rear shock adjustment

[Noon]

I'm needing to adjust my rear shock but am having trouble finding a how to video , its a 2005 Hayabusa .

so i realized the other day my rear suspension is waaaay to loose
when riding and i hit a dip in the road my bike will slam down , this has even bent my license plate in half , its a wonder the tire has not popped .

so i need to adjust the rear spring i believe to make it stiffer. I'm having trouble finding a good video on how to do this . it seems a lot of them remove the spring to adjust , can i adjust it while the spring is still on the bike ?
and its not a stock spring its aftermarket so its a little different , which makes my how to search even harder.
the spring is a fox racing shox twin clicker - Newport Cycle Parts - Fox Racing Shox -

i tried beating it with a screwdriver and hammer but i dinged it up on one of the grooves so i just stopped . there wasn't any scratches on the spring adjusters/ lock until i did that yesterday , which makes me think its easy to adjust .

there's a clicker, well 2 clickers and i don't know how to get them dialed in i messed with them yesterday a bit so i probably through them off some .

I'm lookin at spanner wrench sets on amazon but not sure what size i would need

oh and the suspension is too loose with me on the bike and I'm wanting to ride with a lady friend as a passenger on my bike next week as well so i think i should make the shock extra stiff right ?

i weigh 150 lbs and she probably weighs about 120/ 130

 

[sixpack577]

Dave Moss is the guy to watch for a good and simple explanation.

First of all, clean that shock before you do anything else.
Use degreaser and a toothbrush and get All of the threads clean.
Use compressed air if you have it.
If you don't, that shock will be Much harder to adjust, as all of that dirt and crud will be getting grinded through those fine threads.
I would loosen it to start with and clean under where it's positioned at now.

That stretch is also having an effect, and I wonder how well that particular shock is for it in general?
The shock could also be in need of a rebuild, as to me it appears to have alot of preload already, too much to be bottom-out bouncy, or maybe it's a drag shock desinged that way, and you happen to have the rebound and compression both set very soft.

@zeepopo2

 

[sixpack577]

Looking at that shock in the link, it mentions scraping a knee and crossing states, so that is saying stock length and street ridden, they will also be built for a rider's weight, which may have been a lighter rider that you are.
The longer swingarm works the shock harder, and preload is the first thing cranked down; how far you want to go on that, I could not say.
I would check and see what the spring rate is, by emailing Fox any part numbers that you can find, that Fox 700-500 may or may not have that info, sorry, I don't know Fox shocks.
I also don't know the best settings for stretched and drag bikes.
I could bandaid a better ride out of it in person, but stock wheelbase and curves are what I do, and, I paged zeepopo2, lol
I think he can help you

 

[zeepopo2]

Dr Popo here lol. I was paged haha.

Learn something everyday it seems. Never knew Fox made one for the Busa Gen 1. Based on the rate number of that spring and how little thread you have left I don't think you can make it work. It's wayyy to light a spring for a extended swingarm. You can lift her up and dial down more preload as Six said but based on how deep it is already, I won't be safe or give you performance when you need it. I'm pretty sure you'll have to go to 900 or 1000 spring minimum depending on swingarm length To adjust the preload you need to lift the rear tire off the ground by the swingarm pivot using I beleive a 1/2 in steel rod. I got mine so long ago I don't remember the exact size. Could use a smaller rod too but it will bend too much I beleive. Need car jack's on either side of the rod so then the swingarm has no load on it. Rear stand won't work. Need to lift thru the pivot. Then you can add more preload. Bandaid fix but better than where you are now. Need new spring and reshim the shock to match the hydraulic rate of the new spring.

I'm needing to adjust my rear shock but am having trouble finding a how to video , its a 2005 Hayabusa .

so i realized the other day my rear suspension is waaaay to loose
when riding and i hit a dip in the road my bike will slam down , this has even bent my license plate in half , its a wonder the tire has not popped .

so i need to adjust the rear spring i believe to make it stiffer. I'm having trouble finding a good video on how to do this . it seems a lot of them remove the spring to adjust , can i adjust it while the spring is still on the bike ?
and its not a stock spring its aftermarket so its a little different , which makes my how to search even harder.
the spring is a fox racing shox twin clicker - Newport Cycle Parts - Fox Racing Shox -

i tried beating it with a screwdriver and hammer but i dinged it up on one of the grooves so i just stopped . there wasn't any scratches on the spring adjusters/ lock until i did that yesterday , which makes me think its easy to adjust .

there's a clicker, well 2 clickers and i don't know how to get them dialed in i messed with them yesterday a bit so i probably through them off some .

I'm lookin at spanner wrench sets on amazon but not sure what size i would need

oh and the suspension is too loose with me on the bike and I'm wanting to ride with a lady friend as a passenger on my bike next week as well so i think i should make the shock extra stiff right ?

i weigh 150 lbs and she probably weighs about 120/ 130



View attachment 1680508

View attachment 1680509

View attachment 1680508

View attachment 1680509

View attachment 1680510

View attachment 1680511

 

[Kiwi Rider]

If it were my bike, I'd put a stock swingarm and stock rear shock back on it . . end of problems.
But that's me, and not the way you may approach this problem!
You are going to need to remove the shock and get it rebuilt with fresh oil and gas.
Then select the appropriate spring with the right spring rate for you and your light weight girl.
Here's a link to a spring selector chart on the Fox website, or you could just contact them direct and talk to their technical advisor/guru.

2020+ SLS and Standard Steel Rear Shock Spring Information | Bike Help Center | FOX

www.ridefox.com

Good luck!

 

[Noon]

Dr Popo here lol. I was paged haha.

Learn something everyday it seems. Never knew Fox made one for the Busa Gen 1. Based on the rate number of that spring and how little thread you have left I don't think you can make it work. It's wayyy to light a spring for a extended swingarm. You can lift her up and dial down more preload as Six said but based on how deep it is already, I won't be safe or give you performance when you need it. I'm pretty sure you'll have to go to 900 or 1000 spring minimum depending on swingarm length To adjust the preload you need to lift the rear tire off the ground by the swingarm pivot using I beleive a 1/2 in steel rod. I got mine so long ago I don't remember the exact size. Could use a smaller rod too but it will bend too much I beleive. Need car jack's on either side of the rod so then the swingarm has no load on it. Rear stand won't work. Need to lift thru the pivot. Then you can add more preload. Bandaid fix but better than where you are now. Need new spring and reshim the shock to match the hydraulic rate of the new spring.

would i be able to use a stock shock on my current setup / with the swingarm and what not ?

 

[zeepopo2]

would i be able to use a stock shock on my current setup / with the swingarm and what not ?

Should be able to. Just need a stiffer spring as well on the stock. Stock is around 810 lb spring. Stiffer that what you got but may not be enough. New spring, reshim and service should be around 300 for your shock from a good shop. The stock one can be serviced but needs to be modified to be done properly. If you aren't pushing the hell out of your bike you can just get a Stiffer spring for your current shock, but without the reshim it will be stiffer at low speeds and softer at high. Depending on your riding sensitivity and what you do with your bike it could be good enough. Spring replacement you can do yourself. Taking the shock out ain't hard.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Should be able to. Just need a stiffer spring as well on the stock. Stock is around 810 lb spring. Stiffer that what you got but may not be enough. New spring, reshim and service should be around 300 for your shock from a good shop. The stock one can be serviced but needs to be modified to be done properly. If you aren't pushing the hell out of your bike you can just get a Stiffer spring for your current shock, but without the reshim it will be stiffer at low speeds and softer at high. Depending on your riding sensitivity and what you do with your bike it could be good enough. Spring replacement you can do yourself. Taking the shock out ain't hard.

He really needs to establish whether the shock is actually dampening at all.

@Noon . . .question. . . is the shock just going boing boing or is it behaving normally over the bumps?
If boing boing boing is the case, its most likely leaked its oil out and it'll need a rebuild.
If behaving normally and oil is still intact, it will need a heavier spring.

 

[Noon]

I'm not really sure but i believe its going boing boing . i can press on the rear seat with one hand and make the shock go down.
its just like if there's is a dip in the road and I'm going at a decent speed it will smash down causing my license plate to hit the tire

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I'm not really sure but i believe its going boing boing . i can press on the rear seat with one hand and make the shock go down.
its just like if there's is a dip in the road and I'm going at a decent speed it will smash down causing my license plate to hit the tire

But does it bounce like its only spring action pressing down hard on the rear seat and then releasing?
Or does it feel like there is oil damped resistance?

 

[Noon]

im still kind of new so please bear with me , im not sure what you mean by oil damped resistance.

i really haven't noticed any problems except for when i hit those dips at a certain speed

it bounces back after i hit the bumps and dips .

but yea it kind of feels like its only spring action

 

[Oz22]

im still kind of new so please bear with me , im not sure what you mean by oil damped resistance.

I'd check the damper settings, on the Gen-2 they are two small screws at the top and bottom of the shock. The compression damping one is at the top, it should be out 7 or 8 clicks from fully in. Screw it in, noting how many clicks it takes (never force it) From your description it's a long shot but worth a look. I always record where things are just in case I screw up, they I can go back to where I started at least.

 

[zeepopo2]

He really needs to establish whether the shock is actually dampening at all.

@Noon . . .question. . . is the shock just going boing boing or is it behaving normally over the bumps?
If boing boing boing is the case, its most likely leaked its oil out and it'll need a rebuild.
If behaving normally and oil is still intact, it will need a heavier spring.

This is true. At 150 with a 700lb spring even with a extended arm I'm curious to see if any dampening is happening. Video of manually bouncing the rear will show that.

 

[Noon]

This is true. At 150 with a 700lb spring even with a extended arm I'm curious to see if any dampening is happening. Video of manually bouncing the rear will show that.

video pending , just a moment

 

[Noon]

im having trouble uploading the video idk if we can do videos ?

 

[zeepopo2]

I'm not really sure but i believe its going boing boing . i can press on the rear seat with one hand and make the shock go down.
its just like if there's is a dip in the road and I'm going at a decent speed it will smash down causing my license plate to hit the tire

Ok thats not right! No way one hand will push it down. I don't think there is any gas pressure or oil in the shock. This shock needs to be inspected and rebuilt.

 

[Hayabusa Wannabe]

im having trouble uploading the video idk if we can do videos ?

Video storage is too expensive for a forum. You can only upload the video to sites like YouTube and copy the url here to share it.

 

[Noon]

 

[sixpack577]

That shock is either dead, or the compression is on the softest setting.
That spring is too low of a weight rating too, as said above, as with as much preload as the spring has on it already, it should have alot more resistance than that.

 

[Noon]

i just ordered a heavy duty super spring .
gonna put it on that stock shock i reckon