Figure I'd start a thread since there are a couple of non-standard things going on with the rear suspension.
First off, no that isn't a typo on the Specialized website, the rear shock is 8.5"x2.375". It is a normal 2.5" stroke but there is an external reducer on the shaft. Investigating, I found no real need to use the reducer (at least on my large) as there is still enough clearance between the seatstay brace and the seat tube before it makes contact. With the bottom out bumber of the Fox DHX 4.0 compressed as much as I could (leaving say at most .200" of usable shock travel left there was sufficient room between the brace and seat tube. The shock would have needed to compress probably about .5 to .75" more for there to start being problems.
Another thing you may notice is that the bike has two geometry settings but unlike in years past, Specialized doesn't have the settings etched to the linkage or shock mounts. Flip the two aluminum mainframe shock mounts around and move the rightside one to the leftside and vise-versa. This will put the bike in the taller/steeper setting.
Lastly, the Fox shock on the bike is non-standard so using an aftermarket shock will require you to be a bit creative. I did some searching and it appears that this years Demo's hardware mods will need to be different than past ones. Reducers and spacers for mounting to the mainframe should be transferable, since they are the common 12.70mm/.500" size. The rear chainstay mount will need to be modded because the eyelet is a non standard 15.15mm ID and the shock bolt is internally threaded with a 15mm OD. The mod for a normal shock is actually pretty easy, and in a week or so I should have it figured out when my Rocco gets in and will update this with reducer and spacer size info.
First off, no that isn't a typo on the Specialized website, the rear shock is 8.5"x2.375". It is a normal 2.5" stroke but there is an external reducer on the shaft. Investigating, I found no real need to use the reducer (at least on my large) as there is still enough clearance between the seatstay brace and the seat tube before it makes contact. With the bottom out bumber of the Fox DHX 4.0 compressed as much as I could (leaving say at most .200" of usable shock travel left there was sufficient room between the brace and seat tube. The shock would have needed to compress probably about .5 to .75" more for there to start being problems.
Another thing you may notice is that the bike has two geometry settings but unlike in years past, Specialized doesn't have the settings etched to the linkage or shock mounts. Flip the two aluminum mainframe shock mounts around and move the rightside one to the leftside and vise-versa. This will put the bike in the taller/steeper setting.
Lastly, the Fox shock on the bike is non-standard so using an aftermarket shock will require you to be a bit creative. I did some searching and it appears that this years Demo's hardware mods will need to be different than past ones. Reducers and spacers for mounting to the mainframe should be transferable, since they are the common 12.70mm/.500" size. The rear chainstay mount will need to be modded because the eyelet is a non standard 15.15mm ID and the shock bolt is internally threaded with a 15mm OD. The mod for a normal shock is actually pretty easy, and in a week or so I should have it figured out when my Rocco gets in and will update this with reducer and spacer size info.