MajBach
Well-known member
Couple of questions.
Here is the straight-to-the-point version
I have a Penske 8983 shock with a Hyperco spring186A1000 (0515). During a recent service, the tech said he felt the spring was too light for me but he isn’t a Penske dealer and the springs he has access to would not fit on the shock. How do I determine what spring is right for me? I am still laden with some Covid weight at about 300 lbs geared up but more realistically my summer weight is 275. But, I almost always ride with 150 pounds plus worth of gear including the weight of the cases.
He also pointed out to me that the clevis on the bottom of the shock can be adjusted to raise the rider height but it can significantly impact the bikes geometry. I was just wondering when to use this adjustment. I like the idea of lifting the rear end as I am 6’6” in my riding boots.
Here’s a more longer winded version for those still waiting for the temperature outside to rise.
So I upgraded to a Penske shock back when GP was in Washington. It was a nice improvement. A few years later, I went to their new location in California to have the suspension serviced. I forget his name but the only tech that was working let me watch the entire procedure. Through discussion, turned out the guy that installed the original shock was the worst person to have done it and didn’t last long there. He had never worked on an FJR before. The new tech in Oxford said the spring I had was too light and just happened to have a heavier one in stock. An amazing improvement! I printed out the invoice for that service and brought it to Shock Therapy here on Vancouver island last week. Ellis serviced the suspension exactly the way GP had but also said the spring was for about a 230 pound rider (which I was back when it was installed). He said it’s not a deal breaker but he would recommend putting in a stiffer one while it was still off the bike. ‘Stated that the rider weight doesn’t take into account the gear or passengers and if I was planning on driving all over N America with tools and camping equipment etc, I should spring it a little stiffer. I am inclined to take his advice but I don’t want to wait to the time it would take to get a third party involved. How can I source the spring required on my own? And, will it make that much of a difference?
This would be the fourth spring I have put on this bike and since I just bought a second FJR for local riding, getting it right would be prudent. But, this brings to question what is the OEM spring geared to? Most of the guys I see on FJRs are pushing 200 pound plus already so I would think that an OEM spring would be suited for that range of weight. So at what point do you fall out of range of a spring and have to upgrade? I pulled the suspension off last week to have it serviced probably with less than 16,000 miles since the last service because last year, the bike felt really squishy/bouncy in turns and didn’t inspire confidence. I had trouble keeping up to a lady on a DR 650 in the group ride I was on.
Here is the straight-to-the-point version
I have a Penske 8983 shock with a Hyperco spring186A1000 (0515). During a recent service, the tech said he felt the spring was too light for me but he isn’t a Penske dealer and the springs he has access to would not fit on the shock. How do I determine what spring is right for me? I am still laden with some Covid weight at about 300 lbs geared up but more realistically my summer weight is 275. But, I almost always ride with 150 pounds plus worth of gear including the weight of the cases.
He also pointed out to me that the clevis on the bottom of the shock can be adjusted to raise the rider height but it can significantly impact the bikes geometry. I was just wondering when to use this adjustment. I like the idea of lifting the rear end as I am 6’6” in my riding boots.
Here’s a more longer winded version for those still waiting for the temperature outside to rise.
So I upgraded to a Penske shock back when GP was in Washington. It was a nice improvement. A few years later, I went to their new location in California to have the suspension serviced. I forget his name but the only tech that was working let me watch the entire procedure. Through discussion, turned out the guy that installed the original shock was the worst person to have done it and didn’t last long there. He had never worked on an FJR before. The new tech in Oxford said the spring I had was too light and just happened to have a heavier one in stock. An amazing improvement! I printed out the invoice for that service and brought it to Shock Therapy here on Vancouver island last week. Ellis serviced the suspension exactly the way GP had but also said the spring was for about a 230 pound rider (which I was back when it was installed). He said it’s not a deal breaker but he would recommend putting in a stiffer one while it was still off the bike. ‘Stated that the rider weight doesn’t take into account the gear or passengers and if I was planning on driving all over N America with tools and camping equipment etc, I should spring it a little stiffer. I am inclined to take his advice but I don’t want to wait to the time it would take to get a third party involved. How can I source the spring required on my own? And, will it make that much of a difference?
This would be the fourth spring I have put on this bike and since I just bought a second FJR for local riding, getting it right would be prudent. But, this brings to question what is the OEM spring geared to? Most of the guys I see on FJRs are pushing 200 pound plus already so I would think that an OEM spring would be suited for that range of weight. So at what point do you fall out of range of a spring and have to upgrade? I pulled the suspension off last week to have it serviced probably with less than 16,000 miles since the last service because last year, the bike felt really squishy/bouncy in turns and didn’t inspire confidence. I had trouble keeping up to a lady on a DR 650 in the group ride I was on.
