Two years ago at a trade show before the slingshot was released I was on
a quest to find a shock manufacture to work with on developing shocks
for the slingshot.
I approached all the major manufactures including the ones that now make
shocks for the sling. Everyone shot me down. Pissed off and frustrated I
grabbed a beer and started my trek out of the convention center. I come
around a corner and I see a booth with lots of shocks with signs that
say JRi.
Humm….I thought to myself never heard of JRi but they have shocks! Let’s
give it one more try. I go to the booth and introduce myself and give
my speech that is now canned. The gentleman I was talking to said “let
me have you talk to our engineer, he’s right over here”
I talk to Steve ( JRi’s engineer) and he sounds interested and is
willing to listen. I tell him there is a slingshot on display at the
Kenda tire booth if you want to walk over and take a look. Sure he says!
So we head over and Steve looks over the stock shocks and says no
problem, we can make shocks and would be happy to work with you. SWING!
This took place in November and when I returned home we got the project
started. I sent out my stock shocks to Steve and gave him the specs on
the slingshot ( weight, handling impressions, and goal with better
shocks) When Steve received the OEM shocks they were tested on their
shock dyno to check valving and performance.
By early January I received the prototype set of shocks specifically
designed ground up for the slingshot. We had a mild winter so on they
went on my machine and out I went testing. Testing took a month and
consisted of changing out springs to change/test various spring rates as
well as a handful of re-valving to get the correct valving right for
the sling. Once I got the settings right the shocks went into
production. We released shocks in February.
Before any work started after our first meeting I came home and did a
little homework on JRi since I had never herd of them. Wow is what I
found! Jeff Ryan is a legend in motorsports and has been building shocks
and winning races for years from Indy, Nascar, off road, street etc….
here is a lil bio on Jeff
jrishocks.com/contactus/jeff-ryan-bio/
The reviews come in and allot of people were shocked by the improvement
these shocks make. I work more and more with Jeff and Steve and get to
know them well and we have since become good friends.
JRi shocks have a big advantage over the competitors you can read all the technical info here:
jrishocks.com/technical/jri-advantage/
Not only are the shocks industry leading but a HUGE advantage that no
other shock manufacture has is our combined service. We are out at most
major events and if you need sales, service, technical assistance, or
warranty work we can do that on the spot in most cases. All shocks are
hand made right here in the USA by humans and I’ll be honest we have had
some leak from a bad seal that was nicked during assembly or a seal
just goes bad.
Because of the relationship I have with JRi if a problem arises I
usually send/text pics to them especially after-hours and the problem is
handled right away. I can assure you we will take care of you even
after the sale.
So in the end it was meant to Be for Alpha and JRi to team up especially
since Steve and Jeff love beer and maybe even a bit more than I do!
Here is a pic of Steve at a event with us, and he brings us BEER!
