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Had my rear shock rebuilt

bmidd

Guest
Guest
I bought a spare rear from eBay and had it sent to DMr Suspension to have it rebuilt(re-sprung and re-valved). Jamie and his wife are the owners of Sonic Springs. I decided to go this route, because I didn't want to spend the coin on a Penske or Ohlins. I've had rear shocks from other brands rebuilt like this before(with Traxxion and Racetech) and have 95% of the benefit of an Ohlins or Penske.
I installed it this week and had a chance to put about 300 miles on it this weekend. As expected, it makes a world of difference, it is now properly sprung and valved, so I actually have some rebound control. As you know, the stock shock is under sprung and has virtually zero damping control. If I rode with hardly any preload, the bike wallowed and wiggled when ridden quickly and if I added preload to combat this, it turned into a rocket launcher and the seat rebounded uncontrollably over every bump. The stock shock doesn't even seem to have enough rebound damping for no preload, much less adding any. Tire wear indicates that, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Needless to say, I'm happy with the rebuild, 300 miles pretty much cleaned up the rear tire and I'll address the front pretty soon. I have a set of ZX14 forks, but I'm undecided on those or getting a set of Cartridges from Jamie.
Jamie is popular on the VFR forums and I had his cartridges and shock on my 6th Gen and it transformed the bike, as any good kit would. I just wanted to share my experience and let you know there are others out there besides Traxxion, that do the same thing for less money. From my research here, the consensus seemed to indicate there was no use in rebuilding the OEM shock, maybe because of the lack of compression adjustment? I don't know.
I have my OEM shock sitting in the garage, if anyone else wants to go this route, I will be happy to ship my OEM shock to Jamie for $30 and you can work out the details with him, he has a worksheet you download, fill out and email back to him about what you weigh, how you ride etc.
The cost of the rebuild was $315 with shipping back to me.
Happy Riding!
 
Thanx Bmidd.
Yesterday, I think I saw a set of ZX-14 Forks posted that already have cartridges etc. Can't find it.
Did anyone else see it, and where?
 
Traxxion or Race tech will rebuild your front forks with their internals and valving. I had mine done at Traxxion. Huge difference over stock. Race tech will also rebuild your rear shock.
 
I have thought of having the rear rebuilt but have heard it will make the front seem worse. I am not a knee dragger but do enjoy challenging myself in the corners. I do not abhor the stock suspension but have never ridden anything different than my C10s and old Z1's. I am going to do a front fluid change and am thinking of having the rear shock done. Thoughts?
 
Traxxion or Race tech will rebuild your front forks with their internals and valving. I had mine done at Traxxion. Huge difference over stock. Race tech will also rebuild your rear shock.
I've used Traxxion for 15 plus years, there are others out there that do the same thing, without having to deal with the personalities down there. I've spent my last dollar with them. I've used Racetech in the past on R6 shocks.
 
I have thought of having the rear rebuilt but have heard it will make the front seem worse. I am not a knee dragger but do enjoy challenging myself in the corners. I do not abhor the stock suspension but have never ridden anything different than my C10s and old Z1's. I am going to do a front fluid change and am thinking of having the rear shock done. Thoughts?
It all matters what you're comfortable with, I always recommend getting your suspension set up for your weight and riding style. My bike has 33k on it now and the suspension, most likely, has never been serviced. My shock was horrible, now it's good enough not to spend $1k on a Penske or Ohlins. I'll start with a dump and fill on the C14 forks and make a decision in a few weeks on whether to swap the ZX14 forks in or not. I won't spend the money on cartridges for the C14 forks, while I have ZX14 forks in the garage. I can re-spring them and toss them on.
 
It all matters what you're comfortable with, I always recommend getting your suspension set up for your weight and riding style. My bike has 33k on it now and the suspension, most likely, has never been serviced. My shock was horrible, now it's good enough not to spend $1k on a Penske or Ohlins. I'll start with a dump and fill on the C14 forks and make a decision in a few weeks on whether to swap the ZX14 forks in or not. I won't spend the money on cartridges for the C14 forks, while I have ZX14 forks in the garage. I can re-spring them and toss them on.
I am at 68,000 with the suspension not being serviced. Seeping seal now so will do fluid as well. I may go with a rebuild on the rear shock. Thanks for your input.
 
I am at 68,000 with the suspension not being serviced. Seeping seal now so will do fluid as well. I may go with a rebuild on the rear shock. Thanks for your input.
Yeah, you're overdue. I dump and fill forks at around 10-12k max. If you go for a rebuild, let me know if you want my old shock to ship, so you can keep riding on yours.
 
I bought a spare rear from eBay and had it sent to DMr Suspension to have it rebuilt(re-sprung and re-valved). Jamie and his wife are the owners of Sonic Springs. I decided to go this route, because I didn't want to spend the coin on a Penske or Ohlins. I've had rear shocks from other brands rebuilt like this before(with Traxxion and Racetech) and have 95% of the benefit of an Ohlins or Penske.
I installed it this week and had a chance to put about 300 miles on it this weekend. As expected, it makes a world of difference, it is now properly sprung and valved, so I actually have some rebound control. As you know, the stock shock is under sprung and has virtually zero damping control. If I rode with hardly any preload, the bike wallowed and wiggled when ridden quickly and if I added preload to combat this, it turned into a rocket launcher and the seat rebounded uncontrollably over every bump. The stock shock doesn't even seem to have enough rebound damping for no preload, much less adding any. Tire wear indicates that, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Needless to say, I'm happy with the rebuild, 300 miles pretty much cleaned up the rear tire and I'll address the front pretty soon. I have a set of ZX14 forks, but I'm undecided on those or getting a set of Cartridges from Jamie.
Jamie is popular on the VFR forums and I had his cartridges and shock on my 6th Gen and it transformed the bike, as any good kit would. I just wanted to share my experience and let you know there are others out there besides Traxxion, that do the same thing for less money. From my research here, the consensus seemed to indicate there was no use in rebuilding the OEM shock, maybe because of the lack of compression adjustment? I don't know.
I have my OEM shock sitting in the garage, if anyone else wants to go this route, I will be happy to ship my OEM shock to Jamie for $30 and you can work out the details with him, he has a worksheet you download, fill out and email back to him about what you weigh, how you ride etc.
The cost of the rebuild was $315 with shipping back to me.
Happy Riding!
I've had Jamie do 2 rear rebuilds in the past and I was very happy. I emailed him last week and telephoned him today about price and timing. Still waiting to hear. How long did he have your shock in November? I see you mention Penske and Ohlins above. Are there other options?
 
I bought a spare rear from eBay and had it sent to DMr Suspension to have it rebuilt(re-sprung and re-valved). Jamie and his wife are the owners of Sonic Springs. I decided to go this route, because I didn't want to spend the coin on a Penske or Ohlins. I've had rear shocks from other brands rebuilt like this before(with Traxxion and Racetech) and have 95% of the benefit of an Ohlins or Penske.
I installed it this week and had a chance to put about 300 miles on it this weekend. As expected, it makes a world of difference, it is now properly sprung and valved, so I actually have some rebound control. As you know, the stock shock is under sprung and has virtually zero damping control. If I rode with hardly any preload, the bike wallowed and wiggled when ridden quickly and if I added preload to combat this, it turned into a rocket launcher and the seat rebounded uncontrollably over every bump. The stock shock doesn't even seem to have enough rebound damping for no preload, much less adding any. Tire wear indicates that, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Needless to say, I'm happy with the rebuild, 300 miles pretty much cleaned up the rear tire and I'll address the front pretty soon. I have a set of ZX14 forks, but I'm undecided on those or getting a set of Cartridges from Jamie.
Jamie is popular on the VFR forums and I had his cartridges and shock on my 6th Gen and it transformed the bike, as any good kit would. I just wanted to share my experience and let you know there are others out there besides Traxxion, that do the same thing for less money. From my research here, the consensus seemed to indicate there was no use in rebuilding the OEM shock, maybe because of the lack of compression adjustment? I don't know.
I have my OEM shock sitting in the garage, if anyone else wants to go this route, I will be happy to ship my OEM shock to Jamie for $30 and you can work out the details with him, he has a worksheet you download, fill out and email back to him about what you weigh, how you ride etc.
The cost of the rebuild was $315 with shipping back to me.
Happy Riding!
The Ohlins STX46 for the C14 has been discontinued
 
I've had Jamie do 2 rear rebuilds in the past and I was very happy. I emailed him last week and telephoned him today about price and timing. Still waiting to hear. How long did he have your shock in November? I see you mention Penske and Ohlins above. Are there other options?
He had it a couple of weeks tops. I did go at least a week or so after my initial inquiry, before hearing back from him.
 
He had it a couple of weeks tops. I did go at least a week or so after my initial inquiry, before hearing back from him.
My rear one is going off tomorrow with the forks following shortly behind. Kind of excited about the whole thing.
 
I'm going this route on my rear shock. Bmidd thanks for sharing this with us. I bought an extra one off Ebay like Bmidd did so I can keep riding.

Some interesting observations on the preload adjuster that others have probably noticed and maybe has been discussed but I don't remember seeing it. 1) the amount of preload change available varies by shock. There must be some air in the system. The existing shock on my bike had about 0.21" of travel at the shock (compresses the spring that much sitting on the bench). The Ebay shock had about 0.16" of travel. So I sent my original one to DMr last week.

2) The knob has alot of "dead zone". I.e if you turn it counter-clockwise all the way out "full soft" then start turning it in to increase preload (raise the bike), on both shocks there's a bunch of clicks that do nothing. It was about 16 clicks on my original shock and about 19 on the Ebay shock. If it's easy to turn with no resistance then you're not getting more preload. Just turning a knob. When it gets much harder to turn is when preload starts increasing. Only then. So for example if you turn it all the way out, then turn it 5 clicks in and there's no resistance, nothings happening other than moving the knob.

take care
 
Hey now...thanks for the info about the rear shocks at DMr. I've been looking to upgrade the shock on my 98 VFR. I sent the forks to RACE TECH last year, feels SO much better but just like you observed, it makes the shortcomings of the other end (shock) stand out even more.
 
Hey now...thanks for the info about the rear shocks at DMr. I've been looking to upgrade the shock on my 98 VFR. I sent the forks to RACE TECH last year, feels SO much better but just like you observed, it makes the shortcomings of the other end (shock) stand out even more.
In case you didn't know, he's the go-to guy for VFR stuff. He makes a piece to use a 600F4 shock on the VFR, I had it on my 2005, along with his fork cartridge kit. All in, it was 2/3 the price of just Ak20s.
 
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