GSX650F rear shock upgrade.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

Did the shock noticeably raise the rear end at all? And how much did it cost of you don't mind me asking? Plus what year did you get?

Jake

The shock is from a 2004 Katana 600.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271186304607?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

As you can see, it cost me about $45 shipped. It's visibly used, but it bolted up perfectly and the back end feels much firmer now. I'm holding off judgment on how the bike handles and feels til I rebuild the fork to match, but it definitely sits a bit higher. I don't think this is due to the length of the shock, which is identical, but rather to the stiffness of the new shock, which doesn't sag as much under the weight of the bike. It leans farther on the sidestand, which I think is a good thing considering that the shocks where so saggy before that it stood nearly vertical on the sidestand on slightly sloped surfaces.

I came in and weighed myself and found that I'm only 155 these days, not 165 like I was in the middle of winter

.. ummm .. i mean this in the nicest possible way .. and quite literally too!!... You are half the man I am!! 

at my current 325lbs or so geared up  .. i cant wait till i get a hold of a katana shock!! 

Janx101, you're a big dude. Are you riding the stock suspension? I remember touring 2-up with my girlfriend on my first GS500E (a 1991 model with the mushy factory fork) and braking was a real ordeal. We were I suppose around 285 combined, And I remember the feeling of bottoming-out the fork and supporting both of us with my wrists any time I had to stop quickly. No fun a tall.

If you're riding stick, you need to go to eBay and pick up a clean-ish Katana shock ASAP, but even more importantly you have to go pick up some nice stiff fork springs and tailor that suspension to suit your size and riding style.

Between the shock, the new springs, fork seals, dust wipers and oil, I'm at almost exactly $200 which I think is totally worth it in order to completely transform the handling

[Janx101]

lol.. yeah... big-ish....

stock rear end .. but on setting 7 preload... and yes it still wallows a bit in the rear...

.95 sonics and a forkbrace (from a member here) on the front end... which i love muchly... see my sig 

although my overall weight is greater than you riding 2 up .. it doesnt feel too icky atm... think cos although weight is all there ... its just me in the seat so the C.o.G is different than 2up...

but yes.. Katana shock... on the list .... (looks at list of total 'things to do') ... hmm... only 8 feet of paper away now!! 

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

.95 sonics and a forkbrace (from a member here) on the front end... which i love muchly... see my sig 

Yikes, I seriously hope I didn't over-spring my bike. .85's up front and the serously stiff Kat in the rear, and I'm about 170 lbs in gear. I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine for camping and 2-up riding, but I hope it doesn't send me airborne over every pothole and trolley track on my commute.

[jacob92icu]

Yikes, I seriously hope I didn't over-spring my bike. .85's up fr and the serously stiff Kat in the rear, and I'm about 170 lbs in gear. I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine for camping and 2-up riding, but I hope it doesn't send me airborne over every pothole and trolley track on my commute.

Hahaha... I don't think you will go airborne! Hahaha... But I an going to buy .90 here pretty soon and I'm 210 or less with gear on so you should be fine.

[slipperymongoose]

You should be aiming for 25 and 38mm of sag. That means you measure from the top of your dust cover to the bottom edge of your triple clamp, and find an edge that's close to the centre of the back wheel and measure from there to the ground. Then jump on the bike and whilst seated with feet on the pegs in your riding gear: get one guy to hold your bike straight and another guy to do the same 2 measurements you did off the bike. Minus these measurements off your first ones to get your sag and that will give you a starting point as to weather you are sprung too stiff. Obviously you can adjust the preload on your rear but the front is a bit trickier. Now if you have to crank your preload right up on the top couple settings on your rear you shock spring is too soft. Golden rule you never 'crush' a soft spring.

All this info is in YouTube. Search for a bloke called Dave moss. Suspension guru who even helped with the twist of the wrist series.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

You should be aiming for 25 and 38mm of sag. That means you measure from the top of your dust cover to the bottom edge of your triple clamp, and find an edge that's close to the centre of the back wheel and measure from there to the ground. Then jump on the bike and whilst seated with feet on the pegs in your riding gear: get one guy to hold your bike straight and another guy to do the same 2 measurements you did off the bike. Minus these measurements off your first ones to get your sag and that will give you a starting point as to weather you are sprung too stiff. Obviously you can adjust the preload on your rear but the front is a bit trickier. Now if you have to crank your preload right up on the top couple settings on your rear you shock spring is too soft. Golden rule you never 'crush' a soft spring.

All this info is in YouTube. Search for a bloke called Dave moss. Suspension guru who even helped with the twist of the wrist series.

The top of the sag is measured with each wheel hanging free on the center stand?

[slipperymongoose]

Stand the bike upright and measure it no stand no rider. It's a 2 - 3 person job

[Janx101]

.95 sonics and a forkbrace (from a member here) on the front end... which i love muchly... see my sig 

Yikes, I seriously hope I didn't over-spring my bike. .85's up front and the serously stiff Kat in the rear, and I'm about 170 lbs in gear. I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine for camping and 2-up riding, but I hope it doesn't send me airborne over every pothole and trolley track on my commute.

according to the Sonic guide .. i probably should have gone for 1.0 (or above?) .. i opted for .95 for 'future reference' .. ie .. once i get another bike .. (aiming at a 2010 Street Triple R, just for hooning a bit  ) .. it may happen that i lend the bike to a mate or some such... didnt want to totally over spring the front end... it could have been ok i guess , but most of the mates are either your size or halfway between us...  ... i'm happy with the front though... even under emergency braking practice conditions (where i nearly put myself over the bars  oops ) the forks compressed right down and there may have been just a tiny tiny tap of bottom out?... not sure cos its so slight... but under all normal conditions of riding/braking/potholes/driveways .. the .95's are just silky ..

as for the Kat ... if it turns out to be too stiff or high for you... you can throw it my way eh!?! ..  .. $'s for such of course!

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

The Street Triple R is an excellent choice, I think. I haven't been on that specific model, however I've been on several Speed Triple 995's and 1095's and absolutely loved them. I also took a 40-minute back-road test-ride on a Daytona 675 and loved every psychotic second of it. What a hoot. It could only possibly be better in naked trim with superbike bars.

Oh, and I did my fork rebuild today. Hit a few snags, learned a few things... important things about firmly tightening up the damping rod bolt.

That's right, I put the whole damn front end back together and popped it off the center-stand, then came out five minutes later to find a puddle of oil under the left leg. Had to pull the whole damn thing apart again, open the leg, and remove the spring and spacer in order to tighten up that damping rod. Then I needed to re-measure the oil level before putting the whole mess back together again. Basically added another hour to a job I thought was already done.

I should explain that the bike isn't street-legal yet: the back tire is bald and I don't have it registered or insured at the moment, however I did take a spin around the block on it and I'm (so far) very satisfied with the results. It rides like a new bike; no more clunking over potholes, diving hard at stops or squatting under acceleration. It has much better manners in turns and I can't wait to fit a new back tire and flog it through the twisties!

[burning1]

I ran a Kat750 shock on my race bike. The Kat 600 and 750 have the same spring rate.

My recommendation is to set pre-load and damping to their minimums, and tune from there.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

I ran a Kat750 shock on my race bike. The Kat 600 and 750 have the same spring rate.

My recommendation is to set pre-load and damping to their minimums, and tune from there.

Thanks! I'm the guy who messaged you on YouTube to ask about fork tech. I have the preload set to minimum on the Kat shock and I did the fork rebuild myself with .85 springs and 15w oil. St the moment I have a bald back tire and no proper registration/insurance so I've only tooled around the neighborhood, but I'll tell you that it's night and day. The bike feels better than I've ever thought a GS could.

After reading posts about fork braces, I think I'm going the same route as Srinath and making my own from 1/2" aluminum. I definitely feel a bit of torque steer when I hit the front brake hard.

[cWj]

soo...whatever happened with the GSX650F? Did anyone try that yet?

Just switched to Progressive in the front yesterday (which feels glorious compared to stock) and now the rear seems slightly skwerly. I'm not doing track days by any means, so I'll see what I can get just from the stock rear, but those $30 B.I.N. shocks in elBay are itching my clicky finger...