I have a ryker rally and many if the roads in central ohio are pretty bad. When i go over bigger bumps it feels like i am bottoming out. Im solo riding with no luggage and im 6’ 245#. I bought it used and the previous owner was considerably shorter and lighter than i am. The red suspension knob is set to 4 (which according to the manual is for two up on rougher roads). I have also included a pic of the shock. I have not tried to adjust the shock yet as its unclear to me which directions to go. Any advice or tips are appreciated
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Ryker Rally rear shock
- Thread starter delkhouri
- Start date
Rob Rodriguez
New member
To make the shock stiffer you want to rotate the silver nuts so they compress the spring.
Tslepebull
Active member
To determine if the shock is bottoming out at the current setting place a plastic cable tie around the center chromed shaft. Snug it up against the shock body and go out for a ride on some of the roughest roads you usually travel. When you get back look at the position of the cable tie. If it has moved from the shock body down to the rubber bumper you are bottoming out; move the lock nuts away from the fixed ring to increase preload. If the cable tie has not moved all the way against the rubber bumper you can reduce preload by moving the lock nuts toward the fixed ring to reduce preload. I weigh approximately 175 lbs in full gear and found my rear shock was about right from the factory (3/8" from the fixed ring). I had to increase preload on the front shocks from the stock 3 position to the 4 position.
Rally Rear Shock Bigger Guy
I am trying to decide between the standard Ryker or the Rally and one of the things having me leaning to the Rally was the "better" shocks and then I saw your comment. I am 6'4" and would be a similar weight to you with riding gear on. It seems like maybe the rally shocks are not all they are cracked up to be. I saw the following quote on the Ryker facebook page
Huge difference no matter what model you get they are set up so one-size-fits-all even on the rally you cannot make it stiffer then the standard 900 you can make it softer but not stiffer
Makes me think of getting the ACE if I am going to upgrade the suspension anyway as I like the rims and full fender better. Can anyone confirm that the Ryker Rally shock can't be made to be any stiffer than the ACE? If that is the case as an interim measure I could put the 2 up rear spring on the ACE and presumably have a better result than the rally shocks in terms of weight capacity? Thoughts? I would likely go for the Elka shocks as I can get them directly in Canada and the stage 3 would be cheaper than buying the Can Am Fox accessory shocks.
I am trying to decide between the standard Ryker or the Rally and one of the things having me leaning to the Rally was the "better" shocks and then I saw your comment. I am 6'4" and would be a similar weight to you with riding gear on. It seems like maybe the rally shocks are not all they are cracked up to be. I saw the following quote on the Ryker facebook page
Huge difference no matter what model you get they are set up so one-size-fits-all even on the rally you cannot make it stiffer then the standard 900 you can make it softer but not stiffer
Makes me think of getting the ACE if I am going to upgrade the suspension anyway as I like the rims and full fender better. Can anyone confirm that the Ryker Rally shock can't be made to be any stiffer than the ACE? If that is the case as an interim measure I could put the 2 up rear spring on the ACE and presumably have a better result than the rally shocks in terms of weight capacity? Thoughts? I would likely go for the Elka shocks as I can get them directly in Canada and the stage 3 would be cheaper than buying the Can Am Fox accessory shocks.
Rob Rodriguez
New member
I don't know if the KYB shock can be made stiffer than the the shock on the 900? There is adjustment on the Rally shock (and I believe the 900 as well) to increase the preload on the shock. The rally has this adjustment on the front and rear shocks. I believe the 900 only has it on the rear shock. By changing the preload you are setting how much the suspension is "loaded" before it starts doing its job. Typically the more weight you carry the more preload you would have the spring set to. Don't confuse this with spring rate. By changing the preload you aren't changing the rate at which the spring works, you are changing the weight point at which it starts working. Preload also doesn't change the overall weight limit of a spring. The Rally and the 900 could use the same spring on the rear shock? I don't know? The Rally shock also has the clicker (the 900 doesn't) that allows you to control how the shock can react (dampens the movement) to repetitive movement (stutter bumps for example). Are the Rally shocks better than the 900 shocks? I would say yes but I say that meaning they have more adjustment not that they are a better quality unit. If it were me, I will do this when I buy another Ryker...... I'd buy the 900 and swap out the shocks to Elka, Fox or M2 units. Most likely the M2 Units.
Not to ramble on but........ the coil spring shock setup.....the spring provides the "suspension" (caries the load, compresses based on forces). The shock controls the movement (dampening) of the spring. If you just had a spring you would be bouncing all the time because the spring would just compress and uncompress at will based on load and forces. If you just had a shock it would be bottomed out all the time because the shock doesn't provide load carrying capacity. The 2 things work together. The real benefit of an Elka or M2 and to some degree the Fox......they are setup (both the shock dampening and the spring rates) to work together for your specific weight and riding style and typically highly adjustable. That's what you're really paying for with these products.
Rob Rodriguez
New member
Best thing to do is increase the preload and see how it goes. I rode for the first time 2 up with my wife last week. Combined we are about #330 (I'm about #190). Before we left I increased the spring preload a bit. I was surprised how well the Ryker road and handled with both of us on there to be honest. Bottoming out was not a problem and we traveled some fairly rough pavement at times.
You want to set your preload so you just bottom out occasionally on the really big bumps. That's how you get the most use out of your suspension. You want it to use all the the travel it has but only bottom out on those really big bumps/holes. Tslepebulls trick with the zip tie would be a way to set your preload correctly. It would take some trial and error but it would work.
Keep in mind, speed is a factor in all this. The faster you hit these bumps the more force is generated and it typically means if you're a faster rider your suspension is setup stiffer. Doing this you give up some comfort at lower speed but the suspension really performs the most when your riding at your "normal" speed.
That's why sports cars don't ride real comfortable when your cursing around town at slow speed but excel at higher speeds.
CsOldGrayDog
Member
Ill add my experience here , first the rear spring on the 900 Rally is not the same as the 900, manuals and parts numbers will show this. For a 900 you can get a 2up spring, it will not work on the Rally. Im 6ft 250 I adjusted the preload on the back spring to listed max, when I got the Ryker Rally in Jan. When I ride by myself ill set shock adjust 2 or 3, when we do two up the 4.
With those settings I have not had any major issues even as we have to be about max weight riding. It is a stiff ride for passanger, so Elka's are on my buy list.
With those settings I have not had any major issues even as we have to be about max weight riding. It is a stiff ride for passanger, so Elka's are on my buy list.
I have been running the elka stage 3 on my ryker 900 I love them. However if I was doing it over I would most likely buy the m2 from what I hear m2 has amazing customer service. Also there is a video bouncing around is a elka installer talking about not wasting your money buying any thing higher than a stage 2 elka set up i will see if I can find it maybe you can save a few bucks.
thanks. I checked out the video. I then looked at their website. For some reason they don't seem to make a stage 2 rear shock. There is only a $40 difference in price between the stage 2 and stage 3 front shocks. So it seems I would have to go wth a stage 3 rear and might as well go with the stage 3 fronts then.
Highwayman2013
New member
You've got to separate the lock nut from the other nut (there are 2 that jam together). Loosen the nut toward the front of the bike and then to raise reload turn the nut against the spring toward the rear of the bike. If it won't budge take the weight off the rear suspension.
Thank you for simplifying it for me. I needed that. Ha!
Tslepebull
Active member
As previously noted you have to loosen the jam nut first, then you can move the nut against the spring. My spanners would not fit the jam nut or main nut so I improvised. First I jacked up the rear end of the bike to lift the tire off the ground. This removed most of the tension on the adjustment nut(s). I then used a brass drift and hammer on the notches of the nut to move it in the desired direction. Crude but effective. On the front shocks you can turn the adjustment collar by hand once the tire is off the ground. Keep records of the adjustments you make so you can go back to the starting point if necessary.
Initially I thought my suspension was too stiff so I reduced preload. After using the tie wrap technique and verifying that the shocks were bottoming out I added preload in the front and just a little in the rear and my ride and control improved significantly.
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