'09 XP 154x with Tom's Evolution rear and Float R Evolv front:
First weekend out I destroyed the modified rear arm shock mount bracket.
There was a question as to the integrity of the much thinner than stock mount a month or two ago in Dootalk - Tom assured us that it was not an issue - then volunteered to modify the bracket if we sent the item back (??). I rec'd mine about a week after that statement and did not receive the updated item
.
The new top shock mount tab bent to the point that the top of the shock bottomed out against the arm. Both ends of my Fox shock are scarred up due to grinding against other suspension parts when the geometry changed (ie it did not clear the other parts anymore).
I called Tom and he sent me the updated piece. I have not installed / rode with it yet. I hope my shock still is functional (appears to be - but battle scarred). Tom noted that I was the only failure they had heard of.
I am about 165 lbs. I never jumped, but did ride whooped out trails. I was tuning it in when I noticed the failure. I will note that I never achieved more than about 75% of my top speed thru the whoops - I could have pushed it quite a bit harder, but obviously the suspension, in its initial form, could not take the load. I am quite dissapointed about this aspect of my experience thus far.
Prior to failure I will note that I did enjoy the suspension better than stock. It offers a generally smoother ride on the rear end. I did not make it to what I consider a "tuned for me" set of settings but I was zeroing in and it was getting better with every adjustment. There is some sag using the recommended settings (psi & clicker position) but sag is a requirement of any highly tuned suspension - I found it better than the stock sacked out torsion springs.
One of the main reasons I bought it was for the rough trail. I have a moto background and like to ride the rough stuff fast. For the average guy I would say stock would do - you have to be really pushing it to really reap the rewards of a high end suspension - the average joe simply cannot ride that fast, and I would not recommend it to the average rider as a way to solve the issue of complaints that the trail is too rough.
As for deep snow and ability to perform better than stock I have no real comments yet as I did not get enough seat or tuning time to try it out or compare it to a similar stock units.
I run w/o a sway bar in the front so I wanted the ability to up the preload slightly to compensate and the floats give me that ability. I am still tuning them in, and found the recommended settings (Tom's) a bit too high (air preload).
I fully expect to need 3-4 days of tinkering to get everything set up to run optimally. That is just the time it takes for something like that. Tom's settings are like ski-doo settings - good for the average person, but with a suspension like this one has to realize that tuning it to perfection takes time.
I will chime in again in a few weeks to update where I'm at with the replacement arm and deep snowmobility of the entire setup.
