R6 Shock

[Mauricio]

Well... that was easy... 

Burning1, you rock. Straight swap, no machining, no grinding, no nothing other than unbolt, get rid of stocker, bolt R6 shock with the couple of R6 parts you told me to buy.

[burning1]

Glad it worked out, and thanks for posting pics/update.

[Mauricio]

Posting this in the open forum as an FYI, as I've got a couple of people asking about the shock and caliper swap via PM.

The disc is from Braking, you will need model STX12D. Easy as it gets, just unbolt your old disc from the wheel and bolt the new one. I got it from these guys:

http://www.amazon.com/Braking-Non-Directional-STX-Brake-Rotor/dp/B000GV8N48

The caliper is an eBay find, came from a 2000 GSXR-750. Same calipers found in any SV1000 and some years of GSXR-600. A complete list of suitable donor bikes comes with the adapter brackets.

Adapter brackets are from Blair Layton at SV Racing Parts. He sells adapters so you can use Tokico calipers (~2000-2003 GSXR 600/750; any year SV1000) or Nissin calipers (CBR 929/954). Sadly he refuses to sell just the RH side so you are stuck with one adapter for each side. Maybe if we all bug him enough he might give in.

The online store, Nissin caliper adapters - http://www.svracingparts.com/products/#ecwid:mode=product&product=1632829

Ditto, Tokico caliper adapters - http://www.svracingparts.com/products/#ecwid:mode=product&product=1632817

With better pictures, from the SV Rider forums - http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120393

What to do with the extra adapter? For those ambitious enough, the Japanese forks for the GS500 (before they went to Paioli for the 500F) are identical to those for the Bandit 400, except the caliper mounts for the little Bandit are on the LH leg and the caliper mounts for the GS500 are on the RH leg. It is highly likely that you could have discs on both sides if you found a matching set of LH Bandit / RH GS forks. The stock wheel comes pre-drilled for the disc bolts on both sides, hardly surprising as it is the same wheel used on the Bandit 400. Just have to remove the plastic cover hiding the holes on the LH side, takes all of 30 sec.

The shock is another eBay find, sourced from a 2008 R6 that was converted to racing duty from new. These shocks are plentiful, no need to pay over $60.00 for one that is an excellent condition. Other years will work as previously discussed in this thread. The shock is ridiculous, pretty much a direct swap. Everything on top remains GS500, everything on the bottom is R6.

- Upper bolt: GS500
- Lower bolt, nut, and spacer: R6

Verbatim from burning1, the first person to get this right and the one who gave me the instructions on how to do it:

"The R6 spacer slips into the GS500 linkage, replacing the GS500 spacer. Be careful not to lose any of the needle bearings in the process. Bolt the shock to the linkage using the R6 bolt and nut."

I didn't have to grind anything. Went in with minimal effort.

Finally, the forks were rebuilt by Gregg Spears of Spears Racing. He is a big name in the SV650 racing community and has the distribution rights to the Ricor Intiminators for that bike. He gave me a pretty sweet deal for rebuilding the GS500 forks with Intiminators because he'd never installed a set in a GS500 and wanted to see what could be done. He also took care of the powder coating, the forks look great, the triple clamp looks amazing. The Intiminators are a remarkable little gadget. The damping on the forks is vastly improved over stock. The bike feels planted, feedback is quite alright, the suspension feels controlled and taut, but not harsh. I can't do a fair comparison to Race-Tech emulators because I have never ridden a GS500 equipped with emulators, but I have ridden an SV650 so equipped, and IMHO the Intiminator is the better product. If you are feeling extra ambitious you could do a front end swap for something fancy, USD with radial mounts and all. To me that was too much effort for what is essentially my commuter/beater. The Intiminators are super nice for what they are, easy to forget you are on a cheap 37 mm damper rod fork with these installed.

http://www.spearsenterprises.com/

Glamour shots... 

[Phil B]

Someone who can, please upgrade the wiki with this info?

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock

[burning1]

I think eventually I'll start working my way through the Wiki, but it would be good to get the info in there if someone else wants to have a crack at it.

[Slack]

Just got my shock in 
Does anyone have a good method for adjusting preload with out the factory yamaha tool?

Edit: I ended up just used a long screwdriver and a mallet to change the preload adjustment.

[Mauricio]

From fraze11:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58640.0

If anyone has installed a rear shock (preferrably the R6) would you be able to share how you installed it..and by "installed it" I mean how did you physically get it into the bike?  I managed to wrangle the stock shock out of the bottom of the bike by removing the front single bolt from the swing arm pivot that attaches to the dog bones BUT given the R6 shock has that resevior It won't fit in the way the stock one came out ... Before I start ripping the bike apart I just wanted to ask from those who have done this if there is a simpler way that I might be overlooking ... So how did you get the shock in the bike?  Thanks!  Note: I have all the required Yamaha parts for the install (sleeve, bolt etc) I just need to get the shock INTO the bike!

ok, so after a night of head scratching I got it in (without removing the tank/airbox etc).  I removed the plastic chain guard and the heel plate and that created enough room to go in from the side and turn it downwards.  So to anyone considering this...08+ R6 shocks will go in through the side

Now another question if I may; After getting it in and all bolted up it is very close to the swing arm.  I saw some post from guys here who said they had to grind a bit and some said they didn't grind and it was fine?  So my question is ... is paper thin too close?  I dont remember how close the stock shock was to the back...could perhaps anyone with the stock shock have a quick peek and let me know how close it is? I dont want to have to rip this all out and grind..but if I have to I will.  Just looking for others experiences.  Thanks. 

Heres a pic of what I mean, how close is the stock one?


Installed

I have about as much clearance  between shock and swingarm as you do. It has not been an issue and there is no evidence of the spring rubbing against the swingarm. I took pictures for you to see, it's been about 2000 miles.

[fraze11]

Just to keep all this with the R6 shock thread;

I know this was widely assumed here but though I would add it anyway.  I had asked Yamaha when I ordered my install parts about the difference in shock colour from year to year...they told me that the colour had nothing to do with performance and everything to do with the year of the bike and specifically the paint scheme colour of the bike.  I was told that functionally the shocks are identical, they changed the piggy back in late 07 but other than that they are all the same.  And if you do decide you want to do this and can't find one with the dogbones attached or the price is MORE with them attached...I paid $9.83 for the bolt, sleeve, washer and nut brand new from Yamaha.  So take that math into consideration when buying...and for ~10 bucks you get spanky new parts

[fraze11]

Some more handy information on this mod; (Taken from an 89-02 Haynes)

These are the torque settings for the shock mounting components.
Part A - Shock Absorber Lower Mounting Bolt = 40 to 60Nm
Part B - Linkage Rod Bolt (dog bones) = 70 to 100NM
Part C - Linkage Arm Bolt = 70 to 100NM
* 1 Lb-Ft = 1.35582 Nm


Below is from member 'twocool' (Sourced from his: Suzuki shop manual up to 2009)

Rear shock..top and bottom bolt....
From the "chassis assembly section"    29.0 ~ 43.5 lb-ft      (40 ~ 60 N-m)
But from the specific chart for 2004 model......43.5 lb-ft   (60 N-m)
So it looks like they don't gave a "range" and want the high end of the torque setting....

[burning1]

BTW, when you do the suspension it's good to replace the lock nuts installed on the linkage. After a few uses, they wear out and will no longer resist coming loose the way you should.

[fraze11]

Ummm wow.  So we had an unusually warm day for these parts considering its January (it was sunny and +6c)  so I got to test out the new shock.  Un-be-lieveable!!  With my progressives up front and now the R6 in the rear it is smooth and tight and I cant explain it but it feels even. Its INSTANTLY noticable and its great!  Zero rubbing, and no grinding here either (I have about 2mm of clearance at the swing arm, it seems its settled in).  What a fantastic upgrade.  If you like your GS stock thats perfectly cool don't change a thing, but if you've ever wanted to get a sportier ride get this shock now.  The fact that you can do this for ~50 bucks, about 45 min and some hand tools makes it even better! 

Glamour shot

[oz353]

question... i asked about getting one of these shocks at a scrap yard where i picked up my new donor engine. they asked me if i wanted the s or the r model.
so which model is this mod from the r6s or r6r?

[Slack]

The R6R is the model that everyone is using.  But, it has been reported that the R6S (later years) uses a shock of identical size with the only difference being a smaller reservoir.  So you should be able to use the R6S shock, it might even be easier to get in and out.  But personally I like having the larger reservoir.
For what it's worth I think I came across a full box of brand new R6R shocks.  I'm going to pick them up in a week or two if I can talk him down a bit further on the price and distribute them on the site cheaper then you can currently buy on e-bay.

[burning1]

Slack, are you sure that's correct? I looked on ebay and didn't see a single R6s shock that would fit. Problem with the R6s shock is that it has an eyebolt mount on each end. You need a proper 2006+ R6 shock to fit to the GS500; the one with a clevis at the bottom, and an eyebolt at the top.

[fraze11]

question... i asked about getting one of these shocks at a scrap yard where i picked up my new donor engine. they asked me if i wanted the s or the r model.
so which model is this mod from the r6s or r6r?

As burning has said, make sure you get the one with the clevice mount on the bottom (which I also believe is the R6R given I spent months haunting ebay and such sourcing one since I specifically wanted silver and the newer/smaller resevoir) I always searched for R6/R6R.  Also, when I ordered the bottom bolt, nut and sleve at Yamaha it was ordered for an R6R. The eyelet one will not work for obvious reasons (see above pics)

[Slack]

Slack, are you sure that's correct? I looked on ebay and didn't see a single R6s shock that would fit. Problem with the R6s shock is that it has an eyebolt mount on each end. You need a proper 2006+ R6 shock to fit to the GS500; the one with a clevis at the bottom, and an eyebolt at the top.

Are there two R6S models?  The R6S I am referring to is 2006+ (it's the 2009+version).  And someone in a post, can't remember who/where, said that they had looked at the 09+ shocks and they looked to mount the same as the 06-08, just have a smaller reservoir.  This person hadn't actually mounted one, and I don't know of anyone who has.  Why would you when you could get a larger reservoir on the 06-08?  I haven't spent the time looking at R6S shocks though, I'm just repeating what I had read.

[burning1]

Got it.

Yamaha's naming conventions can be incredibly confusing sometimes. I think you may be confusing the R6S for the standard R6.

The short version, is that in 06 or so, Yamaha released a more mildly tuned version of the standard R6 called the R6S. It's based on the older 2004 R6 frame, with a few changes here and there to keep the costs down and the ergonomics more comfortable. Unfortunately, the R6S shock will not fit the GS500.

You need the 06+ R6 shock.

You're correct that the shock was changed in 08. I have both the newer and older shocks. I have not run the new one on my bike yet, but it appears that the fit is the same, but the reservoir design a little more compact. The spring rate is the same between the two bikes, and I presume the damping similar if not identical.

[Slack]

Got it.

Yamaha's naming conventions can be incredibly confusing sometimes. I think you may be confusing the R6S for the standard R6.

The short version, is that in 06 or so, Yamaha released a more mildly tuned version of the standard R6 called the R6S. It's based on the older 2004 R6 frame, with a few changes here and there to keep the costs down and the ergonomics more comfortable. Unfortunately, the R6S shock will not fit the GS500.

You need the 06+ R6 shock.

You're correct that the shock was changed in 08. I have both the newer and older shocks. I have not run the new one on my bike yet, but it appears that the fit is the same, but the reservoir design a little more compact. The spring rate is the same between the two bikes, and I presume the damping similar if not identical.

Just got done doing some research, realizing my mistake, and coming to correct it.  That is exactly what happened.  I also did some looking and saw that the R6S shock is the same size (40mm) and slightly stiffer then the R6R shock, but as you said the mounts are different.

[burning1]

Honestly... I don't understand how someone could throw hundreds of dollars at an exhaust or engine mod, and leave the suspension stock. Suspension is by far the weakest part of the GS, and a few simple mods can completely change the nature of the bike.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Debating on leaving the Fox racing shock on my 04 when i sell it. Then get a nice new R6 shock for the new 06.

The fox shock is nice and feels good, but is old and has been sitting for a few years. Its nice i can pick up a nearly new R6 shock on the cheaper side as well

What do you all think, buy a new R6 or keep using the old Fox Racing shock?