Elka Suspension

[reider]

I had the opportunity to visit the Elka manufacturing favility in Quebec Canada and all I can say is WOW.

I happen to be going to Montreal on business and decided to give Elka a call as I am looking to upgrade the suspension on my 03. I spoke with John in their sales department and man is he a source of knowledge. Out of the blue I stop by and he was more than happy to give me a full plant tour and walk me through every stage of manufacturing and testing.

All I can say is without a doubt I will be going with their Stage 4 with Remote Hydraulic Preload Adjuster. Being from Canada @ $1000.00 retail and a shop an hour for me that is willing to install it and set me up for around $100.00 I figure you cant go wrong.

If anyone is looking for suspension and is on the fence, I wuld suggest giving Elka a call! ( and if you live in the US the additional 25% on the dollar makes Elka look a bit more appealing.

Post some pics and more info in a few weeks after I get the new Elka front and rear installed.

[reider]

So finally got the Elka installed last Thursday and all I can say is WOW! The bike feels better than ever!

The crew at Accelerated Technologies in Buckhorn were AMAZING! I cannot say enough about Ron the Shop Manager, Mike the apprentice and John the owener other than these guys seriously know their stuff. Took a bit longer to get the new one installed than previously thought (about 4 hours) but man does it look good!

To give you an idea of how good these guys are, they are currently building 4 Honda Factory superbikes for this season, and John is the crew cheif for Jodi Christie the Canadian Superbike Champion.

Even after I asked about 10 million questions that they were more than happy to answer (thats's probably whey it took so long)lol, they still had a smile on their face and were in great spirits.

They got the rear sag right where they wanted it at 28mm and then measured the front and changed the fork springs as well going from a .75 to a 1. The front now feels way more responsive, takes the bumps beautifully and the new springs have still left me with about 17mm of adjustment where I was at basicly 2mm when I first got there. Looks like maybe some more fork work in the winter this year to get it exactly where I want it but it will definately do for this season.

John is the "Suspension Master" in my book making all of the final adjustments by feel more than anything. Blew my mind!

All in all I would reccomend them to anyone thinking about doing suspension work in Canada!

Total cost for everything was around $1800.00, but I knew it was money very very well spent after only 20 minutes on the new set-up.

Take a look at the end result and don't hesitate to call them should you have any questions or need some work done!

Thanks Guys for taking my bike to the next level!

[Dustin]

I'll be really keen to hear a bit more about your thoughts on the shock. I am going to look into some suspension upgrades over the winter and Elka is on my list for sure. Jamie Daughtery's shocks are also on the list but the Elka looks like a nice piece of kit. I'd be interested in what you got minus the hydraulic preload.

What was your OTD price for the shock (shipping, taxes, etc)?

I contacted Elka for a quote

Thanks for making this thread :)

[VFR Capt.Bob]

My Elka has been is service on my 98 VFR for the last 7 years. It is in need of a rebuild but honestly still works pretty well after so many miles. Probably like 85k miles on it right now or more.

[reider]

Dustin,

Not sure exactly what you mean about" what you got minus the hydrolic preload"? If you can clarify a little I would be happy to respond.

As far as they are concerned the quality of the Elka product is on par with any Ohlins on the market. John Sharrad has actually assisted Elka in the development of their valving and construction of their shocks over the past few years, and if you read anything up on him he really knows his S%&t!

As far as the price, it was $999.00 and I got the stage 4+hyd. Same price buying it from Acc Tech or from Elka direct. Advantage for me was they install, service and warantee their work as well as the shock, and if by chance it comes in with the wrong spring, they have them in stock and change them while you wait. Acc. Tech is truly a full service shop.

They only charge $80.00 per hour and although it took longer than expected, the amount i learned was well worth the extra cash.

As far as the front springs, they actually made custom spacers on site to make the new ones work just the way they (we) wanted them to.

Now that hey have installed mine, I'm sure their next install would be faster.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

At this point I have put about 600km's on the bike and am a happy man!

[Dustin]

I just meant that I would get my Elka without remote preload and save the $200. I do ride 2-up but 90% of my riding is solo so it's better for me without :)

[VFRpwr]

"So finally got the Elka installed last Thursday and all I can say is WOW! The bike feels better than ever!

The crew at Accelerated Technologies in Buckhorn were AMAZING! I cannot say enough about Ron the Shop Manager, Mike the apprentice and John the owener other than these guys seriously know their stuff. Took a bit longer to get the new one installed than previously thought (about 4 hours) but man does it look good! "

Remote reservoir 6th Gen rear shock is an adventure to install (4 hrs beat my time - but there might have been alcohol affecting my efficiency). Agree with you, can't say enough about John and the rest of his Buckhorn crew. Absolutely changed my bike after installing the suspension he rebuilt for mine. Ideal location with 507 so near his shop......