Some new happenings on the suspension front…actually, the back. Back as in shock 🙂
Here is the first prototype shock built – I apologize for the grainy photo. It was the best I could get. This is an 8983 ‘Double Clicker’. It sports low speed compression and rebound damping adjustment, preload, and ride height adjustment. And of course, the spring rates and base damping are custom spec’d for each rider…nothing off the shelf here!
The stock shock spring works out to be a 560 lb/in rate. Going to take a trial or two to settle on a proper rate, but as you can probably guess, we’ll be going stiffer.
So for those who aren’t familiar with aftermarket shocks, here’s the rundown. The black collar with the multiple holes is the preload collar. This end attaches to the swingarm, so you’ll have full easy access to the collar for adjustments. Same with the reb rebound knob. No stooping down on your hands and knees and reaching up inside the swingarm on this bike. That will be cool!
The compression adjuster is, as usual, on the reservoir. The final mounting location is still TBD, and the next prototype will likely include swivel fittings to make hose routing easier. At this point, I’m expecting the reservoir will mount under the tail or on the back side of the passenger peg mounts. Given the tight confines under the seat (that nice void in front of the battery is where other markets get the ABS module, so it’s off limits).
So rather than just jump right to market with this shock, we’re going to hone a few areas to make sure everything is bullet proof…hose length, reservoir mounting location (and hardware, if necessary), spring rates, and base damping. In terms of configuration, we’re also working on an 8975 (no reservoir or ride height adjustment) and a piggyback reservoir (going to be a real challenge, though).
I’ll provide more updates and photos as things progress, but I wanted to feed you guys some information. This is a major step forward in ‘fixing’ the FZ-09!