so, I just got a 17' Brute Force 750 and I was doing my research on tires, shocks, mud flaps, and wheel spacers to put on once the break in period is over. you helped a me a lot with the tire and shocks. now I need to watch how well they both do. I also wanted the lightest radial tire to keep low end power and shocks to prevent roll. its pretty cool that one can go on you tube and find the best info straight from the user-customer. I was up in the air on stage 4 or stage 3 $700.00 difference when buying front and back. stage 3 are on sale.
Nice👍🏻 ordered elkas stage4 fore my 17 grizz se. Should be here this weekend. I am really impressed about the customer service over at elkas. First i ordered shocks fore my 16 kodiak but in the meantime i solde it and got a new 17 grizzly. I call them up and with no problems the pulled them out and made new ones😊 really exited to get them on! Regards from norway✌🏻
I agree the customer service at Elka very professional! shipping was quick but a little expensive on taxes get in to the US. Why am I not surprised. Thanks for the comment and watching!
Had a 16 grizzly wasn't to happy with it. Traded it in on a rzr Xpt4. Now wanting another quad. With Yamaha going back to the 686 I'm once again looking at Yamaha, but not the grizzly. Iooking at the Kodiak with grizzly clutch weights, due to its smaller width and hopefully it will turn better then the grizzly. Grizzly had lots of front-end push, turned like it had 200 lbs on the back rack. Can you explain to me what you think of the Kodiak and why you went to a grizzly? Thanks
Not in the budget this year but next year i want to upgrade to a better shock and those got great reviews from my friends.Hope you'll be happy with them
My buddies have both stage 3 and 4 and they seem to love them. When I'm bouncing around through the ruts they just cruise over them like nothing. I'm sure you'll be happy
Mercenary... Our first ride with the elkas was last week they are nice for sure! we'll get into more detail in the upcoming vid Thanks for the interest!
Unboxing two sets of shocks for two different bikes at the same time? You are braver (have a better memory) than me - lol The Kodiak really really needs a winch. Looks like something missing up front there - lol They look great (on both machines)! And now we all want your honest opinion on how they perform/feel. Thanx for sharin'!
Hey Q.. The first ride on the shocks was last weekend. I didn't want to just post a comment on them thought It would be more interesting to watch the vid and here the wife's and my comments. We commented a little at the beginning and then at the end give our thoughts on what we think. As far as the winch I agree! The wife's birthday is coming up pretty quick so If you need our shipping address let me know!! ?? Oh and don't forget the mounting plate we'll need that too buddy!! HAhahaha PS. They do ride really well!!
Thanks KC. I am looking at the same projects with tires and shocks to fine tune my and mine wife's Grizzlies. I agree fully about the weight of radials. Seems as if the better the tire, the weight goes up by a factor of 2X. Since you have had those tires for a season now, what do you think?
Hi Danny Mc .. So you’re doing the same project that’s cool! Each time we go out I still can’t believe how good these bikes ride with those shocks. On the tires well this is just my opinion but here it goes. I’ll start with the positives the weight they are definite a lightweight tire for a radio. Didn’t notice any decrease in performance when putting these on. Next they do pretty good in the mud better than I thought they would since they’re not really a mud tire. This past few trips I’ve been in the mud quite a bit and I’ve been impressed with how good they have done. Oh and another positive factor was the price compared to other tires these were pretty inexpensive. I mean relatively speaking I think they were around $100 maybe a little less for the fronts. Now what’s not so good about them they’re a little bit stiff for radio I would’ve expected some softer side walls but with that being said they are a six ply tire and I’ve had no puncture issues. The other thing I don’t like about them is the rear tires are wearing pretty quick. This will be the second summer riding season with them and I hope I can get at least three years but I’m not sure if they will last that long. The rear’s are wearing out pretty quick. Another thing I don’t like is the fronts are now shaking at anything above 40 to 45 mpg . Not sure if they’re flat spotted from setting over the winter. But it doesn’t seem to be getting any better so I guess I’ll just have to live with. So I probably won’t buy another set of these. But what would I buy I have no idea I would have to research it again and figure out something else that I would like. I’m not telling you not to buy them they might work out just fine for you guys and you would be happy with them. I don’t regret buying them at all but I will go with something else when these Wear out. Thanks for checking out the video appreciate you watching! Good luck with your projects hope everything goes well happy ridding!! KC.
I like RU-vid because of how you told me what is on your mind in regards to my concern. I am reading about the Interco Reptile, Pit Bull Growler and Kanati Mongrel. All these tires double the weight of the stock tires, so I will just have to get over it or stay with bias. Thanks again for your opinion.
Were these really needed? I have not been on a Kodiak but did have a 16 grizzly. There were several things I didn't like about it, but the suspension was one thing I liked the most. Very smooth plush ride for me, wife and others that rode it. Never bottomed the shocks out either, it was at times ride very aggressively, Been told the Kodiaks ride as good as the grizzly.
Curtis Bull .. I agree with you the suspension on the Yamaha utilities yes is pretty good. They ride even better with the Elka’s. We’ve had them on there for three years now and are super happy with them! It did help the Kodiak a lot, it has shorter control arms than the grizzly. Did not ride as good as the grizzly with factory set up. Thanks for checking out the video!
Hi Are you satisfied with the stage 3 Elkas ??? If you had your time back would you have gotten something different?? I have a 2017 grizzly as well. Cheers Duane
Hi, Duane .. Yup I am satisfied, for our type of riding these shocks have worked out just fine. Once I got the compression adjustment set to where I like it I really haven't made any adjustments to them sense. So yes I probably would go with the same stage 3 set again. What would be best for your bike it really depends on the type of riding you do. The factory shocks have much more stiffer compression on the shocks then these shocks do. I think factory shocks are set up so it won't bottom out if you take a small jump off a berm or something. I have the shocks set on a pretty soft compression and if I take a small jump it will bottom out. So if you're going to do pretty aggressive riding where you might do jumps and stuff you may want to go with I think it's stage 5 where you have a high-speed compression adjustment. Hope that info helps you out and thanks for watching and commenting greatly appreciated!
it's good you thought of the weight of the tires .....most people do not do that they just get them and go by the tread only..... great video.... btw which quad is quicker... kodiak or grizzly...?
Hey, mikeatc33 .. Yup i'am always concerned about adding more wight to the bike. Thanks! Glad you liked the video! They both run about the same speed a little over 60 mph . But the grizzly gets there quicker with the lighter clutch weights. Thanks for checking out the vid appreciated!
Hey,Joe Bob.. yes you can put grizzly weights on the kodiak. The clutches are identical other then the weights. The shocks are great really improved ride I'm happy with them. Thanks for watchin!
Hey, Ted .. Thank you on the garage! The black mudflap is something I made out of flexible plastic. It’s used in dirt track racing. It comes in a 2 foot wide roll you buy it by the foot comes in all different colors. You can buy it online at speedway motors.com. Hope that helps you and thanks for checking out the video much appreciated!!
How does the pre set rebound feel? Quick enough for rough stuff but you don’t get bucked on jumps? Coming from mountain bike suspension which is SUPER sensitive so I’m curious.
The rebound setting is actually really well balanced compared to the factory shocks. The factory shocks literally have no rebound so it bucks up on bumps. These shocks have quite a bit of rebound so they don’t bounce back up. I’m sure Elka done a lot of research and knows where to put the rebound for trail riding. Hope that helps you thanks for watching!
strange I see the elka shocks stage 3's here on a website here in Canada says they have a rebound and compression setting gotta double check this but I'm pretty sure.
I put a set of stage 4 on my Rincon, and it made a huge difference in the speed which I can balm the trails. You have to increase your speed quit a bit to notice the major difference. Putting around with them, you won't get any benefit.
Hi, I live in Nl canada and have a 2015 Honda Rubicon. I was looking at getting the exact same shocks from Elka. Very curious how they have worked out for you?? I am trying to improve ride quality for comfort primarily. I use my atv for casual riding and hunting...What is your HONEST opinion so far??? Thanks Duane
Hey Duane.. Well let's just say the suspension on the two bikes we have was pretty good from the factory. I didn't know if It would be much of an improvement. I think where the improvement is. Is in the "shock" not necessary the spring. The factory shocks were to stiff on compression and not enough rebound. Not sure how the Honda shocks are set up? Yes I'm happy I bought them. The ride was improved quit a bit! Be sure and check out first ride with the Elka shocks vid coming up I talk about them in the vid. Thanks for commenting!! KC.
Greetings! I have a 2021 Grizzly SE, getting ready to order the Elka Stage 3's and wanted to see , since you had these now a few years , how are you liking them, are they worth the $$$ thanks charlie Thank you for the Video!
Hi Charlie, yes I’m still happy with the Elka’s. This will be the sixth year running them. There is more maintenance that needs to be done to these over the factory shocks. I power wash clean and lubricate with dry lubricate the spring slider after every ride trip. Also I lubricate the bearings where the shock mounts about once a year. The riding and handling is so much improved they are well worth it! Thanks for checking out the video.
what's your thoughts on the elka shocks and gvc tires and should I get stage 4 or are stage 3 just fine. I ride a lot like you on trails with the occasional burst of action
Hey, Dan.. After reading your comment on how you ride. If you want to try and control body roll you probably would be better off going with at least stage 4 That way you can put some extra rebound in the fronts and rears. That would help with body roll when cornering. I was mainly concerned with ride quality and buying 2 sets at once was pretty expensive! The ride IS much improved especially over bigger bumps! When ordering give them as much details as possible so they can build them to fit your type of riding. As far as the tires the GBC do ride well and are light weight. But they are wearing out pretty quick. We've been on three riding weekends that's basically 6-7 day of riding and they are showing pretty good signs of wear! I think the next tires I would like to try is the (Maxxis Bighorn 3.0) there a new tires they just came out with they look pretty cool! Alright bud hope that helps ya any other questions? Let me know and thanks for checking out the videos appreciated!!
How much height could you potentially gain off these shocks? I want to add an extra couple of inches after the HL lift kit and was wondering if these shocks could add atleast an inch
Yes absolutely I have no regrets with buying the Alka shocks. They’ve been on there for five years now with no issues. The only thing that has worn out on them is the bearing where they bolt to the control arm. But you don’t have to replace the whole shock, can just install a new bearing on the ends. Hope that helps you out thanks for checking out the video.
They are still doing great. The only thing that has worn out is the bearing where they bolt to the control arm. Water gets past the seal and caused the bearing to rust and then squeak then wear out. They are now loose, I need to replace a couple of the bearings. One good thing you can replace the bearing don’t have to replace the whole shock. I should do a video on it I’m thinking? Thanks for checking out the video!
@@kcatv9556 Thanks for the feedback on them. With that knowledge sounds like they should be cleaned out yearly and repacked with new grease. I think that would be a good thing to post a video of. Not a lot of people know how to press a bearing in & out properly.
@@440cubicinch Yup I’ve done that process a couple of times relubricate the lower end. You Have to knock out the bearing reducer for the 10 mm shock bolt. Then The seals come out. you can get to the bearing and lubricate it. I always thought about doing a video of that procedure, but I was too lazy to film it. LOL I don’t have the new bearings yet still need to order them from Elka.
@@kcatv9556 I take they are needle bearings?? If you knock one out you should be able to match the size up from a local bearing store or internet search.
Any idea on the 2016 - 2018 Grizzly what Yamaha says the bolts that attach the shocks should be tightened to in Ft/Lbs of Torque? I dont have the OEM service manual, only the owner's manual. Thanks!
Wow that's awesome buddy you won't be disappointed! We're going on the second year with -em Still love them! I think our bikes ride better than our buddies Polaris bikes. Hahahaha They're jealous but they won't admit it. No just kidding , well maybe not!
Haha not quite, most everything is pretty good on the grizzly and Kodiak. The factory shocks are junk though. You can throw them away. Thanks for checking out the video!
Hi NM650XMR For the type of riding we do yes I'm still happy with them, well worth the money so much of an improvement over stock. Thanks for checking out the vid much appreciated!
Hey, Michael.. I bought the tires from atvtirestore.com They had the best prices had them in stock and shipped the same day I ordered. Hope that helps ya. Thanks for watching!
