My Busa Gets Shocked!

Busabim

Registered
For those of you who think the stock shock is any good I am here to confirm it is a piece of chit.

The hammering you get in the seat from a (new)stock shock compared to an aftermarket shock is unbelievable.

I installed a Elka 4 way adjustable with remote reservoir and the bike is transformed. I already had upgraded forks so now the combination is really smooth.

The major difference is you feel the bumps but they dont upset the bike or hammer your ass. The prices have really fallen and for $795 bucks you can transform a Gen 1 or 2 busa completely.

Anyone who says the stock shock is adequate has never ridden on any aftermarket shock on any bike.

Note how cleanly the remote reservoir was installed and hidden away.

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BB
 
For those of you who think the stock shock is any good I am here to confirm it is a piece of chit.

The hammering you get in the seat from a (new)stock shock compared to an aftermarket shock is unbelievable.

I installed a Elka 4 way adjustable with remote reservoir and the bike is transformed. I already had upgraded forks so now the combination is really smooth.

The major difference is you feel the bumps but they dont upset the bike or hammer your ass. The prices have really fallen and for $795 bucks you can transform a Gen 1 or 2 busa completely.

Anyone who says the stock shock is adequate has never ridden on any aftermarket shock on any bike.

Note how cleanly the remote reservoir was installed and hidden away.


BB

Really? :dunno:

So please, share with us mere mortals on exactly what that shock does for you that your stock shock could not?
 
Really? :dunno:

So please, share with us mere mortals on exactly what that shock does for you that your stock shock could not?

Have you ever ridden a track bike? Have you ever ridden an aftermarket shock on any bike? If not, dont worry about it. Stock is great
 
The point of the post was to illuminate the deficiencies with the stock rear shock which is usually baffed within 10k miles. Now if we had stock Ohlins (like a Ducati) that might be a bit different. I heard the Gen 2 is a little better but I would still bin it.

If my explanation wasnt clear enough, I dont know what is going to make it better.

BB
 
The point of the post was to illuminate the deficiencies with the stock rear shock which is usually baffed within 10k miles. Now if we had stock Ohlins (like a Ducati) that might be a bit different. I heard the Gen 2 is a little better but I would still bin it.

If my explanation wasnt clear enough, I dont know what is going to make it better.

BB

You brought it to our attention that the stock shock on your busa is a piece of sh*t. Apparently the OEM shock didn't live up to your expectations. Please explain yourself as to how you came to that conclusion? What did your OEM shock do or fail to do that prompted you to upgrade? :dunno:
 
Tuftbusa

I had discs herniate and couldnt walk and almost sold the busa. The pounding from stock shock on my lower back was/is unbearable. Moreover, the bike slides all over the place with lightened rear end.

I have $3KOhlinsfront forks and a $20 rear shock would not mate well with the (quality) front end and was a terrible mismatch.

if I had a stock front end I would still change out the rear shock if I was planning on riding for a few seasons. If you have never swapped one out it is pointless to describe. The difference is so pronounced even on the street it is unimaginable.

BB
 
I need to upgrade my forks. Feels like crap when i Brake. Just doesn't feel smooth

Nice setup

Well , I'm thinking if you weigh 185 or less you can probably adjust your way to happiness but for the big guys after market parts and a great adjustment is probably the only way to go. I manage with what the factory sent me.
 
Busabim.....Before you dig that hole any deeper, I'll bet if you asked Tuf for an autographed copy, he'd be glad to send you one...:)

Take a look at what it says right under his username...

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Tuftbusa

I had discs herniate and couldnt walk and almost sold the busa. The pounding from stock shock on my lower back was/is unbearable. Moreover, the bike slides all over the place with lightened rear end.

I have $3KOhlinsfront forks and a $20 rear shock would not mate well with the (quality) front end and was a terrible mismatch.

if I had a stock front end I would still change out the rear shock if I was planning on riding for a few seasons. If you have never swapped one out it is pointless to describe. The difference is so pronounced even on the street it is unimaginable.

BB

If you would have stopped by my pit and spent fifty bucks you could have saved yourself about $4K. I would have made your stock suspension ride so plush you couldn't tell the difference with a screwdriver and a spanner wrench. The busa has a soft plush ride by design from the factory. No other sport bike that I know of has such a big couch ride. My friends call my busa "The Marshmellow" due to the Cadillac ride.

That Elka shock you are so proud of does the same basics as your OEM. It has a spring that is controlled by hydraulics. You cannot change the spring rate without replacing the spring so it is what it is. However, you can control how fast the spring compresses as well as how rapidly the energy in the spring is released.

It appears you found yourself caught up in sales pitch that some magical event takes place in your new shock that gives your busa that magic carpet ride? My guess is you played with your OEM suspension until it was considerable worse then gave up. $4K later you have aftermarket suspension that arrived pre-set for a more compliant ride. If you failed to properly adjust your stock suspension for a softer ride, you most likely won't do any better with aftermarket :dunno:
 
Shock cost $795 and the rest was free with the bike. Look up John Sharrad, he set up the shock.

You like stock great, enjoy.i am aware of the adjustments available with stock unit and the incompatible materials used in the stock shock.

Also ride height adjustment kind of useful too.
 
John Sharrard know his stuff, that's for sure, but I would not expect his name to be familiar to our American friends on the Org. I have no doubt my Ohlins shock does not make me a faster or better rider. Having said that the remote preload adjuster and ride height adjustment are darn handy, especially since the Busa shock is impossible to shim. The range of damping adjustment seems to be greater on the Ohlins. I believe I read in the race tech bible that this has a lot to do with the shape of the needles in the orifices. Several clicks out from full stiff the stock shock no longer produced a noticeable change in the damping yet the Ohlins damping adjusters have an effect over their full range.

The stock shock setting seemed to me to be a little heavy on compression and light on rebound as at a good clip the rear seemed harsh over small sharp bumps, yet would loose traction, felt bouncy,and was unstable over rougher pavement. The Ohlins utterly eliminated all these symptoms.

For all the above reasons, plus the ease of rebuildability bling factor and it's my damn bike and my damn money convinced me the Ohlins was a wise investment. I'm sure an Elka shock would be as well.

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

cheers
ken
 
KML,

The stock shock setting seemed to me to be a little heavy on compression and light on rebound as at a good clip the rear seemed harsh over small sharp bumps, yet would loose traction, felt bouncy,and was unstable over rougher pavement. The Ohlins utterly eliminated all these symptoms. Duh.....

Finally someone who understands the problem. My bike was sliding all over the place (with single sided swingarm and) no weight in the rear and my much lighter wheels didnt help either. Now I can adjust right height and get it to turn in faster as well.

The harshness was brutal.

BB
 
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