rear shock ideas

[Troll]

Exorcising the Devils you don't know....

[CDNRatMan]

  I grease the 3 fittings under the bike before every long trip and the same as the chain, just because it can not hurt. I am also at the 33 mark now and I want to have Dave do the valves with me because I am not sure when they were done either, so the plan is to do as much as I can to make sure that the bike outlasts me .......everything will be cleaned greased and looked at very carefully.

[Troll]

  It's nice to have a ready reference "book" handy, especially when getting involved in something new. I'm thinking you might find that the 13 year old bearings are not as well lubed as you might think. I repacked the swing arm bearings on mine when I took the swing arm off to do the U-joint, about 20,000 miles ago, and again when I took it off to replace the Bevel Drive...(and I greased the u-joint while it was accessible). They were all in good shape, but you have no idea when yours were completely lubed. I know you said you greased the 3 fittings, but, as you see from the diagram, there are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

[CDNRatMan]

The sign of a smart man is how much he agrees with you.

We are on the same page, you and I on this subject. On a side note the local Kaw shop to save money over the winter lays off their mechanic, and he is not getting paid. I have had a chance to talk to him about this, and he is more then willing to drop over and check my work and lend a hand were needed, and of course he has all the special tools I would need.
I am sure with my limited mechanical skill and Dave standing over my shoulder I will be able to tackle and do this chore, if all else fails I am sure someone from Cheese Country can come for a weekend visit to help me out. Yes once the lights come off I'll have 3 months to get all my work done.
I'll post my list of projects soon and then as I do them I'll take pictures and post a thread for that mod, if Chief wants to include them.

[Troll]

While you are in there, since we have a member who is dealing with needle bearing issues, I would completely disassemble the rear suspension, clean and lube all the bearings and replace the damper/spring assy. Looking at the diagrams, not all the bearings can be externally lubed. You have a nice warm place to work, so after you take the Christmas lights off, you can get going on it. Think of how much you will learn, and then there is the intimate bonding.

[CDNRatMan]

     good on the weight lose, so now if I follow you
my spring is worn out because I have the adjustment on 7 and have on a few good bumps bottomed out. So with a new progressive rear shock you can adjust the sag on the bike to your weight, then use the numbers as a fine tuning. So real good idea for me right now is to just replace the shock. Then going to follow GreenBarn's idea and replace the front springs with 1500's. Plus I need to lose about 40 lbs. or a half a person.

[Troll]

Ok, time to get into this....The "shock" is not what you think. It's really a spring damper. If the shock wasn't functioning, the rear of the bike would bounce like a basket ball over every bump, and continue doing so until all the energy was dissipated. The adjustments on the 1500 shocks are for spring rate (using air as the medium) and rebound damping, which is the speed at which the suspension recovers after a compression, or extends in, say a quick stop. The 800 have a mono shock with the spring wrapped around it. The adjustment everybody fiddles with is for spring rate. The damping ability of the shock has no bearing on it's load carrying capacity, just how fast the rebound energy is controlled. It's just exactly like the struts in a car. What you need is to increase the load capacity by replacing the SPRING which is what carries the weight. I just went to progressive suspension's web site, and they DO NOT list a replacement spring for the 800, just a complete assembly. MAYBE the spring cannot be removed without destroying the shock...that happens. I would now do one of three things...either get in touch with Hagon and see if they offer an alternative spring, live with it, or lastly...what I did...go on a diet. I've lost 10 lbs since the beginning of August...

[CDNRatMan]

  If I was as young as you, I might think about it, but with my lower back issues and such I'll take any suspension I can get and then some more.

[Darth Wraith]

Convert to rigid end ( or plunger suspension) @ spring seat, more like an old Indian... When my rear shock will die, probably I'll do it.

[CDNRatMan]

  I got one positive response today from one of the 5 people I contacted about rebuilding the original shock. He has stated he does rebuilds for any model of motorcycle in his ads but what I was supposed to read in there and find was he only does high end dirt bikes, not street bikes.......well I guess I need to learn to read between the lines or be a mind reader. The rest still want a picture of the shock before they will make a commitment.
At this point in time I am more inclined to find the best price on a progressive 456 and buy and be done with it. I am going to follow my good buddy and pal's post on the forum here and install the Drifter 1500 progressive front fork springs in my 800, because he said it made a huge difference in his riding comfort.
These will be my winter projects and again pictures with a write up will be included, if I can remember that far ahead.

[JLA]

Hi RatMan,

I'm joining to this discusion. You know I'm having problems with my rear suspension although in the beginning I think it is due to 'free movements' in tie-rod and/or arm. But after or before I will replace or repair the shockabsorber. And these mechanical issues are very attractive to me.

[dakuhosu]

I rebuild shocks on older vehicles when they can't be replaced easily. It works.

[CDNRatMan]

  Walter just got off that Hagon site, really nice, but it would not let me get any shipping charges becasue I would not log in or open an account, but the conversion rate stopped me cold.

it was between $490.00 to $693.00 CDN depending on the shock and then a $81.95 tax levy and so far no shipping unless it is free and I really doubt that it would be free.

So I'll keep look look

[waltervl]

Have you looked at hagon shocks from the UK? www.hagon-shocks.co.uk

Someone here on the forum also used the hagon on his 1500. you have to search for it.

[49Reo]

....how "shocking"......

[CDNRatMan]

  This is a winter project so it might be a couple months before I get started, unless we get that wicked long winter they are calling for. The caterpillars have a thick covering already so it is coming.
But Rob not an issue I'll keep you informed about all the things I have been doing.
One of the guys I talked to during my research also talked about building the shock to a custom weight and type and he thinks it can be done but he still needs a picture of the shock, so that is the deal at the present time......

Have to type slow for the guys in KS.

[Nanook]

Keep me posted, i'm in the same boat. I was thinking of ordering a replacement spring from progressive that could handle my 285lbs, I got a list of their spring and a recommandation of someone of my weight, but not sure if the progressive spring would fit on the oem. If you remove your shock, please tell me the outside and inside dimension of the coil, the number of coil, the compressed dimension and uncompressed if possible.
Thanks!
Rob

[CDNRatMan]

   ok I am due to replace / repair / rebuild my rear shock. I have been talking to a few members about the progressive  456, and even looked on e bay for them and the price with all the shipping customs and duties is going to run me in the area of $550 to $600. Then some one suggested to have it rebuilt, so I found 3 places in Ontario that do such work. Most is on snow machines and dirt bikes or ATV's. The one dude I chatted with was pretty honest and said he does not know half of what the shocks are off of he just rebuilds them.  All three want pictures of the shock once it is off the bike, and they can then let me know if it is rebuild able. 2 of the three said it would be cheaper then a new one. They both said they could make it a bit stiffer then the OME standard. Right now they are quoting $125.00 for labour and then parts on top of that. Once they have a picture they can firm up their price.
Anyone ever re build the shock or even know if it can be done? Just wondering if not then new shock it will be. Thanks.