From what I have read, for most people RaceTech/Lindemann and some other suspension companies prefer a stiffer shock than you might enjoy on the open road.

You're close enough that I probably wouldn't worry about replacing the spring, although race-tech does tend to recommend springs that are a little on the soft side,

firmer tends to be better for smooth roads, and softer better for rough pavement.

Really ~ I have noticed several people on the VFR boards complaining that RaceTech recommends a .95-1.5 front spring where they later had to dial back to a .85 to get a decent ride on the open (bumpy) road. Maybe this is not the case for the rear shock spring rate ?

Quote from: fraze11 on February 06, 2012, 01:13:22 PM

Quote from: steezin_and_wheezin on February 06, 2012, 11:55:40 AM
for sure! was shooting to get one for ~50 shipped, ended up going a little over that but just by a bit

was willing to pay a bit more since the condition was better than any others i had seen. trying to convince the seller to toss in the knuckle and collars, but we'll see. going to try my local yama dealer if i can't get it. $5 bucks for a new collar, But 9.99 shipping

Yeah, I paid a little more than what others had paid and for the same reasons as you, I wanted a newer one with low to no miles which I was lucky enough to get.  But I have to say, I think the word is out on these because I popped on ebay and you cant get one of these now for under $60 bucks + shipping, the average price was about 70 bucks.  I don't know if thats demand or inflation?  Too bad you don't have a Yamaha dealer local  (9 bucks shipping is robbery, these parts are SMALL) I just went to  local dealer here and got the bottom mounting parts over the counter (which I recommend) putting in brand new opposed to used and worn.  I'm actually excited for you...you have to post your opinions after your first ride!

Just stumbled on this thread and was shocked at the prices people are paying for these now.  A few years back you couldn't give those shocks away!  When we did Adfalchius bike I think we payed $35 for 2 shipped.  I may still have the second one somewhere in the shop, time to dig around a bit 

-Jessie

We would probably be surprised how many people read this board and never post, or just find specific info on here by google search.

It took me about 6 months to find a decent katana shock at a good price. I can probably thank the popularity of the r6 shock for that!   

hello every one....i have been watching and reading the info on this forum for some time now and have finally registered....i did the R6 rear shock conversion on the wife's 08 gs500f..added race tec front springs ...set up the sag..(properly)and holey *&%$%*....it's like riding a new bike, no more center stand drag, no more front end dive and bottoming but man does it ever  corner well...thanks for all the tips.....
Ed

Yes, the bike has a good frame and geometry, but the suspension is a weak point. Upgrade it, and the bike feels like it is on rails.

Hey there looking around ebay was wondering if the 08 09 10 11 YAMAHA R6 YZFR6 R6 R SHOCK OEM REAR SHOCK will work? it's pretty much the title given so I suppose it should work? Thanks

Sounds like it will work. An R6 shock will work, and R6S shock will not. Look for a clevis on the bottom, and an eyebolt on the top. If both the top and the bottom are the same, the shock will not fit.

Quote from: fraze11 on January 11, 2012, 01:29:04 PM
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

Fraze WHERE did you get that bad ass!!!!!!!!! couwling for over your rear wheel?!?!?!? that carbon fiber looks SUPER clean if you could open up a thread or on this thread show how you did it and what it is off of I would love it!!. Thanks man!

There is a "hugger" thread stickied here at the top of this section but they are no longer avail

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?board=2.0

Quote from: weedahoe on January 19, 2013, 04:31:00 PM
There is a "hugger" thread stickied here at the top of this section but they are no longer avail

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?board=2.0

Damn that sucks because that hugger looks sooo nice!

There are other huggers you can use such s the ones off of a Bandit

Quote
Fraze WHERE did you get that bad ass!!!!!!!!! couwling for over your rear wheel?!?!?!? that carbon fiber looks SUPER clean if you could open up a thread or on this thread show how you did it and what it is off of I would love it!!. Thanks man!

I sold my GS a while ago (but still peek in here once and a while) I scored that from another Motorcycle Forum of all places back in 2012.  I had been searching for a while since the original creator (Forum member Airbrush) wasn't making/selling them anymore.  Keep searching Google and what not, you may get lucky like I did and one will pop up.  Retro-fitting a bandit hugger as mentioned above is a decent alternative as well.

I dont know whether or not this question has been asked in this thread yet, but will these r6 shocks you all are talking about work for any year of gs500? Thanks everybodddddy!

Yes, AFAIK.

I was having a browse on ebay at shocks and noticed the ZX6R shock also has the clevis mount on the bottom. I was wondering if these would work in the GS as they are much cheaper and plentiful than the R6 shocks.

Also the SV1000 looks like it would fit.

^^ I was wondering the same thing! I saw them and was thinking it might but like I said in my WTB thread my wife would kill me if i bought one and it doesnt work. Hell I'm lucky she let me get the bike, now I just need my own PayPal lol.


Toole

OK I did some more digging on the net. A SV650 shock can be made to fit the GS by cutting the clevis and redrilling. But the SV650 is not much better than the GS shock with it only being preload adjustable. (TY adidasguy for jogging my memory) I found this graph on the SV650 forums.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?authkey=COvG24gH&key=0AlotUijBbxpCdDFGenIwQjg2MTcwS2swVFF0TU5UX3c&authkey=COvG24gH#gid=1

What is the length of the GS shock?