Smitty335
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But it sure does beat walking 60 miles in a day!
Great write-up Rdrcr! I've been ridding the fence on shocks for my P500 and leaning towards the Elka's because that is what I've had on my '86 TRX250R for years now (I believe equal to Stage 4's - bought them before Elka was doing the "stage" thing). But like you, I was looking at Stage 3's because of the adjustments, but the price now is rediculous! So, I have been reading more about the WE's (know that name for decades - desert racing fan) however, now after reading the on-going thread on here of the members that are buying and installing the Elka Stage 1's, I may go that route? The more I think about it, I don't really need the adjustability like I do on my 250R for going from track to woods to desert. The P500 is only going to go 39 MPH and I will not be jumping it off any table-tops. Maybe factory "cushy" settings will be perfectly fine?
B
Could you please provide the link for the Walker Evans reservoir mount for the rear shocks. I believe you found them on Amazon. I’ve looked but can’t find them on Amazon.
Thanks
[email protected]
Bruce Johnson
Thanks
[email protected]
Bruce Johnson
R
B
Thanks very much! Got it ordered!
Bruce
H
hondabob
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I ordered the Walker Evans Shocks yesterday. They have a 10% discount now, not sure for how long. You will see it at checkout.
Order summary |
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R
Fixing to order some of these, but have to order 1 set at a time. Question, should I get the fronts or the back set first. I will have to wait a few months to order the other set. Also can't remember if these are the ones where they ask you all kinds of questions about how you ride and the weight you ride with. Thanks.
trigger
Old Ironsides
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S
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Want to say thank you to the Op, Rdrcr for your very informative writeup on these shocks. Made my decision very easy to go with these. Also would like to give a thank you to Customer service at Walker Evans racing. As there was a small hiccup on my end of the order process and they knocked it out of the park for me. Can't wait to bolt them on and ride.
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MI-Trailblazer mentioned WE's is a desert racer. To expand, Walker is an icon, nicknamed "The Legend," which he most definitely is. Walker has been racing since the 60's, and pretty much wrote the book on Class 8 (back when that was what Trophy Truck was called), then rock-crawling, air shocks and OEM SXS suspensions. There are few folks on the planet that know off road suspension better than Walker and the people that have been with him for decades.
WER is still closely involved in racing, especially SXS (RJ and Ronnie Anderson). I don't know this "Elka" guy, but never saw him (her?) at the Baja 1000.
WER is still closely involved in racing, especially SXS (RJ and Ronnie Anderson). I don't know this "Elka" guy, but never saw him (her?) at the Baja 1000.
R
I know it's already been said, and I've already said it but, I was on a ride yesterday and man, I gotta say, these shocks are awesome!
I'm very very happy with this setup!
I would have had zero issues paying extra if Honda offered a comparable setup from the factory.
Mike
I'm very very happy with this setup!
I would have had zero issues paying extra if Honda offered a comparable setup from the factory.
Mike
Hey TOGR - just circling back to this thread: Yep, Walker is a legend in the off-road racing world. His name is spoken right along with Parnelli Jones, Rod Hall, Mickey Thompson and Ivan Stuart. Yes, the man knows suspension.
Elka on the other hand has only been around since 2000 (well 23 years now) and they became hugely popular in the early 2000's because the ATV community was still looking for great racing suspension and companies like Ohlins, Fox, PEP/Works and Axis that had been feeding the ATV racing for years, by the 2000's were kind of running on old technology and not much in the way of service. Elka was started by ATV racers in Quebec and like all new racing parts companies, they started handing out sponsorships like water. Next thing you know all the pro riders are running Elka suspension and not the other guys. It went on like this for years because Elka's product was good! Then Fox recognized this and decided to develop some new/old tech and came out with the Fox-Float air suspension. Next thing you know all the pros are running Fox-Float front shocks, because Fox was handing them out like candy to the pros.
I have a set of Elka's on my '86 TRX 250R and they are very well built and ride like I am on pillowy clouds compared to the stock suspension. My opinion is you can't go wrong choosing either the WE's or Elka's.
Elka on the other hand has only been around since 2000 (well 23 years now) and they became hugely popular in the early 2000's because the ATV community was still looking for great racing suspension and companies like Ohlins, Fox, PEP/Works and Axis that had been feeding the ATV racing for years, by the 2000's were kind of running on old technology and not much in the way of service. Elka was started by ATV racers in Quebec and like all new racing parts companies, they started handing out sponsorships like water. Next thing you know all the pro riders are running Elka suspension and not the other guys. It went on like this for years because Elka's product was good! Then Fox recognized this and decided to develop some new/old tech and came out with the Fox-Float air suspension. Next thing you know all the pros are running Fox-Float front shocks, because Fox was handing them out like candy to the pros.
I have a set of Elka's on my '86 TRX 250R and they are very well built and ride like I am on pillowy clouds compared to the stock suspension. My opinion is you can't go wrong choosing either the WE's or Elka's.
Red500
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My full review of the Walker Evans shocks for the Pioneer 500.
I like um!
I like um!
R
After reading through what I believe just about every post on shocks, I have decided to go with front and back WE for my P520. So much great information from previous posts, so thank all of you that participated. The YouTube Appalachian Mountain Riders videos were extremely helpful as well. (They are from very near where I grew up in central PA)
Everyone has different requirements for their shocks as far as type of terrain mostly traveled, speeds they will be driving, and amount of regular load weight. As far as trying to decide shock adjustment, here are my personal parameters. I'm usually a slower cautious driver that does like to open it up once in a while. I will be riding mostly north central PA roads and trails, some of which are rough and washboardy. I usually ride alone and my dump bed does not have a lot of weight. I am only carrying two cargo containers, one with emergency supplies, and one with drinks of choice.
Given my above scenario, what would be good shock settings for this setup? From all of the posts I read, I will probably start at 3 clicks up from softest on all four shocks. My tire pressure I ride now with now with the stock shocks is 8psi. Do I need to go down to 5psi? Any opinions on shock settings and tire pressure with my particular setup would be greatly appreciated!
A few pics to show my setup. There is now a second cargo box in the bed, opposite the one shown.
Everyone has different requirements for their shocks as far as type of terrain mostly traveled, speeds they will be driving, and amount of regular load weight. As far as trying to decide shock adjustment, here are my personal parameters. I'm usually a slower cautious driver that does like to open it up once in a while. I will be riding mostly north central PA roads and trails, some of which are rough and washboardy. I usually ride alone and my dump bed does not have a lot of weight. I am only carrying two cargo containers, one with emergency supplies, and one with drinks of choice.
Given my above scenario, what would be good shock settings for this setup? From all of the posts I read, I will probably start at 3 clicks up from softest on all four shocks. My tire pressure I ride now with now with the stock shocks is 8psi. Do I need to go down to 5psi? Any opinions on shock settings and tire pressure with my particular setup would be greatly appreciated!
A few pics to show my setup. There is now a second cargo box in the bed, opposite the one shown.
trigger
Old Ironsides
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That would be a good start based on your setup. I believe I started there and then ending up adjusting the rears to 5. I'm carrying a lot of weight in the back though. Heads up before you install, take your height measurements where the machine rides now. Adjust your preload on the new ones to achieve that height. Ride and adjust again, it's going to settle. Some guys try to crank them up to obtain extra clearance but it's going to be minimal and hinder the ride quality.
Smitty335
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I would take those height measurements unloaded, load it and adjust.
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