I should've listened........ but

[TacicalRedneck]

I knew the day would come...........

i blew up my.......

jussssst kidding...

Really, i've been looking to better my suspension, I already have lonestar +2 arms and lsr +4 axle, + the offset rims and i'll set out real close to 50".

So for the fronts, You guys say go for the 450r shocks... right?

The only adjustment you'll need to make is to grind a bit off so they'll mount right up...... no sending them in to no place for re-valving or re-springing......... right?

So for the rear, you guys say to send that in to...is it gt thunder... to re-valve and re-spring them... for.... how much?........ right?

So all togather, just pretend the 450r shocks will be $50...


I'm looking for a price quote to better my suspension... :D

So,

$50
+ ___





How much of a differance will all this make..... Night and day differance?
I'd like to hit a few jumps with ease, a few flat landings... you know, and still come out alive..

[CJM]

Dont grind crap on the shocks. Take a screwdriver or cold chisel and knock off the welded on nut on the inside of the shock mount. Then take a dremel and grind off a very slight amount on the back of the mount so the shock fits.

Get 1/4 carriage bolts and flip them upside down inside where the nuts you knocked off were and use some nuts to attach the plastic brackets.

The 450 shocks should be ok with +2 arms, Id not use offset wheels-the bumpsteer will be bad. YOu can send them out to be properly setup for you-not just revalved for about 300 bucks. They will be softer with +2 arms but still not ideal b/c they are actually to long by a bit.

The back shock should be redone with the long travel GT link (XC 20" tires or MX, 18" tires) and properly done is about 200.

Suspensions not cheap. Id do the back first and ride the fronts for now.

Id go to the following for shock work (no particular order)
Jet suspension
Gregs atv
GT Thunder
Knight Suspension (member Dustin J on this forum)-he did my back shock and im quite happy.

[TheAwesomehonda]

Grinding some material off the top of the 450r shocks is much easier and doesn't cause any problems with strength of the shock....

[TacicalRedneck]

Ok, the gt thunder xc link is $175..

Now if i'm going to stick with my stock front shocks right now, i'd like to adjust them. The mx boys say somehting like 7" clearance from point a, 7 1/4" clearance from point b.

Should i adjust my suspension like that? With me on the quad, 20" xrex rears, 21" xrex fronts. Of course, with a higher ground clearance.

:chinese:

[CJM]

Originally posted by TheAwesomehonda
Grinding some material off the top of the 450r shocks is much easier and doesn't cause any problems with strength of the shock....

And should you ever go to sell them aint no ones gonna buy them.

Why do people advocate grinding perfectly good shocks I dont know.

[TheAwesomehonda]

Originally posted by CJM
And should you ever go to sell them aint no ones gonna buy them.

Why do people advocate grinding perfectly good shocks I dont know. Well yeah you have a good point but i think it's stupid to grind on the weakest part of the frame. So i'd rather grind the shock.

[bullett]

To mount the 450 shocks you do not need to grind the frame. You knock the nut off just above the spot where the shock mounts. I installed mine and didn't have to grind ANYTHING. Just put a carriage bolt in like CJM said.

[2001400exrida]

Originally posted by CJM
And should you ever go to sell them aint no ones gonna buy them.

Why do people advocate grinding perfectly good shocks I dont know.

go to sell the quad and you've shaved off a bit of the shock frame mount, people will wonder about that too.

Any of the methods works. however to those guys saying all they did was knock that nut off, mine wouldn't fit with just the nut off, i had to cut a tiny bit of the frame mount off to get it to slide in.

You either shave the shock, or grind the frame a bit. The tiny bit that has to be shaved off the shock does not affect the shock at all, it doesn't weaken anything.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by 2001400exrida
go to sell the quad and you've shaved off a bit of the shock frame mount, people will wonder about that too.

true, but it'll be very hard to see though.. this shouldn't be a debate, both ways work good.

The only people buying used 450r shocks are guys with 400ex's anyway. I did mine before I knew about knocking the frame nut off so I grinded my shocks and they've been fine with no issues.

If I did it again I'd knock the nut off and use the 1/4" carriage bolt to hold the plastics on though.

[Pittsburgh400ex]

Yall jyst jacked the guy's thread.

On the topic: You want cheap suspension is what im gathering. Two words that should never land in the same sentence. 450 fronts work good simply because the fight the body roll the 400 naturally has. If you really want suspension save the money you want to spend in a "hump seat" and put it towards an elka/fox/axis rear. I doubt your going to mx the thing or jump much over 15-20 feet. Stage 1 made for your weight is plenty.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by TacicalRedneck
Ok, the gt thunder xc link is $175..

Now if i'm going to stick with my stock front shocks right now, i'd like to adjust them. The mx boys say somehting like 7" clearance from point a, 7 1/4" clearance from point b.

Should i adjust my suspension like that? With me on the quad, 20" xrex rears, 21" xrex fronts. Of course, with a higher ground clearance.

:chinese:

You're never going to get those numbers on stock suspension.. even with stock 450r fronts you won't get that.

I'd send a used pair of 450r fronts in for service and have them built for you. I had rebuilds front/back on my 450r last year and they were good for the money, I hit some pretty big jumps with them and they's only bottom if I overshot the landing. You should be able to find the XC link for cheaper than 175 also.. check flea-bay.

Aftermarket shocks are nice, but they have to be sent in and freshened up (and probably setup for your weight anyway) so you won't save money compared to the 450r conversions.

I have ST Elka's on my 250r and they are good, but the ST setup I had on my 450r was just as good. If you want a ridiculous set up go LT but thats $$$.. (but so worth it!!:D)

[TacicalRedneck]

So, elka stage 1 shock's, new from ebay, I'll have to send those in someplace to be reworked?

And the elka stage 1's will be comparable to reworked 450r shocks?

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by TacicalRedneck
So, elka stage 1 shock's, new from ebay, I'll have to send those in someplace to be reworked?

And the elka stage 1's will be comparable to reworked 450r shocks?

They are only compression adjustable I believe.. no rebound adjustments on them.. So revalved 450r shocks FTW

Rebound is optional (more money)

I have Stage 4s front and back on my 250R and they are good once I had them setup by Terry @ Stadium.

I also have a St. 4 LT Elka w/elka LT link resprung by Stadium and I'm happy with the performance of all the elka shocks I have.. (my 450r's lt Stadium fronts are much better than my Elka fronts though, I can def. tell the difference)

[HondaRacing83]

just buy used. i picked up a set of pep zps front shocks for $170 on here and had them for month then decided i wanted a bow and sold them for $320 to put towards a bow which was honestly the worst investment i ever made, last time i shot my bow was like 5 weeks ago. im gonna pick up another set of shocks soon. thinkin of tryin axis

[chronicsmoke]

Chances are they wont be built for you and will need serviced, which will cost you almost the price of revalving stock 450r shocks.. IIRC you had issues with your ZPS being too soft or something? That's not optimal performance, if you would have had them rebuilt for another 300+ then you'd be on par with other setups that was built for you.. Even PEP PB1s that are built for a guy thats 150lbs XC would suck for a guy 175lbs racing MX

I know I've tried to save a few pennies piecing together suspension and it doesn't work. VERY painful lesson.

[HondaRacing83]

I loved my peps i floated through the woods with them. I was confused at first on preload adjustments but once i figured out the circlip deal the front sat higher than stock

[Drfat400ex]

Originally posted by CJM
And should you ever go to sell them aint no ones gonna buy them.

Why do people advocate grinding perfectly good shocks I dont know. Eh I bought my yfz already ground so they were ready to mount. But yeah they're gonna be harder to sell because only 400ex guys will want em if they're ground down.

[chronicsmoke]

@ HR83 - I bet they'd have worked even better if you had sent them out to have them rebuilt though.. for $170 they had to be pretty tired..

I wont race with suspension that wasn't built for me anymore.. One big crash and you'll see where I'm coming from.


@ OP: Check the classifieds section, rebuilt rear shock and link for a 400ex for $300 shipped..

[CJM]

Your taking off 1/8" or less from the shock mount.

Anyways,

redone 450r fronts, redone back shock with GTT XC link. The XC links a bit of work to get right and requires you to modify your subframe slightly by pushing it out and it will require you to space your exhaust out as well.

[TacicalRedneck]

Originally posted by chronicsmoke
-
@ OP: Check the classifieds section, rebuilt rear shock and link for a 400ex for $300 shipped..

yeah, i saw that...

I think i need my front beadlocks worst than a new rear shock :D Really, i'll probably just save a while, maybe someday ill break bank and get some evols.... someday... Stock shocks will be fine....

comparing the $1500 fox float evols to having to rework 450r shocks or buying stage 1 elka's for $600, that'd be a lot i could put down on evols.... For the rear, i guess i'll stick with the stock shock.... Maybe i can get the xc link, but whenever i get out of woods riding, i'll be stuck with the xc link.... Sounds like more of a pain for me.. :D

Stock shocks arn't.... That bad.... :D

Thanks for setting me straight... I can still keep an eye out on the classifieds.

[Ruby Soho]

how does knocking a tacked on nut off your shock bracket weaken the frame at all in any way shape or form?

i did that mod years ago. definitely good shocks.

[CJM]

They are saying you weaken the shock mount by grinding off the 1/8" where the shock contacts anyways even if you grind the shock.

[TheAwesomehonda]

Originally posted by Ruby Soho
how does knocking a tacked on nut off your shock bracket weaken the frame at all in any way shape or form?

i did that mod years ago. definitely good shocks. I had to grind off some on the top of the shock so it would clear the nut and some on the side of the shock so it would clear the frame.. It's hard to explain i should snap a pic.

[01boneless]

ive never under stood why anyone would need beadlocks in the front...:ermm:

[Drfat400ex]

Originally posted by 01boneless
ive never under stood why anyone would need beadlocks in the front...:ermm: Looks pretty good if you got them in the back but other than that... Yeah haha

[TacicalRedneck]

all the cool kids have them! ;)

[01boneless]

Originally posted by TacicalRedneck
all the cool kids have them! ;)
eff that ...all the cool dudes have a-arms and i run flipped rims and do just as well....

[TacicalRedneck]

well, you've got to admit... the stock fronts and black/orange dwts don't match.... :D

The non-beadlock dwts are $150, may as well spend 150 more and get the beadlocks...

[ben300]

Originally posted by 01boneless
ive never under stood why anyone would need beadlocks in the front...:ermm:

maybe not for mx, but they are quite handy for XC..my buddy got a flat in his front right tire in the first 15 minutes of an XC race back in june and he rode the rest of of the race with a flat...it was super rocky and if he didnt have beadlocks up front, he would have problaby lost the tire on the rim

[b0rn c0nfused]

Originally posted by ben300
my buddy got a flat in his front right tire in the first 15 minutes of an XC race back in june
Maybe I'm just a different type of person but I think I would have quit that race if that happend to me haha