimsracing he'd probly give you all the details. Let me know if you try it.

[Codeman]

How do you think the shock will work when we only weigh 80 pounds and the warrior shock is valved for a 150 pound rider?

I run elka front shocks and a works rear shock and I have no problems.

[Spike99]

In my area, performance mini-quad parts cost me 2.1 times the US price. This means that a $300.00 Works Performance shock would cost me $700.00 A $400 shock costs me $900.00 Way too much for my small income.

My 9.5 year old son is 120 lbs. Approx 135 lbs with his complete safety gear on. On the mid to extreme bumps, he instantly bottoms out his Pred-90. My wife loves my son's Pred-90 so much, she too would like to drive it more often. She'd like to drive it on our trails, instead of being limited to our "flat ground" around our house.

If I can find a suspension upgrade solution that would be affordable and satisfy both rider's wants, I'd be very happy. Will a shock from an adult size quad work on a mini? Only the folks who try different suspension parts in this area would really know. I'm hoping Justin, teamsimsracings, Tommy, etc. would be able to share some of their suspension secrets.

Regarding rider weight question.... I've been told its NOT always about rider weight of a shock. One must also take into account the spring compression lbs and the geometry angle of how the how the shock is mounted. For example: A 80 lb verticle shock/spring could have the same compression movement of a 120 lbs shock/spring mounted on a 10 degree angle (assuming the shock valve is the same).

If an equivelant adult size shock would work great, I'm sure Works Performance & Elks Corp would also realize they are no longer a monopoly in this business area. To regain sales percentages, they'd be forced to dramatically lower their prices. Hence, a win-win condition for may people who want to upgrade their mini-quad suspensions (and not have to skip a mortgage payment to do it).

Sure hope their is an "equivelant" rear suspension upgrade solution for our Pred-90. Only time will tell....

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[mxmike17]

The warrior front shocks together are rated for 150 or so lbs right? So 1 would be half that I guess. I will try and get a pic of the scrambler with the warrior shock on it for ya. I might not see him till next weekend though.

[newnick]

Spike , another place to look for used shocks is forums forsale sections. I've seen all three shocks for say a z400 sell for 30.00. Don't know if it would work , but a rear shock sprung lighter , revalved. Might cost just as much as a works or elka, don't know. I know how you feel about the high cost of suspension parts, thats kept me from upgrading also.