01-22-2025, 09:11 PM
Hey Rdprdp01,
Ramblings of a bored old man follow...
Many owners have ridden huge mileage and are satisfied with the standard rear shocks. If it aint broke, don't fix it comes to mind. Although the stock shocks were comfortable they were a little under damped causing the occasional wallow so I went the other way and changed stuff just for the fun of it. My relevant learnings from an 'upgrade' of rear suspension are summarised below.
- no matter how fast you think you are we are street riders on the street, not racers on a track.
- aftermarket 'performance' suspension is usually focused for racing / track application.
- tracks are relatively smooth without the potholes and sharp edge bumps of streets.
- racing / track application suspension needs to manage braking, cornering and acceleration loads the occasional ripple or undulations but not potholes.
- adjustable suspension (preload, compression and rebound) is usually limited to the 'low speed' dampening and often via small / thin valved bypass openings.
- performance shocks 'high speed' dampening is usually relatively heavily damped as required to manage cornering loads.
- performance shocks look cool but even when correctly sprung for rider and bike weight they may not be ideal for rough streets.
- my performance shocks required re-valving to dramatically reduce high speed dampening.
- my shocks now run 0 weight fluid at zero rebound and zero compression dampening settings to achieve adequate comfort on the street.
Upgrading suspension is worthwhile however best results for street application may come from aftermarket shocks intended for street riding not track riding. As a bonus they may be the cheaper option.
Good luck with your project
Ramblings of a bored old man follow...
Many owners have ridden huge mileage and are satisfied with the standard rear shocks. If it aint broke, don't fix it comes to mind. Although the stock shocks were comfortable they were a little under damped causing the occasional wallow so I went the other way and changed stuff just for the fun of it. My relevant learnings from an 'upgrade' of rear suspension are summarised below.
- no matter how fast you think you are we are street riders on the street, not racers on a track.
- aftermarket 'performance' suspension is usually focused for racing / track application.
- tracks are relatively smooth without the potholes and sharp edge bumps of streets.
- racing / track application suspension needs to manage braking, cornering and acceleration loads the occasional ripple or undulations but not potholes.
- adjustable suspension (preload, compression and rebound) is usually limited to the 'low speed' dampening and often via small / thin valved bypass openings.
- performance shocks 'high speed' dampening is usually relatively heavily damped as required to manage cornering loads.
- performance shocks look cool but even when correctly sprung for rider and bike weight they may not be ideal for rough streets.
- my performance shocks required re-valving to dramatically reduce high speed dampening.
- my shocks now run 0 weight fluid at zero rebound and zero compression dampening settings to achieve adequate comfort on the street.
Upgrading suspension is worthwhile however best results for street application may come from aftermarket shocks intended for street riding not track riding. As a bonus they may be the cheaper option.
Good luck with your project