Aftermarket Rear Shock

[Punkinhead]

I bought an Ohlins YA-707 from GP Suspension for my '13 about this time last year. I had to call because at the time Ohlins' website didn't list it as fitting the GENIII. I went with the Ohlins because I wanted remote preload adjustment so I could quickly change it between solo and 2-up riding. I have a Penske double clicker on my FZ09 and love it but that bike is solo only. I can't remember whether Penske just didn't offer remote preload or if it was more expensive than Ohlins. Also, read up on the issues on this site that people have with the Penskes breaking - I don't get the impression that Penske has ever come out with a fix.

I also revalved the front with GP Suspension's kit.

 

[leo]

I have GP Suspension forks and an Ohlins shock which I bought several years ago during a group buy from KFG Racing. I have been very happy with it and when I have a question about them, Barry has always taken the time to discuss setup with me. My 2 cents.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Anyways, tominpa is right. All will be an improvement over what you have (which was done at about 30k).The Penske 8983 is a good compromise. Reasonable price and easily serviced at many places. Not as sexy as they Ohlins but I'm not that sexy myself so a gold shock is not gonna help

"Reasonable price" 8983 Double Adjustable $995.00 – $1,515.00?

Sorry, If I was going racing I'd do it in a heartbeat. But for what I do/did on my FJR:

Rocky Mountain ATV Price on OEM (Note an improved version over the '14.)

1MC-22210-50-00

(replaces part #
1MC-22210-10-00)

SHOCK ABSORBER ASSY, REAR $354.34

The difference is a lot of gas, tires, and Motel Rooms

 

[MCRIDER007]

^^^^^

That is a really good price!

 

[exskibum]

Have Wilbers rear shock that was exactly as MCRIDER007 described in his excellent first post. Though much better than the '05's OEM shock, it was badly undersprung and commensurately llacking in valving match-up to the point of scraping the header collector on my Muzzy 4-2-1 system in hard cornering. Two up, it bottomed out regularly with any hard shocks (e.g., potholes on Lost Coast Rd.).

GP Suspension turned it into a thing of beauty. Did a ride-in to have it resprung and revalved, as well as to have the front forks done. Every bit as good (maybe better fine tuned to me) than the Traxxion Dynamics AK-20 and Penski (w/remote reservoir) I had on the last ('03) Honda Blackbird.

 

[hppants]

Would anyone fathom an educated guess as to what the change is technically to the OEM shock? Presuming its an improvement?

 

[Punkinhead]

I've never ridden a Gen I or II but their suspensions must have been truly awful if the OEM Gen III shock is considered an upgrade. I've owned bikes with worse stock suspensions than my '13, but I didn't consider it acceptable. The shock is underdamped. I haven't raced in almost 10 years and I own bikes more appropriate for carving up a mountain road, but the '13 with a stock suspension was a pogo stick at what I consider a moderate pace.

 

[MCRIDER007]

I've never ridden a Gen I or II but their suspensions must have been truly awful if the OEM Gen III shock is considered an upgrade. I've owned bikes with worse stock suspensions than my '13, but I didn't consider it acceptable. The shock is underdamped. I haven't raced in almost 10 years and I own bikes more appropriate for carving up a mountain road, but the '13 with a stock suspension was a pogo stick at what I consider a moderate pace.

I scratch my head when I read comments like yours about the GEN3 shocks but I had a similar experience with the first 13A that I rode in May 2013. It was a demo with very low miles and I started the ride with the shock in the soft position and it felt so under sprung that I changed it to the hard position after riding it a mile on a smooth freeway. The hard position wasn't much better, it still felt like a much lighter spring than the 800 lb spring I had on my Wilbers. I didn't adjust the damping because I though it would be a waste of time given how under sprung the shock appeared to be.

Except for the shock there were a lot of things to like about the 13A so I test rode a different demo 5 months later. This time I started with the shock in the hard position but switched to the soft position almost immediately since it felt so different from the earlier test ride. I couldn't find anything to complain about that bike and ended up buying it...and put 19K miles on it before selling it to another forum member after buying a 14ES.

I have no idea to this day why those demo 13As appeared to have such different shocks but have still wonder if Yamaha might have been using dual vendors at the time either for the shocks or the springs. In any case, the history on this Forum is that almost every GEN3 buyer has been very pleased with the suspension as well as those who have upgraded from a GEN1/GEN2 shock to a GEN3 shock.

 

[dcumpian]

Anyways, tominpa is right. All will be an improvement over what you have (which was done at about 30k).

The Penske 8983 is a good compromise. Reasonable price and easily serviced at many places. Not as sexy as they Ohlins but I'm not that sexy myself so a gold shock is not gonna help

"Reasonable price" 8983 Double Adjustable $995.00 – $1,515.00?

Sorry, If I was going racing I'd do it in a heartbeat. But for what I do/did on my FJR:

Rocky Mountain ATV Price on OEM (Note an improved version over the '14.)

1MC-22210-50-00

(replaces part #

1MC-22210-10-00)

SHOCK ABSORBER ASSY, REAR $354.34

The difference is a lot of gas, tires, and Motel Rooms

I paid about $750 for mine. I think there was a sale on Penske's website.

Dan

 

[Punkinhead]

I've never ridden a Gen I or II but their suspensions must have been truly awful if the OEM Gen III shock is considered an upgrade. I've owned bikes with worse stock suspensions than my '13, but I didn't consider it acceptable. The shock is underdamped. I haven't raced in almost 10 years and I own bikes more appropriate for carving up a mountain road, but the '13 with a stock suspension was a pogo stick at what I consider a moderate pace.

I scratch my head when I read comments like yours about the GEN3 shocks but I had a similar experience with the first 13A that I rode in May 2013. It was a demo with very low miles and I started the ride with the shock in the soft position and it felt so under sprung that I changed it to the hard position after riding it a mile on a smooth freeway. The hard position wasn't much better, it still felt like a much lighter spring than the 800 lb spring I had on my Wilbers. I didn't adjust the damping because I though it would be a waste of time given how under sprung the shock appeared to be.

Mine wasn't undersprung. I'm about 190 with all my gear on and my wife is considerably less. I had no problem hitting good sag numbers without dialing in excessive preload. The problem was the damping at both ends, but especially the rear.

As far as the often claimed "I'm not a racer so I don't need a good suspension", I want the suspension on my street bikes to be every bit as good as my race bikes, only a little softer. Race tracks (other than Nelson Ledges) are nice, smooth perfectly paved roads with no potholes or surprises. Public roads, not so much. The overwhelming majority of riders have never ridden a bike with a good quality suspension that was properly set up so they don't know what they're missing. A good suspension is transformative and after experiencing it you'll never again tolerate a poor or mediocre one.

 

[Panman]

Pants, as you know I have a couple of shocks for sale. The best thing I did when I bought the first one was on the first refresh I went in and did a SAG set-up and adjustment. That was the best single thing I ever did to my FJR as all the old crap I rode pre-load was the only thing I could adjust and that was all the way up for my extra large size so all I knew about suspensions was NOTHING.

Buy what you buy Makes no difference to me but a first time set-up by a good suspension shop seems important. I wish I had the first time as I played and I didn't get close for the first 20,000 miles.

Good luck!

 

[hppants]

Update - 2/2/19

First, I emailed Yamaha Customer Service and learned that the only reason the OEM shock part number has changed is because they have changed supplier for the manufacturer of the part. Otherwise, and more importantly technically, the shock is exactly the same.

Secondly, I've purchased a shock from Hagon over on the other end of the pond. They will spring it to start at my rider weight on the low end of the adjustment, and I will be able to add about 160 pounds (or whatever the KG equivalent is) on the high end of the hydraulic adjustment, which should cover my range of load expectations. It has compression and rebound adjustment (both accessible from the bottom of the shock. Comes with a 2 year guarantee and it is rebuildable.

Cost converted from Pounds Sterling comes to $530.00 shipped to my house. It will take a week for them to build it, and another week for them to ship it to me via UPS. Incidentally, I discovered that one of my credit cards has zero currency conversion fees.

It's a bit of a risk, as I have not yet met anyone in the States that has this shock on their FJR. But apparently Hagon is huge overseas and are highly regarded as a reputable company. We'll see how it goes and report back.

 

[mcatrophy]

Update - 2/2/19...

It's a bit of a risk, as I have not yet met anyone in the States that has this shock on their FJR. But apparently Hagon is huge overseas and are highly regarded as a reputable company. We'll see how it goes and report back.

As a probably not very useful datapoint, I once had a Hagen rear shock put on my Trophy after the original got very tired. Recommended, ordered and fitted by my dealer, no complaints at all, though didn't have it for very long as I converted to the FJR soon afterwards.
Ps. At least your date, 2/2/19, gives the correct date both sides of the pond :biggrinsmiley: .

 

[BanjoBoy]

Anyways, tominpa is right. All will be an improvement over what you have (which was done at about 30k).

The Penske 8983 is a good compromise. Reasonable price and easily serviced at many places. Not as sexy as they Ohlins but I'm not that sexy myself so a gold shock is not gonna help

"Reasonable price" 8983 Double Adjustable $995.00 – $1,515.00?

Sorry, If I was going racing I'd do it in a heartbeat. But for what I do/did on my FJR:

Rocky Mountain ATV Price on OEM (Note an improved version over the '14.)

1MC-22210-50-00

(replaces part #

1MC-22210-10-00)

SHOCK ABSORBER ASSY, REAR $354.34

The difference is a lot of gas, tires, and Motel Rooms

Thanks BigJohn. I dun ordered, received, and installed one of these babies. Haven't had a chance to ride in anger yet, (The roads 'round here are kinda wet 'n slippery.) but it feels way better than the under sprung stock unit. Now I can take my sweet time to have the Wilbers re-built.

 

[hppants]

Update: 2/14/19

My shock shipped as promised, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it got to my door from England in 4 days. It looks well built, with it's billet pieces. The pre-load adjuster is black and smaller in diameter than the Ohlins and Penske shocks I have seen - it should blend in well on the FJR.

I'll install it soon, ride it, and report back on my impressions.

 

[SkooterG]

Update: 2/14/19
My shock shipped as promised, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it got to my door from England in 4 days. It looks well built, with it's billet pieces. The pre-load adjuster is black and smaller in diameter than the Ohlins and Penske shocks I have seen - it should blend in well on the FJR.

I'll install it soon, ride it, and report back on my impressions.

Duh! You've been around here long enough to know....... It didn't happen without photos!!!

 

[hppants]

I'm looking for ideas on where and how to mount the pre-load adjuster. I'm concerned about avoiding the seat lock and wanting to be able to make adjustments with the saddle bags on. Putting it inside the wheel well makes it susceptible to spray, dirt, etc.

Can any of your show me how you mounted yours?

 

[dcumpian]

I mounted mine out to the right (as you sit on the bike) just in front of the saddle bag. It doesn't get in the way and the controls are fully accessible, though I haven't changed them all that much since the initial install.

Dan

 

[SkooterG]

Purty!

No instructions on where to mount the preload adjuster? Wilbers I have on Gen I and Ohlins I have on Gen II it mounts to the bracket for passenger pegs IIRC. But yours does seem to me one big MF-ing preload adjuster!

 

[bigjohnsd]

Why reinvent the wheel, mount it where your stock adjustment lever was mounted?