Shock and A-Arm Questions

[derekd7987]

Hey guys.  I have a 450ER and just got my first 250r a few months before Christmas.  It was setup for motocross and im a woods rider so ive been changing it up a little bit for XC.  Right now I have +2 +1 Lonestar arms and works shocks that i was told were setup for motocross and 175-185 lbs. I like the width of the +2 arms bc my hipers are 4+1 offset so its not too wide.  I have long travel motowoz shocks on my 450 and like them but was thinking about trying fox float evol dsc.  Also was thinking about long travel laeger arms.

so my questions are:

go with the fox floats?  do they have to be valved a certain way for XC?  setup for my weight or do u just adjust that by the pressure?  do i need to give any info about me for the fox shocks like normal spring shocks or do they just need to know what arms so they get the length right?  cheaper or more expensive to service?  have to service more or less often?  is ride height adjustable?

are laegers good arms?  would +2 arms be better than +2 +1 to keep the wheelbase shorter for tighter sections?

for about the same price i can get motowoz long travel front shocks and like jd arms?

sorry for the long post and all the questions.  any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated b/c i want to hurry up and get them ordered. :adoration:

thanks

[rablack21]

Derek,
This is just my opinion, other may differ.
I can't answer the question about the Fox Floats cause I can't remember. I don't deal with the air shocks much.

About the A-arms - yes, Laeger makes good stuff, but if you already have +2+1 a-arms, why would you change? I don't know that the slightly tighter wheelbase would be enough reason to change for me.

I really don't think you need long travel shocks for XC. If you have the extra money to throw around then, by all means, go for it. But I think it is unnecessary.
Again, just my opinion, I would keep the a-arms you have, sell the works shocks, and buy a set of nice front shocks setup for what you have.

[derekd7987]

Thanks man. Yea the reason for switching arms would be for going to a LT setup. With the deal I'd be getting going with the package I will come out just as cheap or maybe cheaper buying the package and selling my arms and shocks rather than just buying the floats and selling my shocks. Thanks for the input man

[Tbone07]

From what I've heard, the sprung shocks are more desirable for XC and the air shocks tend to leak pretty often. Again I don't have any personal experience, but seems to me like more people would be going with them if they were better. Or maybe their better for MX as opposed to XC. I'm really not sure

XC normally doesn't require you to have an LT setup. But like Ryan stated if you have the money then why not?

If you want to talk to someone who knows everything about XC riding, i'd look at GThunder a-arms paired with HLS suspension. Laz has my chassis feeling like a Cadillac

http://www.gtthunder.com/models/250R.html

Ask Laz about 250r front end setup and he can guide you through the whole thing. Just don't lie about your skill level or weight and it'll be as close to perfect as it gets

[JoePA]

The FOX shock is just like a spring shock in that the valving within the shock has to be set up for your weight and what you are going to do...XC, MX, dune, etc. They just use air instead of a spring.

[derekd7987]

Cool. Thanks guys

[rablack21]

Derek, you didn't mention anything about your rear shock. This is very important as well. What shock are you planning on running? What type of linkage do you have?

[derekd7987]

Derek, you didn't mention anything about your rear shock. This is very important as well. What shock are you planning on running? What type of linkage do you have?

The rear shock is a stock one that has been revalved and all. It doesn't feel as stiff as the fronts so I was gonna try to ride it some and see how it feels.  Eventually I would Prolly put a motowoz back there like on my 450.

As far as the link it's a 18.5 inch lonestar swing arm with the stock link. Are there any after market links for the rear? Like on my 450 I have the lonestar dc4 link. I'm new to the 250rs but all I've ever seen is the stock link or a cr 500 and a cr 500 won't work with my stock frame and that swing arm correct?

[rablack21]

There are no aftermarket links for the R. The only other setups are no link or cr 500 and basically require a new frame. The revalved stock shock will definitely work better than just a stock shock. I was just asking because alot of your "rider comfort" will come from your rear shock as you would be racing for long periods of time for XC. It may not matter quite as much though being that most of the terrain is the same while running cross country. Might just be able to run light valving and it feel good to you.

[D Bergstrom]

Well, if the a-arms are in good shape and you are happy with the width, best bet would be to call Jim at Motowoz and order front and rear shocks. You run Motowoz on your 450ER, so you know they are a good shock. Unless you are racing, there really isn't a reason to swap to a long shock front end, especially since you are keeping the stock rear linkage. If you want to play with the rear suspension some more, you can do what I did here:

http://www.trx250r.net/forum/project-quads/5130-1986-trx250r-update.html

I ended up with over 11" of travel, way more then what I had with an Elka shock. Did have to do a little work, but it was well worth it. I was running 22" rear tires, so if you are only running 20" tires, you may have to measure yourself to see what works.

So if you really want to go long shock front suspension, well, the front suspension in the link above may be for sale. (Not postive I am selling it yet, but someone with cash in hand may sway me!) They are Motowoz shocks setup for a 225 pound expert desert/dunes rider, a-arms are Teixeira Tech +2.5. Been awhile since I measured, but I want to say I am right around 48.5" wide with 4:1 wheels. I am currently rebuilding my 250R again, and the a-arms are fresh, had the uppers chromed and the lowers powdered gloss black along with new lower ball joints, all other joints are tight. They have zero ride time on them since chrome and powder, they have been assembled and sitting on my quad for the last two years or so. You can see recent pics here:

http://www.atvriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?478686-New-build

As I said, not sure I want to sell, but if you are interested, let me know and I will come up with a number. May not be cheap, but I bet it will be cheaper to buy my shocks/a-arms then it would be to buy a pair of front shocks from Motowoz.

Doug

[D Bergstrom]

As far as Fox Evols, my opinion is they are good shocks, but they are not perfect. They use generic valving, meaning that the valving in them is the same no matter what, they don't vary it for type of riding or skill level, guess they feel the air chambers offer enough adjustment. I have owned two sets of Evols onone of my 450R's, and both times all I was asked was what quad and what a-arms. In my opinion, valving should vary based on your tyep of riding and skill level. I think that is why I was never totally happy with them. Yes, they worked well, but I could just never get them perfect. I feel they needed a revalve. Instead, I bought a set of Motowoz for my 450R and never looked back, much better setup shock in my opinion. If I revalved the Evol's I may have had a different opinion, but I feel if I buy a new set of shocks I shouldn't have to revalve them.

Service wise, I never had an issue with Evols, never leaked any air or any other problems. I just checked the air in them before every ride and that was it. The other issue you will have is if you call Fox and want to order Evol's for a 250R, they will tell you they don't make them for a 250R. You will need to determine your shock compressed and extened lengths, and then cross reference with Fox an see if they will work. Even then, I feel you would have to get a revalve to get them working perfectly.

Doug

[Dezsled]

Man I must have been asleep at the wheel for awhile to have missed this build!

Way nice work Doug! Desert racers are tough sumbiches that do it for miles and miles!