I replaced my front suspension with a Progressive Monotube cartridge kit with 5.5" of travel. Which is worlds better than the factory garbage with only two or so inches of travel. However the new front end has shown me that the Road King air shocks I put on the rear are too stiff, it's manageable with no air in them but it's still too stiff, especially when playing around on rough gravely dirt-ish type roads.
I have a line on a set of Works Performance rear shocks for a good price but they are set up for someone 180lbs + gear. I'm about 195 without my gear.
How far off would that be?
You might bottom out. Any chance you can contact the company?
If they are priced right, I would take the chance. Those shocks can't be set up that precisely, things have to go in steps, right? Who knows, maybe the setting it was built to was for anything from 180-200lbs? It would be a different story if you were 240lbs, but I don't see 15lbs making that much of a difference.
Wouldn't aftermarket shocks be adjustable to some extent anyhow?
the bike is 550 lbs and you are almost 200. 20lbs is like 3% of the combined gross weight of the bike and rider. You are also coming from completely wrong shocks and you are not really pushing the suspension. I say that you wont notice anything other then an improvement.
Call Works and ask. If they have some additional rebound damping adjustment and preload notches they can probably handle a little stiffer spring but call to make sure they are not already at the top of their range. If there is room - go 5% stiffer on the spring.
Or, try it first. No good? Increase spring. Shock can't control spring or blows oil all over? Send for rebuild/re-valve.
In reply to Rusnak_322:
The complete wrong shocks were still a massive improvement over the stock... They might as well have been struts. The reason I bought them was they were the cheapest way to raise the stupid thing up of the ground.
Now I'm working on making it better, I was planning on buying a set of Ricor IAS shocks which would have the springs and damping suited to my weight. But these were offered to me for a good price, less than half of brand new ones.
Shouldn't this be a "My new Bandit 1200" thread by now?
In reply to Huckleberry:
Wife vetoed new bike, compromised by allocating funds to improve current bike.
Does this mean the funds are also gonna help replace the toolbox tailbox that I just saw you post on ADV?
I'm stalking you....
In reply to octavious:
Never! That thing is brilliant!
