works shocks are they worth the money

[sweet416]

i was thinking about buying some. i know they will be better but should i just wait to buy elka's

[<DRS>GPF]

i bought works TR shocks while a friend of mine bought elka TR shocks and even he admitted the ride was better with my works out of the box...

after trying to tweak it in, he called elka and they were more than willing to help (their customer service is excellent)
they sent new main springs and he additionally bought a new set of pre-load springs...
sadly, i could compress the original pre-loads that came with them by hand... basically a useless addition.. they merely would keep the main spring from rattling when fully extended but serve no other real purpose..

not alot of trouble, but for the $$ he paid, they shouldve been better out of the box..

my opinion... for hard trail riding the works shocks are a better deal..
i cant say how theyd do for racing but im sure theyd do just fine..

[cdalejef]

Originally posted by <DRS>GPF

sadly, i could compress the original pre-loads that came with them by hand... basically a useless addition.. they merely would keep the main spring from rattling when fully extended but serve no other real purpose..
Thats what the SSD springs are supposed to do. They let the bike settle down in to the travel for better handling.

The Works are nice shocks but if you can wait it out the Elkas are quite a bit better.

[Colby@C&DRacing]

THe works are a great shock for the money. If you only plan on buying front shocks and not doing anything with the rear than get the works otherwise wait for the elka's:)

[sweet416]

yeah im going to go with the works. they seem good enough for the money and working at McDs it will take for ever to get elkas

[cdalejef]

Originally posted by sweet416
yeah im going to go with the works. they seem good enough for the money and working at McDs it will take for ever to get elkas They are good shocks, night and day over stock! :macho

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by <DRS>GPF
i bought works TR shocks while a friend of mine bought elka TR shocks and even he admitted the ride was better with my works out of the box...

after trying to tweak it in, he called elka and they were more than willing to help (their customer service is excellent)
they sent new main springs and he additionally bought a new set of pre-load springs...
sadly, i could compress the original pre-loads that came with them by hand... basically a useless addition.. they merely would keep the main spring from rattling when fully extended but serve no other real purpose..

not alot of trouble, but for the $$ he paid, they shouldve been better out of the box..

my opinion... for hard trail riding the works shocks are a better deal..
i cant say how theyd do for racing but im sure theyd do just fine..


I laughed when I read this, but dont feel bad dude I just learned not to long ago about all of this SSD stuff and ZPS.

[<DRS>GPF]

Originally posted by Jeff@QuadShop
Thats what the SSD springs are supposed to do. They let the bike settle down in to the travel for better handling.

The Works are nice shocks but if you can wait it out the Elkas are quite a bit better.

in this application the main spring was so stiff that the ride wasnt near as plush on landing as he later was able to achieve..
those "ssd" springs, seemed like they were at about a 20-30lb rate.. too easily crushed when we merely sat on the quad..
i think he ended up buying a set of the middle springs and tossing the top ones.. that helped alot for trails and jumps..

they were set up to be recreational but they sure seemed like something a hard racer would like.. for big jumping and the like..

dunno... not really my bag, still getting educating.. but i know what feels good on jumps maybe 5ft to 7ft (bottom of the wheel to ground) in 3rd and 4th gear..
and im not convinced they are really much better than my works.. nice factory assistance, but you shouldnt need it that soon.. but my experience isnt long with mine, so perhaps the durability of one or the other will eventually show before either one of us changes quads again..

jumpin's easy, landin's can be a ******..

[jacobw]

the top ssd spring will fully compress with the wieght of the bike all it does is hold tension on the other springs when you take jumps and when the wheel come off the ground. Just because the spring feels stiff when you push on it dosent mean that it is. Did you try adjusting them the comp and/or reb or both. I just bought a set of elkas from Jeff I had the rebuildable ohlins that came on the cannondale speed and let me tell you these elkas are very well setup and ride very nice I can pound them and they are smooth.

[<DRS>GPF]

the top ssd spring will fully compress with the wieght of the bike all it does is hold tension on the other springs when you take jumps and when the wheel come off the ground.
i fully agree, because thats the only rational explanation i could conceive for such a soft spring, so i do understand what the spring was being used as/for.
i just dont see it as useful as it could be. a heavier spring could be used and it be more assistance to the main spring.
i suppose for a racer, they'd appreciate the sag, but id prefer more clearance for trails.

Just because the spring feels stiff when you push on it dosent mean that it is. youre thinking about the compression setting right?
we most definitly did more than just push on it. the first tank(and more) was spent tweaking suspension etc. (the Badlands at Attica IN was our proving grounds for both mfr's.. works and elka)

Did you try adjusting them the comp and/or reb or both.
did what adjusting could be done.. no reservoirs..

I just bought a set of elkas from Jeff I had the rebuildable ohlins that came on the cannondale speed and let me tell you these elkas are very well setup and ride very nice I can pound them and they are smooth. oh really.. wanna trade him? :blah: (..just kidding.. )
nonetheless, i would expect you to still make adjustments depending on your riding style. the ones we were trying to tune(from the factory) were simply too stiff for the hard trail riding and moderate jumping we do.
they were constructed based on all of the info they asked for, but not all riders are the same and inevitably there will need to be some adjustment from the generic setup they provide.
it just seemed like they missed something with this set. as mentioned though, they had no problems coughing up some more mainsprings after the issue was described to them.. (they even told him to keep the original mainsprings.. for sale to the right bidder ;)..)

i suspect that the only repercussion that may come of replacing the "girly" spring with a more "manly" spring(actually being another set of the middle springs) is the valving will need to work more on the rebound.
but then that was likely compensated for when he also replaced the mainspring with something softer. (at worse case it likely isnt even notable)

didnt meant to hi-jack the thread.... just eating new info..

Jeff, i still think you should do the sticky thing on shocks, maybe a couple. itll save alot of typing and searching for many.. (although i still enjoy a good argument..)

[sweet416]

j/w after elkas what are the 2nd best shocks im still new to this stuff.

[jak1389]

peps, axis, tcs, ohlins, fox, choose your pic. i have ohlins and i got them for a great deal, and they are worth every penny. just go with your gut, and most of the time it will work out fine.