FOX Racing Shox Test Ride

Team Nick

• April 30 2009
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FOX Racing Shox Test Ride

A few weeks ago, FOX Racing Shoxs invited us to come out for an intro of their entire line up. FOX set up an event that included demos, track time, and test/R&D time with FOX engineers for every shock line that they make. The intro was at Northern California’s Zaca Station MX track and included FOX’s industry-leading bicycle, ATV, and Off-Road divisions, as well as their newly redesigned MX division.

The ’09 Zaca Station event marks the first time FOX has ever staged an event that included all their divisions at once. Zaca Station MX is built on an immense cattle ranch located in the scenic hills of the Santa Ynez Valley. After having spent the last 15 years riding SoCal’s dreary, desert-like motocross tracks, oak trees, green grass, and great dirt is always a pleasant surprise.

FOX invited us to bring whatever ATV we wanted and they would install a complete suspension setup. Even better than that, they scheduled us each time with FOX’s engineers to fine tune the suspension according to our feedback after riding the track. The idea behind this was not only to send us home with a properly tuned suspension system, but also to help us really understand how adjustable these shocks are, as well as how to properly utilize them.

At Zaca Station there were various ways for us to experience the advantages of using FOX suspension. Ford was on hand with their new SVT Raptor F150 and the driver who raced it in the Baja 1000 to give demo rides. If you’re not familiar with Ford’s SVT Raptor, it is a very limited edition F150 that utilizes FOX’s internal bypass shocks, as well as long travel suspension and about a hundred other really cool off-road performance enhancing features. The demo rides were pretty amazing when considering that this is a vehicle available for purchase right off the dealership floor. I’ve spent a lot of time around the desert-racing scene, and while this is no race truck in stock form, it would definitely make a very capable and comfortable prerunner.

FOX had about 15 different ATV models with suspension mounted for us to experience. Nearly all the 450s as well as the flagship utility quads were there for us to try out. After spending a few minutes on each, I opted to concentrate on dialing in our YFZ450R I brought. After a 15-minute install, I was ready to ride. After hammering away a few laps on the motocross course, as well as the off-road course, the stock settings proved to be pretty close. A few adjustments to air pressures in the front shocks and a few clicks of high-speed compression at the rear was all it took to make the bike handle to my liking.

We also had the opportunity to drive a RZR S and a Teryx with FOX 2.0 piggyback shocks installed. After racing our own RZR S my first and foremost complaint is that the shocks work bitchin’ for all of about ten minutes. The valving and spring rate, while a little on the soft side, is still really good. The problem lies in volume, the stockers are just too small, and the oil quickly heats up, giving the driver a springy, under-damped ride. The addition of nothing but a larger 2.0 FOX Racing Shox proved to be a much bigger improvement than anything we have put to our RZR S yet. Flat landing off tabletops and doubles proved to be painless and forgiving, and punishing it lap after lap on the off-road course yielded the same predictable suspension performance as when we first hit the course.

All in all the event was a total success. I left knowing that our new Yamaha had a near-perfect suspension setup and I also left with a much better understanding of how to dial in the Float shocks no matter the conditions. The RZR driving session not only impressed me but also reiterated what we now need for our RZR. And I now need to figure out how to get Ford to loan me one of those new trucks sometime before the BAJA 1000.