ATV Accessories And Tools - Abused

GT Thunder Stock Shock RebuildYou just threw down more than six Gs of your hard-earned money to walk away with a brand-new Honda TRX450R. Excited about its potential performance abilities, you quickly realize that the handling is not what you expected. The suspension is harsh; you're constantly near an over-the-bar experience as the rear end tends to kick; and it is almost impossible to keep all four wheels on the ground while tackling fast corners. Sure, the TRX450R may be one of the finest-performing machines on the market, but its suspension is in dire need of an upgrade. The standard solution would be to throw down another two or three Gs and replace the stock suspension with aftermarket shocks and maybe even long-travel A-arms, but most of us don't have that kind of budget. So don't max out your credit cards just yet. There is an answer in the quest for first-rate performance on a budget: GT Thunder.

Laz Sommers and the rest of his staff at GT Thunder, located in Millersburg, Ohio, have done their homework over the past few years and discovered ways to drastically improve stock suspension at an affordable price. "Our goal is to transform your stock suspension to outperform aftermarket setups," Sommers explains. We shipped all three of our TRX450R shocks to GT Thunder, and a little more than a week later they were ready to be mounted up.

In a nutshell, this is what the pros at GT did: They added a new linkage to the rear shock to improve the leverage ratio, changed the wheel-travel progression ratio and altered the location of travel. The rear shock received new valving and a spring to match the changes and the rider's weight. For the front, GT Thunder magically grafted on an additional 1.5 inches of travel so the suspension has more room to work. Finally, the front shocks got the revalving work and a dual-spring setup to match the rider's particular specs and weight. This package is about $740-significantly less than the thousands charged for a good aftermarket setup.

The installation proved effortless; after all, we only had to remount the stock shocks. Once all of the bolts were tightened, we dropped the Honda to the ground and immediately welcomed several new inches of sag. This new, lower stance enabled the TRX to shed its tendency to roll in fast corners. To our great relief, the rear linkage helped diminish the kicking and bucking, allowing us to charge hard through rough terrain without the threat of an over-the-bar trip. Best of all, our bodies really appreciated the disappearance of the energy-robbing jolts that the stock suspension couldn't smooth. Overall, the GT Thunder shock rebuilds were just the ticket, and now we can confidently take our TRX450 to any starting line or simply out for a good trail ride.-Thad JoseY