[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

PICS...when you get them on...lol Wait..damn that was fast..2-days?

Ask and ye shall receive.

Nice looking shock.  Has both compression and rebound adjustment.  And pre-load, of course.  Both have dual springs.  210s in the front and 300 in the back.  I suppose one could buy different springs for it.  Nice quality and probably about 1/2 the price of a comparable Elka.

Hope to mount them by this weekend.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Nice. Wow they cranked-up the spring rates for the EXs. Let us know how it rides.

Nice. Wow they cranked-up the spring rates for the EXs. Let us know how it rides.

Yeah, I think the stock shock had a spring rate of 165 in the rear based on my measurements and some internet tool I found.  But, they had to be pre-loaded way down in order to get any reasonable ground clearance.  I'm hoping I can even back these off a bit. 

I don't know if you read this from earlier, but here's some interesting reading about dual rate spring systems.

https://shocktherapyst.com/the-truth-about-dual-rate-springs/

Got em installed last night.  Some observations:

The Bandit front shocks are 3/4" longer than the stockers, and the rears are 1/2" shorter (eye to eye). 

I installed the shocks as they came.  I gained about 1/2" on the front ground clearance, and the rear stayed the same.  Keep in mind, I had a home-made lift kit on the back (with almost no pre-load on the shocks), so without that, it still stayed about the same.  The big difference is that the rear actually compresses when I jump on the hitch receiver.  With the stock shocks (before I made the lift kit), I could barely get the rear to compress with my weight on it.  So, I think the big difference is going to be felt on the rear shocks.  I'm about 1 1/2" higher in the rear, so will most likely add some pre-load to the fronts to get it up a bit.  Hoping to get roughly 12" of clearance.

Didn't get a chance to ride it since I decided to clean the UNI while I had the right rear wheel off.

Hey sockman,
I see they updated the shocks since we got ours, ours are gen.2
210 in front and 310 in the rear.

Hey sockman,
I see they updated the shocks since we got ours, ours are gen.2
210 in front and 310 in the rear.

You see any differences?

The only difference I see is yours have rebound adjustment and ours don't.
kinda sucks...lol

Hey sockman,
I see they updated the shocks since we got ours, ours are gen.2
210 in front and 310 in the rear.

You see any differences?

Let us know when you get a chance to test them,.

Let us know when you get a chance to test them,.

I gave them a spin last weekend, mostly some gravel road riding, and a little bit of off road.  There is definite improvement.  I need some more seat time before I'd give a full on review.  Some people act like it's a night/day difference, but I think it's more subtle.  The rear is clearly an improvement since the stockers were so stiff.  The fronts I don't really know.  For now, I like them.  Good shocks are expensive, but this was a nice middle of the road alternative.  I'd like to try Elkas, but not at $2k-$2.5k cost to outfit the machine with stage 4s.

So I've had some time with these shocks.  I did initially really like the ride.  Big improvement over stock, but that's not a high bar.

I had one of them develop a leak already on the front.  Then I rode them at Hatfield/McCoy in some very spirited riding.  It was a rough ride through some of the higher speed washboard stuff and I got beat up pretty good on the day we rode for 100 miles.  I was following some machines that had better suspension systems and they could take that stuff much better.  By the end of the trip, both the fronts were pretty much in pogo mode.

So I decided to get them rebuilt.  That was quite a fiasco.  Bandit recommends you have it done locally for a couple reasons - cost to the customer (to avoid shipping to/from), and they are booked up solid with customer builds due to the COVID stuff.  I took them to a local dealer and went round/round with them.  They were afraid to rebuild them since they've never heard of Bandit, thought might require special tools, etc.  I assured them this was not the case, showed them how to get the seal kits, but they declined.  I decided just to do it myself.  During all this time, I've been e-mailing Bandit frequently and they respond same day, even last Sunday.  I have the seals kits on the way ($95 for 4), I have a line on the nitrogen (free).  Just need to get a regulator ($142) and the shock oil ($25).  They recommend Maxima 3wt shock oil.  Bandit sent photos of the teardown process and it's all straightforward.   I've checked out several youtube vids and it doesn't look as scary as I originally thought.  I figure with the labor I'll save it will offset the up front costs for the regulator, shock oil, contact cleaner, etc.  I'll keep you posted.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

So I've had some time with these shocks.  I did initially really like the ride.  Big improvement over stock, but that's not a high bar.

I had one of them develop a leak already on the front.  Then I rode them at Hatfield/McCoy in some very spirited riding.  It was a rough ride through some of the higher speed washboard stuff and I got beat up pretty good on the day we rode for 100 miles.  I was following some machines that had better suspension systems and they could take that stuff much better.  By the end of the trip, both the fronts were pretty much in pogo mode.

So I decided to get them rebuilt.  That was quite a fiasco.  Bandit recommends you have it done locally for a couple reasons - cost to the customer (to avoid shipping to/from), and they are booked up solid with customer builds due to the COVID stuff.  I took them to a local dealer and went round/round with them.  They were afraid to rebuild them since they've never heard of Bandit, thought might require special tools, etc.  I assured them this was not the case, showed them how to get the seal kits, but they declined.  I decided just to do it myself.  During all this time, I've been e-mailing Bandit frequently and they respond same day, even last Sunday.  I have the seals kits on the way ($95 for 4), I have a line on the nitrogen (free).  Just need to get a regulator ($142) and the shock oil ($25).  They recommend Maxima 3wt shock oil.  Bandit sent photos of the teardown process and it's all straightforward.   I've checked out several youtube vids and it doesn't look as scary as I originally thought.  I figure with the labor I'll save it will offset the up front costs for the regulator, shock oil, contact cleaner, etc.  I'll keep you posted.

Great. Keep us posted and take some pics if possible.

So how many miles and what kind of riding did you put in before the fronts both messed up their seals?  I may be off with my expectations, but that seems pretty quick to go through the seals on upgraded suspension pieces. 

Aside from the MX interval on them, are you still pleased with their performance overall?  We are trying to decide if we want to go this route or drop the money for the Elka suspension parts.  Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I would prefer to "buy once, cry once."

So how many miles and what kind of riding did you put in before the fronts both messed up their seals?  I may be off with my expectations, but that seems pretty quick to go through the seals on upgraded suspension pieces. 

Aside from the MX interval on them, are you still pleased with their performance overall?  We are trying to decide if we want to go this route or drop the money for the Elka suspension parts.  Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I would prefer to "buy once, cry once."

Short answer, I don't know. I've got 2700 miles on my machine and last year I did a ride at Hatfield/McCoy that really tested the machine.  Rode hard and fast, several hundred miles over some rough stuff at speed.  The one was leaking when I got there, so that was no good.  Had a season or two on the Bandits I think.  Price compared to Elkas, I'd go with these.  But, I've never had Elkas, so I can't give a good answer.

I finally had a chance to rebuild these shocks.  The first one took a few hours because I'd never done it, and didn't really know what I was doing.  Plus I had to fabricate a tool.  The second one took 30 minutes.  I honestly think I could have gotten away with just disassembling them, cleaning them up, replacing the fluid, and recharging the nitrogen.  The fluid was milky when I emptied it, but the seals really looked ok.  Replaced them anyway.  Might be a really good idea to invest in some shock covers to keep the dirt off the shaft.

Some pics of the rebuild.

Not too bad of a job once you know what to do.  I looked at several videos on youtube.  Had to make the rod to mount to the IFP so that you can cycle it up and down to bleed it.  All the parts they sent in the seal kit go into the piston (circled in red).  They didn't send any of the other rubber o-rings, but they all seemed to be in good shape.  Used 3wt oil as they recommended and 120psi of nitrogen.  The one shock was completely non-functional before I took it apart.  It would compress and not return.  The other one had no resistance for about 1/3 of the way, but then acted as it should and would return on its own.  Both definitely needed servicing.  Still have to take the rears off and check them.