Yes, and I am very hopeful.

I spoke in great length with them, drilling in the fact that I am not so much looking for performance riding as I am comfort. I went on saying that performance gains are a good thing to me but not at the cost of ANY firmer trail riding feel than I have with the OE springs \ ATR combo.
He repeatedly assured me that it will be more comfortable than I have now. (As to what degree we did not discuss as I would be fine with what I have and better handling.) And went on about how it will handle better in more aggressive riding as well.
I then kicked in the question, "What If I put these things on and I disagree?". He says we have a customer satisfaction guarantee policy. I let him know that I did not want to burden either of us with the shipping costs if I feel that they ride rougher than OE on normal trail riding. He felt very confident that I will be satisfied.
Hmm? A 600lb & 70lb combo tells me he may be right. I'm going in.

 

The Springs are on! Install notes will be at the bottom here.
First impression? Great! I installed them with the adjustment rings to the lowest possible pre-load, with he ATR's psi @ 4.0 Rear and 4.5 up Front. They are noticeably softer than the OE springs with the ATRs' on a medium bumpy surface from Zero to Flat Out. Confirming the fact they are not firmer, I gently bottomed the shocks on a technical trail dropping off into some pot holes and ditches at an angle kind of abruptly. It is my belief that the OE springs did not do so in that section. I really can't remember ever bottoming them out. I was riding with the front fenders off because I did not want to go through all that if I was not happy and had to strip it again. It was interesting watching the front suspension work. If I lost ground clearance it's not noticeable to me. The machine measured 12" from the center of the floor board side rail before and after.
Now it's a mile of riding before I could try the cornering and on the way there I was thinking if it's not firmer than OE, and set at the softest possible pre-load, how on earth could it have less roll and dive? I tell you it is improved. Tight doughnuts feel better and I got into some pasture grass where the ATRs bite like hell and zigg zagged back and forth, doing all kinds of circles just looking for some dive and roll and it is quite noticeably missing!
This ride was only 30 minutes long and I will be putting a couple of hours on it Tuesday. This will make sure I am not feeling the placebo effect. I am quite sure they will not be shipping back. I will be calling Elka to praise and ask how much at a time should I move the pre-load settings to feel the effects. I would like to go after the bottoming but I like knowing I am using ALL of my front suspension. If indeed it is too soft it is nice knowing I have much more pre-load available to tailor it to my style.

Install notes: Thanks goes out to Nyroc on leaving the bottom portion of the struts in place. This tip is on the bottom of his "progressive springs - soft front suspension" tech tips. My top nuts differed from his and were not too tight at all. I experimented with large channel locks and they broke free without any real grunting. Bringing her up with an ATV jack until the threads just went below the holes I wiggled and turned the tires untill I could swing them out. I did not want to go any higher than necessary, avoiding the CV's pulling out of the Diffy. Compressing the springs is a treat. I am 6' 2" @ 250lbs. I need to work out. My Abb.'s are sore from pulling down on the spring covers while on my knees, while the wife lifted out the C-Clips with needle nose pliers taking great care not to break any of her nails. It took a few practice pulls to see if I could bring them down enough. TIP: If the Jounce bumper on the strut rod is at the top, it will prevent the C-Clip from pulling out easily. I got a very small screwdriver and pushed it down going through the open end of the C-Clip. Very helpful.
Installation: Threading it through everything, I attached a cord from the top of the strut to a ceiling joist to keep the strut rod topped out. On my knees again I noticed it was a tad easier to compress the springs than before. It may be due to the rods dropping during the OE spring removal. I did not have them tied to the ceiling. TIP: I should have!
Gentlemen I am not going to return these springs. This is a first impression report and untill after Tuesday's ride and some experimenting with pre-loads, I will not really know how high to praise these springs. It will be in a rougher area and a much longer ride with lots of low and high speed turns. I will say, so far it is $$$$ well spent.

Untill Wednesday
They also included a nice black hat and T-shirt.

 

Good. I am glad to hear you like yours as much as I like mine.

I was reluctant to stamp them with a "must have" title as our preception is based on riding style.


They also included a nice black hat and T-shirt.

Oh man, now I feel left out. I did not get those with my order....

 

I'm also very happy with the Elka springs, have got in a couple good 5-6 hour rides with them now, and they feel way better than stock. Not sure about the bottoming thing, I bottomed out my stockers on a regular basis, and I dont think the new ones have bottomed yet. I did feel a slight thump occasionally, but nothing like bottoming out, and it seemed to be only part way through the travel, my opinion is that I'm feeling the spting spacer touch when the short spring bottoms out. Not sure, just a thought. All in all though, a great upgrade, I'm very happy with them. On a side note, just put on some Renthal grips, wow do they feel a lot better, cheap too.

 

Good point on the Spacer when bottoming. It has 2 options, a long and short end. The shorter end pointed down for more plush as stated in the instructions. I put the short end down. I weigh 250lbs so that may be a factor. I'm not going to adjust until I have more time on them. As for your thump? You didn't perhaps over tighten the bottom ring's set screw? You can bend the cylinder that way causing the piston to thump by it.

 

I gave the springs a 3 hour ride on various terrain and I am really pleased. I have them at the lowest pre-load setting with the sleeve positioned short side down to allow the maximum travel on the 70lb spring, this is as soft as they can be set.
In a nut shell, if you went from the paper ply Dunlops to the 6 ply ATRs and want the comfort ride factor of the Dunlops back, you can get 75% of it back with the Elkas' and loose a little roll and dive.
As for the roll & dive, it is improved over the OE springs even at the softest pre-load setting. I would gauge it as "Noticeable". I plan on going up 2 turns on the spring adjusters to see what the "Comfort Loss" to "Handling Improvement " ratio is. I am really happy with the way it is but want to play with it. It's nice to know I have all that pre-load adjustment available.
On the rocks it feels like I am using all of my suspension now compared to the OE springs on either set of tires. When rolling over large rocks with one wheel, that side of the quad raises noticeably later than before.
I really like these Springs. They are keepers for sure.
Keep in mind, I am 6' 2" @ 250 lbs. and I have a Warn 3.0ci winch up front. Lighter riders with no winch may notice more handling improvement to comfort than I did with the same settings.

 

What is the part number of the ELKA springs that you purchased? I have had problems with the strut oil getting hot (while racing)and their performance fading. Does ELKA also have entire struts available for the P650?

 

Don't know the P\N for the springs. They do not have a Strut for the P650 but do have a nice rear shock for big bucks. About 750.00 or so. You can purchase from them. I called around and it was no cheaper through dealers. You need to call and ask for Jon. Pronounced "Yon". He will ask your application and weight and equipment and suggest a setup.

http://www.elkasuspension.com/

Elka Suspension Inc.
41 Chemin du Tremblay, Suite 202
Boucherville, Quebec, Canada
J4B 7L6

Telephone: (450) 655-4855

Fax: (450) 655-2821

Email: info@elkasuspension.com