Rear Shock spring

[richie]

Are shock springs available in stronger tension to keep from bottoming out on large cracks and pot holes? We ride mostly two up. Need stronger spring.:helpsmilie:

 

[Iamjoey]

An Elka shock.

 

[coz]

pre-load

is your pre-load turned all the way up ? the how to is in your manual.

 

[900Dave]

is your pre-load turned all the way up ? the how to is in your manual.

My stock spring had NO pre-load adjustment. I switched to ELKA.

 

[coz]

apples and oranges

looks like richie rides an 08 , or 09 gs. they DO have pre-load adjustment on the rear shock.

 

[900Dave]

looks like richie rides an 08 , or 09 gs. they DO have pre-load adjustment on the rear shock.

I was not aware of that. I do not know why they would have springs with out pre-load adjustment. Need to adjust for riding style, passengers and cargo. Cost savings I guess?

 

[oldgoat]

It's a real pain to adjust the preload on the rear of an '08,09 model.

You really need to raise the rear wheel off the ground to relieve the compression on the spring as much as possible. If the preload has not been adjusted in a while you will need to get lubrication between the shock body & the rotatable adjuster as it won't move easily.

Then you will need a 3/8" square drive extension & a "long" ratchet handle in order to turn the adjuster to compress the spring more.

Not one of the most likeable jobs as I always expect the extension to round off the 3/8" square hole in the adjuster.

 

[coz]

cheap fix

could be a very cheap fix, compared to buying a rear aftermarket shock. :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Know your bike... :thumbup:
Save the cash for the important stuff!

 

[spacetiger]

Are shock springs available in stronger tension to keep from bottoming out on large cracks and pot holes? We ride mostly two up. Need stronger spring.:helpsmilie:

I have a 2012 RT-S (with preload adjustment) and have swithched to the 2013 rear RT-S spring and added an extra preload spacer. The 2013 spring cost something like $60. With this set up, I no longer need the air assist. My guess is that you will have to do likewise unless you find a place the will make you a spring to your specs.

Here is a link to what I did:http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ension-(shock)&highlight=2012+RTS:+rear+shock
I will fab up a better spacer one day, but the one I have has shown to issues and have a few thousand miles on it; some with 2 up. I would have some spacers made up and sell them, but noone seems interested in going this route. Elka'$ seem the route everyone goes down and all are happy (because it works) even if they had to pay close to $1,000 for 1 shock.

Jerry

 

[Bob Denman]

Jerry,
Have you considered making spacers for the front shocks on the newer bikes? :dontknow:

 

[spacetiger]

Jerry,
Have you considered making spacers for the front shocks on the newer bikes? :dontknow:

Bob,

Which bike/years? I can help on the 2013 and some early models before 2012. If you are talk 2014, I'd have to see one first.

I debated spending the $'s for black pvc spacers made to my specs for front and rear. They are not cheap (~$100 for 2 front and 1 rear; thats the price I'd charge), so have not bit the bullet to acquire them. The thinner walled white pvc stuff you can get at Home Depot has held up on the bike, with no issues and cost about 20% what the black spacers would run. I judged the potential interest based on the reaction to my threads; not much interest by the spyder crowd. I think everyone is just happier buying Elkas or Fox shocks and just bolting them on or having someone do it for them. The oem shock isn't bad, it just has a weak spring. All it needs for most riders is an extra spacer to effectively increase the preload a bit more....

Jerry