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Anyone running Raptor Shocks?

907Backcountry

Member
Premium Member
I’m looking for some feedback from anyone running the current gen 2 Kinetic shocks and how they compare to other brands they’ve used - Fox, Exits, Ohlins, etc. I’ve got a 24 9R Khaos with the stock velocity shocks. My previous sled was an 850 Khaos with Fox QS3 Bruandt model. I’m not happy with the adjustability and ride of the Velocity and I think the Fox shocks are poorly built - the plastic bushings are garbage. From the limited feedback I’ve found it seems their multi-zone internal bypass system is one of the best in the business for providing a compliant ride, bottom out protection, adjustability and reliability. Cost is a little higher but not by much and American made counts for me these days. Any feedback on ride / performance comparison is appreciated. Also, thoughts on the triple rate springs they use.
 
I’ve had carls revalved velocity shocks, fox qs3 coils, and zbros this year I’m running Zbros on my boost and raptors on the 9R so far I prefer the Raptors I only have two rides on the Zbros though so I need more time to adjust them.
 
I have run all 3 brands on 3 different Polaris. 800 850 850 boost all on 155 tracks. The raptors work well. But you will have play with your spring tension to get them right. Set your sag and then fine tune your sag. The lock out feature is a bonus on the fox. I run Ohlin's on my dirt bike. Best out of the box suspension I have run, once sprung for your weight. I would probably try the Ohlin's next. But with any of these brands custom valving is the ticket. The only brand i have never felt needed custom valving on my dirt bike is Ohlins.
 
I have run QS3s (not since 2020, not sure what has changed), Carls valved monotubes, buddy is running Ohlins, and I have Raptors now. Honestly I feel like they all can probably provide a similar ride as long as a guy is competent in setting them up. I have come to realize that I am not. My favorite setup was the Carls valved monotubes. Set the springs to occasionally bottom and send it. Night and day better than they come from the factory, for not a lot of $$.... although it has gotten significantly more expensive over the last 10 years.

Buddy with Ohlins and I (Raptors) jumped back and forth a little with them pretty much setup at the recommended starting points. Raptors feel softer/more compliant over small chop, but you could really push the Ohlins over the moguls. I need to spend more time with setup... but honestly it's tough when we drive 15hrs to ride, and only ride a few days a year. I just wanna go... AND not hold everyone else up.

Overall I think they are probably good shocks, but I wouldn't expect them to be wildly better than any of the other brands.
 
I agree once you get into the top end aftermarket shocks they are all good mostly just personal preference after that I’m pretty sure all these shocks could be se up however you want depending on the riding style you like and what you are trying to achieve.
 
I have run QS3s (not since 2020, not sure what has changed), Carls valved monotubes, buddy is running Ohlins, and I have Raptors now. Honestly I feel like they all can probably provide a similar ride as long as a guy is competent in setting them up. I have come to realize that I am not. My favorite setup was the Carls valved monotubes. Set the springs to occasionally bottom and send it. Night and day better than they come from the factory, for not a lot of $$.... although it has gotten significantly more expensive over the last 10 years.

Buddy with Ohlins and I (Raptors) jumped back and forth a little with them pretty much setup at the recommended starting points. Raptors feel softer/more compliant over small chop, but you could really push the Ohlins over the moguls. I need to spend more time with setup... but honestly it's tough when we drive 15hrs to ride, and only ride a few days a year. I just wanna go... AND not hold everyone else up.

Overall I think they are probably good shocks, but I wouldn't expect them to be wildly better than any of the other brands.
Thanks for the feedback! I agree all the top end shocks preform well with the small chop over stock shocks. My problem with the Fox QS3 Burandt edition is I think they use cheap plastic parts and I never felt they could handle the compression of bigger hits even with adjustment. As I understand it the reason the pros like Ohlins is because of being able to absorb the shock of big hits but the trade off was a much stiffer overall shock. Also, parts could be an issue since they are made in Sweden’s and dealers are limited. I’m not doing huge jumps but after two ACL’s surgeries I’m trying to find a setup that absorbs the shock better rather than transferring it to my knee. Raptors seemed similar to Ohlins in their capacity to take bigger hits with a larger piggyback reservoir and multi zone by pass system. Most of the feedback I’ve seen is very good it’s just been very limited and I wanted to make sure I was’t missing something. Probably going to give them a try and will provide feedback here to help the next guy. Thanks again.
 
Sounds like it may be time to make friends with a suspension tuner. Or take a couple classes and start tinkering with them yourself.

Not sure you'll find a stock tune that meets your needs but most shocks can likely get to where you want them with some tinkering. Most shocks function the same way so it comes down to compression and rebound stacks, along with springs and oil choice and some other small variables.
 
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