Handling Upgrades

[shnit]

I ride a mix of track and trail and am looking to upgrade my handling a bit more.

I would like to keep it pretty inexpensive and stray away from extended a-arms and axle partly because of price and also the ability to stay in tight trails.

I've looked around and the possible set-up I have came up with is the following:

GT thunder mx rear linkage
YFZ 450 stock front shocks
CCP Steering stabilizer

From what i was reading I would need to cut out part of my swingarm guard to fit the rear linkage. How low does the rear linkage go? Am i going to need to seriously watch out for stuff in the trails from hitting the linkage?

And most important, how much of an improvement will these upgrades be over stock? Worth the cash?

[slightlybent47]

Wow you signed up in 08 and this your first post? :eek2:
Welcome to the madness.:devil:

As for upgrading the suspension I would look for some used parts.
I found used:
Jd +2 a arms 200.00 with new bushings
450r front shocks 100.00 never used
Elka rear shock 400.00 re valve 60.00
Lone star +4 axel 100.00
So for 850.00 I have a much better handling bike, worth every penny.

[ish416]

I wanted to keep my EX on stock width a-arms and upgrade my blown out stock shocks.

I ended up going with the KFX450R fronts for my EX and they are honestly as good or better than any front shock I have ever rode on a stock width EX. That includes Honda 450R shocks (stock and revalved for an EX), Works, Elka and Axis.

Once you get them adjusted correctly they are simply amazing.

I think the YFZ shocks are very similar but I cannot comment about them as I have no experience with them on an EX.

As far as the linkage, I have rode a Honda 450R with the GT Thunder MX linkage and wasn't really impressed. All it did was seem to lower the seat height and help a slight bit in the whoops or braking bumps and thats mostly because the rear end seemed to dive through its travel much faster/easier. No amount of shock adjustment seemed to fix this issue. Could also have been caused by running 20" rears instead of the recommended 18"s.

A good steering stabilizer is worth its weight in gold in the right terrain. I only have experience with Elka and Scotts stabilizers but both seemed to do a great job.

I know it's a lot to read but I hope it helps in some way.

[jcs003]

believe it or not. aftermarket bars will improve your ride. renthal, tag, flex and etc..

[dustin_j]

I disagree with ish above. I put a GTT mx linkage on my ex, and revalved and resprung the shock, and the difference is amazing! The bucking is pretty much gone; I can come up a little short and not worry about excessive rebound. I can pound whoops. The lower ride height helps cornering, and there is better weight transfer for holeshots as well. Best mod I've done! I also setup my brother-in-law's ex with an mx link and redid the shock, and it rides well with 20" tires also. The ride height is higher, but we set it up based on sag and it works well.

I can't comment on your front shock choices, as I've only ridden with aftermarket fronts on ex's. If you don't want to respring and possibly revalve the fronts you buy, what you should buy would vary based on tire choice. The yfz front shocks would lower your ride height since they are shorter. They would probably work best if you're running an mx link and 18" rear 20" front tires. If you're using 20" rear and >21" fronts, a longer front shock would keep your front height up with an mx link.

Hope this helps