Triumphrat

Rhodie · 11-26-2007

Best known for their scooter shocks, YSS has quietly been making in-roads on the performance market.
Some years ago the Thai company hired expertise from Europe with many years of experience developing shocks for White Power, Technoflex & Wilburs.
Today YSS is making small runs of high performance shocks for the Big Four special performance bikes.
I have been fortunate that YSS Thailand used their skills on adapting a shock setup for the Scrambler using my bike as a guinea-pig.

Here are the details:

Rear Shocks
Rear fitting of G 366 TRC shocks with correct spring ,
tailor-made rebound and compression settings.

Installed with correct static sag adjustments.
Length was extended 30 mm from standard shock .

Aussie dealers undergoing YSS training fit my rear shocks
I now have 126 mm stroke , compared to 100 standard of the G366TRC.
YSS will soon be offering this special Scrambler YSS version through their distributors.

Front Forks
Front fork : Use standard spring, modify damping rod and install PD Fork valve 310.

Note they removed my progressive springs I had installed
and reverted to OE with this new fork valve.

Rhodie · 11-26-2007

Note they removed my progressive springs I had installed
and reverted to OE with this new fork valve.

Walter Preisig [ex White Power] & Aussie dealers rebuild my front forks
Oil weight was 15 W and air chamber for internal use.
Set Oil height and spring preload to carry specific weight.
In my case - substantial!!

See here for front fork setup
http://www.yss.co.th/pd_fork_detail.php

Materials
All aluminium parts are made of 6000 and 7000 series and are hard anodized.
Shafts are C45 and induction hardened, and hard chromed.
Piston ring and guides are made of calibrated Teflon.
This manufacturing process in line with QS9000 & ISO 9002,

German TUV approved and on even parity with the quality of Ohlins or WP.

Quality Control
Since the inclusion of suspension experts from Technoflex,
Wilburs & White Power YSS have gained ISO & TUV ratings.

Quality control for them is paramount even down to DVD
cameras recording the build of each shock
- so they can bactrack to construction should there be a problem.

For the Bonneville
YSS suggest the Z366TR or go with the G366TR for what they call “more extreme use”.
Which they mean by Offroad , Heavy luggage etc

Thruxton
Similarly for the Thruxton they say for normal street use the E 302 the
Z302 and the G302TRC could do the job.
Depending on your budget and need for adjustability.

Distributors
In the USA please use http://www.yssusa.com
The importer's name is Klaus Huenecke.
In the UK / European distributor thru www.yss-europe.com
In Oz - Link are the distributors and in NZ call Jason @ Thunderbikes.

Finally this setup has given me 26mm additional travel
but more importantly firmed up the riding package
and actually making the bike handle both on and off tarmac.

YSS is not just a cost effective option but it also matches the quality
of its more famous European competitors.
See here for their website www.yss.co.th

sweatmachine · 11-26-2007

looks great! That had to have been a nice experience.

I love your bike, except my 30" inseam likes the lower seat heights!

BellaCorse · 11-26-2007

Great write-up Rhodie! If I may, let me offer a few insights I've gained running YSS shocks on a Bonneville.

YSS does offer a wide range of shocks, however I've limited my selection to the Z and G series of twin shocks. I've done this based primarily on price. The Economy & Bravo series just didn't do anything for me and I already had other products in their price ranges.

The (Z & G) 302 series of shocks are ideally suited for street ridden Triumph twins which may see some limited off-road/track use. The G366 series is ideal for competition machines or severe-duty street use because of it's more robust construction.

All of the YSS shocks I carry have threaded preload (T) and Rebound Damping adjustment (R). Some have Compression Damping adjustment (C) and/or Length adjustment (L). The shocks I'm using on my flat tracker are the top-of-the-line G366TRCL. The same shocks in a cost-saving street version is the G302TRCL. And as I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago, I have 1 or 2 sets of G302TRL at close-out pricing.

I'm having a set of the fork valves installed and tuned as I type. I hope to have a full report soon.

/Mike
BellaCorse

Old Scratcher · 11-26-2007

What was the reasoning behind reverting to OE fork springs? Does the new valve set up do the same thing as progressive rate springs? Has the seat height been raised by much? I've got short legs & an arthiritic hip, so I can't raise my leg much higher than my Scrambler's seat (a major reason I bought it) So I don't think I could live with your bike (as much as I love it) However I wish I could, as I reckon the extra ground clearance would make it unstoppable in the dirt, especially with those knobby tyres.

bendavanza · 11-26-2007

Is the fork mod a similar product to the race tech gold valve cartridge emulator?
And what do you mean by closeout prices, Mike?
-Ben

Orpheus · 11-26-2007

Mike, do you foresee any problems with using the longer length YSS shocks on a Bonnie? I read that the G366 shocks are available through BC up to 380mm (I also read on the YSS site that they can be ordered in 395mm and 420mm, though that seems extreme!).

BellaCorse · 11-26-2007

Quote:

Is the fork mod a similar product to the race tech gold valve cartridge emulator?

From what I can see, exactly the same.

Quote:

And what do you mean by closeout prices, Mike?

$459.99 pair.

Quote:

Mike, do you foresee any problems with using the longer length YSS shocks on a Bonnie? I read that the G366 shocks are available through BellaCorse up to 380mm (I also read on the YSS site that they can be ordered in 395mm and 420mm, though that seems extreme!).

No problems installing longer shocks as long as you don't go too long. I see that Rhodie use +30mm shocks and from the photos you can see how far the bike is tilted over while on the side stand. Because of his off-road use of the bike, I understand the rational for such a selection. But on a street bike (or primarily street ridded) I would say don't go beyond 360mm. The entire YSS line is available to me, however I only list those products that ' I ' believe are best suited for the Hinckley twin range.

/Mike

bsmith222 · 11-26-2007

That is by far THE coolest Scrambler I've seen. WELL done!!!

-brent

Rhodie · 11-27-2007

High Praise indeed - thank you!
I'm sure that it hasn't escaped your notice that it does wear some of your very own farkles.