Used ATV | UTV And Snowmobile Shock Q&A

Before I Start

This is a very in-depth conversation with a lot of variables and a lot of opinions. We will give you our input, a look from a shock repair/builder perspective. I am going to write this as a Q&A to help break it down a little easier. This is a MUST-read for anyone who is looking to purchase used shocks for their machine to try and restore ride quality or replace a suspected bad shock. If you’re looking for an upgrade, you’re in a different boat, and toward the bottom of this Q&A, you will find a few answers for you.

General Q&A

First, see if your machine has rebuildable shocks on it. If it does and you’re simply replacing your shocks to restore ride quality or to fix a blown shock, REBUILD your shocks. It’s around 60% cheaper to rebuild than to purchase new rebuildable shocks. Sleds, ATVs, dirt bikes, and SXS have rebuildable shocks for a reason – to have them rebuilt, revalved, and repaired to restore ride quality to factory levels and/or improve them to suit you’re riding style and needs.

With purchasing comes added cost because you are purchasing shocks that have to be kept on the shelf and rebuilt/built when ordered. Plus, the fact that you are purchasing every part of that shock, not just the seals and hardware to rebuild it. This cannot be stressed enough. Shock service and rebuild should be part of preseason maintenance if you have rebuildable shocks to prevent downtime during the season.

We probably are not the company for you. We sell only quality rebuildable shocks, new and used, from companies like FOX, WALKER EVANS, RYDE FX, KYB, HPG, ELKA, CUSTOM AXIS, OHLINS, ACT, and EXIT, just to name a few. These shocks allow the ability to restore ride quality, repair and valve the shock to your needs, unlike the non-rebuildables which, when the oil is bad, the shock is thrown away.

It seems like there was always that so-called lack of a good medium/ middle-of-the-road option, so that’s what we targeted. For SXS, ATV, and sled owners, we provide fully rebuilt shocks at prices that are close to the super-china non-rebuildable replacement. Do the shocks have some bumps, bruises, and stickers missing? Yes, most definitely, but in most used rebuilt applications, these shocks work better while working and riding, and are longer lasting than new.

 

Used and used rebuilt are two totally different things. Consider this: would you replace your bald tire on your truck with another bald tire? NO! Shocks are the same way, but you can’t see the wear on/in them. Seemingly, every used shock from a salvage yard or the guy on Marketplace has around 500 miles or less on it. This is the real world, and usually those machines are being parted out because there is some major issue that usually comes with miles/ abuse. The oil is the wear item on shocks. When the shock gets stroked, oil is forced through ports, causing heating to the oil and thus eventually causing loss of viscosity, which changes damping and rebound quality. Dirty/ used oil is what causes ride quality to decrease, freezing issues, rear-end bucking, rear-end sag, and fast fade during a ride. When the amount of use of the shock is unknown to you, it needs to be serviced before being put to use. This gives you a baseline and takes the questionability of the shock as the issue out of the equation.

 

Our shocks are all sold fully rebuilt, with new seals, Amsoil shock therapy oil of the correct weight, nitrogen, and carry a 1-year unlimited mileage warranty. We also ensure spring preload adjuster operation, clicker operation, and bushings/spherical eyelet bearings are free of major play and damage. On Fox units with the needle pellet, we replace them with the Schrader cap upgrade for reliability. This is a 100% hydraulically and operationally new shock that has a warranty to back it up.
Yes, physical exterior and cosmetic imperfections are what bring the price down on these used units; most of the time, it’s dings, scratches, and stickers missing. These shocks are NOT perfect, that’s also why they are not new prices. Everything is 100% hydraulically rebuilt, checked, and warrantied. We do our best to clean them up and make them look presentable, but the fact of the matter is, they perform and function 100%. If you’re purchasing from us, ask for a picture before shipment. I understand some areas of some machines are more cosmetically important than others, snowmobile front ski shocks, for example, we take care to ensure these are cosmetically more appealing than track shocks normally.

Just like the tire analogy, you wouldn’t replace a bald tire with another bald tire. Don’t replace a used shock with another used NON-rebuilt shock. Have it serviced before install, save yourself the headache and hassle, and ride quality disappointment.

We get this a lot. There are a lot of variables here. Shaft travel, eyelet style, bushing/bearing style, coil over?, piggyback, remote rezzi, working load to determine shaft/body size, bump stop, just to name some of the things that go into making that 18” shock usable for your application. Shocks are NOT a “one size fits all”.

Whether you spent $27,000 or $1,000 on a machine, the shocks and suspension are the one thing that is protecting it from destruction from the terrain you ride in. Blown shocks have led to more broken frames, broken shock mounts, worn/failed ball joints, wheel bearings, tie rods, squeaks, rattles, and issues than anything else on these machines. Without proper dampening, something is going to break; it’s only a matter of time. Plus, wouldn’t you want the most comfortable ride in the meantime?