working on my shocks

[starshooter10]

so....

im hard on my GS

im not gonna lie and say i baby it..

i take good care of it but now it's time for some more work...

the front right shock is leaking (time for new for rigns right?)

i figure while im taking apart my whole front end i should get some advice..

how long does this ordeal take?

what type of oil do it fill em with?

and what is this i've read about spacers?

im a bigger guy pushing 240 ATM and i ride with my girl freind on the back alot....

and sometime when i hop off curbs i bottom the center stand..

as is im thinking about removing that because i grind it inthe twisties too....

but if i can get a bigger rear spring and put spacers in the front i would rather do that (center stand is helpfull)


what size and material would be used for a spacer? like .75/1.5? nylon ABS? steel?

[pennstump]

Search the forums, look for my posts recently.  I spent 9 hours last weekend, which included 2 trips to the shop and glue drying time.

I'm 240 lbs, I used the stock springs and replaced the fork oil with 15w instead of the standard 10w.  I think I'd now like to see what the 20w is like, but I'm not redoing it again this soon.




you're hopping off curbs?

[The Buddha]

Maybe you should fix your starting problem before fixing suspension.
BTW you can work on it all you want. the GS fron suspension inspite of all you do is ... how to say this delicately ... yea ... crappy.
You wanna know how many people do progressives only to go to GSXR or Kat soon after ?? Well I know of 2 atleast. In fact I pulled a progressive one out of this guy's fork and he said it still was like crap.
There are 2 categories of people. People who are happy with their suspension ... and people who aren't.
Cool.
Buddha.

[pbureau69]

why not upgrade the rear shock to an SV650 shock, easy swap and would provide better support
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Upgrades/RearShock

[The Buddha]

Swap the rear with a katana shock, way better than SV or bandit 600.

On front suspensions Oh yea there is the 3rd kind ... those that cannot stop yakking about it ...

However I developed the 40/125 - 150 method in 99, but till 03-04 people were all saying that is BS ... Took a few DJ failures to establish that. Till date I count over 100 carbs and 150+ kits sold. Yea I make a loss of each one, but make it up with volume. Yea ... volume..

Cool.
Buddha.

[bucks1605]

You wanna know how many people do progressives only to go to GSXR or Kat soon after ?? Well I know of 2 atleast.

Make that 3, in fact I never even rode on my upgraded suspension before tearing it down to install my kat f/e.

[The Buddha]

Ha ha you dont count.  OK 1/2. 3 1/2.
OK there you have it 3 1/2 Gs'ers agree, the kat FE is the schnitz.
Cool.
Buddha.

[starshooter10]

so,....

should i hit up my local yard and as for the whole thing from the tripple tree forward?

what about the gauges? (plug and play?)

or do i just get the forks?

how does that effect the handling?

and as for the kat or SV650 rear....

do i need to mod it at all? i dont have a welder....
hows does THAT effect the bike and height?

[The Buddha]

I have a Kat FE (or most of it prolly) for sale - new bearings and good seals for $450. Wheel not included. You run your stock wheel. New GS, you have to dril land tap it, or I can add in a wheel if you will send me yours when done.

If you buy from someone else, I can machine the stem for the thing to fit on the GS and have all the stuff work (lock mechanism especially) - $50 for that. This mod doesn't have bearing swap included. You may have good bearings in the one you buy so you may be OK. If you must have new seals, I can do one of those for you, and it will ahve some magic that will stop it from leaking so easily. Cant reveal what, but its very very good. Its a secret I have someone else to thank for so I am playing it close.

I can weld up the top triple with the GS guage ears (need both the kat and GS top triple) and $50.

Modding the GS ears $20 if you send me yours, $40 without and an F doesn't need this.
So essentially a $100 for an F or $120 for an E for me to mod any kat Fe you buy. I believe 98 and later stems were different a little ... prolly wont change the $ any, they have a larger difference in fork legs.

Kat or SV rear shock will be direct fit as will GSXR shocks from the 95 and earlier generation. The GSXR ones work great, kat is 2nd SV and B6 are 3rd IMHO. However for the gentler riders and in some cases the lighter riders, GSXR may be too hard.

I have those also. $75. And those that called dibs on these better pay up quick. If these 2 sell out the next one will be $100.

Shipping extra on all of them.

Handling and braking is so much better, after you run this a stock GS will feel like ... I dunno riding in the mud maybe. The rear shock swap will so greatly show up the front, you'd really be crying to upgrade it.

If you buy my FE, you can keep your FE till you swap and then swap over when you have time. I'd like the GS triple and if I give you a wheel, I'd want yours. For the machine and weld up jobs, you send me yours, I'll do it and send it back in a week or so.
Cool.
Buddha.

[starshooter10]

so what send you a kat FE and 100$ and you'll make it a bolt on swap huh?

and 75 for a complete GSXR rear huh?

too bad your not in the bay any more =-P

in in the northbay (santa rosa area)

about 45 miles from the goldlen gate...

[The Buddha]

If I was in the bay area this will cost 3 X as much.
Yea, dont send the whole FE, just the kat top and bottom triples and GS top triple. You have an F I guess ... then yep, the 3 triples.
Cool.
Buddha.

[pronator]

Mostly related (and only a little threadjack):

Buddha had mentioned that most people swap out the rear shock before upgrading their front springs. Well, I did the progressives first and it made a huge difference on its own. I could see how putting in a stiffer rear shock first would make the stock front end feel 100x worse.

I don't think I need a full on front end swap because I'm only about a buck forty in full gear. At 240lbs and riding 2-up with your girlfriend, getting your suspension sorted out is probably the wise thing to do.  

Meanwhile, my Kat 600 rear shock is sitting on my table lookin' a purdy shade of red. Haven't had a chance to do the swap yet but I'm looking forward to it!  

[bucks1605]

Ha ha you dont count.  OK 1/2. 3 1/2.
OK there you have it 3 1/2 Gs'ers agree, the kat FE is the schnitz.
Cool.
Buddha.

You don't know me!!! 

[starshooter10]

If I was in the bay area this will cost 3 X as much.
Yea, dont send the whole FE, just the kat top and bottom triples and GS top triple. You have an F I guess ... then yep, the 3 triples.
Cool.
Buddha.

kat top bottom tripple?

i have a 90' 500E

[The Buddha]

I'll need kat top triple, kat bottom triple with stem, and GS top triple.
Cool.
Buddha.

[sledge]

Going off your last post there is a good chance your g/box is shagged.....I would be giving that issue my full attention before even thinking about anything else if I was you.

[The Buddha]

Oh ... I never look at the posters name on any post. K 6th gear vibration. Dunno what it can be but I'd ride it a few 1000 miles and see what it does. If it dies, you save yourself the $$ of any mods.
Cool.
Buddha.

[pbureau69]

Mostly related (and only a little threadjack):

Buddha had mentioned that most people swap out the rear shock before upgrading their front springs. Well, I did the progressives first and it made a huge difference on its own. (Lazy, no-fork-oil-change way, with only a 0.5" spacer.) I could see how putting in a stiffer rear shock first would make the stock front end feel 100x worse.

I don't think I need a full on front end swap because I'm only about a buck forty in full gear. At 240lbs and riding 2-up with your girlfriend, getting your suspension sorted out is probably the wise thing to do. 

Meanwhile, my Kat 600 rear shock is sitting on my table lookin' a purdy shade of red. Haven't had a chance to do the swap yet but I'm looking forward to it! 

Yes I am, only 175 lbs myself, and did the ractech .85kg front springs, and Sv650 (dunno what buddah is on about that shock being 3rd best, I guess I would have to be alot heavier to make a difference but me and my wife on the bike and shes 140lbs with sv650 shock on 5 not a problem, the bike is nice and tight all around. then again I don't ride like a maniac and I don't keep my engine at 10K rpm all the time...(grin)

but as you can see consensus is upgrade springs, shock, and even front end in some cases if that is your cup of tea, as for brakes I never felt the need to "upgrade the front end to twin brakes" but as previously said, I leave room between me and cagers and I don't ride the redline.  I would suggest braided steel brake lines, and change the oem pads with HH pads in the front. (I did front and rear but rear HH brake like mad when your not used to it... becarefull)


cheers.. and good luck on the "buddah sale" project

[The Buddha]

The single front brake is great, dont get me wrong. The Kat brakes are just a shade better but I also would guess that they wear a lot less, and they dont cause as much twist in the forks.
SV shock isn't adjustable for rebound just like the B6 shock. It may in fact be stiffer than a GS - for sure, but rebound on the kat shock can make a huge difference in what it can be set to.
Cool.
Buddha.

[sledge]

The dynamics of a stock GS are pretty poor, but in its defense, its age and the fact it was never designed as an out and out sportbike are big factors. Your unlikely to notice the shortfalls unless you have experience on other machines or jump straight off the GS and onto something else. For someone not wanting to carry out extensive mods (like me) subtle mods such as fresh rubber, prog` springs and uprated brake pads make a noticable and worthwhile improvement over stock.