elka or axis

[biscuit_450r]

I am going to buy longtravel a-arms for my 450r and I was wandering what the best setup would be. Gibson arms with elka quadrate w/high/low/comp and rebound w/ssd? Or Gibson w/ axis trippples?

Or would any other a-arm setup be better? And are gibson a-arms very reliable and worth the money?

[OKTRX450R]

I think you would have to search long and hard to even find an a-arm that is not reliable...if they use chromoly and tig weld it is very tough stuff. You can get into checking the wall thicknesses of each brand but it is still a waste of time.

The Best setup does not exist! What feels perfect to you will not feel the same to someone else...also you can get a perfect setup shock for YOU one time and not the next. All of the top 3 PEP, Elka, and Axis all use high quality components...it is all in how the shock is setup.

Best bang for the buck is the GT Thunder rebuild...

[250R Baja Rider]

I have the quad rates LT Elka shocks with comp/rebound with Roll design arms.

It works extremely well. I've had several quads with different set ups and this has been the best so far.

I think Elkas or Axis are just as good.
The a-arms? he is right. Look at how well they are built.

Gibson's are good, but I prefer Roll. They are just built tough.

[ThumPIN_450R]

I would go with axis over elka any day and I like pep better than both

[250R Baja Rider]

I had a set of PEPS last year on my 250r.

I ride desert only. The terrain is unknow, you go from flats to woops to ruts to drop offs, to rocky roads, etc.

After about one and a half hour of riding, they start to sag and bottom. Try racing a Baja 500 (yes 500 miles) with sagging shocks and you'll know what a real beating is all about.

I sent them 3 times to get them checked out and they said my riding style was to harsh and that no shock stand that abuse.

I switched to Axis and never had that problem. Now on the 450r with Elkas, they ride is the same as Axis.

So no PEPS for me again. Perhaps for MX or woods could be ok.

[ThumPIN_450R]

Originally posted by 250R Baja Rider
I had a set of PEPS last year on my 250r.

I ride desert only. The terrain is unknow, you go from flats to woops to ruts to drop offs, to rocky roads, etc.

After about one and a half hour of riding, they start to sag and bottom. Try racing a Baja 500 (yes 500 miles) with sagging shocks and you'll know what a real beating is all about.

I sent them 3 times to get them checked out and they said my riding style was to harsh and that no shock stand that abuse.

I switched to Axis and never had that problem. Now on the 450r with Elkas, they ride is the same as Axis.

So no PEPS for me again. Perhaps for MX or woods could be ok.


I have never ridden desert with mine other than the few GP style races I have done but mostly MX for me. I have not ridden another quad that handles like my PEP's but it also could be the t-pin front end. I can understand what you are talking about with the deserts stuff becuase mine have done that in the very few GP races I have done

[JDiablo]

Axis,elka,and peps are the best
The best made Arms for any quad is Walsh no if's,ands or buts
IM going to be running Walsh/Axis on my YFZ

[JH_Racing188]

i would really look into... holtz/elka elite!! if u order the from JH Racing when he recieves the shocks from elka he goes in a revalves them to make em work way better than straight from elka!! give him a call and see what he can set u up with

918-371-0101
tell him josh sent ya:blah:

herrmann/elka is what i would go with...good setup...brad from herrmann has done a lot of development work with elka...very nice setup and it doesnt cost as much as most brands :macho

[pineway]

if your riding xc, i would look into ars-fx arms and axis shocks. I have a set on order, should be here in a couple days. I hear nothing but good things about them.

[Kilabanshee]

I run a laeger/axis front end. It rides alot nicer then my standard travel walsh set up I rigged to fit my 450r:devil:

[punker69q]

Axis and elka are the best shocks on the market right now. The materials they use and the machining quality is superior to others company.

But, if you want to get them fast, Elka is the only choice.

For a-arms, call trc (www.tigorracing.com), they build a-arms to your specs. They can use ball-joint or uniball style ball joint, either on lower or upper a-arms and heim joints where you need them. These are the a-arms I run on my 250r and I like them.

If I was going to buy another set, I would buy a set with uniball lower, ball-joint upper and solid frame mount on the lower a-arms with heim on top a-arms.

[CdaleXtreme]

Elka uses a much stiffier shim stack than most shock companies, it gives alot more feedback, which can make for quicker handling, but can be abusive on rough long tracks.

PEP is the polar oppisite. They use a check ball system, that has a mushy feel which results in a smoother rider, but IMO slows the handling down.

My favorite thing about Elkas is that I am not afraid to pin it through the whoops, or flat bottom a jump.

The elkas I have now have the best bottoming resistance out of any shocks I have ever used, and I used to be a die-hard PEP guy.

Think about how you ride, and decide from there.

[400exBro]

i found that the axis shocks seem to absorb the bumps a lot better then elka, the axis shocks i rode on just took everything and none of the forces where transfered to the rider. Where with my elka shocks they seem really harsh and stiff in the rough stuff, maybe it has to do with valving... but i liked the ride of the axis shocks A LOT better then the elkas. But as for costumer service and turn around time elka is the best. but you also have to add the cost of having them revalved by percision concepts. I plan on letting percision concepts do my elkas this winter hoping to have them perform as well as the axis i rode.