Long travel or not

[ewathen]

I have an 87r, and I am getting ready to put arms and shocks on it. I ride motocross and x-country, is the long travel set up worth the extra cost. I am thinking of these two setups:

Houser long travel and quadrate elka's

Houser reg travel and TCS shocks.

I will be doing the rear shock also. the TCS setup would be about $700 cheaper. Am I better off spending that money on ther things?

Thanks

[wilkin250r]

Well, long travel IS better. If you plan on racing heavily, then I would say it is worth it. But if you plan on just play-riding or racing in the novice class, then that money could be better spent on other things.

[beak7707]

If money isnt an issue than long travel is the only way to go. I went with houser 16 inch long travel a-arms and elka tripple rates and it is nice, but i wish i had the real LT.

[wilkin250r]

Here is something to consider. The term "long travel" is kind of a misnomer. You're not going to get a significant increase in wheel travel. Yes, you'll get a big increase over stock, but a +3 inch "long travel" setup won't really give you much more travel than a +3 standard travel setup.

The term "long travel" referes to the shock. You're going from a 16 inch shock to a 19 inch shock. The shock mounts further out on the A-arm, so the SHOCK is traveling further. And this is significant, because the longer shock travel allows for much more precise tuning and adjustability, and also allows for a wider range of applications.

Now, we all know that different types of riding and racing have different demands and requirements for equipment. Long travel for MX is a significant improvement, but for flattrack it is worthless. As such, you ride MX and XC, which has different requirements from the shocks. With the added adjustability of the long travel setup, you can find a better compromise.

One example, let's say that you have a standard-travel setup, and you get it tuned for MX, but it's bad for XC. With the benifits of long travel, you could have that same performance for MX, but now instead of bad for XC, it's could be decent for XC. You get a wider range of applications, and you can find a much better compromise for your different types of racing.

[ewathen]

Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the LT and Quadrate elka's.

I still have the stock 87 swing arm. should I get the one inch shorter swing? What difference will this make handling wise. Will the difference be noticable?

[wilkin250r]

For LT, you're probably getting +3 A-arms? Get +3, +1 foward A-arms, and the shorter swingarm. This basically moves your weight bias back, which will put more weight on your rear tires. This will significantly improve traction, and allow you to come out of corners much faster. It won't make a huge difference for XC, since much of it is WOT, but it will be a major improvement for MX. The faster you can come out of corners, the better your lap times will be. Depending on the course, it can be several seconds each lap. It can make the difference between passing somebody, or sucking their exhaust because you can't accelerate fast enough to get by them.

[rpmquad]

if your going to long travel you will need to get a long travel swing arm or your quad will not handel right

[Florida400EX]

Originally posted by rpmquad
if your going to long travel you will need to get a long travel swing arm or your quad will not handel right

yes it will

[QuadRacer041]

houser long travels with axis is the way to go!

[QuadRacer041]

Originally posted by rpmquad
if your going to long travel you will need to get a long travel swing arm or your quad will not handel right

non sense