Stock 450r shocks VS. Aftermarket shocks

[Foxhound013]

Need help finding out what shocks will give me the best bang for my buck. I've read that the stock 450r shocks are pretty good, but I was wondering if I'd be better off getting some aftermarket ones. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks

[Foxhound013]

Sorry i failed to specify the type of riding i'll be doing. I wanted to know what is best for woods riding.

[matt14c]

450r shocks are prolly the best bang for the buck in the perfect scenario. They are stiff on stock 400 arms. So if your a smaller rider might not be so nice. If your getting like +2 or +3 arms they would be ok. They are especially good if you get some sort of conversion. Either C&D, GT Thunder, Derisi or somebody makes the world of a difference. But then you have to factor in that costs. Aftermarket really depends on how good of a deal you can find and what type of riding/rider there setup for. 450r shocks have some adjustability were as the really cheap aftermarket shocks wont. Aftermarket in most cases have thicker shafts. It really comes down to what you wanna do and what you need them for and of course how much you want to spend.

[slightlybent47]

450 shocks will do fine and you can have them resproung and valved for you. I have a set on mine and I do mx and they work great.

[Donjuan400ex]

I just put a set of KFX450r shocks on my 400 and i have +2 aarms and i must say im 190 and they work great!! it was amazing how they felt on the trail and with jumping!! you have to do some minor grinding on the top shock eye mounts to make them fit but its totally worth it.

[monster400ex]

i have been wanting to do the 450r shocks but i have kfx 700 front shocks man are they nice i do a little freestyle jumping and alot of trail riding i weigh 170 youd think there stiff be there not bad at all and you can get a pair for under 100 buck you just have to trim the top mount on the shock
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk200/boostintrdstyle/101_4818.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk200/boostintrdstyle/101_4817.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk200/boostintrdstyle/100_4870.jpg

[KISSmyACE]

Originally posted by matt14c
450r shocks are prolly the best bang for the buck in the perfect scenario. They are stiff on stock 400 arms. So if your a smaller rider might not be so nice. If your getting like +2 or +3 arms they would be ok. They are especially good if you get some sort of conversion. Either C&D, GT Thunder, Derisi or somebody makes the world of a difference. But then you have to factor in that costs. Aftermarket really depends on how good of a deal you can find and what type of riding/rider there setup for. 450r shocks have some adjustability were as the really cheap aftermarket shocks wont. Aftermarket in most cases have thicker shafts. It really comes down to what you wanna do and what you need them for and of course how much you want to spend.

I am a small rider and I have 450R shocks on stock a-arms for now. (My +2s are in the mail)

But I've been riding them on stock a-arms for the last month and they're like night and day. At first I was worried because everyone was telling me how stiff and crappy it'd be on stock arms, but it's not bad at all!! I don't know about trails but I do know that in whoops and on an MX track they're pretty badass. I got mine for $125 shipped so yes, definitely the best bang for the buck.

Have someone familiar with suspensions help you tweak the compression and preload to how you like.

For me (115 lb. MX rider) we set the top adjuster compression 1 turn back from full counter clockwise and the rebound 1 turn from full clockwise and the preload at the top of the threads.

[Foxhound013]

I weigh about 155, I have no intentions of getting wider a-arms, I woods ride so I don't want to get to wide.

[coryatver]

for the cost of buying 450r shocks and then paying more to have them revalved It is the same price buying aftermarket recreation shocks like hls and they will work better than the 450r revalves

whatever you do make sure you get shocks set up for the 400ex and not just slap them on the travel, valving and such need to be modified to make them work correctly

[gt400ex]

The 450R shocks are great for the price. The problem starts when you want to get them reworked. If you want shocks that are set up for you watch ebay, someone may be selling a really nice set of fox elks works or whatever that are already close to what you need for 500 bucks plus or minus. If you can find a steal like that then your ahead of the game of getting R shocks then having them set up for you. But if you plan on running them stock they are fine, I love mine.

[F-16Guy]

You can typically get a pair of nice used 450R shocks for $200 or less. To rebuild with dual rate springs and custom valving is about $350. I don't know of any fully adjustable, custom setup reservoir shocks that can be had for $550. If you get a good deal on the shocks, it can be even less. Even a cheap set of non-reservoir Works are going to cost you $300+. For what you get, the 450R shocks are hard to beat, even if you have to have them rebuilt.

[coryatver]

200 for 450r shocks + 350 for valving is $550 and you still have stock bodied front shocks that don't have any resale value. If you actually want them to work as good as aftermarket you need $175 more for each shock to put bigger shock pistons in them.

You can get HLS shocks for that much and they already have the larger shock piston in them. They are basically the same thing internally as the full shock conversion with shock pistons. You don't need adjustment you will never use it they are set up for you all you need to do is adjust the ride height to match your rear end and quad setup.

The way they are designed internally they do not need a reservoir they will not fade like stock bodied shocks will because of the way the rebound adjustment works in stock bodied shocks it causes the oil to heat up and turns them into pogo sticks which will not happen with hls shocks.

I have went the rebuild 450r route with the 400ex but now there are much better economical options. I also had Elka rec shocks before the 450r rebuilds were the thing they were junk.