Rear shock adjustment

Cruising180

Cruising180

Registered
How and what spanner or tool do you guys use to adjust your preload on the rear shock? I beat the hell out of my had for 30min yesterday with the cheap ass cycle gear preload wrench I have. It worked great on my FZ-10 I used to have but with the Busa I may get 1/8th of a turn then I reposition and it'll slip causing me to smash my hand/wrist on the left passenger peg bracket. Is the Motion Pro wrench better? It looks like the tab is angled instaed of just a square. I know I'm too heavy for the stock springs at 230lbs but I'd still like to set my sag as good as I can. Thanks
 
I beat the tar out of mine with a brass punch and wish I had seen this beforehand; Some hints from @sixpack577 on making it easier:

www.hayabusa.org

Tools for a wannabe | Maintenance and Do-It-Yourself

Front and rear axle are around 72' lbs, so a half inch breaker bar will be enough. I also torque them with a 3/8 drive Snap-On torque wrench(it has a 15-100' lb range). Front sprocket and clutch hub nut can both be difficult to remove with hand tools, but I have done both this way Many...
www.hayabusa.org www.hayabusa.org
 
Hayabusa Wannabe said:
I beat the tar out of mine with a brass punch and wish I had seen this beforehand; Some hints from @sixpack577 on making it easier:

www.hayabusa.org

Tools for a wannabe | Maintenance and Do-It-Yourself

Front and rear axle are around 72' lbs, so a half inch breaker bar will be enough. I also torque them with a 3/8 drive Snap-On torque wrench(it has a 15-100' lb range). Front sprocket and clutch hub nut can both be difficult to remove with hand tools, but I have done both this way Many...
www.hayabusa.org www.hayabusa.org
Click to expand...
I just bought one of these.

Shock Spanner Punch - Motion Pro

Motion Pro - High quality cables, tools and controls for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.
www.motionpro.com www.motionpro.com

But it's a mixed bag frankly. The length is right but they should have made the brass tip replaceable. As is it gets chewed up in use. They tell you to just grind it...
 
Just remove the shock and put it into a vice connected to a sturdy bench, then spray the threads with penetrating fluid, then loosen the lock ring and wind up the preload ring with a proper fitting C spanner.
If you’re going to leave the stock spring on, wind up the ring 3 full turns to start with and then refit the shock to the bike.
Then check to be sure you still have some static sag… then secure the lock ring on the shock.
Ideally you will fit a heavier spring to suit your weight.
 
On my gen 3 the rear spring was really pretty heavy in the factory setting, yes the fronts are weak but at 245 pounds (me) the rear needed NO adjustment from factory, in fact to get sag set I would need to go softer......checked it 3 times same result. ??
 
Sinister#4 said:
On my gen 3 the rear spring was really pretty heavy in the factory setting, yes the fronts are weak but at 245 pounds (me) the rear needed NO adjustment from factory, in fact to get sag set I would need to go softer......checked it 3 times same result. ??
Click to expand...

For clarity do you have recommended sag of 25-30mm, or are otherwise very close to it with the stock setting?

I plugged in rider weight in Race Tech's calculator and back-calculated that the gen 3 stock stock spring rate at 14.5kg/mm is good for around a 220 lb rider for average street riding. (For aggressive/track riding the weight capacity reduces from there.) But shocks are good for a pretty wide range so I would think you would be fine, and work on the shock would be a poor value for you.
 
In the stock setting 470mm unloaded, 5mm sag for 465mm sitting and 437 with me on it for sag of 28mm now that being said the 30% number would be about 40mm If im measuring the total travel at 140mm ? So far for agressive riding canyons here it seems good to maybe a tad soft. I have not touched the rebound or compression, front is at full stiff stock spring setting
 
I ordered the punch and their shock collar spanner. Hopefully that'll be a better one than what I already have. The bike only has about 500 miles on it so I don't think it need penetrating oil. We'll see how it goes when the new tools show up.
 
Cruising180 said:
I ordered the punch and their shock collar spanner. Hopefully that'll be a better one than what I already have. The bike only has about 500 miles on it so I don't think it need penetrating oil. We'll see how it goes when the new tools show up.
Click to expand...

The friction from turning those threads under load generates heat, so making sure the threads are clean, with a toothbrush, rag, and a Small Amount of penatrating oil of some kind, makes turning the spring nut Much easier.
 
Hayabusa Wannabe said:
If we are able, should we be unloading the rear (swingarm stand)? Would that make shock adjustment easier?
Click to expand...

That really depends more on how stable the bike is, as in how it's supported, as sometimes you have to put some force into pulling on the spanner wrench to turn the nut.
Unless you have a Bursig style stand, or want to put a steel rod through the frame and lower it on jackstands, the bike is more stable on the kickstand for breaking the nut loose, and if the threads are clean, you can adjust it easily on the ground or a swingarm stand.
 
Hayabusa Wannabe said:
If we are able, should we be unloading the rear (swingarm stand)?
Click to expand...
A swingarm stand will not unload the shock. To unload it, the easiest way is with a 3 foot chunk of 5/8" roundbar and some jack stands. If you look at the springs I just did on my rear shock you can see the stock spring on the Left and the Eibach spring on the right has the Racetech Spring adapter cup sitting on it. This allows the preload adjuster rings to bear on it instead of just digging into the Powder coat on the spring with the stocker. Better mousetrap.
1698789323609.png


1698789368898.png
 
bigoltool said:
A swingarm stand will not unload the shock. To unload it, the easiest way is with a 3 foot chunk of 5/8" roundbar and some jack stands. If you look at the springs I just did on my rear shock you can see the stock spring on the Left and the Eibach spring on the right has the Racetech Spring adapter cup sitting on it. This allows the preload adjuster rings to bear on it instead of just digging into the Powder coat on the spring with the stocker. Better mousetrap.
View attachment 1672281

View attachment 1672282
Click to expand...
That ring looks like it will save a lot of fingers.
 
bigoltool said:
A swingarm stand will not unload the shock. To unload it, the easiest way is with a 3 foot chunk of 5/8" roundbar and some jack stands.
Click to expand...

My terms may not be correct as it seems they call rear wheel stands "swingarm stands", but I meant for example my Skylift that holds the swingarm holes. Is that what you are referring to as to where the round bar should go?

Nice protector for the spring. I hate when equipment contacts and abrades fine finishes...dumb, dumb, dumb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

LuapSouthFlorida
Rear spring preload
Replies
4
Views
1,102
Hayabusa Wannabe
Hayabusa Wannabe
F
Tools for suspension and controls adjustment
Replies
4
Views
333
Flows
F
Liltroy
rear preload adjustment
2
Replies
21
Views
10,622
Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones
B
rear suspension
Replies
3
Views
1,988
Blue1
B
lambretta man
Spring Preload adjustment- Link Pro?
Replies
1
Views
1,808
lambretta man
lambretta man
Back
Top