The Rear Shock Upgrade Thread

[Pancho]

got a Daytona 675 shock on my new street, softened the comp/rebound by 1/2 turn and its perfect. over here the roads are really bumpy and twisty and i can ride far more commited than i ever did on the TT

[srleadjb]

Well I've searched through the many "Shock" threads and have yet to see any other options for the rear besides the "Daytona" and/or an aftermarket upgrade. I personally would love to have a new aftermarket shock made specifically for the bike but the cost is prohibitive. So here's the question????

What are the measurements for the stock shock? From the center of the top mounting hole to the bottom? There must be another bike that uses a shock with the same measurements as the striple? I just cant see Triumph trying to save money on the suspension and then having a shock made for just that bike. I like the dynamics of the bike and do not want to change the rear ride height as the Daytona shock does. Anyone looked into this? Thanks for any help.

[Jon.sb]

Don't know the answer to your question but I was seriously considering a Hyperpro upgrade as an affordable option:
http://www.carbonuk.net/shop/category.aspx?catid=37

[CrazyCam]

OK, there are a few options.

1. learn to live with the standard.

It isn't _that_ bad. I've done an over 1000 kilmetres ride in a day, a track day the next day, and over 1000 kms. home the day after.

It really isn't that bad.

2. Save up for an after market trick shock.........

Now folk who claim to have Ducs and Gixxers as their other bikes.....

3. Find a suspension shop in your area with guru like status.

Many of the good suspension shops can pull-apart and rebuild shocks with a substantial gain in comfort and/or performance.

Do you actually know what is wrong with the standard shock, or are you just wanting to do something, since everyone else does?

Frankly, unless you found a Daytona shock for "case/carton of beer price",
I don't think you'd be that happy.

[Diego]

Originally Posted by srleadjb

Well I've searched through the many "Shock" threads and have yet to see any other options for the rear besides the "Daytona" and/or an aftermarket upgrade.

Semantically speaking: What else WOULD there be??? By definition, the moment anyone put a custom-designed one into production, it'd be an "aftermarket upgrade," too.

[spiki-spikester]

Yesterday I had the Daytona shock fitted and professionally set up. The difference is amazing.

As the Daytona shock is a bit longer, the set up guy said it would raise the rear by 35-40mm and sharpen the steering too much. So we changed the top linkage bracket for shorter one to retain the same ride height.

Then they switched the front springs & oil. The new springs are 4mm longer, a bit stiffer & more progressive.

After the static sag was set I set off for a test ride on the local twisties. 1st ride out & the front was fantastic. It tracked perfectly, holding its line every time, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the front to dive or bottom out (unlike last week !). There was tons of feedback from the rear but it was too harsh on poor surfaces. It was too much of a track setting - the corners didn't make sense unless I turned in much later than usual.

We then backed off preload and inreased the rebound & the 2nd time out the ride was not as harsh but there was slightly less grip from the rear, which a couple of times wandered very, very slightly when I was pushing it.

The final adjustment was to set it between the first two settings we had tried. Immediately the improvement was noticeable - it was all very neutral & the steering inputs did exactly what I expected them to. The only less than perfect thing was that the rate of turn in bends under 35mph was a bit on the sharp side. Over that speed it was perfect. Corner entry was spot on every time.

We kept these settings as I was very happy with it overall & I was also reminded that "you've got the wrong shock in there " (!!) and that to start dialling out issues like that we were looking at work like revalving, rebuilding internals, etc.

For the difference a £200 set up made (including the springs and bracket) I was more than happy. The shock was only £50 off eBay, so all in all this is so far the best money I have spent on my Streety.

[gregallnutt]

Spiki, where did you get it done? just curious as we seem to be fairly close. Quite curious about the front as I just did the shock (& set up)

Enjoy the new set up!

Cheers. Greg

[spiki-spikester]

it was MC Technics in Suffolk - 1 & a half hours from North London

http://www.mctechnics.co.uk/

ps. I forgot to mention that braking (front brake) is a lot more consistent with the new springs.