Elka stage 2 in for repair

[fulltimer]

One of my fairly new (installed last July) Elka stage 2 front shock units blew a seal and started drooling. Sent it in last Thursday to their West coast service center for warranty repair. Can't get to upset. Just the luck of the draw I guess. They are sure wonderful units. They just totally transformed my ST.
Hopefully I will have it back in about 2 weeks. We will be in Phoenix for about a month and have a lot of riding we still want to do.

 

[Chupaca]

Bummer.....

Though it is my understanding they need servicing and maintenance. Glad they are taking care of it and hope they don't hold you up too long...:banghead:

 

[fulltimer]

Got the shock back last Friday. Gone almost a month. Got it on Saturday and took a 50 miler just "break it in". Perfect. I admit I was getting a little hostile toward the end with them having it so long, but Elka hit them with a surprise. If I am to believe Ted at Roll design, (their warranty station on the west coast), and I have no reason not to, there had been a manufacturing change made in the interior construction and Elka had not informed any of their repair stations of it. So to start with, they were uncertain of just how to reassemble the shock. But all is well that ends well.

 

[Geep]

Just my opinion bt should you not expect better?

 

[PMK]

Got the shock back last Friday. Gone almost a month. Got it on Saturday and took a 50 miler just "break it in". Perfect. I admit I was getting a little hostile toward the end with them having it so long, but Elka hit them with a surprise. If I am to believe Ted at Roll design, (their warranty station on the west coast), and I have no reason not to, there had been a manufacturing change made in the interior construction and Elka had not informed any of their repair stations of it. So to start with, they were uncertain of just how to reassemble the shock. But all is well that ends well.

Did you have one or both shocks rebuilt? Typically, with suspension you should retain side to side balance, especially if mods are accomplished.

 

[oldguyinTX]

Failure of this nature seems to be an ongoing problem with Elka shocks. There have been several threads in the past of Elkas failing sooner than one would think, and sometimes they get repaired/rebuilt under warranty, sometimes not. For what they cost, one would think that they would last a long time without failure. I mean, OEM shocks are lousy, but they don't fail at the rate of Elkas. But I'm glad you got your issue resolved, and that it was warranted.

 

[larryd]

I've been down this road twice with my Elka's failing...The last time I did a little research and found a independent shock rebuilder near Erie, PA...He rebuilt both for 1/3 the price Elka quoted and the turn around time was less than 2 weeks...He is snowmobiler shock guru...

Travis Clabbatz
Tks Shocks
(814) 397-0347

 

[PMK]

I've been down this road twice with my Elka's failing...The last time I did a little research and found a independent shock rebuilder near Erie, PA...He rebuilt both for 1/3 the price Elka quoted and the turn around time was less than 2 weeks...He is snowmobiler shock guru...

Travis Clabbatz
Tks Shocks
(814) 397-0347

The snowmobile and atv suspension shops likely deal with Elka, most moto shops do not deal with Elka. In the moto suspension world Elka is not common nor a top tier suspension, so essentially very few moto suspension shops work on tnem or stock parts. Elka entered the off road bicycle industry years ago, but never really caught on and seemed to be the lower technolgy compared to the market at the time.

Any shock can fail due to the seal letting go. Not common on quality shocks, but it does happen every now and then.

 

[fulltimer]

Yes, I was and am disappointment at a high dollar shock springing a leak in only 6 months of paved road use. I know Elka is not considered a player in the moto world but lets face it, these things we ride are pretty much a snowmobile with wheels.

As I had the other front shock still on the bike, I had no problem matching the setup again. I asked Roll design if they put the same amount of nitrogen back in that it started with. They assured me that they did, and the feel of the road is that both are equal.

As we travel, should I need further repair down the road, I will look for local shops. I know here in Phoenix (where we are now) I could have had them repaired locally but they were under warranty sooooooo.....