elka rear shock.. opinions

[forum]

Ok im not asking what brand is the best or none of that Bull. Its just that recently talking to a well respected raceing company/team up here and canada and he told me elka fronts work great especially the long travels, sometimes if your picky you need to send them back once or twice if they arnt right but once they get it right they work really well. But he said the rear's are a different story. He said its hard to build rear shocks and elka's rear shocks arnt always the right. aparently one of his racers sent back his rear shock 5-6 times and it still wasn't quite right.

Please don't give me cr@p like,"who are these guys" "Are these guys your average joe shmoe know it alls" I asure you these are top racers and well knowlegable people, I just want some well knowledgeable advice on this one. Like what some real hardcore racers think.

Thanks again

[Bean]

i believe you are correct, the rear shock IMO takes very hard hits, and can be "thought" to be a sh*tty shock if it isnt set of perfectly, which most of the time, from the factory, it isnt, but thats life, dial it in, and it could be the best thing you ever rode on

[Sparks425Ex]

Originally posted by Bean
i believe you are correct, the rear shock IMO takes very hard hits, and can be "thought" to be a sh*tty shock if it isnt set of perfectly, which most of the time, from the factory, it isnt, but thats life, dial it in, and it could be the best thing you ever rode on

Any aftermarket shock that is valved and dialed in perfectly is a great shock.

Get it dialed in and it will take some hard ***** hits and be smooth as my bottom.

[400exBro]

ya just get it close enough in valving and then dial in comp and rebound to your likings....

knowing that you are going to get the long travel rear Elka Elite shock, you are best to stick with it, what other company will build a long travel rear shock to your liking for the same money as the regular travel...,,,....

i am happy with my freaking stock shock (Not really!!!!! :( ) but i would gladly take a improper dialed in rear shock and use it, get it dial in and i am happy, so what if the valving is a little soft, bump up the compersion......

Just my .02

Bro

[forum]

good point bro. but I want nothing to be spared on this machine. And thanks, too all of you guys that have answered. Any others?

[Predator36]

Originally posted by Stewart


Any aftermarket shock that is valved and dialed in perfectly is a great shock.

Get it dialed in and it will take some hard ***** hits and be smooth as my bottom.

That is correct - The problems that I have seen on the Elka rear shock is that the spring setup and valving are not setup to match the front. After running thru my setup procedure I had to install differant springs on the rear and soften the low speed compression valving. I then adjusted the rebound to match the new spring combo. I did all this before I rode it the first time and love the shock. It would be nice if they set it up correctly before they ship it.

[oynot400]

I bought my Elka's used from a guy in town. He was not happy with them at all and sent them back once. He finially gave up and orded a set of Axis. What he wasn't telling anyone was that he ordered the Elka's for +2 a-arms and he had them on stock a-arms. So when he put them on they worked the way he liked.
When I got them they have not been used for nearly 9 months. The rear lost it charge and he was good enought to get it fixed. So I ran the stock rear and the Elka fronts for a race. It did not handle very good at all. But once I got the Elka rear back, it was like riding a totally different machine. Granted it did take some dialing in to get it to my style of riding but it was worth the wait. :D

:( I'll be happier than a sissy with a bag of wiennies when I finally get mine mounted up... :eek:

[forum]

Thanks guys. I will most likely go with elka, considering im sponsered by them.

[Ex'r Marlin]

I probably will not make any sense out of this... But anyway: I view suspension setups the same way race cars are setup. Even the Formula One's and Nascar technicians are always "dialing" it in to the drivers characteristics. Usually, the driver knows what the car (or machine) is doing, and little to major changes to the suspension are made. I think everyone learns more with the changes they make, even if the changes are subtle.

I feel the shock manufactures set up the shocks to specific range they feel will work... Just like the suspension mechanics on the race cars do, and find out with the driver if it is acceptable. I feel the more information you can give the shock builder, the more they can react to helping you "dial" the suspension in.

Best wishes dialing in your suspensions guys!

Note: What may work for you, may not work for another... That's what makes it interresting!!!:)

[mxracer89]

well i really dont want to mess with all the shipping back and forth.........but would i have to do that if i get axis or pep.....cuz im having this same problem right now i have elkas up front and love them but i had a guy diel them in for me but i dont want to do that agin

[forum]

You will always have to dial them in no matter what shock you buy. And don't let somone tell you if you buy axis that they are perfect when then send them. Thats is not true at all. they all need to be adjusted to you

I am beginning to feel that Elka may have some little finishing touches to make on the rear shock. I am mostly happy with the overall set up but its just not 100%. I have been in contack with elka and they are very helpfull but I have not discussed them re-setting the shocks NC yet but will see what happens.

It seems that the prob comes from the LT fronts (which do work great) being able to out do the std elka rear. And this is becoming more evident with properly setting the preload and ride heigt etc. I am currently working on some new changes/ideas and will see what happens but I cant blame the brand of shock for the set up issues, well not just yet.

IS the Elka LT rear for the re-mount of the top rear shock mount? How much longer is the shock its self? how much more shaft travel? Is anyone currently running this?

Thanx

[400exBro]

when i e-mailed elka they said they can build the rear shock to the travel of your likings (Elite)... for 1300 range canadian...

i believe you don t want to go over 11.5 inchs of travel, correct me if i am worng...

[Predator36]

Originally posted by 440EX4me
I am beginning to feel that Elka may have some little finishing touches to make on the rear shock. I am mostly happy with the overall set up but its just not 100%. I have been in contack with elka and they are very helpfull but I have not discussed them re-setting the shocks NC yet but will see what happens.

It seems that the prob comes from the LT fronts (which do work great) being able to out do the std elka rear. And this is becoming more evident with properly setting the preload and ride heigt etc. I am currently working on some new changes/ideas and will see what happens but I cant blame the brand of shock for the set up issues, well not just yet.

IS the Elka LT rear for the re-mount of the top rear shock mount? How much longer is the shock its self? how much more shaft travel? Is anyone currently running this?

Thanx

High speed valving and bottoming resistance can only be checked at the track, however you can tell a lot about how your front and rear shocks are working together by the following method.

Stand on the pegs - have someone watch the bike - looking at the bottom of the frame - and hopefully blocking out your movements. Move up and down - legs fully extended - to down as close to the seat as possible. Do this slowly but fast enough so the bikwe moves up and down at least 2 inches. Moving this slowly what you are looking at is how the front and rear springs are working together. If the front is bobbing up and down more than the rear than good chance that the front is using softer springs than it should or the rear spring is to stiff. Remember this is only an example to give you an idea - dont use this method then call your suspension company and yell at them for buildijng bad shocks.

Next stand on the pegs again and bounce up and down but this time do so as hard as possible. Again watching the bottom of the frame. This will give you an idea of how the slow speed valving is working together - front verses back.

I looked at a bike that the guy had sent his shock back to the shock builder 4 times (no I wont say who it is but it is not Elka). At slow bouncing up and down the bike moved more in the back. At fats bouncing the bike moved less in the back. This method showed the valving to be stiffer in the back and the spring softer in the back. I then measured the bike and weighed it. We then bought the correct spring to match with the fronts and removed one slow speed compression shim. The following Saturday we went to the track where he always rides and had to endure his ranting and raving to all there about how much better his bike rode.

I hope to soon run that same measuring and setup procedure on the forum here.

[YZROOSTINYA]

my bud has a elka rear and he said it took some time get dialed in and it works great now, he has piggy back triple fronts with ssd and ssd rear with res.

If the front is bobbing up and down more than the rear than good chance that the front is using softer springs than it should or the rear spring is to stiff. Any suggestions on how to determine which of the 2 to address?


The following Saturday we went to the track where he always rides and had to endure his ranting and raving to all there about how much better his bike rode.
Just think you could have this x1000 if you are able to get those results here :)


I hope to soon run that same measuring and setup procedure on the forum here. tick tock tick tock the clock is running LOL :) seriously I think this has potential to be one of the best threads if it does happen.



I have done some reasearch and found some interesting info on suspension set up, and man is it getting very technical. I have currently finished getting the ride height level and if its not much improved it looks like I am going to have to start taking it all apart and measureing it all up to deceifer spring rates etc. Only prob is that who has time to keep tearing things down, and I just got the engine right and was thinking it should be smooth from here on.

And that isnt getting into valving.

[Predator36]

Originally posted by 440EX4me
Any suggestions on how to determine which of the 2 to address?


Only you can determine that and that comes from riding it. Remember for suspension to work at its best you want to use all of it for your application. If the shocks are to stiff and you only use 4 inches of travel - well it just rides rough. If the front or back is bottoming, than that needs to be addressed first. Bottoming is bad - it breaks parts and is dangerous. So to answer your question I would need more info about your bike.


Just think you could have this x1000 if you are able to get those results here :)


Sorry but all I need a smile from a satisfied rider.


tick tock tick tock the clock is running LOL :) seriously I think this has potential to be one of the best threads if it does happen.

I just started it - see Suspension 101 - It may take 2-3 weeks to go thru it but it will include valveing.



I have done some reasearch and found some interesting info on suspension set up, and man is it getting very technical. I have currently finished getting the ride height level and if its not much improved it looks like I am going to have to start taking it all apart and measureing it all up to deceifer spring rates etc. Only prob is that who has time to keep tearing things down, and I just got the engine right and was thinking it should be smooth from here on.

And that isnt getting into valving.

Your right - most of the shock info does not address the practical side of things or or completly ignores the technical side. Gut feel and a lot of riding and R&D can get you there but it takes a lot longer.

Gut feel and a lot of riding and R&D can get you there but it takes a lot longer. I understand what your saying there.

One more question, what can we do to get you started on this Suspension set up thread we talked about in the other thread?

[Predator36]

Originally posted by 440EX4me
I understand what your saying there.

One more question, what can we do to get you started on this Suspension set up thread we talked about in the other thread?

I started it today - see Suspension 101

[mxracer89]

ok i no this is a ? about the rear shock but could you guys tell me what kind of elka this is.

[mxracer89]

and another if you guys need to get better pics thin this i can

[gun32boarder]

i think they are dual rates with ssd probly with comp and reb adj

[mxracer89]

whats ssd

[gun32boarder]

"self sagging device" it lets the quad sag on the little top springs insead of the springs you use for travel. so you keep the travel the shocks were intended for

[user101]

those r triple rates with ssd. i think they are compression, ride height, and rebound adjustable.

Forum: i like to think of myself as a hardcore racer:p anyways i have the rear rebuild(i know ur proably talking about the true elka rear) but i love this shock. i ordered it from the Quadshop and it was setup perfect just like my fronts. it handles everything ive thrown at it. im am not a Mxer but an Xcer...lol. this spring i plan on doin some motocross and alot of XC. as of right now i have about 5 hours on this shock. its hardly been enough time to break it in. Time will tell.....