Cheap Ebay rfy piggyback shocks?

13.5 eye to eye, same as what is on the bike currently.

I'm just wondering if the bushing size is correct for mounting?
 
Alot of guys are using these...seems they are more for look then performance.

Reports of blowing quite quickly..
 
Well, I'm the designated guinea pig I guess

Just received a pair of them, very fast shipping from this seller. Unfortunately that matters not because the box only contained three 12mm bushing sleeves. So now I have to play email tag with the seller and get him to send the missing one.

When (if) I get that, I'll be sure to post the results along with photos.
 
IIRC, the first one posted, (320MM) should aproximate a straight rate spring comperable with the stock setup, but will probably bottom easier, since the stock springs are progressive. The 2nd (340MM) should be a decent upgrade on the stock springs. That being said, there is no way to tell what kind of damping curves to expect. A piece of good information is missing. It would be good to know what diameter the shaft is on the cylinder. Looks to be about 10MM, but my calibrated eyeball ain't what it used to be. 12-13MM is a good size for the rod nowadays, but in tandem, if made correctly, that should work. Probably from China (surprise). No mention of a warranty. They look pretty good, and probably will beat a set of thrashed stock boingers. For the money, I'd say they are as good a "chance" as anything else cheap. Buyer beware, and please, tell us how they work out.
 
i used em on the XS cafe project. My brother also used them on the new black and gold CB900 he did for a client (on our website - funny, the guy wanted the same bike built as the XS).
But we didn't really have any issues with them... then again the bikes are not at the track being beat to death either. So time would probably tell. Just don't get curious and let the nitrogen out because they don't hold much to begin with. And you can't just put air in them if you do.
For fitment... i don't remember exactly what happened but i do remember length was fine but i had to make some spacers or sleeves etc...
But hey for the price its not bad and does the trick. Better than stock i'm sure.
good luck, and HEY check out the board tracker i just finished :D
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12190
 
Finally, I have these shocks mounted. It turns out that you only need the 12mm bushing sleeves on the bottom mount, and only the rubber (no sleeve) on top.

The shocks were 95% bolt-on, the only modification I needed to make was to use my bench grinder to narrow the bottom bushing sleeves a few millimeters. The shock lollipop fit fine, but the bushings stuck out too far.

I ended up ordering the 12.5" shocks, as I remeasured the shocks on the bike and they were not the 13.5" I had thought. However, I feel that the 13.5" would have been a better choice as these seem to sag a bit and it feels like the bike is sitting a hair lower in the back. It may just be that I haven't adjusted them properly, I'm not sure which way to turn the adjuster (no instructions at all).

I only took a brief ride test, and with brand new tires I couldn't really push the bike very hard. They are a definite improvement over the worn out KYB's. No more bouncing over bumps, they are stiff but not so much that bumps aren't absorbed. I'll be sure to post another follow up once I have some miles on them.

Anyway, enough babble. Pics:

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Sure looks like a compression nut and locknut on top to raise the preload. Can't see well inside the tighter coils to see how much of the damper body is threaded, but it looks like the threads run down even with the bottom of the letters on the decal. If that's where it goes, that's quite a bit of preload room. I'd run them down and lock them at about 3/4 inch of sag. Here's a pretty well written chunk I robbed off another board. It's pretty good, but it looks like, from the amount of piston showing on the shock, you have around 3 inches of travel available, so that's why I say 3/4.

Robbed:

There is an easy way to check the proper amount of preload; it's called "setting the sag". Sag is the distance that a bike settles when normally loaded with fuel and rider, measured from the fully topped height. Typically, you want the sag to be set at 1/4 to 1/3 of the total suspension travel. You would have to look up the total range of travel available for your bike, but since most street bikes have around four inches of rear travel, the sag is usually set at 1 to 1.3 inches.

You pick a spot on the frame or rear fender straight above the rear axle and measure the distance from the axle to that spot when there is no weight on the bike (like on the centerstand). It's often best to mark the spot with a piece of tape. Then you sit on the bike at your riding weight (i.e., with full gear on) with a helper keeping the bike verticle and have another helper measure the distance again. If it's 1.3 inches less, you have the right sag. If not, adjust the preload up or down to get the right amount. Often you have to bounce the rear suspension to make sure it's the right average of where the suspension stops when going down versus when coming up
 
Hagons, progressives, or if your really wanting something nice, ohlins.


Those RFY's are a chinese copy of ohlins.
 
There are many companies that still make twin shocks but many of them cost more than the average xs650 does. Ohlins are probably the most expensive of all. In addition to the ones mentioned above there's Race Tech, WP, everything in this list, and probably a few more I'm forgetting.
 

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