Shocks

Valid questions. How aggressive of a rider are you? Usually the more aggressive a rider is the more they appreciate the changes. Me and a friend both had 162 M7s, both big guys, and riding the same areas. I've ridden since I big enough to swing a leg over a kitty Kat and he was a bit of a novice. I also have a MX background so I attack the bumps. I had Holz revalve both rear shocks and re-spring the front track shock. It was one of the best things I did to that sled and I could fly down the whooped out trail with much more control. He had a good local shop revalve his and he didn't really feel a difference. He also wouldn't take the chance to speed up and try to stay on the tops of the bumps and let the suspension work. Just did the slow "Ruh, Ruh, Ruh" through the moguls.

If you are a much lighter or much heavier rider than the average person you will notice it more too. If you ride 3' pow and no trail you're not going to feel it as much either. If there's a lot of rough trail or you sidehill through rough bombed out hills a good suspension setup can make a big difference. You also need to be completely honest about weight and riding style with a shock tuner/builder to get good results.

I have a close friend who is a motocross privateer...he is racing AMA supercross and is just starting to make main events, but, he still has to pay for his own bike/gear.

he just spend 20,000$ on suspension for his bike. I couldn't even imagine spending a number like that, especially for a set of forks and a shock!!. But does he notice it? At a level that extreme, absolutely.

rebuilding/revalving is worth its weight in gold, IMO. Sometimes the factory tried, but just didn't get it right. A couple changes here and there can make all the difference in the world. Its important to spend your suspension to someone who is familiar with your platform, so they are not just throwing random changes at it.

Another thing to is the service aspect. inside the shocks is oil, much like the oil inside your engine, after years of use and abuse that oil will break down and can change the characteristics of how the suspension behaves. its important to have it changed out every couple years.

So my suggestion is find someone who knows the suspension on your sled and see what they recommend. Throwing random parts at it can sometimes be in vain. Ive always used a guy Eric for Shock-tech.com and he has made great improvements for my machine. Hope this helps

Zero-Pros

I've got Fox Zero-Pros on my '11 Crossfire and once adjusted for my weight I think they give a better ride than the floats on my '10 M8! Rassmusen, when he rode for Cat liked them with Renton aftermarket springs. I changed out my RTS spring to a lighter one from HyGear.

Gen 1 Floats (what all the Ms had) have really progressive spring curves due to the low air volume. So they get stiff pretty quick. Not too bad for big guys but beat up lighter riders. I think that's why a lot of people preferred the coil over units.

2011s got revised shock valving over the 2010s. I think that goes for the coil overs too. OEM valving isn't great for two reasons: 1. Has to work ok (not great) for a wide range of riders and conditions. 2. Bean counters. If you can make one thicker shim in a shock work where two or three thinner ones are ideal, then they do it because it brings the cost of producing the sled down. They were notorious for this with the Ms. Just one or two shims on the rebound side where there should be 10-12 made them feel like pogo sticks in the rear.

The oil in sled shocks is a big deal that is overlooked by most people. The factory shocks are assembled so fast they don't get bled very well so there is a lot of air in them to start with. Sled shocks also get a lot of water in them from the environment they are in going from hot to cold all the time. So air+water+oil breakdown=poor ride quality.

If you get the rears re-done, I recommend you have the "Burandt Kit" installed. Most shops will do this for less than $200. Includes new valving spec, higher flow pistons, and high volume seal head (less progression) for the rear shock. It does make a difference and I was even running it on my proclimb track shocks.