Rear shock selection, recommended brand(s)? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Rear shock selection, recommended brand(s)?

DJM

DJM

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Forum Sponsor
Had enough of the OEM spinal-disc-hammers. Preliminary research shows a plethora of brands out there. Elka, Progressive Suspension, Hagon, Worx, Ohlins etc.

This is for a cruiser with about 3" of travel so I don't have a lot of room to play with. I'm willing to spend up to about 1K but want something I can set and forget and doesn't require constant attention.
 
Part of the problem is it is a cruiser and the seating position that transmits every bump directly into your spine.
 
I hear cruisers are very comfortable. And stylish but heavily weighted toward comfortable. Once you get the shock sorted out it should ride like a cloud with silver lining.
 
I know nothing about cruisers, but I find it very interesting that you only want to upgrade the rear shock. How about finding middle ground or up your budget a bit and do the fronts too? Keep in mind, spending this kind of money does not necessarily increase the resale value of your bike.
 
I assume the night rod is yours. Google motorcyclemetal and ohlins, when I was looking into Harley's last year it seemed like he was the go to guy for suspension work. I believe he works with ohlins and sells the shocks with his own settings and not an off the shelf set up.
 
Look into Race Tech suspension. All custom built but not too pricey.

Mission Cycle in Angus is their only Ontario installation centre, the owner was kind enough to give me a 30 minute lecture on suspension when I was considering an upgrade.

Ohlins also recently came out with a line of shocks for cruisers.
 
Go with Holins (Ohlins) because it's gold and females love the bling. Expensive but cheaper than paying for hookers and works pretty well.
 
Slick_Steveo said:
I know nothing about cruisers, but I find it very interesting that you only want to upgrade the rear shock. How about finding middle ground or up your budget a bit and do the fronts too? Keep in mind, spending this kind of money does not necessarily increase the resale value of your bike.
Click to expand...

I don't really have an issue with the fronts atm other than a little bit of fork dive. Not worried about re-sale currently, probably keeping the bike for a few more years.

My only complaint is that the rear shocks don't dissipate any energy when I go over a bump. It goes right into my spine, hard.

Heading back on the 401 last week there's a series of expansion bumps near Chatham that had me saying JFC on every one of them. The preload is good, I know I'm not running out of travel but they just don't compress or rebound fast enough. If I can get something decent to alleviate that I'd be a happy guy.
 
DJM said:
I don't really have an issue with the fronts atm other than a little bit of fork dive. Not worried about re-sale currently, probably keeping the bike for a few more years.

My only complaint is that the rear shocks don't dissipate any energy when I go over a bump. It goes right into my spine, hard.

Heading back on the 401 last week there's a series of expansion bumps near Chatham that had me saying JFC on every one of them. The preload is good, I know I'm not running out of travel but they just don't compress or rebound fast enough. If I can get something decent to alleviate that I'd be a happy guy.
Click to expand...
I was in similar mindset after feeling like I was going to be bucked off my bike (Ducati Scrambler) hitting a pothole last year. After doing some research, I just recently picked up an öhlins shock for a few reasons: oem in higher trim Ducati models, reputation and availability. I hope to install it as soon as it gets warmer out there. The quality of the fit and finish is impeccable, certain to add some bling but hopefully the performance will match.



The local vendor I went with easily beat any online price I saw anywhere else. PM me if you're interested.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
 
You're on the wrong bike. Unless you're willing to add a bit of travel it's only going to be slightly better with a higher dollar shock.
 
DJM said:
............The preload is good, I know I'm not running out of travel but they just don't compress or rebound fast enough......
Click to expand...

Not to be a PITA but does your bike have adjustable dampening on the shock and if so what setting do you use + have you checked or adjusted your sag?
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom