2008 Dragon RMK

[swade-o]

I picked up a 2008 Dragon RMK 155 and it has the Walker Evans Air Shocks on it front and rear. I am a bigger guy roughly 300lbs with gear and the shocks seem pretty soft. Also the guy I bought the sled from said the shocks were serviced two or three years ago so I am thinking they need to be recharged as well. I am not a fan of the W.E. Air Shocks due to blowing one way out in the bush and was wondering about switching them out to a coil spring shock.

So... instead of putting money into the WE shocks in recharging them, I have a set of Fox Zero Pros off of a 2005 RMK and was wondering if they would work well on the sled? I do not have the WE shocks off the Dragon RMK yet but according to the service manual the W.E. shocks on the sled are 18.00 inches ctc. The Zero Pros that I have are also 18.00 inches ctc. I was wondering if anyone has switched over from the WE to a coil springed shocks? I also plan to switch the rear skid over to my Holz skid with Zero Pros as well. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MORSNO]

I switched over to WE coil-over 16 position needle shocks from Tri-City Performance and also relocated the rear scissor back 5/8". Big difference!

 

[swade-o]

EXCELLENT! Thanks for the input on your changes and how they worked out! Did you go with the 18" ctc shocks?

 

[MORSNO]

Yes, the front shocks have an extended Length of 18"

 

[swade-o]

That is good to know about the 18" ctc length. I did some further checking and my current WE Air Shocks are 17.02" ctc according to my service manual. Somehow I was looking at the Ryde FX which are the 18" ctc extended length. I looked around and can not find any difference between A-arms from sled with the WE Airs vs. Ryde FX shocks so I am thinking the 18" ctc will work. However the sled will sit a little higher but should not be more than 3/8 to 1/2 an inch.

 

[MORSNO]

Here are the part numbers and specs from the '07-'08 service manual. You may be correct with the 17.02 length, the 1.124 shaft diameter would match the stock WE Air shocks. I may have mis-spoke about the 18" length. You'll need to check the part number on your current shocks to verify.

7042258 Ryde FX 18.00 11.8 6.2 .49 6.92 Full 200
7043245 Ryde FX 18.00 11.8 6.2 .49 6.92 Full 200
7043141 Fox 18.00 11.8 6.2 .50 1.42 Full 200
7043095 Walker Evans 18.00 11.738 6.27 .625 2.25 Full 200
7043090 Ryde FX 17.00 11.20 5.80 .49 6.54 Full 200
7043082 Ryde FX 16.25 12.76 5.25 .49 6.27 Full 280
7043206 Walker Evans 18.00 10.13 6.26 .625 2.25 Full 200
7043233 Walker Evans 17.02 11.27 5.75 1.124 N/A 95cc 215 220 - 225 (Opt.)​

 

[rockin rmk]

If you are worried about blowing out shocks you should replace the torsion springs with the heavy duty ones. shocks only control the rebound. springs are the ones that take all the weight and the abuse.

 

[swade-o]

Thanks for the input. The front shocks are the Walker Evans Air Shocks so there is no springs in the front. As far as the rear I am switching to a Holz skid with Fox Zero Pros so the torsion springs are getting taken off. I have Fox Zeros for the front already but they are 18" ctc and my current WE shocks are 17.02" ctc. I am thinking that I may need to get a another set of shocks closer to the original 17.02 ctc +/- a little so the steering / suspension geometry is not messed up.

 

[sledhed]

If you are on a budget just get those front shocks recharged. If you take them off the sled and take them in it should not cost much $$. Some shops will do it for free it is so easy, they just need the nitrogen setup and a needle...

If it has been a couple seasons they might need serviced, which is new seal / oil / nitrogen fill. Still not that expensive. But if you can find a substitute got for it... I think the WE spring shocks off 2011-2012 Pros are 17.5 C2C.

You might be able to get a shock shop to shorten those zero pros up for you too, internal washers / shims...

 

[sledneck_03]

Fab craft makes piggybacks for the walker airs that you can adjust dampening like a clicker shock.

 

[SaskRMK]

I swapped the junk rydefx front/skid shocks for some zero pro's i scored used for less than new rydefx front shocks would of cost me and they have been awesome, big upgrade from ryde fx.

 

[swade-o]

Sweet! I have a set of Fox Zero Pros that I want to try on the sled. However I think they may be a little too long. The Walker Airs on the sled measure 17.02" CTC and the Fox Zeros are 18" CTC. I have been checking around to see if this would cause any issues and I have heard yes and no. I will try them and if they do not fit or perform well due to suspension geometry issues I will switch them out. I have a line on a set of next to new Fox Zeros that are 17.10" CTC and will run them. I really want to stay with the Fox Zeros because I am putting a Holz skid in and that has Zeros as well.