Cheap RFY shocks

[wildbob]

So, I bought a pair of 320mm front and 340mm rear cheap rfy shocks on ebay. I plan to tear 'em down, fill with decent shock oil (suggestions in oil wt requested) and have them filled with nitrogen (psi suggestions requested) and try 'em out. I'll be buying some Works shocks later, but I need a project and they can't be too much worse than the stock shocks..

[wildbob]

looks like the reservoir on the fronts will encroach into the cabin a bit..

[351mustanger]

99% of the motorcycle shocks I rebuild require a 142psi nitrogen charge. You will have to take it to a shop that can charge shocks (most likely a motorcycle shop) to have it done. I don't think any of the tire places can get much above 90psi, plus it needs to be charged using a "no loss" chuck. I use a 20lbs nitrogen tank w/regulator and a set of ac manifold gauges along with a no loss chuck. That is a about $300 for that set up, unless you already have a nitrogen tank. A shop shouldn't charge any more than $10 to charge a shock, especially if you are bringing four in for the service. As far as oil goes, I am partial to kayaba shock oil. KYB K2C it is about $20 a quart. You could probably do all four with 2 quarts. I would get 3 if it is your first time rebuilding, as you may have a re-do. Make sure to check some videos on shock rebuilds. The bleeding is an important step, and needs to be done a certain way. You may need to buy, or make, a special tool to remove the rebound adjuster. If you have to change seals, you will need to do some grinding. An oil change and recharge should not require grinding.

[wildbob]

They're on.

[liduno]

So is it a Cadillac now?

[wildbob]

Haven't had a chance to take 'em in the dirt yet, and they're probably in need of some pre-load, but so far I like them. There's a dude who services these cheapie's with better seals/oil and nitrogen for $75/pair and $55/pair there on out. I'm impatient so I just bolted these on..

[wildbob]

Took it for a rip to tune my carb. just straight runs with a slight curve and a couple bumps. Right now they feel maybe too soft? dunno definitely a better ride though. completely different from the stock springs. my intake kept falling off so I didn't get to really test 'em..

[wildbob]

So, definitely too soft in back. Back bottoms out on bumps and knocks off my filter and velocity stack. Tried cranking down on the preload, but I'm gonna have to invest in a spring compressor, because after a point the cylinder on the inside started unscrewing from the top and leaking oil. I like them, I just gotta get 'em a bit stiffer..

[liduno]

Maybe try to tighten the top lock nut up to the top part of the shock.

[wildbob]

It's a FAIL.. Even cranked down all the way these babies are just too soft. Cargo rack kept smacking off my air filter/stack. Hammerhead released some nitro shocks that will fit my buggies rear, I'll try those.

[x-bird]

Originally Posted by wildbob

it's a fail.. Even cranked down all the way these babies are just too soft. Cargo rack kept smacking off my air filter/stack. Hammerhead released some nitro shocks that will fit my buggies rear, i'll try those.

easy solution, chop the rack ... :d

[ckau]

I got some of these to play around with. The fronts were o-k maybe a touch soft but the rears were way, way too stiff! Almost like I had no absorbing at all. I wonder what's the difference in our shocks? Color denoting stiffness? length making a difference?
Though mine is a single seat it has been beefed up and reinforced so much I doubt there is that much of a weight difference between our two buggies.
I'm kinda thinking due to the bargain price, the manufacturer just throws on any kind of spring they get their hands on, not being concerned with spring rates and all that techy stuff. Just shooting for the bling factor and not very performance concerned.

[wildbob]

Hmm.. yours don't even look like they've had the preload cranked down at all.. I spun that nut down on the springs till I ran outta threads.. Still super soft.

[SYCARMS]

Are your rear shocks the same length as the old ones? The reason I ask is in 2009 we put a set of Honda 350 rancher shocks on my son's buggy. They were 1" longer and had no problem mounting them. They had a much softer ride than the stock shocks. We were at the bash and every time he hit a good bump the the buggy would act like it run out of fuel. Both the carb and filter were hanging loose. I figured the shocks were too soft and bottoming out causing the redneck intake to hit the frame pulling both it and the carb out of the rubber. After several attempts I had 3 people really push down on the rear rack at the same time at once with all their weight and they were big guys. Shocks did not bottom and everything stayed as was. So out we go again and before we got to the trail head it happened again. Back to camp flustered now drinking heavily scratching my head as well as other parts my son put the carb and filter back on and about 5 people stood around staring at it not knowing what was causing it. Don't know if it was the alcohol or the rash I was giving my self from scratching, I just had this impossible hunch and had 2 people lift up the buggy using the rack. The bar across was pulling the redneck intake off but the carb would hit the fuel tank knocking the carb loose from the intake. Naturally the original shocks were 386 miles south and although we combined had enough parts to build a complete buggy nobody had shocks.

[x-bird]

Just looking at yours and ckaus springs i can tell you that you have some pretty soft rate progressives and ckaus look to be pretty much a linear rate. Where your spring coils are closer is your softest portion of travel, i'll put odds on that when you sit in it, the close coils are just about fully touching. If you look at ckau's you'll see the coils are consistent space top to bottom. you're remind me of the arctic cat sled springs i have. they were fine up front, but way too soft at the back. The shocks themselves just control the damping, spring rate is what you need to get fixed. Measure the id and hunt around for some used linear yellow atv springs of the same length and ID.

[wildbob]

I dont know.. I Put on the new gas shocks from hammerhead and those were too soft as well. I ended up replacing the motor mount long bolt with two shorter bolts and ditching the intake riser, so the stack goes under the bar. I'll test it tomorrow..

[sjs514]

You guys seem to have been using these buggys for quite some time. I just recently got into driving these 150's, ridden dirt bikes and mountain bikes a lot but nothing with four wheels. Where we ride our Trailmasters is pretty rough doubletrack and I think the original shocks are not too good. What works well on these buggys? Are the stock shocks too soft, too hard or just poorly dampened? The karts are very bouncy. Thanks for any help you can give us.

[x-bird]

most of the stock shocks fall into the line of being a spring with a little bit of air/oil damping that's not really well-suited to continual "action". Some have no damping at all and are nothing more than springs like a pogo stick. as has been touched on in many threads, sled and atv shocks are a significant upgrade. the key is to get the correct spring rate for your ride. I stick with Fox shocks so i can rebuild and modify the damping rate.

[sjs514]

From reading the posts from you senior drivers I thought that might be the case. Anyone know what ATV shocks would work and fit the Trailmaster 150's?

[x-bird]

best bet is to unload the suspension so the shock is fully extended and get your eye-to eye measurement (on the centers of the bolt holes) most used shocks are advertised with that measurement. both atvs and sleds use lighter rate front springs. i found that the sled springs suited the front, and front atv springs suited the rear fairly well. even then though i played around with modding my springs, more so at the rear. one set that did really well up front was from an old 80s arctic cat z500 sled iirc. those are going on my latest build however, those are a wider diameter spring than most out there nowadays and require a unique set of retainer cups. very similar to the springs found on polaris trailboss 250s front struts of the 80s.

[sjs514]

What do you think about these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301725517730...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271969739110...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They are both around the correct length and the mounting eye is close to the correct width.

[x-bird]

id stay away from them for 3 reasons.

progressive rate springs. pressure rate increases as you get deeper into the travel -- you want single rate

not rebuildable, no way to fine tune or replace parts or change oil or internal pressure

limited preload adjustment. 5 clicks is all you get.

[x-bird]

depends on your lengths, same general budget ---candidates for fronts:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GC-Fox-Shock...JYGR61&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-Arctic-Ca...BYKn72&vxp=mtr


rear--progressive rate springs---not so much of an issue at the rear
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Predato...NYKyOD&vxp=mtr

when buying used, number 1 thing to watch out for is shaft condition. don't buy any with visible rust, pitting, scoring or bends. they can be replaced, but cost about $55 per shaft new.

[sjs514]

Thank you for that info, really helpful. One last question (maybe), when doing an ebay search on this kind of shock what keywords are you using? Thanks.

[x-bird]

i use the advanced search and select Used option with terms. "fox shocks", "arctic cat shocks" and "predator shocks" Fox made/makes the arctic cat shocks, they're sometimes referred to as ACT shocks.

[sjs514]

Thank you.