tfaith08

Mine perform wonderfully. Not perfect, but more than good enough to keep from holding me back. They'll be sent out when they're blown.

Shit's gonna blow, then bhq is gonna be blamed because of "poor piston recommendations."

That is sexy AF. Wish I had the money. GLWS.

This is the preferred route. The difference in an MX and XC is almost entirely about spring and valving until it gets to you for the setup. On the topic of the Banshee, you really only have the Alba arms that have the gullwing design to them that I know of. Beyond that, you're just going to have to pick a brand to go with. LSR, Laeger, Roll Design, Fireball... It is enough of a difference that people who rarely actually race drop thousands on suspension. I don't know of anyone who has been on aftermarket suspension and remained content with the stock setup. Buy used. If you don't like it, sell it and cover all of your money (give or take).

^ I agree with all of that. You can have an awesome suspension setup for $1k, but my advice is always to spend as much as you can come to terms with on suspension. For the recreational rider, $1k is sufficient. As stated above, anything aftermarket is a huge improvement over stock. Works are good shocks, but they're not the best. I'd search around for some Elka or Fox shocks. Fireball arms are good and I love my LSR arms, but LSR (or just about any a-arms) is gonna blow your budget if you buy new. I'd go with used arms and find some shocks that are setup pretty close to them. If you wanna buy new and stay close to that budget, I'd go with some Alba arms and some Fox Floats or Elka stage 1s.

That's what I was gonna say.

The shop will need the pistons before boring so that the cylinders are bored to spec. If they say that they don't need them, go somewhere else. Also, why are you going to 66mm? If it is for performance purposes, don't. If the cylinders actually need that much taken out of them, then go ahead. I don't know anything about fireball heads. If it used PD domes, I'd stick with it. On an otherwise stock engine, the domes will be dictated by fuel choice and evelation. What is the elveation where you currently ride and what fuel are you going to use?

In the case of a screwed engine and a shady shop to deal with, it would be best to drop the $200 in shipping to and from a site sponsor.

Who ported them? What type of riding will you be doing? That will dictate carb and pipe selection.

Well if you must buy a new chain, I recommend 2 Chainz.

I'm almost sure all the pre-YFZR calipers are the same, but the master cylinders are different for 07 and up (which is the one you want).

I'd just get new sprockets since the chain and sprockets wear together. This will make your chain basically a new chain.

I'm at 151psi with 21cc domes at 146'ASL on 93. I'm on +4 timing and have no pitting either. I'd believe that you'd be alright with 21s anywhere.

The YFZR spindles apparently bolt up and work very well and they're made of aluminum iirc. I'm passively looking for a set.

Was that stage 4 from the factory? Elka is known to send out shit setups from time to time. They really shine when they're setup by another shop, which is why I'm waiting on mine to blow.

If it's a matter of whether you think you may be disappointed in your purchase, just go ahead and drop that thought. It's well worth it.

I don't know the commonly accepted answer for how XC setups do on a track, but I find myself bottoming out with anything other than perfect landings once I get to 60' or more.

The Elka deal sounds like the way to go. If you go XC, be forewarned that some people (including me) have gotten somewhat soft setups. It's great until it gets too rough.

Don't get me wrong, I think he should upgrade, but dropping $2500 on suspension isn't a wise investment if you aren't riding enough to stay familiar with your machine. Works or those stage 3s would be more than enough in that case.

Not if that 12 year old rides 5 times over 3 years. It's another version of what I described above: I can't ride to the limits of my Elka 3s, but I'd most likely be faster on a set of Elka 5s or Evols. OP, I jsut looked and it said you ride 3-4 times a month and then that you've ridden 5 times in 3 years. That is a substantial difference in capability. If you ride 3-4 times a month, you may want a set of Evols or Axis. If you don't ride any more than twice a year, used Works would be more than enough.

If you don't ride any more than that, you probably aren't riding hard enough to find the limits of the current setup. Used works would be a better choice in that case.

What's your location? My recommendation is to go get it and pay whatever is owed at this point. Tell him that you had something come up and you want to get it before the bill gets too high for you to pay it. Once you do that, come back and let us know. We'll go from there.

If I had it to do over again, I'd go with some used long travel Evols off of a YFZ page and some Fireball arms built for them. Get an Axis rear setup for swingarm length of choice. If you need more than that, you need a new platform.

If you can't notice the difference between the rear shock that you currently have and an aftermarket shock, I want the rear shock you currently have. I could notice the difference just riding around the yard in first gear. I say to spend as much as you can possibly swing because you'll never know how much faster you could have been if you buy only what you deem as sufficient at this point. I can't ride to what my Elka 3s are capable of, but I could potentially be faster on some Evols or Stage 5s. When I went from stock to Works, I got much faster but still couldn't ride to what the Works are truly capable of. I got even faster with the Elkas and can't ride to what they can do. It makes me wonder how well off I'd be if I'd dropped another $500... It gets to a point where you'd be chasing what 450s do in stock form though. Hell, I could have bought a used YFZR for what I currently have in suspension.

IMO, there's no way to spend too much on suspension (given that you don't overpay for what you get). For what they do, you can't beat all 3 Elkas for $999. I'd add the rebound adjustment for around $200 more. They work night and day better than my Works ever did. I'd go with Evols though. After riding on everything but King shocks, they seem to work the best and you have more adjustability with them than any other shock. Don't skimp with suspension. Keep saving and get a top-of-the-line set. You won't regret it.