Review: A-MAIZE-ING KUSTOMS Shock Work

[ben]

Over the summer I noticed that my sled seemed to be a little down. This was more than it just being unhappy about the heat or the long months ahead until winter. I tired jumping around on it, bouncing the tunnel up and down, etc. and nothing brought it up.

The suspension is an area that I have always thought needed some tuning on my XP. It was a little soft for me, always seemed a bit awkward in the bumps and just uncoordinated (for lack of a better term). The suspension seemed to fight itself, the terrain and the rider. Thinking I needed to have the shocks rebuilt, and in need of some tuning some advice, I asked around for recommendations from people that had this done. Eventually I came across Lynn William (AKA Maize) at A-MAIZE-ING KUSTOMS (http://www.maizekustoms.com) and started to work with him on a suspension plan.

Maize worked with me via email to help understand my issues and what I was looking for. This was eventually followed up with a phone call to talk about my specifics (build, riding style, etc.). Through this whole process I learned that the factory suspension tuning on the XP’s (and other sleds) often leaves a lot to be desired and really need to be tuned to the rider. The factory one size fits all approach to suspensions often is a no size fits anyone. This is why the “interview” is really important, and Maize insists on a voice call to make sure he isn’t missing anything.

It was pretty much a given that my shocks needed to be rebuilt and re-valved (something I already knew) but the more Maize worked with me the more I came to realize that I needed to make some changes to my springs as well. In the end I determined that I should rebuild/re-valve the shocks and replace my front springs, rear spring and torsion spring to better fit my needs. The great thing about this process was that Maize didn’t tell me what I had to do, but helped me wade through it all and acted as a resource that was available to help out with whatever I decided. Notice that I said “I” determined that I needed to do this, not “he”. I was very comfortable with this decision.

I removed the shocks from the front and rear (thanks to Mark from YMI for the help) and sent them off to Maize Kustoms for the work. Maize took care of everything. He had the shocks rebuilt and re-valved within a week of receiving them and had them back in the mail to me in no time. Along with rebuilding the shocks he did all the shopping for the new springs and included everything I needed in the box. As an added bonus Maize has a powder coat company he uses that powder coated my new springs black, something I have wanted to do.

Once everything was back together I took the sled out for the customary Elk Lake test ride. I can honestly say that the XP rode like a whole new sled. The harsh rebounds and annoying chatter were all gone. Torn up trails are no longer something to dread. Subsequent rides have demonstrated that it handles just as good, if not better, off trail as on. In fact, a Dragon owner rode it the other day and remarked that they liked how it handled (that was a new one for me).

Yes, you can spend a bunch of money and get a totally custom suspension, and Maize could probably help you out there as well. However, Maize has been able to help me use stock parts and some custom tuning to come up with a great suspension set up for a very reasonable price.

You can see some of his suspension work and get general pricing info at:

http://www.maizekustoms.com/pages/shock-pricing.php

Ben

[Maize]

Wow! I am blushing. Thanks for the write-up.

I just wish Oregon was closer. I haven't riden in Oregon but would like to. You guys sound like you all have a veritable playground in your backyards compared to driving 12-15 hours to get to the mountains from Iowa.

People around here always ask, "Why do you drive that far to ride when you can ride around here?"

I have to explain it like this: When you learn to snow ski in the MidWest, that is all you know and you are happy with that type of short-run skiing. But once you ski in the mountains, like Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Oregon, etc....you just don't ever want to ski in the MidWest again.

It is the same with mountain riding, once you get the "taste" mountain riding, there just isn't any substitute for it.

Thanks, again, Ben. I was a pleasure doing your sled.