Suspension guy said I need this....

theshnizzle

theshnizzle

Rainbow of Skittles
Registered
A suspension specialist told me that I would be wel advised to invest in a shock with pre-load and damping and with a remote adjustor. Since I load the bike with two 41 litre hard bags and a 55 litre topbox, the rear end is way down and thats why the bike is alot of work in corners.

Can you guys give me some suggestions of brands or better yet, where could I find a used one? Drag board? Turbo board?.....Whats a resonable price for a used one?

I was quoted about 1000 bucks for an Elka shock. Ohlins were about 1200 to 1400.
 
I know we have heavyweights on Busas here and they seem to do fine with the OEM suspension. You're not pushing 300 lbs (you, gear, luggage), are you? Maybe try adjusting the factory rear suspension first before spending on an upgrade.
 
theshnizzle said:
A suspension specialist told me that I would be wel advised to invest in a shock with pre-load and damping and with a remote adjustor. Since I load the bike with two 41 litre hard bags and a 55 litre topbox, the rear end is way down and thats why the bike is alot of work in corners.

Can you guys give me some suggestions of brands or better yet, where could I find a used one? Drag board? Turbo board?.....Whats a resonable price for a used one?

I was quoted about 1000 bucks for an Elka shock. Ohlins were about 1200 to 1400.
Click to expand...

I have the Ohlin's with the remote preload. I's nice to be able to easily set the sag for solo or fully loaded with the twist of a knob.
 
Are you sure your man has a title of "Suspension Specialist"? I'd find myself a new source of suspension expertise.

If you are overloading your bike, it's due to the spring, not the preload nor the dampening. The preload does not stiffen the spring as some folks think. Your busa is designed to haul passengers and I doubt very seriously if you are hauling 160 pounds or more in your bags. If so, you should remove the rocks, it will ride much better.

You are about to spend a grand on something that will do you little if any good while touring. Watch how Macon454 rides his busa with a passenger on a stock shock. If you can do better then maybe an Ohlins shock would serve you well. Otherwise, save your money for things that are important like taking the wife to dinner or attending a trackday or two. :beerchug:
 
I'm guessing he wants to be able to set the sag for when he has a full touring load and then revert back to a one up preload setting. The stock shock is a pain to set preload. Going back and forth between the two is difficult. Having a remote makes it much easier to make repeatable adjustments. Find the settings then just dial in clicks to get back and forth-tool less. As opposed to banging the nut around with a punch and hammer or a spanner that is hard to reach. Then you have to count the turns of the nut or measure each time, then lock it down.

To say that the stock set up is good for everyone because it's good for Macon454 is a stretch. The stock set up is a compromise that is designed to work ok for everyone. It probably works perfect for some, not so for most. Stock or aftermarket the spring should be selected for the load carried.

I think its money well spent, if you want a remote adjuster. You get the adjuster, a spring with the proper rate and damping adjustments that are in a more usable range than the stock shock. Then there is most likely much less friction/stiction in an aftermarket shock. It will do you some good even when touring, up to you to decide if this worth a grand or not.

Check for a Penske too.
 
You got that right! I carry ALL my camping gear, including my food. When the bike is loaded I can feel the rear end squatting lower for sure. It was a lot of work hustling that bike, loaded, through twisties 6 hours a day for 6 consecutive days.

I am not a big person,nor have the strength of a male and with my arthritis in my wrists and thumbs, having something that may make the bike easier to ride would be a bonus.

But after reading some of the comments here, I will have to give it more thought. It IS pricey, take me all winter to save up for that shock. It would totally suck if I bought it and put it on only to find it made no differnce.

( I am not even a quarter of the rider Macon is,but thanks for mentioning his name in my thread, I fell like a better rider already!..LOL)
 
If you are really loading it up, then having remote preload adjustment would be helpful. But I find it hard to believe that you are carrying enough gear to need that. Have you weighed what you are carrying? I'm guessing the total weight of your luggage does not break 75 Lbs tops, and IMO, should not cause a huge difference. That's like carrying a child on the pillion.

Also, have you had the current suspension tuned to your needs and weight? You can adjust the preload on the current shock, it just requires adjusting the rings on the shock.
 
I loaded my busa up for a six day trip last summer. Had about all I could stack on that fat chick. Once I threw a leg over the seat I couldn't feel any difference in the ride. Even had a little fun time in the mountains of Montana with Crazy Horse himself on a ZX14 and the fat chick on her stock shock worked flawlessly.

I think it's a waste of $$ and a fallacy to upgrade the shock in order to carry baggage on your busa. The beast is designed with a Progressive Spring and Progressive Linkage with the idea of loading gear or/and a passenger. If you are riding so hard as to make a difference in baggage or no baggage you should be getting paid to race!

Most aftermarket shocks come with a Linear Spring which is not conducive to carrying heavy loads.

What your Suspension Specialist was telling you is if you raise the rear of the bike by adding preload it makes the bike tip in with less effort by shortening up the trail on the steering. However, the preload adjustment is limited to about 10 mm of travel from one extreme to the other. If less trail is desired you can buy adjustable dog bones that will allow for a much wider range of adjustment for a tenth of the cost of a shock with ajustable ride height.
 
I'm not sure about the spring issue and what you should do. But I do know that the way you load your gear on the bike will affect the way it handles in the corners. Try loading your heavier gear over the back seat and keep your bags lighter. Tighten everything down proper cause bag sway will directly affect your handling. I am sure you already were aware of these but it may help. Try reorganizing and going for a ride and seeing if it helps. Gluck.

:)
 
Hey!! quit hijacking my thread!!

I use 3 hard bags so everything is nice and tight, and my 55 litre box is mounted on the passernger seat area, not on a rack behind the passenger area.
 
theshnizzle said:
Hey!! quit hijacking my thread!!

I use 3 hard bags so everything is nice and tight, and my 55 litre box is mounted on the passernger seat area, not on a rack behind the passenger area.
Click to expand...

Switch what things you put where. Also where are the pics?
 
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