I have a 04 Baja X with Ron Woods Stage2 kit. I ride 95% sand dunes. These high pressure gas shocks work very well on big jumps and trails. How much can you gain by going aftermarket, and is it woth the $. Has anyone out there been through this already? Thanks.

 

If you are happy and they work why change. The only advantage the after market shocks have is they can be set up for your riding style and be rebuilt each year for a small fee[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

From what I've heard and felt those are awesome shocks. Put your money into the stage III head instead of the shocks. You'll be happier with that purchase [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

How much are those shocks compared to getting an aftermarket brand?

 

if you ride mainly dunes, i would just stay with the stock shocks as you probably won't notice too much difference in ride as much as the price difference. I have the elka elites and the biggest difference i noticed was that the dampning on the stock shocks (2003 baja) would fade after a while, the elka's will keep the dampning consistent much longer. something to consider if you ride in hot climates such as me. another thing is being able to adjust the suspension for different terrain. with the elka's, i noticed the ride was firmer especially a low speeds you notice the bumps more than the stock shocks, but at faster speeds, this is where they excel at, the ride is much more controlled and the shocks just soak up the bumps compared to stock. I can ride much faster through whoops and rough terrain than sombody with hopped up motor and stock suspension. also if you take big jumps, you are able to adjust the shocks to launch the quad perfectly, I have dones this and it does make a difference. As far as price, this is up to you, i paid $2300 for the set, which is outragous. I still don't understand why atv shocks are so expensive, I had a corvette and I could buy koni adjustible shocks for less than $1000 for four shocks. the reason i replaced the stock shocks was because the front lt shock broke at the top mount and actually bent 90 degrees after taking a relatively small jump (4-5 ft) on hardpack. this was within the 6month warranty period. when I called bombardier to make a claim they refused to replace the shock because they said i had jumped it. this is a sport quad ya know. anyways, like i said, just stay with your stocks, but if they break and you decide on the elks's i would not get the elites , instead get the sport edition, which has the rebound and compression adjustments. major difference on the elites is they have a high/low speed adjustment which i think is just a gimmick and more for marketing as i have found no difference at all in the ride. another thing with the elites is i heard they have to be rebuilt more than the sport edition which might be right as my rear shock already needs to be rebuilt after just one season. another thing to consider when going the aftermarket route. well hope this helps you out dude. you can see pics on my page.

 

I agree I couldn't be happier with my stock shocks............[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] go with some motor mods the suspension is what makes this such a great machine.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I have an 04 X and love my shocks. I have ridden a 02 baja and when hitting the hill I can feel the 02 sink more in the front than my 04X. I have a couple pics of the shocks landing some pretty hard jumps.

Some air pics near the bottom.

At the bottom there are 4 pics from my video camera.....look at the last one (squat)