axis vs pep

[400exRacerX]

Hey,

I am having alot of trouble deciding which shocks I want. I currently have works and I want to upgrade. I want to hear the opinions from people that actaully have pep zps or axis shocks. I dont wanna hear from people that heard from other people that they are good. Whats are your thoughts on each shock and what would you buy? I'm getting front and rear so I'll be spending alot of money and I want to do some research first before I purchase them.

Thanks and be honest, Norm

[crashinmatt]

i voted for the axis, but thats because thats what i have. i love them and if i was to buy shocks again i probably would buy them again. i have yet to bottom them out, but i dont really jump that big either though. im not sure how much improvement u will feel over the works but from stock, wow.

[400exRacerX]

What kind of axis do you have? Comp adjst, or dual adjst? Dual rate or triple rate?

thanks

[OutlawEX]

Im voting for PEP because they are proving to be the best to buy ,because even the top racer Tim far uses them and of course so do i...Axis is a good shock but after my friend blew his out int he woops i said F-them

[QuadRacer041]

well you probably already know i have pep zps on my R and 400 and im very very happy with them, im not saying axis arent good cause i never had them but,,,,,from my experiance peps work awsome. and i think you know the type of riding i do so you know that i need good shocks.

[crashinmatt]

i have the compression adjust. triple rate fronts and the compresion adjust. dual rate rear.

[400exRacerX]

Is the compression adjustable the ones with the knobs on the rezzies?

[Juggalo]

yes compression adjust has the knobs on the rezzies. don't get rebound adjust on front shocks.

[Bspring]

I have them both. The Axis may be slightly better but the PEP can be rebuilt much faster.

[kabd69667]

Damn Bsprings, you have a nice lineup of quads

[James70214]

Hey I have had both Axis and PEP
The Axis were nice, but I love the PEP Zps. They also give a better ride height. If I was you I would get the PEP ZPS. Heck They are even cheaper

[Dave400ex]

James do you have any Pictures of your 250r or of the Shocks on there? Thanks.

[Mxbubs]

ELKA ELKA ALL THE WAY!

Axis's customer service is poor to say the least, and they think their product is gold. Way too expensive, not a good bang for the buck.

PEP-friendlier, not as top notch quality, but faster and freindlier. Decent prices.

ELKA-Without a doubt the friendlier of the 3. I have had Axis, I wouldnt pee on their customer service dept. if it was on fire. Elka's quality and performance is WAY better than the Axis. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.

P.S. I have owned all three.

[400exRacerX]

I dont want the best bang for my buck. I want the best shock between the too companies. Money is no object.

Originally posted by 400exRacerX
Money is no object.

Beer sales must be up at the store huh Norm..;)

If it was up to me I'd go with PEP out of the 2.

[Bspring]

I also think Axis service sucks in comparison to PEP. As for Elka, I was tempted to give them a try but none of the top 10 pros were running them so I backed out and went with another set of PEP for my wife’s 400ex, also due to price and how quickly the oil can be changed in them.

Something to keep in mind about PEP is how long it takes to get them.

For what it is worth to you Joe Byrd and Doug Gust both changed from PEP to Axis this year. Joe told me he picked up 2 to 3 seconds.

Go with Axis if money is no object and you are not going to service them yourself.

[400exRacerX]

Originally posted by Rico


Beer sales must be up at the store huh Norm..;)

If it was up to me I'd go with PEP out of the 2.

Actually we are in the mids of demoing the old store and putting a new Bi-level Liquor store/ bar up.

[Foxrage]

I know if i dont have experience with either one but i have watched alot of races and such. I think the You cant go wrong with either ones. But PEP are just as good as axis and they are not going to help you win anyraces if you get axis so you might as well get PEP for a cheaper price. I have seen ohlins win races i have seen TCS win as long as they wont blow out they are gonna help. So i think pepandaxis have the pest quality so i would go by price.

[Mxbubs]

If you want the BEST shock out there, buy the Elkas! Elkas shocks are BUILT better. Call Elka, talk to a tech, get him to tell you the areas where Axis's falls short it quality (and its not opinion, its the material) and where Elka improved on the quality of material used over the Axis. Plus, they perform better. Here is my old bike with my Axis.

[400exRacerX]

Well obviously when I go to talk to the guys at elka they are gonna tell me there shock is better than other companies.

Norm just run an elka in the back an axis on the right side and a PEP on the left and you'll have the best possible setup ever..:huh :huh

[400exRacerX]

I just looked at the quadshop's prices for elka, and he wants $995 for triple rate fully adjustable fronts. I can get the triple rate fully adjustable axis for 200 bucks more. and for the the rear shock he wants $728 and I can get the same thing from axis for $750. So there really isnt that big of a bargain. A couple people have mentioned elka to me but havent convinced me yet.

LOL good one Rico.

[dawzie]

Pep's IS the BEST zero preload nobody else has that. We bought ours from Baldwin, if we break one, we overnight to him, we get it back the next day in most cases. They also hold their value better for resale !!!

[Dave400ex]

If you look back at this Post you have Guys saying Elka, guys saying Axis, guys saying PEP. Well I first started out with wanting Axis, went down to PEP, and now I am getting ready to order some Elka`s. So really just think about what you want. I have heard good and bad things about the Elka`s, but there is no doubt in my mind they use the best Materials. They just need more time to figure out the Spring and Valving setups. Once they get those down like PEP, then I think they could be the Best out there. At least while Elka is still learning they are willing to fix any Spring or Valving problems if you have any but they are not happening as much as they used to. I am really looking forward to getting mine. So I think you have to choose your own. Any of those will be better then Works.

[86atc250r]

I've got a set of Elka's, a set of PEP ZPS, and a buddy with Axis (Which I've run on my quad for a few races).

My thoughts -

Hardware on all 3 is top notch. The Elka's and Axis have a little larger body than the PEP's, but the PEP's appear to have the most actual shock travel.

The PEP spring setup is the most technical and complex by far.

While Elka may have great hardware, the setup is *FAR* more important and this is where PEP excels. Elka, in my opinion still has a lot of reasearch time left to get their setups nailed down - you may get a set that's right, you may get a set that's off. My opinion is that my set was way off for what I do. All the guys I race with that have used or currently own Elka have the same opinion - great bodies, need to be sent back many times to get the setup correct.

Elka also has the problem of the fully threaded bodies.. While this does allow a lot of flexibility in spring setup - it also increases drag on the spring crossovers, which is why shocks like PEP are chrome plated - not for looks, but for a nice slippery surface for the spring crossovers and rings.

PEP and Axis also use a "C" clip and grooves for the upper spring collar. The PEP's can easily be altered by hand, not sure about the Axis - the Elka's require an allen wrench and possibly a spanner wrench depending on the condition of the threads. You can alter the ride height of the PEPs in a few moments on the trail with your bare hands.

Between the Custom Axis and PEP's - they are both good shocks, but I prefer the setup of my PEPs over the Axis I was using.

Another advantage of my PEPs is I can go from a woods setup to a halfway decent flat track shock setup by simply adjusting my ride height. Can't really adjust the ride height on the Axis we have.

Both provide a decent ride and handling in the woods - my PEPs handle aggressive riding better without bottomming as easily.

All in all, with my experience with these shocks - my vote has to go to PEP with Axis coming in a close 2nd.

What kind of time frame are you looking at? PEP has a notoriously long lead time - Axis isn't usually much better, but still typically faster.... I got my PEP's from Mark Baldwin - wasn't impressed with Wayne @ PEP's professionalism. Mike @ Axis seems to be a helpful guy..

[400exRacerX]

Wow,,, thanks alot for that reply Gabe. I look forward to Knowledgeable replys like this on the forum. I race motocross and currently run the works up front and a stock rear. I really want a setup that can get my rear end to sit alittle lower with some sag yet still have enough travel to handle the rough stuff. I'm kinda leaning more towards PEP now.

[Dave400ex]

That was a Great Post Gabe. It`s post like that, that are making me double think about the Elka`s, but I don`t really have the Money for the PEP`s. Gabe how long did you end up Waiting for your PEP`s? 3 Months or more? That`s another reason of me getting Elka`s. I hope I have a lot better luck with my Elka`s then you and like them much more then you do. Hopefully my set is Perfect. Later....

[86atc250r]

Yes, I waited something like 4 months - late December to sometime in April if memory serves me correctly. I also did not bug them because my quad was torn apart anyways...

Their workload depends heavily on what time of the season it is. Check with the shock builder of your choice to find out current lead time.

[dawzie]

We just ordered a new Houser frame for our YZF. We need a special shock for Houser's swing arm. Mark Baldwin said he would try and get it to us in 3-4 weeks because he knows we need it to use the frame. We can use our +2 leager/EX front end set-up that we are currently running. We did order the +3 Houser A-arms but Baldwin said 8-12 weeks for those long travel shocks.

I called Wayne at Pep's 4 months

Houser does have, I think, Axis, in stock, ready to ship if you buy his set-ups

I think if you look at the top MX racers that have to buy there stuff, they perfer pep's

[airheadedduner]

Originally posted by Juggalo
yes compression adjust has the knobs on the rezzies. don't get rebound adjust on front shocks.

Whats wrong with rebound adjustments?? For the traval you lose(not much) I think the adjustability is worth it.

[86atc250r]

On most front shocks I believe you lose about a centimeter of shaft travel, which translates into around an inch of wheel travel.

Same on the rear, but it translates into even more lost wheel travel.

You have to make the decision if it's worth it to you and how well you trust your shock builder. Most shock builders will try to talk you away from rebound adjusters because without a good understanding of what you're doing, you can do more harm than good with them.

[slates74]

Mr. Dawes are you going to be selling the laegers +2's if so I'm very interested.

[dawzie]

No we are not. We are going to be REBUILDING the old EX we had with that 440 stroker motor for me.

[Clay]

When i get my quad back it will have Axis Comp. Adjust triple rates on the front :D. I cant wait. :D

[BadA$$440]

Originally posted by 400exRacerX
I just looked at the quadshop's prices for elka, and he wants $995 for triple rate fully adjustable fronts. I can get the triple rate fully adjustable axis for 200 bucks more. and for the the rear shock he wants $728 and I can get the same thing from axis for $750. So there really isnt that big of a bargain. A couple people have mentioned elka to me but havent convinced me yet.

LOL good one Rico.


Dont Forget about the discount you get from the Quad Shop. Plus, If you get all three, they might even give you more of a discount.