Penske 8981 on AE

[T120TT]

Swapped out the stock shock for a Penske 8981. Casual riding doesn't seem any different. Installation was a bit of a pain because of limited clearance due to ABS on the right and shift servo on the left. However. it CAN be done! Patience helps.

 

[Warchild]

Swapped out the stock shock for a Penske 8981. Casual riding doesn't seem any different. Installation was a bit of a pain because of limited clearance due to ABS on the right and shift servo on the left. However. it CAN be done! Patience helps.

How many miles on the AE when you swapped it out with the Penske?

If it was less than 10K or so, doubtful that you would feel a major difference in casual riding. However, hitting the canyon sweepers and technical twisties might yield a different story.

The stock shock is actually not too shabby when it's still relatively new. But somewhere around the 15K-20K point, it's definitely falling off the pace and it's not designed to be rebuilt

Regardless, once you get that Penske fully dailed in, you'll love it...

 

[T120TT]

Swapped out the stock shock for a Penske 8981. Casual riding doesn't seem any different. Installation was a bit of a pain because of limited clearance due to ABS on the right and shift servo on the left. However. it CAN be done! Patience helps.

How many miles on the AE when you swapped it out with the Penske?

If it was less than 10K or so, doubtful that you would feel a major difference in casual riding. However, hitting the canyon sweepers and technical twisties might yield a different story.

The stock shock is actually not too shabby when it's still relatively new. But somewhere around the 15K-20K point, it's definitely falling off the pace and it's not designed to be rebuilt

Regardless, once you get that Penske fully dailed in, you'll love it...

My AE isn't even broken in; 850 miles. I really didn't expect a difference in casual riding. I've yet to dial it in. Next up will be the AK-20 cartridges from Traxxion. Even though I don't usually push the envelope, I want the reserve there for all situations. Besides, I really can't see doing just the rear and leaving the front stock. BTW, the stock suspension seems way better than my '05 was.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I put an 8981 on my '04 and absolutely love it. The ride is always supple but controlled, even with the wife on and loaded luggage. Handles big bumps like butta'. Really glad I decided to go that route. at 15k, my stocker was toast! Set your sag asap, then fiddle wth the damping adjusters a little at a time...one change at a time! Once you get that sucker dialed in, you're ready for anything. Traxxion also fixed my forks for me after Racetech butchered them. Once I got them back from Traxxion, they were almost perfect right out of the box. Minor fiddling after installation and haven't needed to touch them since. An excellent company to deal with and we have one of their techs here in-house. In fact, I'm gonna try to find time to swing by their shop and say howdy on my way home from FL next week. I already put a bug in the wife's ear about a possible "detour" on the way home. You made a very good choice Bro. That's alot of shock for the money.