[bustanut]

so I got ambitious and decided it was time to get a custom setup on my rear shock I couldn't get it to work perfect while hard cornering, probably could of went with a stiffer spring but I figured screw it and went to install race tech gold valve and rebound seporator. watched the refreshor video as it has been a while since I have torn down a rear shock. according to suzuki it is non servicable it is servicable but if anyone is doing this mod be sure to order a new bladder cap as the stock suzuki one doesn't have a schrader valve.so now I have my bike apart and am waiting on the cap. according to the tech at racetech doing the rebound seporator valve makes a huge difference in pitch control under hard accel and braking.hopefully they were spot on with their set up. will keep you posted on how it turns out.

 

[Clarksroom]

Keep us informed, I have the same bike and want to do some suspension mods so I will wait to see what you think.. Rough est. to do what your doing? Thanks man!!

 

[bustanut]

here's a cost breakdown in canadian dollars.
shock spring roughly $150
gold valve $230
rebound sep valve $40
shok oil 2.5weight $30
nitrogen charge $20


spring should be here tomorrow or friday. pretty pumped to see if it works really well. hopfully racetech will be spot on.:hmmm:

 

[bustanut]

o.k so My spring came in finally, shock is revalved and recharged,
bike back together,set the sag to about 32mm and tried it out in the twisties. the rear end seemed a bit busy with the clicker settings recomended, got a bit of an occilation going mid corner that shook the confidence a little,so I tightened up the rebound 2 clicks in, better,1 click compression. better yet. left the settings there and started to push it harderthrough the corners. i'd say it was a worth while mod. its soaks up bumps better,doesn't seem to pitch back and forth on accel or braking as much. it holds a tight line better as well. theresults were worth the money for sure.:thumbup::thumbup:


-recomend the seporator valve as it is cheap and seems to do a good job for predictable corner entry.
-the shock oil is a 2.5wieght if you don't use racetech ultraslick-0
the video that comes with the gold valve is a little old,you will need a syringe to bleed off nitrogen pressure. other than that the video is a big help.
-requires good organization and cleanliness. good mechanical skills as well.

 

[SuspensionGooRu]

Shock rebuild

You can achieve the same thing by changing the factory shim stack out for thicker shims in both the rebound and compression. The factory piston weighs about 100g after market pistons weigh about 35g less weight less friction.

I always change the factory shim stack out with and replace the
.20 thick shims on the compression with .25 and the .15 shims on the rebound with .20 and .25 shims.

This is an example of what I replace on factory oem shocks when I build them.

[/IMG]

Need an OEM rear spring I have a few lying around just changing out the rear spring will make a world of difference

[/IMG]

Installing a new shim stack and an aftermarket high flow piston will give you a larger adjustability range.

[/IMG]

Weight difference between stock piston and aftermarket pistons

Aftermarket piston

[/IMG]

Stock OEM piston

[/IMG]

The two side by side

[/IMG]

Getting the shock properly bleed and having the right tools to do it is the most important. Cleaing all the parts polishing the shaft and making sure the seal and dust wiper are not worn or damage is very important.

[/IMG]

A lot of OEM rear shocks do not have schrader valves to fill them with nitrogen so you have to replace the OEM cap with one.

[/IMG]

Another thing to do is add ride height since oem shocks do not have ride height adjusters so add a shim to the top of your clevis if possible to help your bike turn quicker.

[/IMG]

Changing out the rear spring to fit your size is a huge step and will make your rear shock actually work and do what it is supposed to do then set your sag and you are ready to hit the corners.

[/IMG]

 

[bustanut]

damn suspensionguruu, you got your ducks in a row, I have my buke resprung,revalved with a gold valve and a seporator valve, after the fact i installed two washers on the clevis and it seemed to help as well, i was just going off best guess when i figured that i could shim it for sharper turn in, glad to see i wasn't far off.
how are you with forks? I might get a suspension shop to install traxxion cartridges and get an aftermarket shock built for me. suspension off the bike of course.

 

[SuspensionGooRu]

damn suspensionguruu, you got your ducks in a row, I have my buke resprung,revalved with a gold valve and a seporator valve, after the fact i installed two washers on the clevis and it seemed to help as well, i was just going off best guess when i figured that i could shim it for sharper turn in, glad to see i wasn't far off.
how are you with forks? I might get a suspension shop to install traxxion cartridges and get an aftermarket shock built for me. suspension off the bike of course.

Those traction cartridges are no different then you stock cartridges. I can sell you the same thing for about half the money with new springs included. And I can install them also for a few more bucks with new seals and dust wipers plus I will polish your chrome tubes. We have a bottom out bumper that replaces your OEM metal bumper that is our own design that will help prevent damage to your cartridges and extend the life of your seals from wheelies and stoppies.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Plus I have a few things they do not.

[/IMG]

All u need is a spring compressor and you are in business.

Extremely over priced for what you get. Your bike already has 20mm cartridges in them.

[/IMG]

If you want to drop that kind of coin my 25mm kit is the way to go.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[you da man]

For $100 more you could have gotten a gently used Penske. I admire you doing your own work though :thumbup:. I've had stock shocks revalved/resprung before and never felt I got my moneys worth compared to getting an actual Penske double or triple.

 

[SuspensionGooRu]

For $100 more you could have gotten a gently used Penske. I admire you doing your own work though :thumbup:. I've had stock shocks revalved/resprung before and never felt I got my moneys worth compared to getting an actual Penske double or triple.

Yep Penske and Ohlins are the way to go if you have the extra cash. I have bought several used Ohlins off of Ebay for around $500. You do not see to many used ones and when you do they are scooped up quick. Both shocks I purchased required some fresh oil and a little cleaning, which if you do not know how to service an Ohlins or Penske, or have the right tools and knowledge it can set you back a couple C notes.

There are two types of markets out there the guys with unlimited funds and the guys on a buget. These types of mods are great for street riders and track days. I have seen guys who do club races go this route with their stock shocks and have no complaints.

For me this is my hobbie when I am not working on F15, F100-220 jet engines, I am playing with motorcycles in my garage. I love to see a good mod work for people. I helped a rider put a 04/05 gsxr 600/750 on his SV yesterday and it worked great. I also took a stock shock on a 02 ZX12 last week and did the same thing to it, and replaced his 600lb spring with a 850lb due to the fact he weighed 300lb himself.

He tried putting an 04/05 ZX10 shock on, and it did not fit due to the reservoir position. Then he tried an 06/07 ZX10 stock shock same thinge would not work. So we rebuilt his OEM shock and changed out the spring for his size dialed in the sag and still had 6mm of free sag.

So it all comes down to your pocket book and what you are trying to accomplish and you can get some close results for a few bucks less.

 

[you da man]

Yep Penske and Ohlins are the way to go if you have the extra cash. I have bought several used Ohlins off of Ebay for around $500. You do not see to many used ones and when you do they are scooped up quick. Both shocks I purchased required some fresh oil and a little cleaning, which if you do not know how to service an Ohlins or Penske, or have the right tools and knowledge it can set you back a couple C notes.

There are two types of markets out there the guys with unlimited funds and the guys on a buget. These types of mods are great for street riders and track days. I have seen guys who do club races go this route with their stock shocks and have no complaints.

I hear you on that. Got a friend of mine riding in AMA and he is not close to being made of money. As an expert in the club level, winning more than a handful of class championships his forks were always stock valves but resprung and his shock was a Penske double...not a triple or the most exotic Ohlins.

 

[SuspensionGooRu]

I hear you on that. Got a friend of mine riding in AMA and he is not close to being made of money. As an expert in the club level, winning more than a handful of class championships his forks were always stock valves but resprung and his shock was a Penske double...not a triple or the most exotic Ohlins.

Ya our club racing is slowly declining in numbers due to the cash flow situation in most households today. Last race due to the rain only half the members showed up to race due to the fact that they did not want to spend the money on rain tires.

I have also seen some pretty fast guys on stock suspension and have always wondered what they would do on a real bike. I am seeing more and more riders come to me who just want the springs replaced in both the forks and shock. It is easier on the pocket book.

 

[you da man]

Ya our club racing is slowly declining in numbers due to the cash flow situation in most households today. Last race due to the rain only half the members showed up to race due to the fact that they did not want to spend the money on rain tires.

I have also seen some pretty fast guys on stock suspension and have always wondered what they would do on a real bike. I am seeing more and more riders come to me who just want the springs replaced in both the forks and shock. It is easier on the pocket book.

In the CMRA, 3 years ago in the stock 600 class we were gridding 50+ bikes in 3 wave starts. Every race was 30+ bikes in the expert and novice classes. We even have a really cool class called Formula 40 which is a "run what you brung" class and the only requirement is that you are at least 40 years old. Even that class used to grid 40+ bikes. Nowadays the stock 600 class 30-35 bikes and it's not near the crashfest it used to be with 50+. Three seasons ago I gridded up in a 58 bike grid :thumbup:

 

[flyin low]

subscribed AAAA WOW.... Hey SuspensionGooRu can you do this type of build with out the rider? as in me sending you the forks and rear shock? i am trying to get my 01 600 set for the track but do not have the money for the nice parts...

 

[SuspensionGooRu]

subscribed AAAA WOW.... Hey SuspensionGooRu can you do this type of build with out the rider? as in me sending you the forks and rear shock? i am trying to get my 01 600 set for the track but do not have the money for the nice parts...

Some bikes when rebuilding the rear shock you need to have it order to make sure the compression and rebound shim stacks are right. Some bikes need bleed holes in the piston while others do not. GSXR"S are the most popular bikes and easier to work with when it comes to their suspension. All the new 09 stuff is different and requires special tools to take them apart. The best way to discribe them is they use a shock piston in place of a normal 20mm cartridge and you need three special tools to take them apart.

 

[flyin low]

Mine is an 02 600....

 

[toly900]

You can achieve the same thing by changing the factory shim stack out for thicker shims in both the rebound and compression. The factory piston weighs about 100g after market pistons weigh about 35g less weight less friction.

I always change the factory shim stack out with and replace the
.20 thick shims on the compression with .25 and the .15 shims on the rebound with .20 and .25 shims.

This is an example of what I replace on factory oem shocks when I build them.

[/IMG]

Need an OEM rear spring I have a few lying around just changing out the rear spring will make a world of difference

[/IMG]

Installing a new shim stack and an aftermarket high flow piston will give you a larger adjustability range.

[/IMG]

Weight difference between stock piston and aftermarket pistons

Aftermarket piston

[/IMG]

Stock OEM piston

[/IMG]

The two side by side

[/IMG]

Getting the shock properly bleed and having the right tools to do it is the most important. Cleaing all the parts polishing the shaft and making sure the seal and dust wiper are not worn or damage is very important.

[/IMG]

A lot of OEM rear shocks do not have schrader valves to fill them with nitrogen so you have to replace the OEM cap with one.

[/IMG]

Another thing to do is add ride height since oem shocks do not have ride height adjusters so add a shim to the top of your clevis if possible to help your bike turn quicker.

[/IMG]

Changing out the rear spring to fit your size is a huge step and will make your rear shock actually work and do what it is supposed to do then set your sag and you are ready to hit the corners.

[/IMG]

as I understand it ride height is used to control squat not the rate of turn in and can cause more problems than it solves. i.e front end push and side grip issues.I wouldn,t object to a tuner using it but most bikes these days can do without it and gsxrs in particular already load up the front too much.Not looking for an argument but I think people should be aware of what happens when you muck about with geometry without knowing how to use the adjustment to benefit them.
I run an 02 750 and have kept the stock length with my upgrades and it turns very well