Just for anyone interested in doing this common mod, the hardest part was finding the shock I wanted, on eBay of course. I just read in a thread here after I installed it (my better half installed it, I just helped) that they retail new for $750.00?? I almost swallowed my tongue!!     I took a pic before I put the 2005 Katana 600 rear shock in my 2001 GS. The GS shock failed at just about 8K. That's why it's fithy with oil and crud. The sleeve on the GS shock seems like a good idea, but it is certainly not very sexy. 
The Katana looks really nice in there, and it is a stiff sucker! I haven't ridden it yet, now the bike is too tall for me, but it felt pretty good when I got on and bounced it. I think it will make a difference in the canyons, the bike feels like it will be more balanced front to rear with my current .85 Sonic springs with 15w fork oil.   

That's a nice shock Teek 

Sooooooooo........for what do these go on ebay ?    For 750 $ you might as well buy Ohlins shock 

interesting,on the lenght's of the shocks , the kat 600 i put into mine was identical ...ok well just 1/4" longer than the stock one ??the kat one i got was off a 2000 ...... how many miles on that one looks brand new???, you will enjoy it teek

That I dont believe is a 2005 shock Teek.
Guys - Didn't Kats get remote reservoir ~1997-98. Did suzi cheaped out more and o back to the old type after that ?? Cos I have a 98 Kat and its definetly remote reservoir.
Cool.
Srinath.

Depends on how big your cat is.   

04 Kat 600:

http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/300_0362/rear_cushion_lever/rear_cushion_lever.bmp

04 Kat 750:

http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/300_0358/rear_cushion_lever/rear_cushion_lever.bmp

Didn't have 05 pic yet.

It was sold as a 2005 off of a 600, I have no idea on mileage, looks like nice low mileage but could have just been cleaned up really well. It WAS lightly dusty on the top of the springs as it would normally get on a well cared for or younger bike, though there was no tough grime or rust or corrosion of any sort anywhere on it. It just wiped off. It had no photo on eBay but the seller had perfect feedback, so I cringed and gambled $50. plus $15. shipping on a BIN. I put a lot of trust in the seller, but messaged them before I bought it, were they certain of the model bike it was from. They were parting out other '05 Katana parts, so I figured it was likely legit, or close to.

So if it isn't an '05, that's sure okay by me, I didn't want one that was 15 years old though! I basically only wanted to show with the pic how close they are in size and the spring difference, plus the damping control on the Katana for anyone who is wanting to do the mod and is curious. The other photos I saw here when looking myself were smaller. I also thought it was the 750s that had the reservoir, which I did not want to mess with at all!

Ah-ha GSJack ... you the man.
The dumb thing is, I am almost certain the 98 600 had the same as the 750 one.
Teek - shocks dont really wear, presumably the first 200-1000 miles they could wear in, but past that, they are the same till they blow. They also blow due to, more than likely sitting and drying of seals, or a rust speck tearing the seal than due to actual use.
I also heard that due to the 300 psi of nitrogen in them, remote reservoir shocks are made much better (else they'd be taking a bath replacing those under warranty - cos 300 psi is a lot of pressure) and hence more failure resistant and they put those in their flagship bikes - the GSXR's.
Cool.
Srinath.

They also blow due to, more than likely sitting and drying of seals, or a rust speck tearing the seal than due to actual use.

OR maybe if (while you are elsewhere) your BETTER half beats on it with a hammer and screwdriver trying to get it to adjust the wrong way at the end of the top setting, nicks the chamber, and doesn't tell you until later after it's leaking?  And after you've ridden it with oil dripping for 55 miles through the canyons above Malibu, then he says, oh, BTW, your shock is leaking...   

Quote from: Teek on January 30, 2008, 04:14:03 PM
They also blow due to, more than likely sitting and drying of seals, or a rust speck tearing the seal than due to actual use.

OR maybe if (while you are elsewhere) your other half beats on it with a hammer and screwdriver trying to get it to adjust the wrong way at the end of the top setting, nicks the chamber, and doesn't tell you until later after it's leaking?  And after you've ridden it with oil dripping for 55 miles through the canyons above Malibu, then he says, oh, BTW, your shock is leaking...   

isthat not what their supposed to do?? to help out!!!!

Quote from: Teek on January 30, 2008, 04:14:03 PM
They also blow due to, more than likely sitting and drying of seals, or a rust speck tearing the seal than due to actual use.

OR maybe if (while you are elsewhere) your other half beats on it with a hammer and screwdriver trying to get it to adjust the wrong way at the end of the top setting, nicks the chamber, and doesn't tell you until later after it's leaking?  And after you've ridden it with oil dripping for 55 miles through the canyons above Malibu, then he says, oh, BTW, your shock is leaking...   

Does he not know how things screw? At least you did call him the better half.

Quote from: dgyver on January 31, 2008, 07:22:30 AM

Quote from: Teek on January 30, 2008, 04:14:03 PM
They also blow due to, more than likely sitting and drying of seals, or a rust speck tearing the seal than due to actual use.

OR maybe if (while you are elsewhere) your other half beats on it with a hammer and screwdriver trying to get it to adjust the wrong way at the end of the top setting, nicks the chamber, and doesn't tell you until later after it's leaking?  And after you've ridden it with oil dripping for 55 miles through the canyons above Malibu, then he says, oh, BTW, your shock is leaking...   

Does he not know how things screw? At least you did call him the better half.

     

Does he not know how things screw? At least you did call him the better half.

He is my better half!     He's  my best buddy, and he's usually really patient. He just had a bad day, we have a very dark communal  "garage", even with his trouble light I think he just thought there was another click left. My beef was that he didn't tell me the whole story, (just that he'd messed with it), so that I knew I was bringing my own oil spots along for the ride..      We had a discussion about informing each other of known mechanical issues with our moving vehicles.    
It did give me an excuse to upgrade the shock, and it will never happen again, especially now that we have a proper adjusting tool from one of the guardian angels on this board. It worked beautifully on the Katana.
He's actually very good at screw-, uh, wrenching; when I say tighter, he obliges.   

Quote from: Teek on January 31, 2008, 01:19:36 PM
Does he not know how things screw? At least you did call him the better half.

He is my better half!     He's  my best buddy, and he's usually really patient. He just had a bad day, we have a very dark communal  "garage", even with his trouble light I think he just thought there was another click left. My beef was that he didn't tell me the whole story, (just that he'd messed with it), so that I knew I was bringing my own oil spots along for the ride..      We had a discussion about informing each other of known mechanical issues with our moving vehicles.    
It did give me an excuse to upgrade the shock, and it will never happen again, especially now that we have a proper adjusting tool from one of the guardian angels on this board. It worked beautifully on the Katana.
He's actually very good at screw-, uh, wrenching; when I say tighter, he obliges.   

........   = price-less

I'm a little bit confused I thought that the proper Kat 600 shock to use was '89 - '02 (based on Pantablo's website info). Teek seems to have used a 2005 without modification.

Can the newer-than 2002 shocks be used without requiring modification? (and does this depend on the year of the GS it is being installed on?)

Thank you

I just bought my kat 600 rear shock today. Can't wait to install.

Hi beRto,

If you check out the pics you'll see the Katana 600 is just a bit longer, so it will set the seat height up a bit and raise the tail. It's also wider, but I had no problem there. It was a bolt in mod with the bike on the center stand. Unbolt old shock, it slides out the bottom, slide in new shock, bolt back on. I did run into a problem with lowering links that fit '06-'07 but NOT my '01, but they were adjustable with turnbuckles and pretty thick. So there is some difference in the swingarm that I know nothing about. But it actually was an '05 fitting an '01.
The damping adjustment wheel at the top is a real nice plus!

Off hand does anyone know the length, eye to eye, of the Katana shocks?  I've been looking for something acceptable for a little project and it needs to be at least 12".  I'd also like to know the same info about GSXR shocks since they're like $10 all over eBay.

Quote from: Teek on March 01, 2008, 02:41:40 AM
Hi beRto,

If you check out the pics you'll see the Katana 600 is just a bit longer, so it will set the seat height up a bit and raise the tail. It's also wider, but I had no problem there. It was a bolt in mod with the bike on the center stand.

I agree with you; the picture shows this quite clearly. That's why I'm confused to read that the acceptable range is '89 - '02. It looks to me like the 2005 would fit just fine!

You are comparing to an '01 GS stock shock; would this be the same dimensions as my '95 stocker?

That I have NO idea, but seems to me that if an '02 should fit, then my '01 should fit your bike, and the '05 katana fit my bike, so ...... maybe a guru will stop by....