Revisiting Rear Suspension

[fishman10]

I hear ya spud , just a thought as I know progressive suspension has good products.i just installed a set on my ultra classic today.

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by fishman10

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-KAWASAK...VWx9gE&vxp=mtr i might have to gamble an see if this works,,,sure looks very similiar,,,,i just cant afford $400- $500 for the csc one right now.

Fishman,

Buying a shock from another bike is a gamble, unless you know a lot of the measurements, like eye to eye distance, size of the hole in the top and bottom eye, the width of the mounting ends, the spring rate, etc.

Just saying that you could spend a lot of money trying to find the right one.

I thought about trying the shock from my DR, but will have to wait until I return to NC in a couple of months.

This may help your quest:

Specs for the Progressive shock:

Top eyelet ID: .479”
Bottom eyelet ID: .39”
Bottom bracket spread: .886”
Spring Length: 9.375”
Eyelet to Eyelet: 15.25” = 387 mm
Spring ID: 1.885”

jb

[jbfla]

An update on the rear suspension:

After riding my RX3 200 miles (all pavement) since I spent all that time "tuning" the rear shock, I am pleasantly surprised at the improvement of the ride on the rough surfaces.

For someone younger and in better physical condition than myself, the ride may be perfectly acceptable.

I'm still getting the Progressive shock, but would suggest that you adjust your rear shock to your riding weight and style, and ride a few hundred miles on different road, and off road, surfaces before purchasing another shock.

jb

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by jbfla

An update on the rear suspension:

After riding my RX3 200 miles (all pavement) since I spent all that time "tuning" the rear shock, I am pleasantly surprised at the improvement of the ride on the rough surfaces.

For someone younger and in better physical condition than myself, the ride may be perfectly acceptable.

I'm still getting the Progressive shock, but would suggest that you adjust your rear shock to your riding weight and style, and ride a few hundred miles on different road, and off road, surfaces before purchasing another shock.

jb

Yes, you definitely need to adjust the spring preload properly to get the maximum performance from any shock absorber. Even the Progressive shock won't perform best , until you also adjust it for the proper spring preload.

[detours]

My progressive shock was pretty stiff when Gerry first installed it and I finally got around to checking the sag.

I was surprised to see the preload was cranked almost to the max! No wonder it didn't feel much better than stock!

So I've spent the last several days moving the adjuster. It's taking forever because I can only move it a couple of notches at a time with my tool. I'm about halfway up the shock threads now. Tonight's ride was an improvement, but it's still way too stiff.

I'll get there eventually but to anyone who buys the progressive shock, adjust the preload to about 1/4 or 1/3 down the threads BEFORE you install it (on the light side), so you have less to adjust when it's on the bike.

BTW, I highly recommend this Ohlins shock spanner wrench. It can either push or pull the adjustment rings and it's narrow so it fits in tight spots.

http://www.amazon.com/Ohlins-Shock-S.../dp/B00415XAH0

[detours]

The bad news ... The 400/450 spring which came with my progressive shock is too strong and too short for my needs. Since I took off the side cases and bars and pretty much only use the top case I don't have nearly enough weight to get the proper sag out of that spring and it was too rough to use, even with my 205 lbs ATGATT.

The good news ... Today I found out CSC now stocks a 375/465 spring for the progressive shock. It's longer, to allow finer adjustments to preload, and it's less stiff, so I should (fingers crossed) be able to achieve the proper sag with my light setup. But as it compresses, it's still rated at 465, so I can load it up when I need to without bottoming out.

Ryan is sending it priority mail and hopefully it will arrive before the big Webster Pass ride this Sunday. I'm really excited to try this out

[pete]

Originally Posted by detours

I'll get there eventually but to anyone who buys the progressive shock, adjust the preload to about 1/4 or 1/3 down the threads BEFORE you install it (on the light side), so you have less to adjust when it's on the bike.

never preload the spring more than 20mm (3/4").... If you need to the spring is to
soft....

Just a thought... with the RX3 having limited travel & the setting you are trying for being
more suited to bikes with round 300mm / 12" of travel..
Maybe you should be looking at a soft road bike set up..
is 10mm static sag & 25% rider sag..


..



...

[pyoungbl]

Detours, Thanks for pointing out the lighter spring! I weigh just a few pounds less than you and have had a similar experience with the Progressive shock. I have almost no preload dialed in. If I have the bike loaded down for a camping trip the suspension works just fine. Without that extra load the rear is too stiff for my taste. That new spring option sounds like exactly what I need.

Peter Y.

[rjmorel]

I wish CSC would offer a remote preload adjuster for the Progressive shock. Then once you have the right spring weight for running around town w/o any luggage load, all you would have to do if going on a trip with luggage is crank up the preload knob. Progressive sells them but when I enquired they played dumb cause the shock was a "special' for RX3. ??????? rj

[detours]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

I wish CSC would offer a remote preload adjuster for the Progressive shock. Then once you have the right spring weight for running around town w/o any luggage load, all you would have to do if going on a trip with luggage is crank up the preload knob. Progressive sells them but when I enquired they played dumb cause the shock was a "special' for RX3. ??????? rj

That would be ideal. My vstrom had a remote preload adjuster and it was so convenient.

[pyoungbl]

When I looked at the Progressive web site the difference between a shock with remote preload and one without was substantial. It seems like it was a few hundred dollars just to add that feature.

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

I wish CSC would offer a remote preload adjuster for the Progressive shock. Then once you have the right spring weight for running around town w/o any luggage load, all you would have to do if going on a trip with luggage is crank up the preload knob. Progressive sells them but when I enquired they played dumb cause the shock was a "special' for RX3. ??????? rj

that's a common trick. easy for us americans now that it is standard practice and never do any thing more than required.

whats a remote??? are you talking about a dial on the shock with indicator?

[rjmorel]

BB, A remotely adjustable shock preload is a way to compress or release the spring to accommodate more / less weight from luggage or 2nd passenger. It's accomplished by replacing the lock rings on the shock with a hydraulic sleeve that has a remote you turn in or out that forces fluid from the easy to get to remote through the hose into a hydraulic cylinder that compresses the spring more for more preload. rj
Looks like these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Progressive-...xXY4IC&vxp=mtr

[BlackBike]

A true remote control. Nice. Except the price

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by detours

The bad news ... The 400/450 spring which came with my progressive shock is too strong....

The good news ... Today I found out CSC now stocks a 375/465 spring for the progressive shock. It's longer, to allow finer adjustments to preload, and it's less stiff, so I should (fingers crossed) be able to achieve the proper sag with my light setup. But as it compresses, it's still rated at 465, so I can load it up when I need to without bottoming out.

Ryan is sending it priority mail and hopefully it will arrive before the big Webster Pass ride this Sunday. I'm really excited to try this out

detours,

I couldn't find the lighter spring on the CSC website.

How much $$$ is the new spring?

Thanks.

jb