Suzuki Quadracer HQ
LT250R Quadracer => LT250R - General Discussion => Topic started by: QuadRacerZ on March 04, 2015, 09:53:37 pm
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Seeing how you can buy a decent lt250r now adays for around 1000$ im saying i cant justify spending the same amount on front shocks alone. There is no logic in the world that could re-inforce that front shocks are just as valuable as an lt250r. For that I say anyone who spends this much on Front Shocks either has too much money, or is stupid.
Would I have much rather spend the same amount of money on Elka Front shocks or Works? Hell yes, but i sure wont spend 5x the amount on front shocks.
^^^^ what??? You should be so thankful that an lt is 1,000$ to buy and build into a badass quad!! You could spend tice that for a trx, 1.5-2x's that for a banshee, and more and more for other quads!! Parts are hard to find but they do pop up!! Just gota search, be patient and jump on the oppuortunity when somebody offers you parts for cheap!! And any of those quads shocks are 1,000$ And more so why wouldnt you do that for the lt?
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You're comparison to mine although probably true is slightly different seeing how mine was professionally rebuilt. But, I do agree with you on many aspects. Hobbies are expensive, why spend more than you have to on making something more than efficient?
Its almost like saying. Hey, I bought my Works shocks brand new never been used for $700 and another guy saying... Hey, I bought these used Works shocks that were used only a couple times and spent $250 and arguing that the $700 are 3x as good.
Money is not what makes a quad good, however in many cases you get what you pay for.
Anything based from China generally has a horrible reputation yes. Can anything be rebuilt to fix exceptions and exceed expectations? Absolutely.
By GOD if you say FFS one more time I am 100% convinced you have PMS.
If you do a quick search for people that have used these shocks and had them rebuilt. There are many similar posts to mine; however, weight of quad and rider seems to matter a lot on these shocks. People out there are getting good results though.
For the record these shocks are RFY. Not GFY shocks. I would not have even attempted trying these shocks if I didn't have a dependable and reliable source for a rebuild, nor would I ever use these stock. They seem to have very inconsistent stock builds.
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My personal opinion is that it's a "to each his own" kind of a thing, and enthusiasts on forums tend to be dogmatic brandwhores who ONLY think you can build a bike one way or use only one kind of a product.
But the reality is that most of us aren't MX racers nor do we beat the **** out of our bikes. I live about fifteen minutes away from some dunes and I make it out there maybe ten times a season if I'm lucky. I think you only REALLY notice that performance deficiencies in cheap **** when you're really putting your bike to the test, but the kind of riding that most people do doesn't do that.
That being said, you don't know what you don't know-- so saying those GFY shocks are comparable to Elkas, Works, or Racetech, etc... is just silly. Good example, I used to ride a RZR 900. When people told me how much more awesome the suspension on the RZR 1000 was, I couldn't even fathom how that was true. Well, recently my dad bought a RZR 1000 and I took that **** out and romped it to the edge of death. It was like night and day, and I'd wager a guess that if you every did put some performance shocks on your machine you'd realize how silly saying those shocks were comparable with Elkas. Not saying it's a bad thing cheaping out on some parts and not others. Parts for sand toys are ridiculously marked up, and sometimes you just have to do enough to get the bike out and going so you can justify to yourself all the work you put into it.
But I do feel you when you're saying spending that much money on accessories is silly. But I also think you can't look at spending money on toys as a "financial decision" because if you were looking at buying one of these machines from a pure "personal fiscal responsibility" standpoint, you'd have never bought one in the first place. Sand toys, like boats, tend to be money pits. You're never going to get the money out of what you put into it. Knowing that (to some) makes it easier to spend say, 1000.00 on suspension components when you only paid 650.00 for the bike.
For what it's worth, I totally disagree with calling someone stupid because they don't want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on shocks.
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There really is no such thing as budget A Arms for an lt250r. But Again im not saying my shocks are as good as name brand ones. Im just saying for the time being. I cant notice a difference.
Seeing how you can buy a decent lt250r now adays for around 1000$ im saying i cant justify spending the same amount on front shocks alone. There is no logic in the world that could re-inforce that front shocks are just as valuable as an lt250r. For that I say anyone who spends this much on Front Shocks either has too much money, or is stupid.
Would I have much rather spend the same amount of money on Elka Front shocks or Works? Hell yes, but i sure wont spend 5x the amount on front shocks.
As I said in previous posts. If my front shocks blow, i will rebuild them again for 40$ if it happens more than twice. I will then reconsider. I was simply stating what I did and how it is working out so far.
Springs, gas and straight metal was obviously a vague description of what shocks really are.
(I knew this post would attract all kinds of negative reactions)
Not like it matters or that I really cared enough to put this in the original post. But my friend that rebuilt my shocks used to work for Elka.
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Went back and re-read OP.
Zillafreak has a point.
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Don't think it offends him, its just one of those moments you read something and just cant help yourself but want to smack the person behind their head for being utterly dumb about something so simple...
Im all for people on budgets, spending big bucks in what others think is a stupid sport or hobbie... but to some extent everyone has a bit of common sense when it comes to their hobby and investing in it... of which this OP shows 0 sense from shocks to arms...
Justifies spending cash on cheap as hell shocks from china and gets them re done ok so be it I can live with that shocks can get expensive... claiming their just as good as name brand in performance, claims their just a rod of metal with oil and compressed oxygen? ok this guy fell on his head,.... THEN saying he refuses to buy "budget" a arms and wants quality ones because budget arms are no good and wont last seriously???? you just fluked on cheap ass shocks and now can't justify lower cost arms LMAO
last I looked most budget arms even come with a great warranty!
sorry but Zillafreak is right OP is Utterly stupid....
(http://cdn.funnyhub.com/2015/jan/facepalm/facepalm01.gif)
Sorry to babble on this as my 1st post... but came across this thread and couldn't stop myself from posting
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Nah you're right.
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There is a reason you think these shocks are so great, you have no clue.
The fact you think a shock is just gas, springs, and straight metal is funny.
You do know shocks have valves right, also good shocks have oil in them. The valves and oil play a huge role in how the shock works.
But instead of spending your money on gas, oil, springs, valves, some metal, you rather spend more on just straight metal and some welding.
FFS you are stupid.
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Yes... Yes, I can.
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But you can justify spending lots of money on just some steel and weld (a-arms)?
FFS
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There is so much engineering and testing done on suspension it's rediculous. So many variables play into how the shock all works with your a arm setup, rider weight, spring weights, dampening, preload, even the damn oil weight and viscosity play a major role in how the shocks are going to act and perform. I have had some pretty extensive conversations with Piere the engineer with works performance. And if you think socks are some gas oil and metal your nuts.
Good luck with your shocks.
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Say what you will, but I have compared the 2 after mine are rebuilt and neither rider could notice the difference.
No Matter what anyone says. I cant justify spending around a thousand dollars. Give or take for some springs, gas and straight metal.
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So you wont go cheap on your a-arms, but you will buy garbage shocks? FFS
And those chinese shocks do not compete with Elkas.
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So... I did end up adjusting my Tie Rods and Toe in and it did help slightly... But, Still not the difference Im looking for. Will post before and after pics tomorrow.
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To be completely Honest. I dont want to go cheap when it comes to A Arms. I have felt the difference alone with stock LT250R A Arms and aftermarket. Could I fix the original A Arms? Possibly. Could I buy different stock A Arms for cheap? Yes. But again... Why waste money on something I am going to discard at the first possible chance? For now... I will deal with the bump steer and bent stock A Arms. I just cant justify spending money on something I will toss, or waste time on something that will slightly benefit my riding experience. This post was simply about shocks. I know all of my front geometry problems and know that I could enhance the way they are now. But, I will personally not feel comfortable and satisfied until I get what my bike needs most. Thanks for the input though. I really do appreciate it.
Plus.. I already have a +2 lonestar axle. It needs +2 front A Arms for the experience to be desirable. I have ridden quads with rear axles wider than the front A Arms and it feels similar to riding a 3 Wheeler. And no offense to anyone out there that still rides one. But, I do not enjoy the ride at all.
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Maybe just getting a good set of stock a arms would be the cheapest and best bet for the time being. You should find a set for a great price.
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Post a photo and we could see
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That is part of the problem... But not the biggest. Way I see it is. I may as well not waste time trying to fix the old ones. When its obvious I need new A Arms and Tie Rods. When you get up close and look at the A Arms. Its easy to tell they are bent.
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Sounds like your toe in is not adjusted properly. If one is completly straight and the other tire is pointed inward, the tie rod needs to be adjusted to bring that tire back out. There should be 1/4 inch of toe in.
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Just took a ton of pictures but I cant seem to get one that shows how bad the camber is. But for a brief explanation... When my handle bars are completely straight (they werent quite in those pictures)... my front left tire is straight. The front right one turns inwards about an inch. Also, I couldnt notice this with the old shocks but with the new. The shock itself on the front right side is 1/8th of an inch closer to the Upper A Arm Bolt.
Also just noticed that whoever did this stupid stripe job on the plastics before I had it... Did not get it centered at all. If I didnt like the shave job I would probably discard the pastics all together.
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Believe me... Its not good. And they looked the same with the stock shocks. And to answer the question... no the length is obviously not adjustable... But the softness is... With me weighing 175 its not hard at all to get the shocks to fit without force, and still rides well... That is until I try to steer or hit a bump. Main reason why I have posted a wanted add in every forum I can find online to find A Arms. I will post a front pic here shortly. Believe me. Its not pretty lol.
I originally was concerned that the frame itself was bent when I bought the bike. But, when I took it all apart It was obvious that the A Arms were and the frame was not.
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That would be helpful also
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Lets see a photo head on to see how the camber actually looks
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The camber might be due to the a arms being bent? I had tons of bump steer when my frame was bent. Those shocks do look like they r extending the arms a bit.
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The camber of the front tires looks really bad.
I'm not that familiar with the 250's. Are the longer shocks adding to the problem or is that how they always were?
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Hi, The shock length are adjustable ?
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Took these real quick... Bike is a little dirty from my short ride yesterday.
I cant decide on tires or what I like better... Nerf Bars or Heel Guards
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(http://i57.tinypic.com/xc7zti.jpg)
(http://i57.tinypic.com/15zplsp.jpg)
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With The Plastic piece where my custom headlight configuration is... Being missing until I get the piece i bought and the Ugly stock half worn off powder coat A Arms... It All Looks Good besides that. I Will get some pics today though.
Been putting off installing my Rear Lonestar axle until I get A Arms.
Not to mention my Stock A Arms are slightly bent. I have a lot of bumpsteer right now.
Realistically... I may not have time to get pics of it today while there is good light out, but I will definitely have some pics up by sunday.
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Post some pics of your quad setup.
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So Originally I was going to buy a nearly new pair of Works Shocks from someone I know for my 1992 LT250R, But he decided to back out and keep them last minute.
I have a friend that when his stock YFZ450 front Shocks Blew... (Rides Hard). He decided to try out RFY Shocks... He heard mixed reviews and has his own shop. So he rebuilt the shocks before installing them. He has been using them for a year and highly recommends them... With the right reconstruction that is.
I also tried the same thing... Bought the aftermarket RFY YFZ450 front shocks and had him rebuilt them before I installed them. I just installed them today and my god its a huge difference.
Im sure they arent that great stock, but for a total of $150 for shocks that look great and work great... I really cant complain, plus if I ever do have a problem with them... Im lucky that my friend will rebuild them for around $40...
(If anyone was wondering... The reservoirs on these shocks really do work)
So dispite all the nay saying... For the price I couldn't be happier. And yes I have ridden quads with Works shocks and Elka's... Whether you choose to believe it or not... What I am working with now is very comparable. Cant beat the price. IMO.
Oh and these shocks do bolt right up... Only thing is I had to add 2 washers on each side at the bottom of the eye. Even with being 3/4 bigger than stock shocks... It really wasnt a problem because they are adjustable.