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Ohlin's v. Elka's


Yaxy

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I am looking into the upcoming year and tryign to decide what shocks to get for the new Shee. I have done several searches and readings and it will either be Elka or Ohlins. I mostly trail ride at high speeds but hit a motocross track once in a while so having full adjustable front and rear shocks is a must. I have a 89 with ohlins front and rear with LSR +1+1 arms and the machine is great at low and high speeds in soaking up washouts and any square edge I may slam into. I am interested in trying the Elka's because everyone seems to speek highly of them. I want to spend my $1100 in confidence and I am confident in the ohlin set up but just curious if anyone has tried both. Assume that both shocks are set up for my weight and riding style. Thanks!

 

Chris

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I put a set of long travel Piggyback Elkas on last weekend, only got to ride for a couple of hours after I was finished, but defiantely a huge improvement.

 

Definately soaks up the bumps without the shock fade I was getting through whoops.

 

Now I want an Elka Rear Shock to go with it.....

 

Money well spent.

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The elkas on my 'shee had it sittin low and ridin purty then I threw some +2+1 arms on it and I can go twice as fast as a stock chassi'd banshee can. I've ridden 1 'shee w/ ohlins on it (similar setup as mine) and it felt like I was taking the abuse instead of the shocks.

 

 

Mike

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I've never ridden a shee w/ front ohlins, but I've ridden a shee w/ a rear ohlins and I've ridden shees w/ full elkas. I've never ridden such a softer ride then the ohlin rear......I was truely amazed. I currently run Works front triples and stock rear and want new shocks all around as well and have been asking the same question.....My buddy has Elkas all around and I"m not that impressed from his to mine and I"m running a stock rear....I was more impressed w/ the other shee w/ the stock fronts and ohlins rear.....Decisions, decisions, decisions.........anyone else????

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I've never ridden such a softer ride then the ohlin rear.....

yeah but if you take that soft ride and do 60mph down a rutted up up straight youd wish you hadnt, if ya like soft, the stockers fine........ :cheers:

I'm sure he took that shock and ran it hard...have you seen Jason ride. Here's what I think. It comes down to the person who sets the shock up. A couple different shims, different oil weight, different springs, etc... The builder of the shock is as important as the builder of a motor. Just because I have axis doesn't mean the next shee that is "suppose" to be set up the same will ride the same if someone else did the work on his shocks.

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Great opinions guys, I have to agree with some of you on this. I put Ohlins front and rear on in 1998 that were just off the shelf shocks from parts unlimited for $1250.00 total. As banchetta and special blend mentioned the Ohlins are smooth. The back shock is incredible, you name the speed the trail and that shock will soak up everything you throw at it. And then go to a motocross track and I never have to adjust the rear shock, it is just that dam good. I think it is incredible and can't understand or view Elka being any better than a rear Ohlins. Ohlins has always been a high quality shock and even though they may not be as popular in the U.S, over in Europe they dominate the market which happens to be much larger than the US market. So that has got to tell you something.

 

My front ohlins could be tweaked though. They are really good unless you are on a motocross track. THey appear to rebound to quick and since they are only prelaod adjustable there is not much I myself can do about that. I am sure if I bought the full adjustable front shocks that problem woudl be solved.

 

But alot of you are right, setup is everything and especially with the rear I spent a month or so playing to get it right and I could not be more happier, slam into it, very little if any kick, the ass end stays put and keeps gaining traction

 

 

I do like the feature of the SSD Elkas and wish I could get a set for a while and experiment, but my ohlins seem to sit really low and have good sag to them. I have never changed the oil in the shocks and I probably should but the bike still rides smooth.

 

The shocks seem to be priced even and would like to try the Elka's but I would be really pissed if I spent $2000 + and thought my off the shelf ohlins were better. AHHHH this is a tough decision. Is there arny Elka Dealers on here that would take them back if I didn't like them??

 

Chris

Edited by Chris Yax
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banchetta funny thing about that ohlin is,i got it from a friend without knowing any of its history or how it was set up.i bolted it on test rode it,all i had to do was take 3 clicks of rebound out of it.it's only a single rate shock set at the lowest ride hight as possible.i explained what i had to my shock builder+he built me a set of 0 preload ssd dueal rt elkas for the front to compliment the rear.i had the fronts on when you rode it at dumont.what made me get the fronts was i put good suspension all around on my other quad+it was so impresive i did'nt want to ride the shee anymore,so i had to.

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