I'm looking to significantly improve the suspension of the Z400. I want honest feedback on A-arms (IMS roll vs others), shocks (Elka vs Works, triple or quadruple rate), swingarms, and axles. What have you done that works and what have you done to your baby that disappointed you. I'm aiming this quad at the woods/trail racing however I want it to perform better on the MX track as well. My focus is on function as apposed to name brand. If the IMS A-arms are the best I'll go for it but frankly I'm having difficulty believing they provide $400+ dollars worth of extra performance than some of the competition. If you have anything suspension related not metioned then please provide some input. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

www.hellboundracing.com has Burgard A arms for $400, check them out, Ive heard nothing negative about them. For woods riding, Id go with +1, with even just shocks it will make a world of a difference. Pretty much all aftermarket swing arms are good. Ive heard bad things abour DuraBlue, Id go with LoneStar Racings adjustable axle, lifetime warrenty, cant beat that, they are bendable, but... theyll replace it. Any shock will will immensly. Wroks are the least effective, btu again, ANYTHING is better than stock. Id be looking at Elkas, very nice shocks, yet not as expensive as Peps or Custom Axis. Custom Axis has a rear shock for like $650 or so. For some tripple rate front Elkas with no rezzies, you can get them for just over $500. TCS also has some shocks worth looking at. TCS has a rear shock rebuild kir for $450, new shaft, revavled for your riding style, weight, and ability, itll be hard anodized too, its worth looking at IMO. You wont really nee quadruple rate shocks, tripples are just fine. If you dont know the difference, let me know, Ill tell you all about them. Unless your riding at pro level, top of the line stuff isnt neccessary, IMS arms are pointless if you dont NEED them. Dont get any arms that move the wheelbase forward, it will throw off your steering geometry and make you spend more money to fix the problem. I think its IMS arms, you will need a new steering stem as well, you wont with Buragrd arms, the stem will run about $300, again, pointless unless you NEED it.

 

Reference the A-arms I was thinking a plus 2 Lonestars without increasing the length. I believe their pro version is the long travel which hopefully gives me near stock clearance but extra room for sag after launching off the big air. If you could validate that assumption I'd sure appreciate it. I like the light front end but I never thought about the front end geometry change so thanks for that. I'm becoming a fan of the Elka shocks because I just haven't read any negative feedback from about them. I do need some additional information on triple vs quadruple rate shocks. Background. I've never raced and don't intend to start however I've always been ready to try new things and am very aggressive. I was recently introduced to MX and the first day I cleared a 65 foot table top. My point is not to brag but while learning the ins and outs of big air I really hammered the stock shocks. I want to go farther but they just won't handle the multiple bad landings from coming up short, going long, or just landing poorly due to crappy technique as I continue to learn this MX gig. I want to spend the money on the right shocks as apposed to riding them for a month and then wishing I'd gone the extra bit. If triple rate can land me after a poor landing off a huge table top without destroying my bike or body then they'll work fine. However for the extra money what is gained from the quadruple rate? To sum up let me know what you think about Lonestar as a whole and give me the rundown on the shocks.
Thanks
Toby

 

Just wanted to share that my brand new elka shocks came in today so im going to get the a-arms axle and new shocks all on and give it a whirl this weekend ill let you know how +3 +1 zps goes

 

Lonestars LT (or any long travel arms) wont give you more ground clearance, but they will give you much more shock travel (hence the name, long travel). With triple rates, there are 3 springs, the lowest one is normally the softest, once the spring is fully compressed, the second (a little stiffer than the first) compresses, and when thats compressed, the third spring compresses, you will botton much much less often. Elkas are nice, PEPs are much better though, Custom Axis makes very nice shocks as well, theyre about equal to PEP. Elka is in the middle.

I know what you mean about beating your shocks, nearly all my landings bottom the shocks, ouch...

If you trail ride, you may just want to go +1. Even with just new shocks the Z will handle so much better, +1s will just add to that stability.

no matter what you choose, you will be happy and blown away by the quads performance.