P500 Elka stage 1

[futzin]

Finally got the E1s on today. A test will be a week or two. But leaning/bouncing on the buggy feels VERY different.

 

[Smitty335]

Finally got the E1s on today. A test will be a week or two. But leaning/bouncing on the buggy feels VERY different.

View attachment 371144

Very nice! I've only run the Elka's on my S X S, so I don't know how the other shock brands compare, I bit the bullet the pain is gone now. I haven't had one issue with them, never revalved or ordered different springs. Just like the all Black Western saying from Blazing Saddles!

 

[906UP]

Finally got the E1s on today. A test will be a week or two. But leaning/bouncing on the buggy feels VERY different.

View attachment 371144

You'll love them, I put them on Donkey a few years ago. You'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier

 

[futzin]

You'll love them, I put them on Donkey a few years ago. You'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier

My wallet knows why! 😁

 

[GAug440]

My pocket knows why! 😁

No doubt they aren’t cheap, but they do make a dramatic change to the ride quality. Enjoy the ride, I think you’ll be happy with them!

 

[futzin]

No doubt they aren’t cheap, but they do make a dramatic change to the ride quality. Enjoy the ride, I think you’ll be happy with them!

Man, I hope so. I swore I wasn't gonna buy them until I'd tried out someone else's. I have not.
But my rationalizing self went and counted 17 members here that have the E1s and speak highly of them.

Good enough, lol

 

[Smitty335]

Man, I hope so. I swore I wasn't gonna buy them until I'd tried out someone else's. I have not.
But my rationalizing self went and counted 17 members here that have the E1s and speak highly of them.

Good enough, lol

Welcome to the buy once and done club! As long as you were honest on your order form with the information they ask for, your good to go, unless you add a bunch of crap.

 

[Rdrcr]

I ordered these back in August. They just arrived today;

I went back and forth considering the WE vs Elka’s. I’m sure had I gone with the Elka’s, I would have already been enjoying them for months, lol

Hopefully these will be worth the wait.

Mike

 

[futzin]

Finally got the E1s on today. A test will be a week or two. But leaning/bouncing on the buggy feels VERY different.

Test ride this afternoon . . .

 

[cjparry2]

I just bought a 1000 5 unit.


Looking to upgrade shocks right out of the gate. Has anyone purchased or looked into the John Hester edition Elka Shocks? I called the customer service team at Elka and they told me to contact Hester Motorsports in New Mexico. John Hester takes the Elka shocks and does some custom tuning to them...Check out his video on the difference on stages 1-5. Please let me know if anyone has dealt with John Hester when purchasing your Elka shock set up.

 

[futzin]

Test ride this afternoon . . .

The difference is dramatic, especially with my 8 ply HTRs. Definitely no regerts, not even one letter.
With power steering, torq locker, 27s, proper skids, winch, roof, windshield this is a trail version of the P5 Honda could easily release/market without having to introduce a new model.

Me and @KYgal83 took out Critter (new shocks) and the 520 with her tires/rims on it (5+2 wheels with 25.5" Bighorn "27s"). We swapped buggies occasionally for comparison. She ended up driving Critter more than I did, but we agreed the ride was very much improved and worth the purchase. I do still feel like these things shouldn't cost +/- $1K though.

The stock shocks are like the guilty Catholic girl, or the prim Baptist. They'll go out with you, but don't expect much to happen. There will be stiffness, resistance, reluctance to get into it. They're there, but they're not much fun. If pushed, you get nothing but push back. Expect an uncomfortable outing.

The Elkas though, they're like the feisty redhead. They're engaged, involved, moving and having fun along with you. When pushed, they react with enthusiastic responsiveness. After the ride you'll say: Well, that was fun!

KYgal may have more to add, but my takeaway was I'm glad I bought them. Looking forward to another ride on them . . .

 

[906UP]

The difference is dramatic, especially with my 8 ply HTRs. Definitely no regerts, not even one letter.
With power steering, torq locker, 27s, proper skids, winch, roof, windshield this is a trail version of the P5 Honda could easily release/market without having to introduce a new model.

Me and @KYgal83 took out Critter (new shocks) and the 520 with her tires/rims on it (5+2 wheels with 25.5" Bighorn "27s"). We swapped buggies occasionally for comparison. She ended up driving Critter more than I did, but we agreed the ride was very much improved and worth the purchase. I do still feel like these things shouldn't cost +/- $1K though.

The stock shocks are like the guilty Catholic girl, or the prim Baptist. They'll go out with you, but don't expect much to happen. There will be stiffness, resistance, reluctance to get into it. They're there, but they're not much fun. If pushed, you get nothing but push back. Expect an uncomfortable outing.

The Elkas though, they're like the feisty redhead. They're engaged, involved, moving and having fun along with you. When pushed, they react with enthusiastic responsiveness. After the ride you'll say: Well, that was fun!

KYgal may have more to add, but my takeaway was I'm glad I bought them. Looking forward to another ride on them . . .

View attachment 372115

That's has to be one of the best review/descriptions I've ever read

 

[The Green Goat]

That's has to be one of the best review/descriptions I've ever read

He ain't wrong...

 

[osobad]

Well I have a different take on the stock Honda suspension. Yes differen machine. On the stock suspension I always felt like it was trying to have sex with me because of the f... ing it was giving me

 

[futzin]

"This is gonna feel like sex, but trust me it's not!"

 

[osobad]

"This is gonna feel like sex, but trust me it's not!"

Like I tell my wife. Feels good to me

 

[futzin]

I ordered these back in August. They just arrived today;
View attachment 371178
I went back and forth considering the WE vs Elka’s. I’m sure had I gone with the Elka’s, I would have already been enjoying them for months, lol

Hopefully these will be worth the wait.

Anything to report yet? 🤔

 

[futzin]

After more seat time on the E1s, I thought I'd add some thoughts.

-Stock 2021 P520 rode better than stock 2018 P500 (IMO).
-the 520 on 26" (actually 25.5", but labeled 27) 6 ply Bighorn 2.0s rode better than the P500 on 27" 8 ply HTRs.

-After adding the E1s, the 500 rides drastically better, but bottoms out somewhat easily and I'm scraping, hitting more easily than I did before.
-While I tried to be accurate, I tended toward overstating the weight of the items I added to the stock machine in the retailer's questionnaire.

 

[Yomama101]

After more seat time on the E1s, I thought I'd add some thoughts.

-Stock 2021 P520 rode better than stock 2018 P500 (IMO).
-the 520 on 26" (actually 25.5", but labeled 27) 6 ply Bighorn 2.0s rode better than the P500 on 27" 8 ply HTRs.

-After adding the E1s, the 500 rides drastically better, but bottoms out somewhat easily and I'm scraping, hitting more easily than I did before.
-While I tried to be accurate, I tended toward overstating the weight of the items I added to the stock machine in the retailer's questionnaire.

Exactly the issues I was having on my 520. I added a small amount of preload to the front and rear shocks. I took pics as original settings for reference. +two in the front and +three in the back. I carry the tools to change settings on the trail if needed.

 

[futzin]

Any issues with doing the adjustments without removing the shocks?

I'll be sure to make notes/measurements of my starting points.

Sure am glad they ask all those questions. Maybe I should have said I race it, instead of trail riding. Which is hilarious to anyone that's ridden with me!