TK’S Shocks FAQ
First, service is the most important service for any High pressure gas shock, the wear bands, and any contaminates left over from the manufacturing and machining of the shock as well as sub-par OEM shock oil all lead up to a quick first service on shocks. Every manufacture is different but,
Hpg/Kyb, Showa are the soonest for the first change usually recommended before 1000 miles or 2 years
Fox: uses a variety of oil In there shocks, steel body shocks require sooner servicing than the zero pro units roughly 1500 miles or 2 years
Walker Evans: also is best done before the 1500 mile 2 year mark.
After the first service depending on use the oil will last between 2000-3000 miles. The more oil the shock holds the longer the oil will remain at the original viscosity. Clicker settings play a large part in oil life as well, the firmer you have the clickers set the more it restricts oil flow therefore more heat and sooner breakdown. Of course racing applications and extremely aggressive riders require the most frequent servicing.
We use exclusively Amsoil shock therapy oil, 10w and 5w. The application and valving determines the weight oil.
Valving is setting up the dampening characteristics of the shock to the rider and machines specific desires and needs. That information is provided to us by the rider. We can only valve a shock according to the information provided, springs, tires, extra accessory’s, rider weight and type of riding is all taken into the equation. By far the best and most helpful information is given in the form of rider input, what are you feeling that you do or do not like, bucking in the rear, to stiff, diving in corners, that allows us to make the changes to the machine that you want changed. Take into consideration oil life will affect shock performance so if you’re riding on shock that have 5 years of service with 3000 miles under their belt, its best to reestablish your baseline get them back up and working then tackle valving.
We will work on select machines, Depending on our work load at the time as well as the machine we just don’t have time to dedicate to the physical removal of the shock from all of our customers vehicles, with that said we work with almost all local and non-local mechanics and repair facilities who can remove and drop off, or ship your shocks in for service.
Yes we do offer this service but we need an advance notice, we ask for at least 3 day notice to try and squeeze in a same day service. Also we don’t like to get into anything that looks like it could be extremely time consuming and in need of extensive parts for a same day service for obvious reasons. A standard shock rebuild usually takes about 20 minutes we usually ask for at least 2hrs to do most same day services to allow us to finish what we are in the middle of and assit walk in customers before and during your shock service
Probably one of the most common questions , the real answer is this is all rider preference there is no magic spring preload or clicker number we can give u that is going to be perfect fit for you. When you receive the shocks from any service the clickers will be ether set full soft or full hard from the bleeding process, we suggest starting in the middle and tuning from there. Go multiple clicks in whatever direction (In or tighten for firmer/slower, out or loosen for softer/ faster) to get a feel for what the machine is doing and adjust accordingly. ONLY MAKE 1 ADJUSTMENT AT A TIME, don’t do 3 clicks of compression and 2 of rebound and add .5” of preload at the same time you won’t know what actually made the ride better or worse. Preload settings are different between each manufacture we can get you a measurement or a google search will usually give you the numbers needed to get ride height set.
We get this question a lot, We can’t stress enough do shocks in at the very least pairs if not a complete machine when possible. The reason being is shock ride quality and action are affected by a variety of things when we talk about a standard rebuild, shock oil life and viscosity being the biggest, if 1 shock has oil that has 2k miles on it and 1 is fresh you will get a lot of handling issues – broken sway bars and dangerous braking and traction conditions. Its like changing 1 brake pad on a caliper you just don’t do, it think of shocks as the same.
That varies but normally it is about 4-7 business days , during s
That varies but normally it is about 4-7 business days, during snowmobile fall preseason October-December and spring racing season prep we are by far the busiest March-May lead times can really swing its always best to double check before sending your shocks any time of the year.
We accept all major credit cards over the phone or an invoice send to you via email you can click on an pay with credit card or PayPal. Also accept venom, check by mail and cash. We create the invoice after shock work is complete and contact you with the total. We will do 10% down of a quoted price to start a build if we need to order parts prior to the shocks being in our possession. Basically this try’s to ensure turn around doesn’t get delayed by parts that need ordering.
No. Rebuild is the hydraulic portion of the shock, if you need eyelet bushings or bearings we can normally get them or have them in stock and can add them to the final bill
That’s a 2 sided question, while a lot of retrofits are possible and can be a great alternative to new shocks there are so many machines, models , years and shocks that it is impossible for us to know every machines retrofit. We can help with measurement’s and input on whether or not a specific shock will or will not work in certain situations but not any old shock will just bolt up to any machine. We get this a lot “ Hi I need a 16” shock” that is like saying I want to buy a car to us, there are so many options and variables to consider, eyelet clearance, bushing type, travel, body length, remote rezzi, monotube, piggyback, clicker adjustment, coil over or straight shock, size of coil spring and preload adjuster type.
On the other hand we get a lot of hey I have a set of Walker Evans I want to install on my skidoo or I want yz125 shocks for rear of my rzr 800. We have build sheets on those units to tell us what needs done to the extend length, bushing changes, valving changes, spring choices and mounting to make them a bolt on application for you.
Hell yea I ride whenever and as much as I can, winter and summer. While not as fast as I once was with past injury’s slowing me down we certainly test what we sell and if it doesn’t cut the mustard you aren’t buying it from us. I can’t tell you how much money I have wasted over the years for false promises and poorly designed/ built products. Hopefully some of that knowledge I can pass on to my customers to save them the troubles I have had.
As far as what I ride I am not a brand loyal guy I ride whatever is being tested at the time at our shop. There are definitely machines that I prefer and machine I do not in every brand. I also enjoy doing salvage and wrecked machines, this gives me an opportunity to try a lot of different machines, and try a lot of different suspension options on the hot ride at the time.
Growing up with power sports we learned quickly if you want to ride them you need to fix them, so we started to repair our own machines which led to repairing other machines, then racing and riding a lot and in turn a lot of in depth suspension work and tuning. This quickly led to finding out shipping every other weekend was not going to cut it. So one thing led to another doing our own shocks then friends and racing buddy’s then OEM dealer and local repair facilities to carrying a multiple full lines of aftermarket shocks, stocked parts and every oem shock seal that we have ran across.
I do have a full time job as well so if you call and I do not answer leave me a message I’ll call you back when I am free. While having a full time job we can’t do the volume a lot of larger fully dedicated shops can do it also allows us to have lower markup on parts and service because we don’t have bills to pay, loans to satisfy and payroll to make. It also has allowed us to accumulate a large in stock inventory to make turnarounds faster.