GSX650F rear shock upgrade.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

Hi, I've searched the forum and searched online and I can't seem to find out the dimensions of the new GSX650F rear shocks vs. the GSX600 shocks that we know fit our GS500E. Ebay seems to have a glut of affordable, nearly-new GSX650F shocks for comparable prices to higher-mileage, corroded GSX600 shocks.

Does anyone have a measurement for these? Has anyone tried putting one on his/her GS500? Thanks!

[Janx101]

i dunno about the spring rate or anything... but i do know this... from looking at pictures of both shocks.... on the 650 one the preload adjuster is completely at the other end of the unit!!... plus the donut shaped attachment bit ... and the U shaped attachment bit are reversed also...

no i aint being funny.... when you look at the central 'shock' piston bit.... cos the spring is 'wrapped around' that ... all the mounting points and the preload collar are wrong end compared to the central piston bit...

which may be fine!!! ... however i think t least the preload adjuster being at other end may cause havoc??.... or it could be better?... dont have my bike at work to peer into for "access to theoretical preload" evaluation..

[codajastal]

looks alright to me?

GSX650F




GSX600

[Janx101]

yeah cods.. all the bits are there.... but look at the actual positions in relation to centre piston?... should still work ok yeah... but the preload is at other end on the 650 unit??... and the U piece .. (clevis?) looks like alloy as opposed to steel .. make a difference?....

i'm not saying the thing wont work... just that its kinda back to front?

[GSBRY]

It's worth a try.  If it doesn't fit, he can always throw it back on ebay and get his $ back.   

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

For $25, I guess I could be the guinea-pig. This bike won't be street-ready for a while anyway.

[Slack]

Why not get an R6?  It's a much better shock.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

Does the R6 fit with the stock airbox?

I ended up buying a somewhat clean 2004 Katana 600 shock for about $45 shipped. Decided that until I have a workshop, I'd rather just have something I can bolt in and ride. Next up is the fork rebuild, which I may hire a shop to do because (again) I don't have a garage in which to work. I plan on getting RaceTech springs put in, probably .85kg rate. I'm about 162 lbs without gear.

Why not get an R6?  It's a much better shock.

[codajastal]

Does the R6 fit with the stock airbox?

Yes it does
Sent while taking a dump

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

Does it raise the rear end or require any modifications to the actual bike? I thought the only straight bolt-in was the Katana, which is why I just ordered one. I totally would have gone for the R6 shock had I known. What years should I look for?

EDIT: I found a race forum that concluded the R6 shock is a potentially excellent platform if you're willing to rebuild it with expensive stuff, but that the Katana shock is much better in stock form and works great on the track without any mods. I'll be sticking with that one for now.

[J banning]

I just recently did the R6 rear shock (off a 2008 model) and resprung my forks. Awesome upgrade, especially for the price ($75 shipped for the shock, $100 for the fork springs). I'd do it again in a second.

P.S. The R6 shock requires NO modifications whatsoever and can be installed/removed without removing any bodywork. The only thing I had to do was put a 4" thick block of wood under the centerstand to get the back of the bike that much further off the ground so the rear wheel would drop.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

What a brilliant idea. Idiot me removed the battery tray and airbox in preparation for pulling the stock shock. A thousand times d'oh.

I just recently did the R6 rear shock (off a 2008 model) and resprung my forks. Awesome upgrade, especially for the price ($75 shipped for the shock, $100 for the fork springs). I'd do it again in a second.

P.S. The R6 shock requires NO modifications whatsoever and can be installed/removed without removing any bodywork. The only thing I had to do was put a 4" thick block of wood under the centerstand to get the back of the bike that much further off the ground so the rear wheel would drop.

[Slack]

Does it raise the rear end or require any modifications to the actual bike? I thought the only straight bolt-in was the Katana, which is why I just ordered one. I totally would have gone for the R6 shock had I known. What years should I look for?

EDIT: I found a race forum that concluded the R6 shock is a potentially excellent platform if you're willing to rebuild it with expensive stuff, but that the Katana shock is much better in stock form and works great on the track without any mods. I'll be sticking with that one for now.

It seems that you have them mixed up.  The Katana shock will raise the rear end up a bit, the R6 won't.  The Katana is only preload adjustable, the R6 is 4 way adjustable, giving you a much better track shock.  And, if you get good enough that you feel you need a better shock you can rebuild the R6 and upgrade the internals.

[slipperymongoose]

Ill throw my 2c in. R6 ftw, it was an easy upgrade to do, for a cheap price you get a huge handling performance upgrade. Plus with the amount of R6's out there you can upgrade the stock internals and really start scraping pegs. Best thing is there is a step by step video as well

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

This is the comment I was using for reference:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=52334.msg593727#msg593727


Coincidentally, I've been watching burning1's youtube videos in which he smokes shiny new 600's in the twisty bits on a GS500 rat-bike with bone-stock motor, pipe and jetting. According to this post (made back in 2010, mind you) the R6 shock is very soft compared to the Katana, however it *can* be turned into a great shock with some work.

So I'm going with a fork rebuild up front with .85kg springs and a shock from a 2004 Katana 600, and if I want something more aggressive I can look into R6 shocks down the line.

Does it raise the rear end or require any modifications to the actual bike? I thought the only straight bolt-in was the Katana, which is why I just ordered one. I totally would have gone for the R6 shock had I known. What years should I look for?

EDIT: I found a race forum that concluded the R6 shock is a potentially excellent platform if you're willing to rebuild it with expensive stuff, but that the Katana shock is much better in stock form and works great on the track without any mods. I'll be sticking with that one for now.

It seems that you have them mixed up.  The Katana shock will raise the rear end up a bit, the R6 won't.  The Katana is only preload adjustable, the R6 is 4 way adjustable, giving you a much better track shock.  And, if you get good enough that you feel you need a better shock you can rebuild the R6 and upgrade the internals.

[Slack]

This is the comment I was using for reference:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=52334.msg593727#msg593727


Coincidentally, I've been watching burning1's youtube videos in which he smokes shiny new 600's in the twisty bits on a GS500 rat-bike with bone-stock motor, pipe and jetting. According to this post (made back in 2010, mind you) the R6 shock is very soft compared to the Katana, however it *can* be turned into a great shock with some work.

So I'm going with a fork rebuild up front with .85kg springs and a shock from a 2004 Katana 600, and if I want something more aggressive I can look into R6 shocks down the line.

Does it raise the rear end or require any modifications to the actual bike? I thought the only straight bolt-in was the Katana, which is why I just ordered one. I totally would have gone for the R6 shock had I known. What years should I look for?

EDIT: I found a race forum that concluded the R6 shock is a potentially excellent platform if you're willing to rebuild it with expensive stuff, but that the Katana shock is much better in stock form and works great on the track without any mods. I'll be sticking with that one for now.

It seems that you have them mixed up.  The Katana shock will raise the rear end up a bit, the R6 won't.  The Katana is only preload adjustable, the R6 is 4 way adjustable, giving you a much better track shock.  And, if you get good enough that you feel you need a better shock you can rebuild the R6 and upgrade the internals.

Further in that thread he retracts his statement:

Thanks for bumping this thread. I need to redact what I posted earlier about the spring rate being too soft - it was based on some bad info. Spring rate and rebound damping are actually great on this shock, and it should be a more or less bolt on upgrade for anyone in the 160-200lb range.

If you are only using .85mm/kg front springs you might be a little light for the Katana as well, as it seems to do best for big (+200 lbs) guys.  But, I understand if you want to run with what you have already purchased.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

This is the comment I was using for reference:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=52334.msg593727#msg593727


Coincidentally, I've been watching burning1's youtube videos in which he smokes shiny new 600's in the twisty bits on a GS500 rat-bike with bone-stock motor, pipe and jetting. According to this post (made back in 2010, mind you) the R6 shock is very soft compared to the Katana, however it *can* be turned into a great shock with some work.

So I'm going with a fork rebuild up front with .85kg springs and a shock from a 2004 Katana 600, and if I want something more aggressive I can look into R6 shocks down the line.

Does it raise the rear end or require any modifications to the actual bike? I thought the only straight bolt-in was the Katana, which is why I just ordered one. I totally would have gone for the R6 shock had I known. What years should I look for?

EDIT: I found a race forum that concluded the R6 shock is a potentially excellent platform if you're willing to rebuild it with expensive stuff, but that the Katana shock is much better in stock form and works great on the track without any mods. I'll be sticking with that one for now.

It seems that you have them mixed up.  The Katana shock will raise the rear end up a bit, the R6 won't.  The Katana is only preload adjustable, the R6 is 4 way adjustable, giving you a much better track shock.  And, if you get good enough that you feel you need a better shock you can rebuild the R6 and upgrade the internals.

Further in that thread he retracts his statement:

Thanks for bumping this thread. I need to redact what I posted earlier about the spring rate being too soft - it was based on some bad info. Spring rate and rebound damping are actually great on this shock, and it should be a more or less bolt on upgrade for anyone in the 160-200lb range.

If you are only using .85mm/kg front springs you might be a little light for the Katana as well, as it seems to do best for big (+200 lbs) guys.  But, I understand if you want to run with what you have already purchased.

OH shaZam!, I guess that's the magic of reading.

I'm about 160-165 before gear, so I guess I could have bought the R6 shock. Realistically, I paid $45 for the Katana piece and it's already in the mail, so I'm probably going to bolt it in ASAP and then try to figure out the fork rebuild. If I'm unhappy with that setup, I might upgrade to the R6 shock, but it's not urgent. Anything better than the stocker would have to be a huge improvement.

I'm not building a track bike here, I'm building a reliable runabout I can use for commuting, grocery shops, day trips and EVENTUALLY a nasty little streetfighter. My first goal is to get it running and handling like a champ, then I can make it purty.

[BeerIsSoAwesome]

Okay! My 2004 Katana 600 shock arrived today, and I couldn't wait to bolt it in when I got home.

And, boy is it firm. Without testing for sag, I'm thinking "track firm" if not excessively stiff. 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, so I may indeed be a bit light for this shock setup. The preload came adjusted to 4 which I assumed was fine because it was right in the middle. I might have to crank this sucker down to 1 for daily riding. I rode it around the block and I loved distinct absence of rear-end pogo-ing over bumps, but obviously I have no idea what this bike is going to feel like until my fork components arrive. I definitely don't want it topping out constantly. My fork seals came today; my dust seals, .85kg/mm Sonic springs and 15w oil is in the mail. I hope this setup turns out to be reasonably balanced, although I suppose it won't be the end of the world if I need to order a used R6 shock. It only took me about 90 minutes to swap the shocks in front of my house this evening.

For those guys who have done this same upgrade-- do you think that I can reasonably expect to scrape some pegs without fork emulators and a fork brace? I was hoping this bike would turn out to be a hard-edged thrashable runabout, and that it might prove to handle well enough to try a beginner's track day this summer.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[jacob92icu]

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

[Janx101]

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!!