Elka Suspension?

[h0p16]

Just curious for those of you who have taken the Elka plunge... was it worth it?

In other words, did you ride improve after you replaced the stock shocks?
Did the ride become more comfortable over rocks and roots?
Did you replace all around or just the back or front?

I don't want to cough up that kind of money for only marginal improvement but if I can soften up the trail a bit it sure would make life nicer.

 

[h0p16]

Nobody huh... well anybody buy Fox or anything else suspension-wise to help cure the need for so much Ibuprofen after each ride?

 

[derrelw]

Elka's

I got mine a month after I bought my bike and it's a HUGE improvement over stock. I'd do it again in a minute. I'm not sure if it's that much more comfortable but it sure handles WAY better.

 

[h0p16]

So handles better but you don't notice a more comfortable ride? Did you work with Elka i.e. tell them what kind of rider you are and have them suggest a set of shocks or just go for it?

For the most part I just like to putz around on the trails 15-20mph so I really need something to make those rocks and roots disappear like they do when I ride my friends Grizzly.... practically floats over that stuff.

 

[h0p16]

Well, I took the plunge and bought the entry level Elkas. They are known as the recreational series, i.e. dont have all of the fancy stuff just preload for the fronts and I added rebound to the back.

I am seriously hoping they help soften things up as I got them on sale but still spent almost 1k.

I'm planning on going for a ride the first week of Dec and will report back assuming the shocks come in time for me to get them on before the ride.

 

[QMaze]

Wow those I bet are a great upgrade, how are they?

 

[h0p16]

Wow those I bet are a great upgrade, how are they?

Hi QMaze, Unfortunately, I have not received them yet. I ordered them directly from Elka over the phone and they don't have much in the way of feedback for where your order is in the process. I understand that they custom make the shocks based on the info you give them. I had to tell the sales guy how much I weigh (with gear on) and what kind of riding I liked to do and where I usually do it - in my case on trails vs sand.

Interestingly enough I also had to give my SS number as I was told they needed it for customs purposes...this of course made me VERY nervous but at that point in our conversation I was committed so I gave it up.

Depending on when they finally come and the weather it may be a while before I can get out but as soon as I have them on and do go for a ride I will post my thoughts.

 

[h0p16]

Well Shocks finally came in last week. Elka says that they had trouble getting the spring for the back shock.

I went to put them on today and noticed that there is a gap where the back shock mounts on the bottom. Called Elka and they tell me that's ok but it doesn't seem right to me. The stock shock comes with two washers that fit where the shock connects thereby eliminating that gap. Unfortunately, they don't fit with the Elka. Any one else replaced shocks and had a gap?

I ordered the back shock with a remote reservoir which is suppose to mount to the frame near where the seat eject lever is but my model does not contain the compression adjustments which means the hose connects at the top of the reservoir instead of the side. Can't see an obvious mounting location that doesn't bunch the hose so will be calling Elka again to see what they suggest.

All going well I'll get a free weekend and decent weather at the same time which will allow me to test them out.

 

[h0p16]

Hi All,

I have now taken my ride out to the dunes and the forest trails. First ride was dunes - out of the box I noticed a softer impact up front going over rocks and roots on the dune trails but the whoops on the dunes still smacked me around. Next ride was up in the mountains again the ride was better than stock but still seemed a bit stiff in the back.

Elka sends along a 3mm allen and a tool to adjust the preload so I loosened the fronts up and slid the adjustment around 360 degrees which lowered the quad but makes it a softer ride then went to the back and did the same. Took the wolv up and down the street and off the curb a few times and it seemed pretty nice. Took it up to the woods and discovered that as soon as I got up past 10mph I was all over the road but WOW did it ride soft!

I will be going back to the out-of-the box settings and trying some smaller adjustments to find the sweet spot between comfort and controllability will post again when I have tested more.

 

[Workerine]

Elka's?

I'm just looking for an update on your Elka shocks. I'm wondering if you found a good setting to make your quad ride smooth yet still handle well. If you went back would you still buy those shocks? Or better yet do you want to sell them to me?