Elka Zero preload

[Camaden]

Are these bad shocks, cuz I just bought front ones for my 400ex, they are 8 mos old and I paid 280.00 for them. I am just a rec rider like jumping nothing bigger than 10-15 ft in the air. I just was told these would work for me was I missinformed?

[2001400exrider]

which elkas are they...they are all zero preload...sport series?, recreational series?, elite series?

[Camaden]

Rec series he tells me
He had em on his Z400 and Elka told him they would work on my 400ex, thats what he told me.

Just wanting to know if I got a good deal. He did say they were zero preload

[300exOH]

Sounds like a great deal to me as long as they are set up for someone close to your weight. I have the elk rec. series and they are perfect for trails. You may want to have your rear shock rebuilt to match the elkas.

[Camaden]

Thats the thing they are setup for his weight which is about 30 pound difference, he is heavier than me. How much difference will this make?

Here is a pic of them he said they will be clean when I get them

[2001400exrider]

i have those same shcoks setup for my weight, VERY NICE RIDE:D

ride em'...adjust them if you can...if they still don't feel right then just go ahead and get them revalved. you got a good deal anyways

[300exOH]

Originally posted by Camaden
Thats the thing they are setup for his weight which is about 30 pound difference, he is heavier than me. How much difference will this make?

Here is a pic of them he said they will be clean when I get them

30 pounds isn't a big difference at all. They may feel a little stiff but you can adjust the preload to soften it up a bit and they should feel great. You should have a little extra bottoming resistance too. Enjoy:devil:

[Camaden]

Thats the thing they are setup for his weight which is about 30 pound difference, he is heavier than me. How much difference will this make?

Here is a pic of them he said they will be clean when I get them

[300exHILLER]

Call Ethan at ELKA he will answer all your questions and set your shocks up perfect for you over the phone.

[Camaden]

Man here I am thinking I got a good deal, the guy I got em from said he had them on his z400 and that elka said they would work on my 400ex. He was wrong, just talked to elka and he said they wont work because the z400 shock is 3/4 inch longer than the elka 400ex shock.

What do you guys think?

[300exHILLER]

take your preload and move the collar up 3/4" that will help for now.

[jacobw]

This is why you buy shocks that fit your atv. If you put something on that will work but may not be right you are compromising your safety. I would say sell them on ebay and either fork over the cash for the right ones or buy a set of used ones for a 400ex not a z400 or 450r or yfz. They dont make universal shocks. They are custom built for each rider and machine. Jeff@quadshop has stated this many times as well as colby from C&D racing.

[jacobw]

Originally posted by 300exHILLER
take your preload and move the collar up 3/4" that will help for now.

Why take the chance of them not working properly:confused:

[Camaden]

Well the guy said he checked with Elka and they said it would work so thats why I bought them, im not stupid enough to buy them if I thought they might work, was told they would.

[jacobw]

yeah I know I where you sit man. The reason people think they will interchange is that they are all 16" give or take a 1/2" most of the time. The thing is that they have different shaft lengths. leverage ratios, a-arm lenghts, ball joint travel limits, spring rates, valving, mounting points, shock angles, etc, etc, and they all have an effect on how the shock was setup and though the geometry is similar on the 400ex,z400, yfz, 450r is not the same and a shock that is not setup for the right bike will cause, suspension bottoming from soft valving, ball joint failure from overtravel of the ball joints, etc, etc. Your best bet sell them but your loses and buy a new or used set from ebay or another vendor that is setup for your bike and wieght.

[Camaden]

well good thing is they are nice shocks only 8 mos old and I only paid 280 shipped, should be able to resell easy I would think for that price

[jacobw]

yeah thing about elkas you can get your money outta them. I have attached a shock swapping link for you to read that jeff@quadshop replied too. It will help you out in the future man.
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160869

[Camaden]

Thanks I emailed the guy im getting them from he hasnt shipped them until monday so I asked him if I could cancel and explained why, hopefully he will but if not ill just resell them, and maybe even make an exra buck who knows

[parkers30]

I've been tryin to tell people the same thing and they practically get angry at me, people on ebay are full of *poop* they try to sell everything like it's universal, when I was looking I was making sure they were for MY bike, close to MY weight and MY riding style