Trax shock. Vs. revalved ?

swatdoc
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swatdoc 12/14/2015 10:49am
12/14/2015 10:49am
Lawrence929 - that's the main reason I'm getting them! With the added bonus of Shane's point that revalved components have zero resale value, nut the CV/Trax stuff won't lose much money with time. Actually cheaper in the long run as long as you can fork out the initial outlay of cash.

When I last asked Billy he said the shocks wouldn't be in until January. I'm waiting for one myself.
KTMShane699
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KTMShane699 12/14/2015 10:53am
12/14/2015 10:53am
Moto520 wrote:
Who has them?
Call Billy at Powerband.

Shane
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Lurk Ing 12/14/2015 11:30am
12/14/2015 11:30am
OR Racer46 wrote:
And this has nothing to do with wanting to Be a pro or anything like that . This is a personal achievement I want to give...
And this has nothing to do with wanting to
Be a pro or anything like that . This is a personal achievement I want to give everything and have no excuses all in for 1 more year . Money is a issue I am
Working side jobs to fund this madness . I am leaning hard on doing the 4cs to Sss conversion
You have guys like Joe and a couple of others who have tried the fork conversion and said it was nearly as good as Cones, so that would be the best choice for the budget with a fork that is nearly as good as it gets and a shock that is a long way better than mod stock and as good as it gets, for me anyway.

All the best with your last big go around.
swatdoc
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swatdoc 12/14/2015 12:00pm
12/14/2015 12:00pm
update - just got off the phone with Billy.
The first shipment from WP all went to factory teams. He will not see any shocks that will be available to customers until April. I just put down a deposit on one, and highly recommend anyone wanting a shock to get a deposit down now - the first batch he gets will probably be pre-sold-out before he even gets them.

The Shop

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Ghost of Jabroni 12/14/2015 1:20pm
12/14/2015 1:20pm Edited Date/Time 12/14/2015 1:23pm
Ghost of Jabroni wrote:
It does sound like a great setup. But nobody has really answered your question. Which if I understood you correctly, was asking if it's really worth...
It does sound like a great setup. But nobody has really answered your question. Which if I understood you correctly, was asking if it's really worth spending $4k more than a $1k fork/shock revalve to get the cone valve/trax shock setup.

I hate the suspension on my Husky. But it's poorly sprung for my weight and so it's only natural Im uncomfortable, especially since I used to have a Honda 250F that I spent about $1200 on the re-valve job with Factory Connection. Sprung right for my weight and with the lowering link, I fell in love with that bike. I will always regret selling it until I take the time to build a custom Husky that fits me the way that Honda did. Ive been lazy and havent done shit to fix up my Husky in 2 years (almost 200hrs) of riding it.

I'd like to think if I spent the same $1200 on another re-valve/lowering link for the 4CS forks on my Husky that I'd be pretty damn happy for a weekend warrior. How much happier am I gonna be if I spend $5k instead? As iMoto31 said, the re-valved shock will never work as well (of course it wont) but it's not like a re-valved shock is not going to be a big improvement that you or I might be really happy with?
KTMShane699 wrote:
The thing is that if you can afford to put the money up front, when you sell your WP A-Kit suspension, you'll lose far less than...
The thing is that if you can afford to put the money up front, when you sell your WP A-Kit suspension, you'll lose far less than the $1200 you spent on a revalve that you'll never recover a penny on. Initial cost, kit suspension is significantly higher. Value wise though, it's difficult to beat. I rode my Ohlins and lost about $400 from what I paid for it when I sold it. I had over that into Factory Connection Revalve, springs and parts even with the discount I received through work.

The other benefit is that depending on how often you get a new bike, you may be able to take your kit suspension to your new bike (provided you save your stock stuff). This saves you the trouble of going through the revalve and respring process all over again. Simply bolt your suspension to the new bike, set the sag and clickers and enjoy. That adds significantly to the value.

Food for thought.

Shane
Really great points. It is sound food for thought.

I guess Im just the kind of guy that doesnt buy a new bike every year. I buy one, fall in love with it, and ride it for 5 years or so. So in my case, the re-sale value isnt a concern.

But tbh, under my scenario, one could justify buying a sweet suspension setup to ride for 5 years and amortize that cost over the life of the bike.

Is the WP A-kit stuff less maintenance/more durable than a simple B-kit revalve?
KTMShane699
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KTMShane699 12/14/2015 1:29pm
12/14/2015 1:29pm
Ghost of Jabroni wrote:
Really great points. It is sound food for thought. I guess Im just the kind of guy that doesnt buy a new bike every year. I...
Really great points. It is sound food for thought.

I guess Im just the kind of guy that doesnt buy a new bike every year. I buy one, fall in love with it, and ride it for 5 years or so. So in my case, the re-sale value isnt a concern.

But tbh, under my scenario, one could justify buying a sweet suspension setup to ride for 5 years and amortize that cost over the life of the bike.

Is the WP A-kit stuff less maintenance/more durable than a simple B-kit revalve?
Even at the end of the five years, your suspension will have some residual value. Maybe not as much as a set that's a year or two old, but it will be there. Amortizing over five years or so would make it a no-brainer for me I think. Your use coupled with whatever residual value and I don't see how you can lose to ride top tier suspension.

As for your maintenance costs, they shouldn't be any higher than any other set of suspension. Typical rebuild parts and oil changes. If you get the 48mm forks, parts are readily available and reasonably priced. If you get the more exotic 52mm forks, parts will be more expensive as they're less readily available.

Hope that clears it up a bit.

Shane
Ghost of Jabroni 12/14/2015 1:56pm
12/14/2015 1:56pm Edited Date/Time 12/14/2015 1:56pm
KTMShane699 wrote:
Even at the end of the five years, your suspension will have some residual value. Maybe not as much as a set that's a year or...
Even at the end of the five years, your suspension will have some residual value. Maybe not as much as a set that's a year or two old, but it will be there. Amortizing over five years or so would make it a no-brainer for me I think. Your use coupled with whatever residual value and I don't see how you can lose to ride top tier suspension.

As for your maintenance costs, they shouldn't be any higher than any other set of suspension. Typical rebuild parts and oil changes. If you get the 48mm forks, parts are readily available and reasonably priced. If you get the more exotic 52mm forks, parts will be more expensive as they're less readily available.

Hope that clears it up a bit.

Shane
Great stuff. Thanks. Youre talking me into blowing $5k right now. Good grief. haha.

The question remains, resale value aside, is the product $4k more fun than just a revalve to the weekend warrior? I dunno the answer to that. And I think that was the original question of this thread.
KTMShane699
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KTMShane699 12/14/2015 2:03pm
12/14/2015 2:03pm
Isn't fun and value a measure that's different for everyone? I think that's such a subjective question, you'll never find a consensus. Too many variables. Anything from ability, wealth, how often you ride, where you ride, etc. that all come into play.

For me, the piece of mind that I'm on the best is worth it. The fact that it's more forgiving than production stuff has a value. I'm not the best rider. To be honest, I'm not even as fast as I used to be. So that leaves me prone to mistakes. Over jumping. Under jumping. I'll take the fact that it might let me get away with a mistake I otherwise wouldn't have gotten away with as a huge value.

Shane
swatdoc
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swatdoc 12/14/2015 2:09pm
12/14/2015 2:09pm
Jabroni - you're missing the point

cost now: revalve - $1K / CV & Trax - $5K
sell in 2 years: revalve - $00 / CV & Trax - $4K
--------------------------------------------------------------------
total cost for 2 yrs: revalve - $1K / CV & Trax - $1K

the figures may need to be adjusted a bit - but the point is you get to use way better suspension, and in the end THE PRICE DIFFERENCE IS NEGLIGIBLE



OR Racer46
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OR Racer46 12/14/2015 2:16pm
12/14/2015 2:16pm
My level is that I am
Not the best. I can qulifiy and make it to Lorretas. And Mammoth I race most of the pro am
Races. . At Lottetas. It's a crap shot. I am a top 20. But honestly feel I can crack top 10 And if everything lines up
And someone crashes I can win . But. I am not a natural. I just work hard at it . With that said I have been blessed with the oputunity to train with some very good ex factory riders this year and I am
Really trying to do my very best. Not just on the bike. The entire deal diet exercise ect ect. I want to see what I have within myself. So I am
Trying to get everything the best that I can
swatdoc
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swatdoc 12/14/2015 2:18pm
12/14/2015 2:18pm
Shane another excellent point!! - I'm not fast either, and in my opinion, this makes it MORE of a reason to have the best suspension I can get (within reason). At a slower speed, I hit ALL the bumps on the track - I skip over NOTHING. And one of the biggest dangers to me on modern tracks is over or under-jumping jumps as you mentioned. With my lower skill level, I simply don't estimate the speed required to perfectly land a double, and often times come up short or go too far - both with VERY painful consequences. Lastly, it's hard to say for sure, but better suspension just might allow me to "save it" during an out-of-shape situation, where lower quality suspension might not. At my age, I'm more easily injured, and take longer to recover. If great suspension prevents even a single injury that would keep me out of work for a month, it could easily pay for itself several times over.

Ghost of Jabroni 12/14/2015 2:24pm
12/14/2015 2:24pm Edited Date/Time 12/14/2015 2:26pm
KTMShane699 wrote:
Isn't fun and value a measure that's different for everyone? I think that's such a subjective question, you'll never find a consensus. Too many variables. Anything...
Isn't fun and value a measure that's different for everyone? I think that's such a subjective question, you'll never find a consensus. Too many variables. Anything from ability, wealth, how often you ride, where you ride, etc. that all come into play.

For me, the piece of mind that I'm on the best is worth it. The fact that it's more forgiving than production stuff has a value. I'm not the best rider. To be honest, I'm not even as fast as I used to be. So that leaves me prone to mistakes. Over jumping. Under jumping. I'll take the fact that it might let me get away with a mistake I otherwise wouldn't have gotten away with as a huge value.

Shane
It's definitely subjective. For all the reasons you listed.

I look at it like this...

You got $1k to spend, where do u spend it first?

You could get a new exhaust. Or you could get a re-valve done.

The exhaust is a waste of money. They look & sound nice. But do absolutely nothing when it comes to performance until your working with a fully re-worked engine, and even then the gains are nominal.

By comparison suspension work is by far the most efficient and needed work done on any new bike. So $1k on suspension work is a no brainer.

It starts to lose it's efficiency when were talking about over $5k of work. Maybe Im wrong. Maybe the OEM stuff is that shitty and if I rode the A-kit stuff I'd understand the value. Im also pretty disciplined about my abilities so Ive rarely crash. That's why Im asking the same question the OP asked. I dont know the answer. In the OP's situation, he's out there trying desperately to win races. He should get the A-kit stuff. He'll make the most use of it and he'll be able to re-sell it. My case is a little different. A-kit seems like it would be more of a novelty. Safer, better performing, good value (much cheaper than other brands A-kit stuff) but still not very efficient cost-to-fun factor. And I say that even though I can easily afford the stuff.

$5k is $5k. It's damn near a leftover TC125 from last year. Which is a REALLY fun bike. I think we can measure cost-fun efficiency if we're honest about the variables.
rocketsocks26 12/14/2015 2:27pm
12/14/2015 2:27pm
OR Racer46 wrote:
And this has nothing to do with wanting to Be a pro or anything like that . This is a personal achievement I want to give...
And this has nothing to do with wanting to
Be a pro or anything like that . This is a personal achievement I want to give everything and have no excuses all in for 1 more year . Money is a issue I am
Working side jobs to fund this madness . I am leaning hard on doing the 4cs to Sss conversion
Tex me 8482102782, ill trade ya my conevalves for your stock plus cash
Ghost of Jabroni 12/14/2015 2:33pm
12/14/2015 2:33pm Edited Date/Time 12/14/2015 2:35pm
swatdoc wrote:
Jabroni - you're missing the point cost now: revalve - $1K / CV & Trax - $5K sell in 2 years: revalve - $00 / CV...
Jabroni - you're missing the point

cost now: revalve - $1K / CV & Trax - $5K
sell in 2 years: revalve - $00 / CV & Trax - $4K
--------------------------------------------------------------------
total cost for 2 yrs: revalve - $1K / CV & Trax - $1K

the figures may need to be adjusted a bit - but the point is you get to use way better suspension, and in the end THE PRICE DIFFERENCE IS NEGLIGIBLE



I fully understand those points.

Re-sale just isnt something that is of huge concern to me. I absolutely HATE selling my bikes and regret EVERY single one Ive ever sold. Ive vowed to never sell another bike I own. (I'll probably break that vow but that doesnt change my intentions). For the OP, as this thread has gone on Im starting to understand his situation more and more, so I think the A-kit is the way to go. Most have given him really good advice here. For me, winning races & re-sale just arent high on the priority list.

I'll admit tho, I am intrigued by this WP A-kit stuff.
KTMShane699
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KTMShane699 12/14/2015 3:41pm
12/14/2015 3:41pm
Think this might be one of the most productive suspension discussions about kit stuff that we've had here. It hasn't digressed massively to the point of hurling insults and deciding who else needs what. Just solid opinions and facts.

There is hope...

Shane
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OR Racer46 12/14/2015 4:48pm
12/14/2015 4:48pm
Agreed and thank you to
Everyone . I am not so concerned about resale. But I do see the point . I guess on a mental point I will know I have the best that I can have within reason . Good bike. Good gear. Good training. It comes down to how bad do I want it . I have a solid group behind me this year that belive in me and that is worth more than money .
lumpy790
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lumpy790 12/14/2015 5:23pm
12/14/2015 5:23pm
Better suspension is cheaper than a ER visit.
OR Racer46
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OR Racer46 12/14/2015 5:29pm
12/14/2015 5:29pm
I wonder if I could get a script written for suspension. Hmm.

Pit Row

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Thelen20
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Thelen20 12/26/2015 10:01am
12/26/2015 10:01am Edited Date/Time 12/26/2015 10:03am
Initial review of wp trax shock vs Stillwell performance revalved stocker . . .

I picked up the trax shock that was for sale on here from MN233. Packaged up safely and shipped quickly! He told me it came off Andrew Short's 2014 outdoor bike and all he had done was soften the compression a bit and set the sag. He wasn't lying, still has Short's setup sticker on it.



He said he goes 175lbs, runs vet expert and it worked well for him, , I am about 180lbs and run vet expert so I shot him a price and we struck a deal!

I finally had a chance to bolt it up to my 2015 250sx on Wednesday afternoon and ride it Thursday morning at a private track that had a few bumps and pretty perfect dirt. No big jumps, only a couple small ones.

During installation at one point I had the stock shock in one hand and the trax shock in the other, I felt a difference so off to the bathroom scales I went.

Stock shock 9.1lbs
Trax shock. 7.9lbs!!!

Honestly I was surprised there was that big of a difference. This is a trick piece!!! I set the sag at 105mm and have 39mm static sag so I should be good with this spring.

From the first crack of the throttle I could feel the extra traction in the rear! The stock revalved shock wasn't bad, I had messed with it quite a bit and felt I had it working pretty well but the trax shock felt HOOKED UP under acceleration! I put one hour on with the new shock and the more I rode, the harder I pushed the better it felt. I'm pumped!

I feel like I have all the pieces I need to make this bike absolutely ridiculously good! Just going to rack up the hours on it now!
darren7878 12/26/2015 1:37pm
12/26/2015 1:37pm
OR Racer46 wrote:
Shane I have a 15 now and it won't fit the 16. The forks will though. . I am on the fence as to going all...
Shane I have a 15 now and it won't fit the 16. The forks will though. . I am on the fence as to going all in on my 15 that is like new. Or getting a 16 and kinda be behind the 8 ball for another year .
Believe they can be modded to fit. I know a guy running his 15 in a 16 model Husky.
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OR Racer46 12/26/2015 1:46pm
12/26/2015 1:46pm
Thelen you beat me to that shock.
HenryA
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HenryA 12/26/2015 2:20pm
12/26/2015 2:20pm
Awesome Thelen!
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Thelen20 12/26/2015 6:03pm
12/26/2015 6:03pm
OR Racer46 wrote:
Thelen you beat me to that shock.
I can't believe it was still available! I don't visit the bazaar very often, I found out about this shock reading another thread. Turns out he first listed it on December 1st. He posted it 3 times starting a new thread each time with the same details and asking price, I was SHOCKED it hadn't been picked up yet! I guess it was just meant to be mine, lol

I hope you find one soon, should be several of them coming off of the 15' models as people move onto 16's.
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Joko 12/26/2015 9:20pm
12/26/2015 9:20pm
Does WP make CV & Trax for KX-YZ-CR-RM 's, or only KTM ?
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KTMShane699 12/26/2015 9:25pm
12/26/2015 9:25pm
Joko wrote:
Does WP make CV & Trax for KX-YZ-CR-RM 's, or only KTM ?
Yes. They make them for other makes. Give them a call and they'll get you set up.

Shane
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CarlinoJoeVideo 1/24/2016 11:13pm
1/24/2016 11:13pm
OR Racer46 wrote:
Shane I have a 15 now and it won't fit the 16. The forks will though. . I am on the fence as to going all...
Shane I have a 15 now and it won't fit the 16. The forks will though. . I am on the fence as to going all in on my 15 that is like new. Or getting a 16 and kinda be behind the 8 ball for another year .
Langhammx wrote:
FYI- I know someone that sent their '15 TRAX shock to RG3 to have it modified to fit their '16. This wasn't an option until recently...
FYI-
I know someone that sent their '15 TRAX shock to RG3 to have it modified to fit their '16. This wasn't an option until recently, but it sounds like they figured it out. The stick pipe will not clear the shock, but most aftermarket pipes should, from what I heard.

DISCLAIMER-
I am only basing this off what I heard, but I haven't heard what the outcome was yet.
Stay tuned.......
Any confirmation on the older Trax shock conversion to fit 2016?
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Motofinne 1/25/2016 8:30am
1/25/2016 8:30am
There are popping up a lot of Trax shocks that have been on the older bikes. It would be nice to know more about the conversion to the 2016.
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TeamGreen 1/25/2016 8:46am
1/25/2016 8:46am Edited Date/Time 1/25/2016 8:48am
For those of us that have ridden and raced on all of it:

The Trax Shock has the ability to "fine tune" to a very Ohlins-Old-School level(Super Adjustable)...Ultra-Plush can be achieved. A stock shock may only need a revalave to be damn near as good as the Trax; but, I don't think most of you believe me when I say,"I can get WP production stuff to work really, really well. Especially the Shocks and 4CS forks!"

Honestly, the neatest thing about the Trax is having those big dials "right there" on the reservoir ...easy to adjust...&...

To look at.

They are Beautiful

Someone said they last longer between service intervals. Possibly. But, I just had a production Husky shock serviced after lots of Baja -AND- the track abuse: it looked "new" inside. Same for the 4CS forks.
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CarlinoJoeVideo 1/26/2016 1:28pm
1/26/2016 1:28pm
Motofinne wrote:
There are popping up a lot of Trax shocks that have been on the older bikes. It would be nice to know more about the conversion...
There are popping up a lot of Trax shocks that have been on the older bikes. It would be nice to know more about the conversion to the 2016.
I just called RG3 and they had no knowledge of fitting the older Traxx shock to the new bike...
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mmcmx 1/26/2016 1:52pm
1/26/2016 1:52pm
The traxx ovreall is a better shock. The traxx system in the other hand is only useful If you ride hard pack, slippery stuff. I would disengage it to ride in california for example. They disengage it for SX also.

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