chris1223

Quite honestly I think we take animals for not being very smart to human ways... Last year when I was deer hunting I was in a unit that surrounded a leg of private property that people were given the right of way to cross to get to the other side of the unit. Nine days and I finally saw and got a small little forked horn and was feeling lucky with that (Yes it was that bad). On that right of way there was a four point buck that would just hang out there and stare at trucks going back and forth - I have pics of him just looking at me just 30 yards from the boundary.... It’s like he knew

Thats odd that they know they are not threatend there. When I have gone out to get them, they have a tatic to keep people busy looking from the front and one or two will come up to you from behind. They hunt you while you hunt them....

IC - Well the sequential thing works kewl, so Guess I need to get the timing thing down for the sport/better pics. I know it is only a point-n-shoot...

K. I see - I have to drive over the wheel well, but mine does fit in between the bed sides...

Most fronts, that’s all you can adjust is the spring load. If they have resi fronts, you can also do compression and maybe rebound. The issue with the 700 Pete is that it’s made for a bigger (in Weight) rider then Chad is - He just doesn’t have the weight that the valving/spring is set for. It’s more set to the 200-250 pound rider, and he doesn’t seem like he weighs that much - So no matter how much he is able to adjust ride height with the spring, the valving/spring is still stiff. It probably feels like a couch to you because you weigh more and you fall in the intended range. (*Disclaimer) FSC probably has the same issues - I just have never looked at the zuki - My bike sucks, but it’s what I have (Right Pauly) *Disclaimer - Chris1234567890 does not size the participants of this list up, I was just looking at a pic with the two said participants in it together and they have very different physics<sp?>....

The sequntial shooting is a great option to have, but is that my problem? Can I have adjustments and that option also? I know this is just a point-n-shoot, but I think the pics could have been better. There are a few that look great for that kind of camera, so I know it has some capabilities - I guess I just need to play with it...

Chad - Download the service manual from raptor forums and play with it a bit - bring a pocket driver out to dumont and adjust your rebound/compression - You will see the difference riding along the flats to comp with just single clicks. The only thing you should do at home is the ride height - put all of your riding gear on and have someone mesure, then do the math. Very cheep way to improve by far...

It’s not just about the spring and dialing them down to be soft - It’s about using the full travel of the suspension. There are allot of factors involved - i.e. riding style and environment. It’s about using the full compression of the shock, and not bottoming out with whatever you throw at it. You never want a shock to completely hit bottom, but at the same time you want to utilize all of the travel. Then the rebound - you don’t want the shock to rebound too fast and spring you over the bars, but you want it to rebound fast enough that you can have it back to the position to use the full travel on the next obstacle. I am partial to TCS because they are a US company as opposed to Elka (Canada). In the past, Todd was the person you talk to when you called – Yes allot of the time you didn’t get ahold of him right away, but he does call back – Just call there and talk to him, he will explain to help you out. They both make a great product, but Elka will not rebuild a stock rear or front as far as I know. If it was me I would want to save a little cake by being able to rebuild the current items - but that is just me. All in all you need to be able to talk to the builder and give him/her the input that pertains to YOUR preferences - Suspension is a bear to deal with, but when you get it right it’s really worth the effort. Talk to both builders and feel them out - Go with your gut feeling on who is going to give you what you want. Also if I was going to spend that kind of cake, I would also go +2 on the arms and longer axle - Cheep addition to add a ton of stability. You will also be able to tweek the caster and camber also - another set of items that really help out. You will really notice the difference in the desert with all of these items - do a 60 mile prerun before and after and you will see the difference...

I have about 400 pics. Pete - What is the trick to that camera? - I am not all that happy with the unquality photos...

Just a few pics....

Same happened to me out there on Thanksgiving - What a pisser.. Came out of the trailer in the morning, and I can see the footprints from them walking back and forth taking each can....

Cant you cut open a butt splice (12ga) and solder that on the bulb and then stick the wire in the remaining and also solder that in? If you want I can make some with disconnects - Just drop the bulbs off at the office...

You can set the ride height with just a spanner for your rear shock. You can also set compression and rebound of the rear on the stock raptor shock - So no you will not be pissing money away - The only cost is the spanner (20 bones) and time. If you don’t have the reservoir stock shocks on the front they will have to be replaced - I don’t think there is anyone that reworks the front non-resi shocks. The rear on the other hand can be revalved/resprung from TCS. Elka will not do this service - they want you to buy there’s. Even if you go with Elka, they are not completely tuned to you - I think they have a 50-pound range that most people find being sufficient. If you put them on after ordering them and they are not what you like, they will redo them for a price. TCS will rework them for you for the price of shipping. If you want help on adjusting the rear let me know...

You are absolutely correct – Tuning the suspension is going to really make a difference in comfort and ridability. I would rather have an underpowered bike with a tuned suspension, then an overpowered bike with chitty suspension. A great example of that is in a Class 1 Car and a Class 10 Car – One has the best of both worlds, and the other has pretty much the same suspension with a limited motor – Look at the results on long course, they are comparable. Even if you spent a little time with a spanner wrench on your current setup – You will see a big difference. Being the size/weight you are on the 700, there is no way you are going to get it great with the current setup – but you will see the difference. It’s a big bike with stiff suspension. You can be on the marketing bandwagon and go with Elka. Not saying they are bad, but you can get comparable items from a smaller company and be able to call someone for support in the USA to get answers. Also Elka won’t rework your rear shock; they will just want to sell you their brand new one for about double the price. Use that money to work with someone that will help you in the fine tuning. You also are not going to get the best setup just out of the box – You need someone that is going to work with you to make the tweaks – what’s good for one guy is not always good for you. There are a lot of factors that come into play in the suspension – It would blow your mind when someone that KNOWS about suspension explains to you all the small bits that make up the whole. Do your research, and not listen to the hype - You will see that there are much better/comparable items out, with a much better price! Now let the flaming start....

If you have the resi front shocks, TCS can revalve/respring them - If not yhere shocks are pretty sweet on the front. They can respring/revalve the rear for sure also. The yellow arms that you saw on mine are from ummmm Ill have to look - But the ex's bike had the ones from some place in Utah - They were pretty good also...

I think you should get the Olympus Stylus 850 SW - Its a little cheap, but thats what I have and thats all that matters! Really though - My friend has all of that equipment if you want to talk to him...

A couple more pics.... Nick - Pete - Overall -

I have a friend that is a "Dry Back" - A mexican that cant speak spanish.....

It was funny cause we were talking about Sham Wows in Dumont a couple of weeks ago when we where there. We were pointing out that they say made in Germany, and you know the Germans make good stuff line.... Then on the TV is the slap chop with Vince - Man I was ready to buy one... Vince can sell Slim Fast to an Ethiopian with his skillz.... By the way Sham Wows rock - I got them for Christmas I don’t know how the Slap Chop will do – Williams Sonoma has had them for a few years now – The only thing Vince has going for him is the price…

I have Al's number if needed - Ive known him for about 25 years.

I have my old paddles if you want them - just pick them up. Do you do work for cromwell? if so, my office is just a couple of doors down...

The quad I saw was at the north pole on saturday morning at around 10:30am... But it didnt look like it was burned there cause the sand was all clean. I guess that the burned sand could have blown away - I dont know...

There was also a quad at north pole that was burned on saturday morning.... As far as the truck, I dont know - I just saw the fire crew there putting it out. Imagine that - Caller to fire department - Hey we have a truck on fire, can you swing by and put some water on it so maybe we can get the trailer home - Fire department to caller - Sure where are you - Caller - Just down the road in dumont - Fire department - Sure well be there in a couple of minutes.... It looked like the truck pulled a trailer out there - Man thats going to be a rough ride home pulling the trailer with the quad home....

He probally just needs to flip the axle and it will straighten out in no time....