P500 Elka Stage 3+ (?)

[futzin]

So, I've had Stage 1s on my 500 for a while now and have ridden some rough stuff with them. They have improved the ride quality significantly, and I'm happy with them for the terrain I deal with locally.

However, when I ride in Tennessee on rougher, rockier terrain I find them lacking. I recently round myself mentally considering a different, larger buggy to obtain a better ride experience. Pretty silly really, as anything over 60" here just won't work.

So I guess my question is, will going with a high end Elka make a significant difference over the Stage 1s? I need to put something on my 520, so the E1s can go on that.

Is a reasonably comfortable ride on the rough stuff possible on a P5?

 

[Smitty335]

So, I've had Stage 1s on my 500 for a while now and have ridden some rough stuff with them. They have improved the ride quality significantly, and I'm happy with them for the terrain I deal with locally.

However, when I ride in Tennessee on rougher, rockier terrain I find them lacking. I recently round myself mentally considering a different, larger buggy to obtain a better ride experience. Pretty silly really, as anything over 60" here just won't work.

So I guess my question is, will going with a high end Elka make a significant difference over the Stage 1s? I need to put something on my 520, so the E1s can go on that.

Is a reasonably comfortable ride on the rough stuff possible on a P5?

I believe the Stage 3 due to the limited travel of the Pioneers is max, but I did like monkey around with the spring, low & high speed damping and rebound.

 

[HondaTech]

Elkas "stages" just add features, like rebound adj. for stage 2 and compression adj. For stage 3.

They will allow you to adjust more for each situation/terrain but I don't think they just get better with each higher stage.

I for one thing Elka is and has been overrated.

 

[Smitty335]

Elkas "stages" just add features, like rebound adj. for stage 2 and compression adj. For stage 3.

They will allow you to adjust more for each situation/terrain but I don't think they just get better with each higher stage.

I for one thing Elka is and has been overrated.

What I like about them , it's a one and done, They take a lot of info when ordering. I never had to go spring shopping or send back for a restack of the shims.

 

[906UP]

The P5/5.2 only has so much travel, once you get a shock that actually works vs the rigid POS shocks that come on it, the limiting factor is the suspension geometry & travel. I doubt you'll see a noticeable difference from S1 to S3s. As Hondatech said, the only difference is more options, most people are the "Set it and forget it" type when it comes to suspension.

 

[Backwoods]

I like Elka but as the others have said very small amount of travel can only do so much. If I remember from my 500 it was 5.9 inches of travel. And that’s the total both ways. Not much more you can do in my opinion but I’m not a suspension guru

 

[Scrappapotamus]

I have a set on my P1K-5. They definitely make it ride better and eliminate the chop and bottoming but absolutely does not transform the machine into a Talon.

 

[osobad]

Anything is better than the stock shocks( thats what honda calls them anyway. Will more features help? yes if you know what to do. Is it going to give you what you want with the stock arms and geometry? Probably not. Now if I were in your situation and I am not, because I love to spend other people's money. You have 2 machines. Why not make one of them a long travel and then you still have a narrow machine for when you have to have it. Still cheaper than buying a new machine also. Food for thought.

 

[The Green Goat]

You know I've been messing with my WE's quite a bit, especially at this last TO. I initially wasn't overly impressed by them, but after monkeying around with the compression dampening, I do feel like it made a noticeable difference. I don't believe mine are bottoming out, as far as I can tell, and I thrash the s*** out of mine. I can't say what spring rate I have on mine; I just told WE that I was a bit of a fatass, who tends to carry a bed full of heavy useless stuff, and that I planned on thrashing the hell out of it. I got what I got and they seem to work.

You're welcome to take mine for a thrashing at MOM4 if you'd like before making a decision. Might make it easier to justify the additional expense.

 

[futzin]

I really appreciate the feedback guys.

@The Green Goat, I'd love to take you up on that offer.

@osobad, that's an intriguing idea. I had not thought of it. Jason is now running JAK's third generation kit and is at 59". I could prolly live with that. Hmm . . . Downsides? (besides $$ )

 

[osobad]

I really appreciate the feedback guys.

@The Green Goat, I'd love to take you up on that offer.

@osobad, that's an intriguing idea. I had not thought of it. Jason is now running JAK's third generation kit and is at 59". I could prolly live with that. Hmm . . . Downsides? (besides $$ )

I am just going to throw this out there for you. I believe but not sure that the arms for such would be P700 length, but mounting width might be different. Could be as easy as making one set of tabs on each side. I believe you would use 700 axles. All this would need to be verified. If interested, I will give you a set of 700 arms front and back if that would make it easier

 

[lee]

From what your describing, you want more high speed compression damping.
I think you are up to a stage 5 before that is adjustable (going from memory).
I have no idea who you get to talk to when you call Elka but you might see what they have to say.
Let them know you want more bottoming toughness.

My preference would be Elka over Walker Evans.
Elka's theology is to support the weight with the spring and control the wheel motion with the damping.
WE throws the kitchen sink at wheel motion (better for desert off road racing where massive bump control is everything).

Another thing to consider is tire shape.
A rounded tire (like a Maxxis Bighorn) will absorb some of the bump.
This trick is more a small vehicle vehicle trick (ATV or p500).

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
The WE's shine at high speed compression dampening.

Mike

 

[Rdrcr]

You know I've been messing with my WE's quite a bit, especially at this last TO. I initially wasn't overly impressed by them, but after monkeying around with the compression dampening, I do feel like it made a noticeable difference. I don't believe mine are bottoming out, as far as I can tell, and I thrash the s*** out of mine. I can't say what spring rate I have on mine; I just told WE that I was a bit of a fatass, who tends to carry a bed full of heavy useless stuff, and that I planned on thrashing the hell out of it. I got what I got and they seem to work.

You're welcome to take mine for a thrashing at MOM4 if you'd like before making a decision. Might make it easier to justify the additional expense.

Me too. I had to mess around with the settings on my WE's but, once I got it right, man, these shocks are awesome!

I don't think you can go wrong with either the Elka's or the WE's.
Great options to choose from!

Mike

 

[The Green Goat]

Me too. I had to mess around with the settings on my WE's but, once I got it right, man, these shocks are awesome!

I don't think you can go wrong with either the Elka's or the WE's.
Great options to choose from!

Mike

Yup. Once I got to playing with it, I was amazed at the difference in just a click or two. Perhaps it's all in my head, but that's ultimately what matters.

 

[Backwoods]

Yup. Once I got to playing with it, I was amazed at the difference in just a click or two. Perhaps it's all in my head, but that's ultimately what matters.

That will make you go blind 🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[The Green Goat]

That will make you go blind 🤣🤣🤣🤣

The more I beat it up, the better it works.

 

[futzin]

I've sent a PM to Joe regarding his long travel kit. What questions would you guys ask?

I plan on calling Elka today to ask about the prospect of putting high end race shocks on a slow ass P5. 😁

I'm interested in comparing the WE to the E1 further. @Red500 (WE) and I briefly drove each other's machines recently, and we each found we liked the other's shocks pretty well. I felt like his WE reacted more quickly, resulting in a more composed ride. My E1s, at times, feel as though they're a bit 'bouncy house', slight 'pogo' feeling.

Maybe I should just sell the P500 and buy a 60" Yamaflaw!

 

[futzin]

just heard a song lyric that's appropriate here:

"There's not enough breathing room between pleasure and pain . . ."

 

[osobad]

I've sent a PM to Joe regarding his long travel kit. What questions would you guys ask?

I plan on calling Elka today to ask about the prospect of putting high end race shocks on a slow ass P5. 😁

I'm interested in comparing the WE to the E1 further. @Red500 (WE) and I briefly drove each other's machines recently, and we each found we liked the other's shocks pretty well. I felt like his WE reacted more quickly, resulting in a more composed ride. My E1s, at times, feel as though they're a bit 'bouncy house', slight 'pogo' feeling.

Maybe I should just sell the P500 and buy a 60" Yamaflaw!

I believe with his new kits you can have him change the lower shock mount locations to run different length shocks.