New shocks

[XTreme]

1 hour ago, Pedro said:

go more sporty

While towing a trailer? 

[Buckster]

So there are basically two types of shocks available readily, emulsion where the oil and gas mix, or gas shock where the oil and gas are separate. With emulsion shocks they may have nitrogen mixed with the oil or they may be air assist as my standard shocks are, with air assist the preload is altered by adding air which also alters the compression and rebound. This drastically reduces shock travel as well and generally this type of shock will have a smaller piston. Emulsion shocks with pre charged nitrogen are better but still have limitations, the general rule is that you can alter the rebound damping but the compression is fixed, spring preload is kept separate which is better. Then you have single bodied shocks where the nitrogen and oil are kept separate, with this type you generally alter the rebound and compression damping together. The only way to separate everything is with piggy back shocks or other layouts that use a completely separate gas chamber. 
 

The other thing to consider is piston diameter, a larger piston diameter will generally mean a shorter piston chamber which allows a longer shock travel, it sounds counter intuitive but it is because it occupies less space inside the spring.

[Six30]

5 hours ago, Buckster said:

Despite all of your playfulness, I know you only do it because you all feel inferior to me.

I have decided out of kindness to give you a rundown on my research process and what led upto it.

When I lived in the colonies and bought the bike, the standard air assist shocks were never that impressive but were fine as the roads in the USA are damn well made, I had more concerns over the front forks and addressed this with single rate springs and better dampeners. I covered well over 30k miles like that and road all over the states. When I moved back to the U.K. I actually had use of a 950 Adventure for a year while a friend was working in S.A. so I left the Harley in storage in Georgia, the second year I had a Triumph Thruxton R which I really liked but wasn’t a distance bike, so I started making plans to bring the glide over. Almost immediately I realised that the rear shocks were no match for the pock marked cart tracks of Scotland but I soldiered on and eventually I decided to drain the shock oil and put a heavier weight in. This made a big difference but it was still far from good.

So this last year I started researching rear shocks. I knew just about anything would be better than the standard units but the engineer in me meant I needed to learn all the differences in construction and price versus quality. I also wanted them sprung for my weight which is something that made a huge difference when I did the front end.

 

nothing wrong with the shocks on it .... its cause your lugging round a ridiculous fucking trailer.

[Buckster]

16 minutes ago, Six30 said:

nothing wrong with the shocks on it .... its cause your lugging round a ridiculous fucking trailer.

The trailer only adds 8kg to the back of the bike.

[Buckster]

So continuing, remote reservoir or piggyback shocks are overkill in most road bikes, they give the widest range of adjustment but need to be adjusted more often. The sweet spot is a single body gas shock, a good emulsion shock is generally better than stock but still has limitations. 

As far as piston diameter is concerned for a 12 to 13 inch shock the sweet spot for shock travel and good damping is 35 to 36mm. This will allow just under 4 inches of travel.

[Six30]

9 minutes ago, Buckster said:

So continuing, remote reservoir or piggyback shocks are overkill in most road bikes, they give the widest range of adjustment but need to be adjusted more often. The sweet spot is a single body gas shock, a good emulsion shock is generally better than stock but still has limitations. 

As far as piston diameter is concerned for a 12 to 13 inch shock the sweet spot for shock travel and good damping is 35 to 36mm. This will allow just under 4 inches of travel.

i was just going to say that .

[Buckster]

At this point I had narrowed things down to a few preferred shocks, 2win are very good on price but the specs are hard to get, Ohlins are well reviewed but at a price, YSS do what is probably the best emulsion type shock and then the wild card is the Nitron twin shock R1.

I decided against the YSS as I do not want another emulsion set up. I had pretty much settled on the 2win but two factors put me off, I found it only has a 26mm piston and the resellers are twats, I never trust anyone that needs to slag off their competitors. 

I spoke to Brook suspension a few times, I was getting very interested in the expensive but highly rated Ohlins, they were very helpful and very honest, they even suggested having another look at the YSS which are £400 less than the Ohlins.

Then I brought up the subject of Nitron, we had a long discussion on the difference between Nitron and Ohlins. The Nitrons use machined components throughout as opposed to a mix between machined and cast. It seemed that Nitron are about the best made shocks currently available and they offered the adjustability I wanted, I could also specify a 12.5 inch shock so I was very interested.

After doing some additional research to verify what I had been told I have ordered Nitron shocks.

[Buckster]

8 minutes ago, Six30 said:

i was just going to say that .

Pete was a great help during my research.

[Pedro]

[XTreme]

1 hour ago, Buckster said:

Pete was a great help during my research.

[Buckster]

[boboneleg]

I bought a Nitron for my previous DR650, they are very well made

[Buckster]

19 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

I bought a Nitron for my previous DR650, they are very well made

They better be, I spent £800 on these bad boys.

[XTreme]

7 minutes ago, Buckster said:

I spent £800 on these bad boys.

Doubles the value of the bike though!

[skyrider]

1 hour ago, Buckster said:

bet they aint cheap  

 

[Buckster]

9 minutes ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

Not seing a rubber bumper...?

Try again with your glasses on.

[Buckster]

8 minutes ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

So your trying to make it ride like and Indian...?

[Buckster]

2 hours ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

Still don't know why your bothering putting dosh on that thing....are you  thinking about getting another bike one day ?

Why would I want another bike? Shocks wear out, so I am upgrading at the time of replacing, improving on what is already excellent. You wouldn't understand. 

[Buckster]

Just now, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

I've owned two...are you forgetting?   Worse bikes on the planet to make you waste money...they are purposely built so you have to spend like 10 g to make it somewhat...3 different types of windscreen..20 different seats..crappies shocks from factory..stock exaust sounds like choking chicken...crappies brakes...do I need to continue  ?

You aren’t a biker, you will never understand. The best bike for you would be a Honda Goldwing, amazingly capable machines with absolutely no soul whatsoever, perfect for the turkey neck brigade.

[Buckster]

6 minutes ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

Me not a biker....lol...I've been riding bikes  longer than you have..your just brainwashed by the Harley culture...gullible people like you is what keeps Harley a float...they don't know any better...it's like you with religion...lol

I don’t think you have been riding longer than me, I was raised on bikes by bikers.

[Buckster]

14 minutes ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

These guys...?

 

No, people like this guy, my grandfather.

Or this guy, my dad.

I’m assuming you have pictures of the preceding two generations of your family on bikes to show your biker heritage? No?

Probably time you got another ass injection from @Beemer Bummer.

[Buckster]

22 minutes ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

Take a look at this picture....this thing came stock from factory with these parts....I'd have to spend 60 g to get something of the same quality on a Harley..

 

My bike has a front wheel, forks and Brembo brakes as standard too. All from 2008 when your bike wasn’t even being made.

[XTreme]

9 minutes ago, Buckster said:

No, people like this guy, my grandfather.

Or this guy, my dad.

I’m assuming you have pictures of the preceding two generations of your family on bikes to show your biker heritage? No?

Probably time you got another ass injection from @Beemer Bummer.

Great shots!

None of my family before me, or after me, have had bikes!

[Pedro]

21 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Great shots!

None of my family before me, or after me, have had bikes!

My grandad rode a motorcycle once. An army BMW, trying to get from the base to the nearest town pharmacy, he rode it through a fence and into a field instead 

That, as far as I know, is my family's motorcycling history.

My other grandfather was very happy to upgrade from walking to work into riding a bicycle to work when he was young.

[Saul]

My father used to ride bikes, I have very few photos of him at all and none of bikes.  He had a thing for BSA's but my domineering mother stopped all of that before I came along.   He still rode a Honda C90 to work when I was a kid, old S reg in the UK so a 1977 I believe, he got a new one every three years or so until then but the S reg was the last.    He picked up my 1981 CB250N from the dealer for me, I could see he was besotted but nothing ever came of it.    He taught me alot about basic mechanics and looking after my bikes.   Don't know anything about my Grandfathers and bikes, never really spoke to them about it, didn't really know either of them very well to be honest.  Too big a family and I was one of the youngest so I was way down on the time with Grandad sort of thing.