Rear shock size?

[chrisv]

I have a Large K2 evo 4.0, have an aluminum swingarm coming in, Shock Advice?
I was thinking about A fox forx vanilla R 125mm out front.
What size should i get in the rear, 8.5?
I was thinking about the 5th element or fox?
Thanks

Also anyone who has done the modifications necessary to install either rear shock please explain. I have read through the old forum and 5 pages of the new and am still kinda confused

[Old Proflexer]

there's a few in the gallerys

sprucey and i have 5th's and i've a spare with a fox on as well.  depending on bike usage and front fork, 7.875" to 8.50" will work just fine - with a 5" fork, i'd be inclined to run an 8.50" rear with a little extra sag.
(which i have and do)  for most of those, you'll have to notch the swingarm mount for lower spring clip


my gallery has a fox and 5th on the back end of a 4500 - in fact, check this out at the bottom of the page.  

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/customer-gallery2.html

OP

[Shaggy]

I've put up a few pics in my gallery of the shock (Vanilla RC) installation on my EVO.  Check out the RC Installed, Lower Shock Mount, and Clearance pictures.

http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/album_k2.pl?album=Shaggy

The installation procedure is straightforward.  The head of the shock is larger than the Noleen, so the mounting plates underneath the seat must be spread apart to accomodate it-I used Vise-Grips with a rag folded over several times in the jaw as to not damage the paint.
The lower mount has to be filed a little to accomodate the lower spring plate-pretty easy to do.  I ordered new bushings from Fox directly once I was satisfied with how everything looked.  If I remember correctly, the lower bushings were available almost in the exact width-minimial filing.  The bolt diameter is a little smaller than the bushing ID (a metric vs english thing) so I made a small shim from an aluminum can to tighten up the fit.  
The upper bushings were much longer than needed, so I ground them with a bench grinder.  
It's an 8.5" i2i, with a 5" fork in the front.  As OP said, a little more sag is necessary to lower the bike a bit (although I feel that my CG is still very high)...very pleased with the ride regardless.  

[chrisv]

Thanks for the links guys, the were great. I had seen the 1st pic not the second.

So, Old Pro which do you like better the 5th or fox??
What size spring, i weigh 210.
Thanks