Vanilla RC on a 4000?

[Rob]

Has anyone ever mounted a 2004 Vanilla RC 8.5x2.5 on a carbon swing-arm? I have a '98 4000, and can get a good deal on this shock, but I'm not sure if it will fit. I'd rather find out before I buy!



thanks...

[shovelon]

Rob

Half the fun is venturing blindly into the unknown. Darkness will prevail until the shining light beckons.

Terry

[Matno]

Unless your frame is a small, you should have no problems.

[kiwi]

look back at the old old posts there are many strings devoted tot this subject,the vanilla is a favourite.....

[Rob]

I did read through the old posts (on both forums), and the information I gathered was:



- It fits perfectly, yay!

- It fit after I filed down the mounts

 - I now have 5+ inches of travel

 - I now have 6+ inches of travel

 - I now have 7+ inches of travel

- It didn't fit at all



It's also pretty hard to tell if someone was using a 2002, 2003, or 2004 RC. I'm sure there are physical difference between the three years, but I have no way of knowing.



I'll see if the shop still has them in stock on the weekend. I'll just take my whole bike down there and see how well it fits before buying it. For now, I have to go install the shiny new Judy SL fork I picked up last night...

[numbnuts]

you are totally right about the archives, very confusing when it comes to putting the van rc on a evo type frame[which is like a 4000 i think?]. when  evo 2000 were on sale a couple of years ago there was a lot of discussion on this topic and what i figured is that the 8.5 rc will not  fit on a small or med frame unless a 24" rear wheel is used, but will work on a large or x-large, due to clearence problems with the piggy-back thingy. It should be a straight  'bolt-on' otherwise.I have seen posts saying that it has been fitted to a med frame but maybe some mods were done.It probably won't matter if it is a carbon s/a .Anyway I am probably confusing you more as i don't know if evo stuff is relevant to '4000'

[Matno]

As for the travel on the EVO type frames, just multiply the stroke length by 2.7 for a rough estimate. It will get you to within 1/4" of dead-on every time (the travel isn't perfectly linear, so there is some variation, but not much).

And there is some variation in frames as far as shock clearance goes. Some frames allow the shock to mount one way and not the other, while others are the opposite. For example, the carbon frames have different mounting plates on the frame from the aluminum ones. Also, the carbon swingarms have slightly different clearance than the aluminum ones. Bottom line is that you have to try it out and see. I'm pretty sure you can fit the RC on any frame with some minor mods. The only one that won't fit is the small size frame (yes, the medium will fit with normal tires). Probably the hardest part to get right is the bushing width, which you may have to modify. I believe the 4000 frame may also require you to slightly spread the frame mounts (i.e. use wider bushings) to fit the RC. (IFO on the old forum clearly explained this one in his gallery).