Fox Float Shocks, my opinions.

[Racing Rice]

First of all, big props to Motosport.com for getting the here so quickly! They shipped out the same day, and was sent Fedex 2 Day for free! I will definitely order more stuff from them in the future.

I've been running these shocks for a several months, and so far I'm very happy with them.

The install..
The install was overly difficult if you follow the directions. I also think they are WRONG! They tell you to mount the shocks with the air sleeve on top and the valves out. This caused the lower eyelets to hit on the a-arm mounts. I contacted Shane at Fox Shox support to verify that I was doing everything right. He confirmed that I was. After looking at the shocks better, there are two indents on the lower shock eyelet. It appeared to me that this would be there to clear the a-arm mount, but this would put the air valve on the inside of the arm. I asked Shane if it would be okay if it were mounted like this and he said no problem as long as there are no clearance issues. Everything appeared to be fine so that is how I ended up mounting them.

The Shox themselves..
The shocks themselves are really well made! They are considerably lighter then the stock shock, by a few pounds atleast. Sorry I couldn't weigh them, I don't have a scale. All of the hardware seems to be very high quality. The shocks came preset of 50psi which is standard starting pressure. You can easily increase it if you see the need to have them firmer. I've left them at 50psi for now. Fully extended they don't seem to be as long as the stock ones were, they are close but seem to be a little shorter when there is no weight on them.

The Ride..
I still haven't ridden on the track with the shocks yet. I do have quite a bit of time on the trail with them however. I have the shocks set on the stock 50 PSI. This is a rather soft setting, which is perfect for soaking up bumps, tree trunks, and anything else you may experience on the beaten or unbeaten path. I feel much more comfortable riding with these shocks on. I can carry a much higher speed on the trails because the the front end stays planted on the ground much better then the stock shocks did. It also feels considerably less "tippy" which Raptors are known for being.

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/83-1/Foxbox.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/85-1/FoxContents.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/98-1/ShoxGuard.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/92-1/oldvsnew.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/96-1/shockinstalled.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/90-2/newshox.JPG

A little flexxing. The Raptor is sitting on top of two 4x4s.

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/100-1/RapFlex1.JPG

http://gallery.digitaldeviation.com/d/102-1/Rapflex2.JPG

[pastfast125]

nice, now get out on the track and let us know how they do.:macho

[Racing Rice]

As soon as the weather improves I'll be there. I'll also have my +2 a-arms installed by then. I'm not a competition racer by any means though.

[HiperEX]

nice if you dont mind how much did you end up payin for these?

[Racing Rice]

They were $650 shipped through Motosport.com. I recently found them on a few site for $592 plus shipping.

[reichart90]

where did you find them for $592???

also, do you know if they make in long travel for a 450r??

thanks,
tim

[Racing Rice]

I'll have to look around and see if I can find them again. I don't even know what I was looking for when I found them the first time. :ermm:

They do have LT shocks they are called Float Evols. They are considerably more money. Not sure how much though, they were just recently released.

I ran across this article while digging for the shocks. Check it out.

http://www.racer450.com/issue_04_08/breakerbar/foxshox.php

[Rip_Tear]

Awsome review.

Did/do you have any problems with loosing air pressure?

Is it hard to adjust both shocks to the same pressure? If so do you think you could hook something up to both at the same time to get them the same?

Have you ridden with them in cold weather? How cold?

Thanks, hope I'm not hassling you too much.

[Racing Rice]

No hassle, I know there aren't many people running them.

They have NOT lost ANY air since I put them on in October. They came factor set at 50psi, I left them there. I checked them the other day and they were both still 50psi. Honestly I was a little surpised. I ride them around the yard in 30* weather. They feel the same. Fox claims that they are not affected by the altitude or change in atmospheric pressure, which I believe.

It's not hard to adjust them the same at all. It's just like putting air in your tires. If you want to be exact use a digital pressure guage to even them out.

I was a little nervous going with these shocks at first because I couldn't really find anyone that could provide any feedback on them. I took the chance with them, and have been VERY pleased so far. I can't wait to see how they work with my new +2 A-arms.:D

Dude, I can't find those sites now. I've looked all over. It is ticking me off because I found two sites that had them listed for less then $600 but you would have to add shipping. I bought mine for www.motosport.com and paid $650 but they had free fedex 2-day. They showed up on my door two days later.

[kc8pnd]

Thanks for the info on these shocks. I think I am going to get these for my predator. www.bikebandit.com has them for $625 but no 2 day shipping. I think MotoSport.com is going to be where I buy them from.

[04TRX400EX]

Nice review :macho

That will definitely help people out in their decision marking since, like you said, not many people run them. I commend you for being different and trying something new.

[400exrider707]

We have had them sitting at all four corners of our mini-baja car for over three months now, and we still haven't got the damn thing done enough to ride yet! I want to drive this thing so bad!!! We let it coast down a big hill right behind the shop once we had it rolling, and we had NO brakes on it. It railed into a curb about 7 inches tall and soaked it up like it wasn't even there, I've never been so impressed.:cool:

*** We now have the fronts set at 135PSI and the rears right at 100PSI and it seems just about perfect.*** These shocks are truly amazing. Also we picked them up for around $540ish a pair, but I believe that was due to university discount, and that was back when they were still $799 everywhere.

[kc8pnd]

That thing looks awesome! To Bad you can't get a hold of a street bike motor, like a CBR1000, that thing would be bad*****. Ordered them last night, should be here Friday. I will post Pictures and my little review.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by kc8pnd
That thing looks awesome! To Bad you can't get a hold of a street bike motor, like a CBR1000, that thing would be bad*****. Ordered them last night, should be here Friday. I will post Pictures and my little review.

For the competition SAE regulates us to a 10hp briggs....LAME, but it makes the competition focus more on frame design and everything else, instead of who has the most horsepower. It will actually make for better racing if you ask me. Plus its good for the small schools like us (2200 students total) from being demolished by larger private schools with unlimited budget.

But anyways the point of the thread was the floats, and so far they seem like they will be AWESOME! Cant wait to slam through a rythym section on this thing.

[Racing Rice]

Dang that thing looks like fun! Once you get it running, spend a lot of time playing with the FLOAT pressure settings. That's the nice part about them, they have infinate spring rate settings so you can dial them in how you like that. You'll be amazed at how smooth they ride.

:D

Keep us posted! We want some videos of that thing...:)

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
Dang that thing looks like fun! Once you get it running, spend a lot of time playing with the FLOAT pressure settings. That's the nice part about them, they have infinate spring rate settings so you can dial them in how you like that. You'll be amazed at how smooth they ride.

:D

Keep us posted! We want some videos of that thing...:)

Well we ran into some unexpected problems. The angle that we designed the front shocks to sit at, at ride height, is too steep, and we are already at 135 psi, and they still feel soft. We might have to run them right at the max 150psi. Ill let you know how it goes, but judging by our curb hopping we've been doing, its going to be smoooooooth. Cant wait. Right now we're waiting for a belt to drive this thing and its about 6 weeks on backorder.:mad: Which really sucks because competition is like 3 weeks away. So help me god if we dont make competition because of a flippin belt......:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Racing Rice]

That sucks man.. Best of luck getting everything finished up.

[kc8pnd]

I searched a few other forums for FOX Float and everyone who has them talks highly of them, have not seen one post / review that did not like them. Racing Rice is the only person I have seen so far that had a minor defect, and that was a mounting issue. I ordered mine 2 days ago, I think motosport.com was out of stock, mine still have not been shipped :(. Can't wait to bolt them on and see how they perform.

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by kc8pnd
I searched a few other forums for FOX Float and everyone who has them talks highly of them, have not seen one post / review that did not like them. Racing Rice is the only person I have seen so far that had a minor defect, and that was a mounting issue. I ordered mine 2 days ago, I think motosport.com was out of stock, mine still have not been shipped :(. Can't wait to bolt them on and see how they perform.

Yeah, I don't get the mounting thing. I wouldn't really call it a defect, that could have just been a misprint in the directions. I flipped them the "right" way after I got my HDUSA arms. They feel the same either way. The wait sucks, but you'll like them. Especially out there in WNF. They will soak up all of the bumps well.

I'm not that far from WNF. I'd like to go there some time this summer. We go down to Big Rock in Maysville and ride a lot.

[kc8pnd]

I live right over then hill from Williams Camp Ground. That's the reason I wanted the floats, the trails throw all kinds of things at you, rocks, ruts and tree roots. I go every weekend, you should come down sometime and we can hook up some place and ride.

[Racing Rice]

I'm not firmiliar with WNF area. I've never been. I live around Wilmington. If we head over that way, I'll definately give you a shout.:)

[450Rchaser]

What all size a-arms do they work with? The fox website says stock a-arms for a 400ex.

[kc8pnd]

Got mine the other day. I was happy to see a big box on the steps, I cut the box open and there was a fox shox box inside. The Fox Shox box was all ripped and was taped up all over and had an old UPS tracking sticker on it(getting mad). I open the box and there is my $650 dollar shocks, all the mounting hardware was in ziplock bags, how nice! I start looking at the shocks and find scratches all over them, and on some of the scratches had black sharpie marker on them. Sure the shipping was free over at www.motosport.com but the item was used. I will never, no matter how cheap the price is buy another part from www.motosport.com. They could of at least said hey this item is used and we will cut a little cash off of it or we can order you a new pair. That was my first and last order threw www.motosport.com.
The shocks.
Although used, perform really well on my heavy predator. I have a few small trees down on my trails and I never could hit them with any speed, always had to carry the fronts over the tree, now I can hit the tree with the front wheels down and the shocks soak it up. Same for rocks and roots, the only thing I noticed was that the 50psi setting might be a little to stiff for me, sometimes the front end starts to bounce, I think if I let out some air it will be perfect.

[450Rchaser]

man i've never had abad experience with motosport.com. bikebandit has them cheaper anyways.

[SVTPete]

Love my float evols for my preddy. Tried them out at Glen Helen on May 7 and they performed flawlessly. I can really lower this quad and still have tons of travel. The frame hits the ground before the shocks bottom! Crazy stuff!

[SVTPete]

Here is a closer look

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by kc8pnd
Sure the shipping was free over at www.motosport.com but the item was used. I will never, no matter how cheap the price is buy another part from www.motosport.com.

That sucks.. I've ordered several things from them and have NEVER had ANY problems. Did you call them and ask them about it? :huh

[04TRX400EX]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
That sucks.. I've ordered several things from them and have NEVER had ANY problems. Did you call them and ask them about it? :huh

Yeah that's a bunch of B.S. that they would sell you "new" shocks that were used. I would be severly pissed and be calling them back, yelling at them, and making them send me a new set that was actually new overnight. I haven't ordered anything from them yet and now I am debating whether or not to in the future.

[PismoLocal]

I have never had a problem with motorsport outlet either. They are actually one of the places i prefer to order from.

[kc8pnd]

Maybe its the first set for a predator they have sold, and they were testing them out? Still the paint on the shocks was scratched and you can see where someone used a marker to cover it up, you can tell with black markers cause it looks almost purple from the side. Like I said the shocks are great. Yet to really adjust them to my style of riding when I get my frame powder coated.

[KingpinsEx]

Originally posted by SVTPete
Here is a closer look


How much do the EVO'S run? They look really sweet BTW!

[SVTPete]

I think they are 1300 but I got them for a little less. You have to know low people in high places. I found I do not tire out as quickly with the evols. My setup before was triple rates with podium x's. The adjustability in the evols is amazing. So much to play with. Would not trade them for any shock I have ridden so far.