anyone with yfz 450 shocks?

[oleboy87]

ok im looking to do a suspension upgrade and i know alot of ppl do 450r shocks but i read that they are stiff untill they get worked over, and that they are good for jumping and what not. Im looking for something smoother than what i have just for dunes and trails. I read that yfz450 shocks are softer than 450r shocks.. No need to try to convince me to get 450r shocks im just posting to see some pics of what it takes to get them to work on the ole 400.. thanks for any replys

04/05 450r shocks are not bad at all. Everyone says they are stiff unless your hitting jumps or riding fast but I dont think so. When i'm riding slow like 2nd gear they seem fine.

[pizmo 400ex]

i have 05 450r shocks and they r not stiff at all. i like them alot, way better then the stockers.

[oleboy87]

but size and weight make a big difference on how they ride to.im 5' 10 and 125 pounds so what might not seem stiff to you will be throwing me around like a rag doll..

I'm 6'1" and 155lbs. Just loosen the preload and compression all the way soft and rebound slowed down. I had my shocks like that at 1st because of everyone saying they were so stiff but when iw ould hit the whoops and trails fast or hot jumps I would be bottoming out all the time. I set the preload so 3 ring are showing up top, I think my compression is all the way soft and my rebound is a half turn out from slow. The rebound full fast you cant even compress the shocks lol

[oleboy87]

then why do ppl say that they are stiff and perfect for jumping? and not worth much until you get them valved and what not? im just kinda skeptical about getting the yamaha shocks because they are not as popular as the 45o r shocks

[pizmo 400ex]

i'm 5'6 130, i have them set on the softest setting. yeah i thought since i was so small there was going to be a problem, but no they work fine, and plus i got a deal i couldn't pass up. lol

[oleboy87]

how much better are they compared to the pogo sticks i have? are they smooth for running at the dunes and what not?

Originally posted by oleboy87
then why do ppl say that they are stiff and perfect for jumping? and not worth much until you get them valved and what not? im just kinda skeptical about getting the yamaha shocks because they are not as popular as the 45o r shocks

dont cross company parts. Most Honda parts can fit or be slightly moddified to fit on another. The 450r are much closer in length, travel, and shock eyes too the 400ex which means they bolt on without much work to be done. Its a great mod and you wont appreciate it as much until you try a 400ex out with stock front shocks. At 1st it seemed to ride nice to me but it didnt seem all that amazing until I hopped on my brothers 400ex with stock fronts and I didnt even want to ride it. I bottomed them out over the whoops and they bounced around. Hopped back on mine and I was floating over over them. Once you get them spend time dialing in your suspension front and back. Its truly amazing how much a little more or less sag or a little turn of a screw driver can make. Once I adjusted my rear shock I wondered why I hadnt done it before.

[supernatural]

I've got the yfz shocks up front. they actually fit ok after a little grinding. sorry I can't get you a picture my quad is at shop. I'll try to get one next week when I get it back. search this forum under suspension and you should find a good article on the yfz vs 450r shocks, when I was looking around someone on here wrote a pretty big thing on them that helped me alot. if that doesn't help search my posts but go way back, they might connect you to the article I'm talking about. by the way I love these shocks!

[dirtmerchant42]

i have yfzs 2
coodnt pass them up since i got them 4 free
soo much better than the stock ones and its soo much nicer jumping with it now

[oleboy87]

do you find that they are smoother than the old pogo sticks? do they soak up most of the bumps? i ride dunes most of the time and i dont want to feel ever bump in the sand.

[supernatural]

they are way better than stock. like i said before check out my old threads under my profile there is a good write up on them and it really helped me out. there are also pictues on how to install them there. i checked it and they are there just couldn't figure out how to copy the link.

[dang400ex]

Here is a pic of my 400 with yfz shocks.

[oleboy87]

how much grinding was needed to make these shocks fit?

[dang400ex]

I used a small hacksaw and cut about 1/8 inch off of both sides of the top eye...then ground some to get if to fit right. I also had them machined down at a machine shop which worked perfect and fit alot better. And I can testify that they are not too weak to work then with the eye ground down. No problems. Once installed I set the spring preload so that it sits about an inch lower than stock...so much better for climbing and take offs.

[oleboy87]

sounds good!!!! i cant wait to get them in. its killing me! how smooth are they? do they just float over bumps and ruts?

[Brauap]

Originally posted by dang400ex
Here is a pic of my 400 with yfz shocks.

First off, I love your quad! Could you please take a few pics of your grinding? PLEASE!!?? Your like our only help here! hahah

[bbender85]

i started this same thread... check it out:

http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=365085

[oleboy87]

url not working..

[bbender85]

whoops, fixed.

[oleboy87]

yeaa thats about the only info i could find when i was doing some research.. very good write up by the way.

[dang400ex]

Pictures arent goin to help y'all. Just measure the outer edge of stock shock eye and figure out how to evenly make the yfz shock eye that same size (or just a tad smaller). when I did mine I did do a lil grinding with an angle grinder...if you do...dip the shock in some water occasionally so you dont heat the aluminum up much.
Any more questions.

[dang400ex]

Here is a shock that i bent when i landed on my buddys quad...grab bar to shock...direct hit. It didnt break!!