Shock Recommendation

[Downeaster]

Hit a BIG bump on the way to work this morning and now I see my left rear shock has develeped a leak. 34 years old, nothing lasts anymore...

Recommendations for replacements for casual road-riding? No luggage, 200 pound rider, no aggressive rding.

Seeing several options at Mikes in the $90 range, any input on those?

Other sources recommendations?

 

[5twins]

The ones from Mike's are junk, don't waste your money on them. They're sprung hard as a rock and have very little damping, typical for a crap aftermarket unit. Good shocks cost. Most reasonable of the good ones are probably the PS units from 650Central, about $200 to $250. Personally, I shop for good used brand name shocks, usually Konis. I have 13.3" Konis on mine that originally were speced for a Moto Guzzi, about $60 off eBay .....

 

[Downeaster]

I suspected as much. Thanks for the input.

 

[jd750ace]

Koni makes good stuff. Progressive makes good stuff. Maybe not the best prices, but a good idea what they have. You can E-bay the dampers cheaper I know, but with Dennis Kirk, you get a return shipping label with your order, in case something is up. I like dealing with them on "iffy" stuff, or things that might not work out.

https://www.denniskirk.com/shocks/1979-yamaha-xs650s-special.mmy

 

[Downeaster]

Thanks for that link.

I had no idea shocks were that expensive. Did a little surfing, and was AMAZED to find that you can spend over (sometimes WELL over...) a thousand bucks on shocks.

Jeebus! Guess I'd better spend a little more time picking up cans off the side of the road...

 

[jd750ace]

http://www.jcwhitney.com/motorcycle...023d58024y1979j3s24.jcwx?filterid=d58024y1979

Another look on Progressives.

Big money stuff.

http://performanceshock.com/

 

[Downeaster]

Okay, the Progressives are a little more compatible with my budget.

I'm a bit confused tho. The pic shows just the dampers. Are the springs separate/extra?

If so, can I use the springs off my stockers or is that not possible or self-defeating?

 

[jd750ace]

The springs are seperate. That way you can get chrome or black, standard rate or heavy duty. Don't know if your stockers will fit the cups right on the Progressive dampers (they might, since these are slim style units. The 12 and 13 series are traditionally skinny setups), but you can at least buy them a piece at a time. I know you can find the springs priced around 50 Bones for the pair on E-bay. It may be that re-using the old ones is false economy. If yours seemed fine til you noticed the leak, it may just be the damper is shot, and maybe your springs aren't so bad, but the springs are not even originally a decent rate for bigger folks like myself (245 or so).

 

[burns]

Koni is out of the motorcycle shock business if I am not mistaken. But they are rebuildable and a used set is almost always the most shock you can get for the money.

 

[jd750ace]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy used Koni shocks if I found a set that met my needs.

 

[realgone]

Koni's are made as Ikon's now.

http://www.ikonsuspension.com/v1.0/

 

[jd750ace]

Ikons are around 400 bucks from what I can find out. They are made in Australia.

 

[5twins]

They are the old Konis. Ikon bought all the tooling from Koni when they stopped making motorcycle shocks. They continue to make them pretty much unchanged, still even use many of the same part numbers.

You can buy rebuild stuff from Ikon and it will work in your Konis. The Koni seals are very robust and usually don't need replacing. You just clean them and all the internal parts, put fresh oil in, and you're good to go.

 

[Downeaster]

Excellent information, all.

I will let you know which direction I go. It'll be this winter sometime, retirement looms and money is tight until after the first of the year.

 

[racerdave]

Would 2 original shocks from a 79 special do you any good?

 

[Downeaster]

Thanks, racerdave, but the ones I have will do for now.

I'm looking to gain a little "compliance" (I think that's the word) and run a little softer spring on the back. Dang thing rides like a lumber truck now, and that's with the spring preload set in the softest position.

 

[XSJoel]

You can also check out Hagon if you aren't opposed to spending a couple hundred bugs.

 

[DirtyErnie]

I went with the Mike's Monza sport shocks, no complaints so far, but they are 'firm'. I'm about the same size as you. With a passenger on the back they bounce a little bit, but that's asking a lot from any shock.

 

[drewfunk]

I got Monzas from Mike's and they dont even move. I weigh around 155 pounds, and i cant get the damn things to budge while standing on the bike. Speed bumps bounce me right off the seat. I cant believe how terrible these things are. I'll have to pawn them off to someone on ebay to fund some real shocks. But hey they do look good...

 

[jd750ace]

Sell them to a guy with a Sportster!