Another Long-travel Shock Poll

[DEVINF450R]

I am wanting to know some opinions on what long travel shock is best for houser long-travel a-arms on a 450r. These will be used for MX by the way.

[fandl450r]

While I am very partial to Custom Axis, I do like PEP's as well. Can't go wrong with either of them. :)

[jal232]

Axis, and Pep's are very good, but TCS's is under rated in my opinion...I personally would not do Elka...but my own opinion...Good Luck

[xsr_racing28c]

I've run damn near every brand of shocks and i like Custom Axis , PEP and Fox FLoat Evols..

Right now i have:

Fox Float X Evols on my 450r

and

Custom Axis Ti Piggybacks on my YFZ


~JAY

[04TRX400EX]

Originally posted by jal232
Axis, and Pep's are very good, but TCS's is under rated in my opinion...I personally would not do Elka...but my own opinion...Good Luck

Hey, what's wrong with Elka? I love mine and have a bunch of riding buddies that have full Elka setups. Just asking. I'll admit though I only have experience with Elka-equipped quads.

If you are looking at MX setups, I'd go Custom Axis, or even better, Fox Float Evol X's.

[pudamac12]

you should consider motowoz shocks. I have them and the houser setup and it the best handling quad i have ridden. And yes i have ridden axis, pep and floats

[DEVINF450R]

EVOLS ARE A LITTLE OUT OF MY PRICE RANGE. I am gettin a grand of sponsorship money and I can't really do more than that. I have spent too much with entry fee's and all my other mods so far

[pudamac12]

just to show the shocks here is a pic of my setup in case your interested. And check your pm's

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/Pudamac12/quads157.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/Pudamac12/quads169.jpg

and here is my other quad with smc fabrication arms

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/Pudamac12/QuadPictures216.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/Pudamac12/QuadPictures214.jpg

[DEVINF450R]

I am leaning toward TCS, but i would like to hear from people who have run them and others....all opinions are appreciated though

[R3Concepts]

PEP

[jal232]

Originally posted by 04TRX400EX
Hey, what's wrong with Elka? I love mine and have a bunch of riding buddies that have full Elka setups. Just asking. I'll admit though I only have experience with Elka-equipped quads.

If you are looking at MX setups, I'd go Custom Axis, or even better, Fox Float Evol X's.


Nothing is wrong with Elka one bit at all. I know alot of buddies who ride them.. They are a great shock..but out of a handful of my buddies..I'd say 4 of 5 have sent of to GT to get revalved or back to Elka due to valving being off..To stiff or To soft. Just seems like its a mass produced shock that doesnt get quite the amount of personal specs that the others due. But I still would not say to NEVER get them, cuase they are good. TCS is known for having spot on valving on the other hand along with Pep and Axis. They are all good shocks..Especially over stock..

[rob-u/21]

I'll admit though I only have experience with Elka-equipped quads.

That is probably why they seem fine to you. I felt the same way about my ELKA untill I had my shocks revalved by TCS.

I strongly recomend TCS they will get it done right the first time. Also, they have great prices compared to others. No need to go spend more money on having your shocks redone.

I have ridden on ELKA, TCS, WORKS, and AXIS. I would say TCS and AXIS (not sure how they are now since they are under new ownership) are at the top then ELKA and then WORKS. I have never ridden on PEP, MOTOWOZ, or FOX but from what I have read and heard they are good shocks. But pricey.

Oh, one more thing. TCS only makes a compression adjuster not a rebound. I think they are developing new shocks that will come with com/reb adj.

[z40021]

If your gonna lean twards tcs Im guessing its cause the price but if I were you Id spend the extra $ and go for PEP their still under 1000. Pluse arent elka and axis both around 1200 like the fox evols for LT.

[DEVINF450R]

yeah that is right but I can get TCS LT with everything at my door for 880 through a sponser. that is saving like 300 bucks at least and I hear that TCS is just as good as axis and even better than elka

[R3Concepts]

Why spend 880? Retail on 20 click ZPS is 895, and a much better shock. Dont get me wrong, Todd @ TCS for sure knows what hes doing, and I have owned TCS shocks. But theres no toping Wayne at anything that has to do with shocks.

[pudamac12]

Originally posted by R3Concepts
Why spend 880? Retail on 20 click ZPS is 895, and a much better shock. Dont get me wrong, Todd @ TCS for sure knows what hes doing, and I have owned TCS shocks. But theres no toping Wayne at anything that has to do with shocks.

r3 have you ever ridden a set of motowoz. I would put motowoz's owner Jim's valving against anything in the industry. I ain't trying to be a dick or anything just curious cuz i know that you have had all sorts of bikes and setups. I would be curious to see what you would think of motowoz shocks if you got a chance to ride them.

[Ex_Rider43]

I have no idea about what shocks I should buy .


well , I already bought shocks 4 months ago. I have 3 elites from elka on my TRX , walsh front end and walsh savior rear rend.


THEY SUCK. well, the fronts were redone once. they are still acceptable but the rear is another story. redone 3 times and Im serious when I say that my GT thunder revalved stock shock and GT link was working better than this 2500$ + rear end. Another thing to consider is the comp. and rebound clickers. If you turn your compression adjuster 5 clicks to get them softer , you almost cant feel any difference. Another thing that piss me off about this rear shock is the ride height setup. Im set at 8 inches in the rear and 8 1/4 in front. Im racing Motocross... NOT XC!! and I cant lower my rear end anymore !!! Ive had enough.


Ive ridden a PEP bike once , walsh a-arms and baldwin rear link on stock swinger. I dream about it all day and all night now. They also had a full pro season on them.

id love to try a bike with Fox shocks on them. i heard good comments about the front but no one seems to use the Podium X rear shock ? Id like to hear some comments on them to make my choice.

[1ride2for-god]

Originally posted by DEVINF450R
I am wanting to know some opinions on what long travel shock is best for houser long-travel a-arms on a 450r. These will be used for MX by the way.

Fox is the way to go man. Get as many adjustmensts as you can with them. Gd bless you, ride hard but smart, and race as hard as possible.;)

[R3Concepts]

Originally posted by pudamac12
r3 have you ever ridden a set of motowoz. I would put motowoz's owner Jim's valving against anything in the industry. I ain't trying to be a dick or anything just curious cuz i know that you have had all sorts of bikes and setups. I would be curious to see what you would think of motowoz shocks if you got a chance to ride them.


No Sir we have not. Id like to, but I dont see anyone out in this region with them. They kind of look how Brett King does his shocks.

[R3Concepts]

All these guys that are claiming "Yeah man get Fox" "There the best"

Do any of you own Fox or have ridden a Fox bike? Do you have any idea how far off they come? How much R&D it takes to get them where you would like them?

My point is, if this is your first aftermarket shock, go with something you can get on and go fast out of the box with minimal adjustment. So, this is where PEP and even TCS really start to shine. I see people buy Foxs and "adjust" them to what they think feels good, and then they get on one of our PEP bikes, and there like WTF? How come they feel so much better?

And dont get me wrong, Fox are a good shock and quicky becoming the main stream bandwagon shock that Elka was and still is. Everyone and there mom had them and about a 1/3 of them were happy with the performance. BUT you have to you know what youre doing tuning them if you expect to have a good shock in the end.

[DEVINF450R]

I agree there. I got on my buddies brand new 05 450r that had been rode just around the yard. compared to my stockers tht had been rode HARD on for a year and a half his felt kick ***. anything would be an improvement so it could be crappy and I wouldn't know it.

[pudamac12]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by R3Concepts
All these guys that are claiming "Yeah man get Fox" "There the best"

Do any of you own Fox or have ridden a Fox bike? Do you have any idea how far off they come? How much R&D it takes to get them where you would like them?

My point is, if this is your first aftermarket shock, go with something you can get on and go fast out of the box with minimal adjustment. So, this is where PEP and even TCS really start to shine. I see people buy Foxs and "adjust" them to what they think feels good, and then they get on one of our PEP bikes, and there like WTF? How come they feel so much better?

And dont get me wrong, Fox are a good shock and quicky becoming the main stream bandwagon shock that Elka was and still is. Everyone and there mom had them and about a 1/3 of them were happy with the performance. BUT you have to you know what youre doing tuning them if you expect to have a good shock in the end. [/QUOTE

finally someone says what everyone else is thinking. The fox evols are a good shock but even daryl rath went back to pep just for adjustability reasons. he is one of the few pro racers who actually does the setup on his quad and doesn't just ride and tell someone to change things. The best part about the motowoz is you can actually feel a change with one click of the compression/rebound cuz it uses a needle system and it allows a lot more adjustability. I can't explain it as well as the owner could but i have seen the inside and it makes a lot more sense when he explains it. LOL But whoever started this thread just get what you want and let us all know how you like them.

[Chino886]

Hey Devin, I sent you a PM

[stocktires]

If your going to run a stock rear, defiantley AXIS fronts.
Running a ZPS front end and non-ZPS rear end would not be my choice.
I've only dealt with Axis, Works, and Ohlins (no ZPS) though.

[Ex_Rider43]

Originally posted by R3Concepts
All these guys that are claiming "Yeah man get Fox" "There the best"

Do any of you own Fox or have ridden a Fox bike? Do you have any idea how far off they come? How much R&D it takes to get them where you would like them?

My point is, if this is your first aftermarket shock, go with something you can get on and go fast out of the box with minimal adjustment. So, this is where PEP and even TCS really start to shine. I see people buy Foxs and "adjust" them to what they think feels good, and then they get on one of our PEP bikes, and there like WTF? How come they feel so much better?

And dont get me wrong, Fox are a good shock and quicky becoming the main stream bandwagon shock that Elka was and still is. Everyone and there mom had them and about a 1/3 of them were happy with the performance. BUT you have to you know what youre doing tuning them if you expect to have a good shock in the end.


So are you saying that Fox shox are as crappy as my elkas when you get them ? ThatI would need to send them back 3-4 times to get them right ?

At least theyhave a 90 days warrenty on their valving i guess they are pretty spot-on when you get them.


How about the podium X ?

[pudamac12]

a buddy of mine has evols up front and a podium x rear and hates the podium x. It is nowhere near the shock as the fronts are

[tltcracing]

IMO there is no BEST shock out there. with the proper setup for the quad, track, and rider they will all feal awsome. i have LT ELKA right now and they are awsome. they did take some adjusting to get them where i wanted them but once they where there i couldent belive anyone would ride anything else. i am not saying they are the best like i clearly put earler but they are very very far from the "crap" that other people say they are. if i would buy another set of shocks i would buy ELKA again in a heart beat but i am also considering the FOX shocks. like the ELKA ones the FLOAT shocks do take some adjusting but once they are right they hard to beat. i think the axis shocks are they best setup sight from the factory so if you are confused on shock setup go with axis. i havent had much experence personaly with TCS so i cant help you there... well after all that what i will leave you with is this, if you can adjust a shock very well then go with ELKA or FOX ,if you can aford it, but if you are unsure or leary in the whole setup thing then get the Axis shocks. but you really wont be disapointed in any shock you buy, they all will feal exelent compaired to the stockers no matter how "off" they are out of the box. good luck dude. and good job on picking Houser :D

[cchrider]

I am running Elka/Houser LT front end. Elka are great shocks but Elka has had issues valving them. Mine so far seem to be valved right. But I have also heard great things about TCS. Mainly for their valving. I have heard of people sending different brand shocks to TCS for valving. Another shock that I would look into is the fox shocks. I really like them.

[Dave400ex]

Your going to pick what you want. If you want the best shocks, no matter what brand you choose, when they need a rebuild, have them revalved by GT Thunder, DeRisi, or Precision Concepts.

[WhiteYFZ]

i run pep myself. they are great, i love them. my cousin has fox float evols, and he said they are awesome. i will be trying his quad next weekend when we go riding.

heres a pic of mine
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c278/tjespo22/cleanclean5.jpg\\

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c278/tjespo22/cleanclean7.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c278/tjespo22/attachment-6.jpg

[DEVINF450R]

THAT IS A BASS *** LOOKING QUAD!!!. heres the deal. I want zps but will have to run non zps on the rear for like 2-3 months. how bad will that be?

[Chino886]

You can have your rear shock converted to ZPS and run aftermarket fronts. ;)

[WhiteYFZ]

thx. um. why non zps? it shouldnt be that bad tohugh. cuz front shocks meake alot more of a difference than the rear

[DEVINF450R]

I won't have the money b/c I want gt thunder to do my rear/ with the mx linkage like $350

[Chango]

If you need a set of TCS LT fronts i have some for sale $700..They are used but fresh and well taken care of..19.5"long