Elka makes an excellent shock. They are pricy though even for the recreational shocks they sell. I went with Works front and rear, then added a Denton Racing steering stabilizer. Combination works great together. The front Works were well worth the money I spent. I mostly ride trails and XC and the additions were a big improvement in handling and ride quality.

 

Jennifer,
Did you go with dual or triple rate springs from Works? Raptor660RNH recommended dual. That sounded good to me. Was just wondering if you had an opinion.

Thanks for speaking up!

 

Stabilizers..i've checked them all out...denton seemed the most affordable, easiest to install, easy to adjust and is not quad specific. in fact, i run the same one on both our quads.

shocks...Elka's rule. and your gonna pay. but they are worth every dime. i run those on the raptor front and back...but, that is used for track and sucking up big jumps. when i went looking for shocks for the wifes warrior we scaled the bdget back. works shocks are great for the price. with the warrior, i tried to get as much performance without the price tag.

for instance, handling. the warrior tires are the perfect height for the quad but to round. you get the rolly polly feel with the stockers. i replace those with ITP-23" xtc's...that made cornering on the warrior a diffrent machine in itself. it now rails through the corners or with some throttle sliding the rear is very controlable. since paying to have tires swapped off rims was costly, i decided to buy the tires with rims (raptor offest, since i owned one). the raptor offset widened the rear stance nicely...in the front i added 1.5" durablu wheel spacers. this almost evened out the wider stance all around.

by going with whell spacers, it eliminated me from widening the front with new a-arms $400-$500.

remeber the warrior is a great trail machine...they've been selling it virtually unchanged for 15 years. there are alot of used ones out there. you'll never get your money back mounting $1000 elka shocks on it.

i mount the top shelf parts on my raptor because i'm jumping and my life literally depends on it. the warrior is a tank and the parts i mount on it are going to take a beating and will probably need to be replaced through shear abuse.

 

oh yeah, before i forget. SLIME...but it and you'll never experiene a flat again or ever. this is what it sounds like...a lime green slime with chunks of rubber. when your tire gets punctured it fills the whole and keeps you rolling. every vehicle we own NOW has it in it's tires.

 

Oh my goodness! You must be a mind reader. I picked up an allen wrench in my left rear and had to limp back to the p/u from the middle of nowhere on Sunday! Could have used some then, will definitely look for it now! Got to get that thing fixed before this Saturday, opening deer rifle.

Speaking of tires....well, maybe I should put a post in the actual "tire section" instead of dragging this one out.

Thanks Raptor660RNH! You've been a lot of help!

 

just remeber to tell people how you plan on riding...trails,dunes,track,gravel pits. you'll get more detailed answers if you supply alot of detail. if your trail riding...i would recomend itp xtc's or Maxxis Razors...but ask around...there are alot of tires i have'nt tried. i'm thinking about some mud tires for the snow this year.

 

I went with dual rate shocks. The guy I talked to said they had better travel and good ride for what I would be doing. Tires are another story completely. I have a friend that has a warrior with 23's on front and 22's on back and doesn't really care for them. The tires are so tall in the front it tends to make the front roll over in hard turning. Instead of railin through the turns it pushes. I can go the same places he does with 21's and 20's and not get hung up. You just have to pay attention to the route you take. Plus the bigger tires seemed to rob his bike of some power.

 

Thanks for the tip Raptor660RNH. I'll try and be as detailed as possible. Most of the time, I feel "I know not of what I speak", so I hesitate to ask too many questions. But I guess it's better to risk sounding stupid and find out than not to say anything at all and stay stupid!

And that answers that regarding tires! Thanks Jennifer. I've been wanting to go with a bit taller tire than the stock 22", but didn't want to give up any on the bottom end. Thought I would just take my front sprocket down to a 12 to try and regain it. BUT, I was still wondering about the cornering, so that info really helped a lot. It's always kind of bugged me that my Recon, with it's 1.5 ,or so, more clearance than the Warrior, could get over some ruts and roots that my Warrior drags its butt on. I don't like the idea of bad cornering. Just got a PRM swing arm skid for it.....I'll think I'll just stick with the 22" and power over stuff.

Oh, just bought me some Maxxis Sur Traks (?sp).....thought I'd give them a try. Our local MC guy ordered the 25", but with this new information, I'm gonna give him a call and have him change it to 22"s. If I don't like them, will just try something else when they wear out.

Thanks for the help!

 

Sorry wshrdskin about the post I did about the ladies dimensions. I must have gotten excited a little too much seeing a woman in here posting questions and didn't see that she posted them and it was really late at night.

I would go with what Raptor600RNH has posted considering using the Works for cost savings and Elka for the best.

I got used to the tippy Rappy feeling. When new people to the Raptor ride it compared to others like the 400Ex and the Bombadier they think it is so much more powerful. I think it is just more like a wild mustang that's fun instead of maybe a quarterhorse or something.

I remember following a buddy in an extremely tight homemade course(no bigger than the 400EX width and very quick curves) and he made this 90 turn and I did a wheelie right into a bush. Say bye bye, he was gone. I owned the 400EX at the time and borrowed the Rappy. I had attached to the front AC bumper a large bush branch that resembled a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. They laughed at me for it. I had to try to catch up and didn't waste any time with removing this bush. All in a days fun I quess. I am glad I switched to the Rappy though cause all I have to do is spend a few thousand dollars more and I might be able to stay up with him. Doubt it.

Enjoy your riding.

 

<< Most of the time, I feel &quot;I know not of what I speak&quot;, so I hesitate to ask too many questions. But I guess it's better to risk sounding stupid and find out than not to say anything at all and stay stupid! >>



I learned a long time ago that there are NO stupid questions as long as they are legittamit. I have learned alot by asking what some people would call stupid questions.

I do agree with what every one has told you. One of the magazines, ATV Sport, did a report on steering stabilizers a couple months back. You might want to check out there web site. It's atv news .com

Hope this may help.