srx to viper shocks

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stealther27

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Sep 15, 2009
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393
Age
43
Location
Jefferson, WI
So im starting to get ansy for snow so Im starting on replacing my srx shocks in the rear suspension with long travel ones from a viper. Any my question is now the back end will be sitting a little higher what can I do to the front? My buddy has a set of rx1 shocks would those fit? thanks
 
No def not. won't fit... Maxximum Performance can lengthen the originals. also the back once you sit on it will not be that much higher. I made the mistake of loosening the coils on my front shocks cause the trails here are rough and it was rough on me but that was opposite from what worked for me. I made the coil stiffer and it handled much better like on rails. the bumps didn't feel as harsh either. good luck
 
Glad I got some input, but from looking at old posts I swear I saw a people did this mod to their srx but im sure it wasnt just bolt on and go Id imagine that youd also have to lengthen the radius rods etc? Plus I guess I could just try the viper rear for now but on the search forum alot of guys who did this said if you raise the rear you gotta go the same to the front? Im just looking for a better ride an to save my back!
 
I put an xtc suspension on my srx which pretty much equals you putting viper shocks on yours. The track didn't sit level so I tightened up the limiter straps to compensate, but it wasn't perfect. But then later I longtracked my sled and put drop brackets on and my nose was down way too much. That is when I raised my front suspension. But yes, you would be better off to raise the front end of the sled as soon as you put the viper shocks in. I got a good set of shocks from a 2002 RMK cheap so I put them on. They are 17" long like the RX1 shocks. I had to put on viper radius rods, but my srx steering rods work. I was surprised to see when I put on the shocks and radius rods on my stance did not widen. When I used the viper radius rods, the end bushing that bolts onto the top trailing arm was too wide but I just cut it narrower with an angle grinder and a cutting blade. And I had to use the swivel ends from my srx to bolt the viper radius rods to my bulkhead... the viper ones were too big. I also have a buddy who has a set of RX1 shocks he is selling me cheap and we saw that the end that bolts to the trailing arm is too wide on the shock. He has a milling machine so we are going to mill it down and it should work good. Also remember that you have to lengthen your limiter straps in your rear suspension when you put on the viper shocks. I don't know what kind of riding you do there but around here we do a lot of off trail boondocking and you will be amazed about how good that extra travel front end sucks up the bumps. I wish I lifted it when I originally put on the xtc suspension years ago.
 
Ya im hoping to do both the front and rear at the same time. However a few years ago I had a 98 srx 700 that I put an sxr skid and left the front alone and that worked fine. So im wondering what the difference would be I mostly trail ride and do some river running so I have to deal with moguls quite often. Im just hoping that this doesnt turn into a huge project plus im hoping I dont lose some of the srx great handling?
 
You pretty much have to decide what you want. If you put the longer shocks on the front you won't have a sled that turns like it is on rails anymore, but I don't think it is too bad once I did mine. If you are doing a lot of riding on moguls like you said, I would definately give up a little bit of handling for a suspension that sucks up those bumps much better and save your arms and back. And doing the front suspension isn't that hard a job. If you use those r1 shocks you will have to change your radius rods, but if you look around for a set of fox shocks from a cat or polaris from the late 90's or early 2000"s which are about 15" long then all you would have to do is bolt them in, readjust your camber and you are done. Those are a pretty good shock also.
 
Thanks sasksrx for all the info an you are right with the help of my buddy im sure Ill be able to get the job done and in turn will feel not as sore after a long day on some bumpy trails. Since you mentioned looking for some shorter shocks from earlier model sleds, I was wondering if since alot of people have used polaris edge skids in there srx's if I could use the front shocks from one of these sleds if that would work ok?
 
I think those will work, you could use any shocks that will bolt in. I won a set of shocks from a 2002 rmk on ebay for $10.00 so that is what I have on there right now. They work good but they are not rebuildable so I am going to put the RX1 shocks on this fall. If you put 17" shocks on front with your srx radius rods it really lifts your front end and narrows your stance, you will not be able to bolt you sway bar on. That is why I recommended finding shocks that are about 15" long if you don't change radius rods. I'm not exactly sure what shocks came on those edge sleds but they are probably fox shocks around 15" long so they should work. Cats around those years also came with fox shocks about that long so look for those too. Just check what the eye centre to eye centre measurement is and go from there. Now that I long travelled my suspension and raised my seat by adding extra foam to it even my cousin told me that mine is the smoothest riding sled he has ever been on... pretty amazing considering its an srx!
 
i got a set once that were 15" off ebay, claimed they were from early syle rx1, they were a little wide for the shock mount on the trailing arms so i ground down the ears to fit and used a set of the replacable bushing for a newer phazer gt, it worked just fine. I was still able to use my swaybar but it did narrow the stance a little, not allot but it did make it a little tipsy compared to stock, not bad though. made it handle almost like some artic cat f7s ive rode, liked to lift inside ski in corners and felt tipsy. i was going to get a widening kit but never got around to it before selling the sled. when you do it it will change the camber on your spindles so you will have to adjust your radius rods, some srxs had long ones and some had shorter ones that will not give you enough adjustment, but i thing all the later ones were longer so you should be ok. the 15" was a good match for my rear (i also had viper rear suspension), i dont thing i would want to go with 17". good luck
 
stealther27 said:
Ya im hoping to do both the front and rear at the same time. However a few years ago I had a 98 srx 700 that I put an sxr skid and left the front alone and that worked fine. So im wondering what the difference would be I mostly trail ride and do some river running so I have to deal with moguls quite often. Im just hoping that this doesnt turn into a huge project plus im hoping I dont lose some of the srx great handling?
Click to expand...


I used Venture/SXR radius and tie rods along with the short spindled SRX trailing arms, Viper shocks (with Scott's shock brackets) and shimmed the sway bar links. I'm also using a Viper rear skid.

The added width nearly makes up for the added ride height with regards to "on rails" handling.
 
stealther27 said:
Glad I got some input, but from looking at old posts I swear I saw a people did this mod to their srx but im sure it wasnt just bolt on and go Id imagine that youd also have to lengthen the radius rods etc? Plus I guess I could just try the viper rear for now but on the search forum alot of guys who did this said if you raise the rear you gotta go the same to the front? Im just looking for a better ride an to save my back!
Click to expand...

I didn't do a search again but I remember reading 3 things when I looked at putting a long travel in my srx:

1. someone on TY made brackets for sale to raise the front end like 1".
2. you could buy the bracket on ebay.
or
3: you could flip the top shock mount around and raise the front about an 1".

It seems like alot of people were just flipping the shock mount????
 
glockwise said:
I didn't do a search again but I remember reading 3 things when I looked at putting a long travel in my srx:

1. someone on TY made brackets for sale to raise the front end like 1".
2. you could buy the bracket on ebay.
or
3: you could flip the top shock mount around and raise the front about an 1".

It seems like alot of people were just flipping the shock mount????
Click to expand...


BethViper was making brackets to allow for installing Viper shocks into an SRX which is what I did along with the other changes mentioned earlier.

Flipping the existing shock brackets is only raising the front ride height 1 inch with no change in susp travel.

IMHO - if you're going to increase rear skid travel with a Viper or other long travel skid, why wouldn't you do the same with the front susp?

By going to longer radius rods, you also increase ski stance along with increased susp travel. Running more than suggested sag brings the sled back nearly to SRX handling with the added protection against those unseen 2 footers.

I did both front and rear at the same time so I can't speak about the effects of just doing one (front or rear), but others here that have done one and not both seem to end up doing the other too.
 
Man gotta love this site no where else can u get great info from yamaha fans like myself! Thanks guys for your input, I think for now im just gonna get the viper shocks revalved for the skid but also remember reading that some guys liked to use the srx shock in the front of the skid? An then might start looking for those brackets does betheviper still make those? An along with that start browsing classifieds and look for some 15" shocks cause ill probably end up doing the front an back like so many have suggested. Anyone got some used front shocks for sale?! ;)!
 
stealther27 said:
Man gotta love this site no where else can u get great info from yamaha fans like myself! Thanks guys for your input, I think for now im just gonna get the viper shocks revalved for the skid but also remember reading that some guys liked to use the srx shock in the front of the skid? An then might start looking for those brackets does betheviper still make those? An along with that start browsing classifieds and look for some 15" shocks cause ill probably end up doing the front an back like so many have suggested. Anyone got some used front shocks for sale?! ;)!
Click to expand...


The only difference between Viper and SRX skids are the shock length and transfer rods. I'm not aware of anyone using an SRX shock in a Viper skid that expects long travel performance.

The reasons for the custom shock brackets up front are the differences between the Viper and SRX upper shock mount style and geometry - the Viper mount is higher and protrudes through the bellypan.

I know a few were looking for Scott's brackets last year but dunno if they were successful in finding any. PM him.
 
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