Aftermarket shocks - maintenance

[JimH]

One of my next upgrades will be aftermarket shocks for my Spyder. I saw a post that now concerns me about the upkeep and maintenance of aftermarket shocks. My (naive) impression was install and make sure the configuration is correct, and then forget them. I saw a post stating shocks need to be rebuilt every one to two years. Am i misunderstanding this? With the price of Elka's I am not looking forward to a rebuild expense.

Thanks in advance for your time.
Jim

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

One of my next upgrades will be aftermarket shocks for my Spyder. I saw a post that now concerns me about the upkeep and maintenance of aftermarket shocks. My (naive) impression was install and make sure the configuration is correct, and then forget them. I saw a post stating shocks need to be rebuilt every one to two years. Am i misunderstanding this? With the price of Elka's I am not looking forward to a rebuild expense.

Thanks in advance for your time.
Jim

I have never heard of Shocks needing " maintenance ", however all shocks will Fail at some point. They have parts that wear. I would look for Shocks that have a Low Fail rate .... from what has been said in this forum, I wouldn't be buying " Elka's "...... jmho , good luck ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Mikey]

All shocks should or will need replacement or rebuilding at SOME time of its life! Some purists will say every year, some 2 years, me it's when they don't feel right! With a sled, with the hot and cold you get moisture in the oil and they will freeze up and not work, so with them I go 2 years! A bike that for the most part it's just a the opposite it's heat, and you can loose your charge in the shock from leaky seals and loose the oil, then you have nothing there to dampen the ride and that stinks! I replaced my shocks because they road to soft for me and I couldn't adjust them any more, I got Elka stage 2 for the front, love them! I will rebuild them when I deem necessary. They ride good, handle good FOR ME, maybe you wouldn't like them, it's one of those things only you will know!! Good luck!!

 

[Yabbadabbadoo]

I've had a perfect experience so far with my Elka Stage 5 rear shock on my 2020 F3S. Approaching 17,000 miles on it. Being a Stage 5 it is their top of the line shock and probably has better seals and construction than a Stage 2 for example. I do believe in most cases "you get what you pay for". I don't think Elkas mounted on Spyders need frequent rebuilds. They just don't get the abuse they get like when used on snowmobiles and ATVs. In those environments just about all shocks need more frequent rebuilds.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

All shocks should or will need replacement or rebuilding at SOME time of its life! Some purists will say every year, some 2 years, me it's when they don't feel right! With a sled, with the hot and cold you get moisture in the oil and they will freeze up and not work, so with them I go 2 years! A bike that for the most part it's just a the opposite it's heat, and you can loose your charge in the shock from leaky seals and loose the oil, then you have nothing there to dampen the ride and that stinks! I replaced my shocks because they road to soft for me and I couldn't adjust them any more, I got Elka stage 2 for the front, love them! I will rebuild them when I deem necessary. They ride good, handle good FOR ME, maybe you wouldn't like them, it's one of those things only you will know!! Good luck!!

Don't they have " GAS " filled shocks ?????? ................jmho ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Mikey]

Don't they have " GAS " filled shocks ?????? ................jmho ..... Mike :thumbup:

Guess I don't know what your asking Mike, gas shocks, yes. For what application, on what?

 

[redrazor]

:agree: I got Elka stage 2 for the front, love them! I will rebuild them when I deem necessary. :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Guess I don't know what your asking Mike, gas shocks, yes. For what application, on what?

SNOWMOBILES ...... Well you were talking about " OIL " filled shocks freezing up.... I don't think that's possible with " GAS " filled shocks ..... I went riding for a week at Moosehead Lake in Maine, ( I think it was 97 )and the day temps were - 30F or less .... had no issues with frozen shocks ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Mikey]

Like I said Mike. most sleds I have had since the 60's had oil in the shocks with a nitrogen charge, and yes you can get moisture in the oil, it will get thick and freeze up! Had a friend unload his sled one time in Eagle Lake, sit on it, sled went down, he got off it and the track stayed down! We were turning wrenches for a couple hours and trying to find someone to rebuild two shocks!! All was well in the end!!

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Like I said Mike. most sleds I have had since the 60's had oil in the shocks with a nitrogen charge, and yes you can get moisture in the oil, it will get thick and freeze up! Had a friend unload his sled one time in Eagle Lake, sit on it, sled went down, he got off it and the track stayed down! We were turning wrenches for a couple hours and trying to find someone to rebuild two shocks!! All was well in the end!!

I guess me and my 9 buddies were very lucky ( none of them had Shock issues either ) ...:yes:..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[MrMagicFingers]

All I want is stronger springs to replace the OEM ones, especially for the rear to hold up our heavy carcasses when we ride 2 up.

I wish I knew where to get them. Everyone wants to sell you the complete over prices complete assemblies.

Tim

 

[troop]

All I want is stronger springs to replace the OEM ones, especially for the rear to hold up our heavy carcasses when we ride 2 up.

I wish I knew where to get them. Everyone wants to sell you the complete over prices complete assemblies.

Tim

The issue that may arise from that is the heavier springs may overpower the shocks rebound ability. The valving may not be able to control the spring rise after compression. The shock may just become a pogo stick. Custom made shocks are valved for their spring weight/rate.

 

[DGoebel]

All I want is stronger springs to replace the OEM ones, especially for the rear to hold up our heavy carcasses when we ride 2 up.

I wish I knew where to get them. Everyone wants to sell you the complete over prices complete assemblies.

Tim

Tim, you might try contacting Marcus McBain at M2 Shocks, AKA RPS Manufacturing in Rolla MO. If you don't buy a set of their shocks (installed on my 2013 RTL, much improved!) he "might" be able tell you what size springs to consider based on your riding weights. I'm 260 lbs and my wife is about half that, I replaced all three stock shocks at 6yrs after having multiple issues with the stock air ride rear air bag (fixed now) and front shocks just didn't seem to cut it for my riding style. The M2's were custom adjusted before shipping for our weights and are easily user adjusted later if needed.
And After riding on the M2 shocks, they're not overpriced. Very happy with those on the '13 RTL.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Jim - Have M2 shocks on my 2014 RTL. Happy with the M2 product. Still adjusting the suspension to get to where I want it.

There are a good number of aftermarket shock manufacturers out there that can provide you with shock(s) to meet your requirement(s) of a "plug and play - forget and go ride" scenario. If you want to "play" and tweak/tune the suspension to maximize your riding pleasure and performance, you can do this as well.

Elka shocks get a bad rap on this forum; however, a company in Ontario, Accelerated Technologies, uses Elka shocks on snowmobile and ATV suspension upgrades, exclusively I think. The Spyder and snowmobile suspension systems have a lot in common. If the Elka shocks did not perform, this company would not use them, and snowmobilers would definitely let you know about it. I surmise that there are far more snowmobile and ATV suspension upgrades done than Spyder suspension upgrades.

Shocks do not need to be rebuilt on a specific maintenance schedule. If you were off roading and ditch banging in a Dakar rally, maybe yes. Theses Spyders do not take the pounding a snowmobile or even an ATV does. People don't change their car shocks until the car goes down the road like a kangaroo, hopping all over, and sometimes not even then.

I believe the reason the recreation vehicle market is more interested in changing/upgrading suspension and such is because these are our "toys" and we spend time and resources on making these ours, and in doing so, we tend to imagine all sorts of issues.

If the shock does not work, rebuild/replace it.

This is an interesting thread for reading. The fellow decided to do a rear suspension upgrade using the OEM supplied rear shock: https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums...ng-it-Adjustable&highlight=suspension+upgrade

All sorts of possibilities.

Enjoy your Spyder.