Elka stage 5 shock

[arjayes]

There was a group buy opportunity back in May/June of this year for this shock. For those of you who took the plunge, what's been your experience so far? There has been zero feedback here on this shock that I've seen.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Don in Lodi]

::017::

 

[low drag]

I'm in the market for a rear shock, I'll be interested to read the feedback.

 

[arjayes]

There was a group buy opportunity back in May/June of this year for this shock. For those of you who took the plunge, what's been your experience so far? There has been zero feedback here on this shock that I've seen.

Thanks,
Bob

I should have done a search before I posted. A couple of Elka owners have posted comments about the shock - all positive. But those were just first impressions immediately after installing it. I'd love to hear some longer-term feedback, sag numbers, clicker settings being used, etc.

Full disclosure: I own the shock, but was not able to get the sag where I wanted it when I installed it back in July. Based on posts in this forum I was shooting for around 55mm of rider sag. I was at 71mm with the preload maxed out. Static sag was 34mm. Spring rate is 850 lbs/in and I'm around 210 lbs naked. John Ilkiw at Elka is willing to give me a stiffer spring, but I wanted to work with a suspension shop first to make sure I get the right spring rate and to help me get all the settings dialed in after the new spring is installed. Five months later and that has not happened yet (my bad).

As things stand now I'm wondering why I spent the cash for this "upgrade". I was happier with the OEM shock. But that's not fair because I don't have the Elka set up correctly. That's why I'm looking for info from some of those happy Elka owners. I finally have some time to put into this effort and I want to get it right.

 

[Bushyar15]

I think once you have it set-up you'll be happier with it. Not that I own an aftermarket shock yet. But just tuning the stock suspension on my bike for my riding style and weight has made a 100% change for the better. I don't now feel I absolutely need a new shock...

My experience with that spring rate of 850lbs is the same as yours although I'm running the stock shock. I weigh just a tad more than you and with my normal "day/overnight" load its maxed out to get proper sag...

 

[navynuke]

I have it, and John over at Elka worked with me through quite a few problems/errors from Elka. Took most of the summer before the shock was installed/setup well.

Now it's great, much better ride and smoother than the rear. I have a stiffer spring, that is almost too stiff for me when running without bags or a passenger, but it's about perfect once I put any load on.

Now the front end feels pretty harsh and needs improvement, but I will deal with one thing at a time.

 

[tubebender]

Yeah, there is something amiss. I can get correct sag with an 800 spring and we weigh the same.

What are you doing Saturday? I'll be at a freinds machine shop in El Cajon wrenching on bikes all day.

 

[arjayes]

Yeah, there is something amiss. I can get correct sag with an 800 spring and we weigh the same.

What are you doing Saturday? I'll be at a freinds machine shop in El Cajon wrenching on bikes all day.

Hi Carl -

I'd love to have someone who knows more than I do look at my setup, and I can definitely get to El Cajon on Saturday. Is this an Eagle Mike tech day? I'll PM you for the details.

Thanks!
Bob

 

[Doug C]

I got in on the group buy for this shock when it was introduced. Now about 20,000 km on it. Initial impression was that it felt stiff compared to my original shock. After a bit of back and forth with John it turns out the rebound damping was not adjusted correctly. Now adjusted about mid way in its range and very happy. Adjustments all are noticeable and easily done. My shock came with an 850 lb spring with spring preload approx 1/4" I measured sag at 80 mm. The improved rear suspension did point out that improvements were needed in the front. Luckily I won a gift certificate for some labour from Konflict Motorsports in Redmond Washington from the PNW super tenere owners group weekend ride in Cle Elum in the summer. Delivered the forks down to Alex just before Christmas and he re valved and changed springs to suit my weight and replaced all the wear parts. Much improved feel and haven't felt as if I would need to make any changes to the set up. 60 mm sag on the front. I'm 175 lbs.