Ok, I've now fitted a 650lb/inch Faulkner's spring to the shock. With the preload ring moved to maximum, sag with me on the bike is 31mm
Although subjective, common consent for rear sag for roadbikes is between 30-35mm, so it looks like this is the spring weight needed to avoid bottoming out.
I'd estimate if you're over 17 stone, or regularly carry a passenger at speed, you may need to fit a heavier spring, such as 700lb/inch to the shock instead.
Some testing tomorrow, a proper workout weather permitting :lol
The spring I went for:
Free length - 6.0 inch / 152.4mm
Internal Diameter - 2.25 inches / 58.5mm
Rate - 650lbs ins / 114N/mm
Bear in mind that this spring is half an inch shorter than the original Yam spring; I had an alloy spacer made up to take up the gap. You might be able to fit the 7 inch version of the spring instead, but there may be too much preload by the time its compressed onto the shock. I have a contact who's a dab hand at machining parts & can knock up an identical spacer for about £20 if you need one.
A decent 20 mile spin this morning and all is (very) well now. Much firmer rear end, with 31mm probably at the sporty end of the adjustment range. I'll back the preload ramp off a couple of positions for slightly more comfort, but finally the quest for rear-end perfection is coming to an end .... matching the front-end perfection of Debrix emulators with VFR750 fork springs
Great stuff kebab, good you're getting close to your perfect setup... I can only wish I was too.
An often overlooked subject is the ease of preload adjustment. Makes a big difference to me as I ride with luggage/pillion/solo in equal amounts. The standard shock is quick and easy to adjust but I want a good adjustable shock! Answer would be a Nitron or something decent with a remote preload adjuster. Without one those aftermarket shocks are a pain as they have a threaded adjuster not notched like the oem shocks, which I found out to my expense with a Wilbers.
So before I start starving myself so I can afford a £600 shock or consider another bike, how easy is it to adjust on the R6 shock? As easy as on the standard shock?
Hello,
Yes, adjustment is via a preload ramp / collar, the same as the standard shock. There is the compression reservoir at the back of the shock but it doesnt get in the way of adjusting the preload ring. For speed I remove the top bolt of the footrest hanger, letting it hang down. This allows me to pull on the spanner without gouging my fingers against it. Also, I've been using the FZS600 C-spanner to make all the adjustments.
Shock has been great so far & am now getting shorter bespoke dogbones made up in order to raise the rear another 10mm or so
Short update.
As the 'projection' dogbones still hadn't returned the rear to standard height, I had a pair of bespoke ones fabricated, 127mm from hole centre to centre.
Handling has got better with the slightly raised rear & bump energy transmission is even less than before.
They are 8mm thick & have no taper in order to give extra rigidity. Bit more blingy too, but that unfortunately highlights how grotty the rest of the bike is :o I've attached a pic of the rear wheel when the bike is placed on the centre-stand - does this look closer to the ground than standard?
Yes, I have a Thunderace rear caliper fitted
I have attached other pics of the custom dogbones compared to standard / 'Projection' plates.
05-09-13, 05:42 PM (This post was last modified: 05-09-13, 08:31 PM by Fuzzy.)
My modified R6 shock and dogbones from Kebab19 arrived earlier this week and I got round to fitting it yesterday. The shock and bones fitted easily and I greased all the linkage bearings whilst I was there. I went with a heavier spring than him, 700lb/ins, and dogbones that are 1mm longer at 128mm which brought the ride height to about standard, in fact probably marginally taller. I only weigh about 75kg with gear but take a pillion and hard luggage on a regular basis which is why I opted for the heavier spring.
Must say a big thank you to Kebab, his help and advice was invaluable and the work done is top notch. I'm looking forward to doing his debrix emulator fork mod next as the improved rear shows up the front end making it seem even harsher than before!
Need to set sag, test ride some more and make more adjustments but couldn't be happier with the swap so far
23-10-13, 08:10 PM (This post was last modified: 27-10-13, 08:01 PM by kebab19.)
And then there were three :lol
Well done, Wez, you now have the same front & rear end setups as me...as will Fuzzy (shortly).
The R6 shock is indeed quite a piece of kit for a standard manufacturer's part: I really can't imagine the full spec Ohlins shock when fitted being significantly better. When you consider that Hagon's basic unit is nearly twice the price, it's actually a bit of a bargain - about £100 for conversion on top of the shock's price.
Bump, I've picked up a R6 2009 shock with both comp adjusters together and it looks identical to all the other R6 shocks in this thread but the eye distance measures 290 mm ? does this sound right or have I bought the wrong shock !! also the top mount is only approx 15mm OD which will leave 3mm of material after being drilled out to accept the 12mm top bolt, does all this sound ok ? any advice would be very welcome, thanks
(27-11-13, 07:12 PM)Fraser link Wrote: Bump, I've picked up a R6 2009 shock with both comp adjusters together and it looks identical to all the other R6 shocks in this thread but the eye distance measures 290 mm ? does this sound right or have I bought the wrong shock !! also the top mount is only approx 15mm OD which will leave 3mm of material after being drilled out to accept the 12mm top bolt, does all this sound ok ? any advice would be very welcome, thanks
Sounds like the correct shock to me. Because the shock is shorter you must use shorter dogbones to maintain ride height (as per earlier posts in the thread with more details). As for the top mount, I think most of the thou guys who've done this mod (of which there are many) have had it drilled it out and I am not aware of any failures to date so it should be fine, as long as it's drilled straight and done properly.
R6 shock now fitted with 700lbs spring, very fiddly to get top mounting bolt in whilst juggling the 2 spacer washers but hopefully I won't be taking them out again LOL.
Just need to get out on the road to sort the final settings.
Huge thank you to everyone involved in the R&D of this mod,
(29-12-13, 01:11 PM)Fraser link Wrote: R6 shock now fitted with 700lbs spring, very fiddly to get top mounting bolt in whilst juggling the 2 spacer washers but hopefully I won't be taking them out again LOL.
Just need to get out on the road to sort the final settings.
Huge thank you to everyone involved in the R&D of this mod,
Got a shock on its way, will go for 725lb spring as always carrying. Just need risers. Is everyone going for the 6" faulkners spring? If so, I'll need the bit to make up the gap
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