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Across rear shock?

Discussion in 'Suzuki 250cc In-line 4's' started by Shimmy, Nov 23, 2012.

  1. Shimmy

    Shimmy Active Member Premium Member

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    Hey fellas,


    Just wondering if anyone knows of any better rear shocks for the across?
    I'm mainly trying to firm it up a bit and get rid of the wollowy feel to the suspension.
    I suppose the forks would also be part of that "character", so probably wouldnt be worth it?
     
  2. Desmo

    Desmo Member Premium Member

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    Ah this is a thread we can all get behind  :laugh: Have spent a few days this week riding a race prepped aprillia rs125 around so the across' handling "character" has really become obvious.  :-\

    I reckon the bulk of the issue is cause the fuel tank is where it is plus the weight of it + geometry more than anything mainly because the aprillia feels so much harder to turn but 1000x more planted and stable for it, tho i wouldn't really know lol! The suspension seems, MASSIVELY soft on both ends. The forks especially so. With only 65kg of weight it took something like 6x 20c pieces to get the sag right on the front and the rear preload had to get wound up all the way to 7 to get it within the right range.

    Kinda aggravating that Suzuki put the 41mm SV650 forks on the bandit 250 but chose to keep the crap 39mm ones on the across which is what, 40kg heavier. argh! Good thing with those is you can put the fork emulators right in them. Though i suspect you can still install them into the 39mm forks with some basic lathe work. It's on the cards to do one of these days... >_> That and stiffer springs which would make a massive difference surely.

    As for the shock, it will be long rooted on all of our bikes haha. I know the one on my bike probably has no oil left cause it likes to bounce quite literally when you hook it through rounabouts and can probably bet most are the same.

    SV650 shock will fit physically but IIRC it will jack up the rear ride height heaps + most will probably be equally shagged as the across one. A zx6 shock fits in the SV, so by virtue of that i guess it will go in an across too, plus comes with rebound adjustment. HOWEVER the reservoir will NOT fit on account of the fuel tank. It has to be the remote kind.

    Here's a good page. the gs is basically an across in chassis and swingarm/forks - http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock

    Kinda thinking that the best mod will be to find a 600 shock, that has the "eye" on the top and the clevis on the bottom, rebound adjustment and a remote reservoir. The r6 shock looks very sweet indeed!  8) Will need to get around to talking to a suspension guru on the subject one day though. No doubt you'll never be dragging elbows on the thing but sometimes the whale like wallowing through turns can be very scary XD! Hopefully good suspension mods can cure it :)

    Anyway things that DO make a difference on a stock bike that are pretty much free:

    1) Set the sag on the front. You can cut up bits of pvc tube to put in there or use 20c pieces.
    2) Wind the preload on the rear shock all the way to 7
    3) Find a tyre pressure you like. 33f-38r feels right for me :)
     
  3. ozbiker

    ozbiker New Member Premium Member

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    i contacted these guys a few months ago

    http://www.ikonsuspension.com/

    and asked them about rear shock for the GSX250F, here was my reply.......



    Thanks for contacting us. Right now we do not do a shock for the  GSX250F Across. If you could send us the shock from the bike we could design one. Our shocks are rebuildable, have screw thread pre-load and in most cases have rebound adjustment too. The most common price for our mono shocks is $685.00 inc GST and delivery.

    Regards
    Geoff
     
  4. Shimmy

    Shimmy Active Member Premium Member

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    Thanks for the replies fellas.


    While it would be really nice to upgrade but it seems that it's just not really worth it?
     
  5. Desmo

    Desmo Member Premium Member

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    Well i bought a kat 600 shock for $70, so ill let you know when i get it. Expecting a fair difference given my current shock has no rebound damping (i changed the oil and its still rooted) and its about 5 times too soft lol.

    Will let y'all know :)
     
  6. Phil

    Phil Senior Member Contributing Member

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    Hey Desmo

    Look forward to hearing about this, price is right. Keep us posted!
                                                          Phil
     
  7. Shimmy

    Shimmy Active Member Premium Member

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    Any updates?


    I'm going to look at putting in an RGV250 shock in mine, a mate has one who said I could have it if I wanted it.
     
  8. Desmo

    Desmo Member Premium Member

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    Apologies for the wait guys. Been smashed with bills lately so haven't been able to afford the bearings to do the entire swap with. But now it's all under control :)

    So yeah, backstory. Not sure if its familiar on all across' but the back end feels like a hovercraft and when pushing hard you feel as though the whole thing is just going to slide away. Testing it out with some friends there is no rebound damping left in the stocker so I'm fairly certain that's a huge part of the issue.

    Here's the kat 600 shock. Its pretty much completely identical in size and what not and appears to fit straight in from my eyeballing. The only in fitment is that it sits in the opposite direction (thats how it goes in the donor bike so its fine to run it like that), plus it's 10mm longer eye to eye however - that may be because my stocker is totally stuffed! (way soft) The actual body of it is significantly larger. So that's a good sign considering the donor bike is about the same weight. Has proper rebound damping control as well if only fairly basic with 3 positions.

    [​IMG]

    The swingarm, there's no play in the bearings and they're in great condition so I'll reuse them.

    http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab60/glenscads/Suzuki%20across/Shock%20swap/DSC00540_zps4dcd9192.jpg
    http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab60/glenscads/Suzuki%20across/Shock%20swap/DSC00541_zps80d10120.jpg

    One linkage - These bearings however have seen better days. Only slightly rusty and siezed lol!

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    So yeah, just have to change the bearings, clean everything up and slap it back together. Should be done by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Can't wait to see if it improves the bike. After hammering a friends ninj 300 down wisemans ferry i just have to try make it better haha. We shall see!
     
  9. Phil

    Phil Senior Member Contributing Member

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    Hey Desmo
    New shock looks good, can see that the bearings are past use by date. Question, with the slightly larger diameter does it fit well??
    Also with the new shock inverted so to speak, can you gain access for adjustment. Past experience has shown that size is vital with the constraints on motorcycles!
    Anyway, good luck with it mate and keep us updated on your progress in rounding up Ninja 300's  :laugh:
     
  10. Desmo

    Desmo Member Premium Member

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    Lol, its about the same diameter overall so fits in fine, the preload adjuster is on the bottom too so its actually easier to adjust than the stock one. The rebound adjustment is up the top where the preload was, but you can get to it by taking the side fairing off and spinning it round with a screwdriver, as the kat 600 manual recommends :p

    But yeahs shock now fits, its far from a bolt on mod. You have to carefully grind a little bit out of the middle of the shock linkage (about 2mm) then cut the top off the preload collar so it clears the linkage. The part you cut doesn't bear any load so thankfully that was an easy if scary mod!

    Just have to clean everything up (road grime, gah! so nasty) and slap it back in :) Will throw up pics soon
     
  11. Desmo

    Desmo Member Premium Member

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    Occured that i never updated this! After being totally taken to the cleaners on the replacement bearings ($40 EACH!! for a tiny needle roller bearing, dear god) the mod was done.

    So yeah the shock has been in for 10,000km and its going great. Significantly more controlled in rebound and compression damping but yes the spring is too hard. However, its only a little bit too hard, the old shock was frighteningly soft. So a fair trade off IMHO!

    The ride height is raised by maybe 1 or 2 inches. And you need to get a longer sidestand. I'm just putting plastic blocks under the stand for the time being lol. modding the stock stand is out of the question being cast steel. I'll have to either machine a new one from scratch or find a suitable replacement :)

    This is how the shock fits by "default" The preload collar interferes with the cushion lever/linkage. I sanded a tiny divot out of the center of the linkage then very, VERY carefully chopped down the collar with a grinder and machined it back on the lathe. This makes it fit :)

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Aside from that, the shock fits fine with regard to mounting holes and clevises. I'm running it on preload 3 and its perhaps a wee bit too much, but i like it that way. I'm about 70kg geared up with luggage so that gives you an idea on how firm it is.

    If i did this again, then for sure id chop the collar off even further and work out a different way to adjust it, plus i wouldn't touch the linkage at all. At the moment running any less than 3 on the preload will cause the preload collar to interfere with the linkage again.

    A lot of scary work in the end, but given the shock was $50, a very worthwhile upgrade!
     
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  12. Wheelie

    Wheelie Active Member

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    Hi , I was wondering where in Sydney u got the shock, and if u can supply their number, ,,,bit hard finding stuff from Tas,,,Thanks, Wheelie
     
  13. Wheelie

    Wheelie Active Member

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    Hi fellow riders of the Across,
    Well i managed to get hold of a SV650 early rear shock,, i will endeavour to put some pics up later,
    It goes in, but gee even for me as a Mechanic was a little difficult getting the lower bolt in,
    The mods are similar to the gs link above,
    I.E , redrill lower U section hole , and chop off excess metal accordingly,
    From memory the Across is approx 290 centres, and With the SV u have to make it about 305 ish to drill the lower hole, so it clears the lower pivot when mounted, ,,,
    But with spring platform adjusted to low, and my heavy ass 88kgs ish, ( depends on how many cream buns comsumed) , my height is ok, i may start lifting up a couple of height thingies soon, but took for a ride and omg, No more wallows in roundabouts, like it was going to slide out before, , also took for a nice road we use for Targa Tas, so i know it well hehehe, and awesome as, so really happy, , Now to make the front a bit stiffer, , Ideas on springs ?, but i am goi g to do the twin front brake adaption too so will even put thicker viscosity oil in forks, , see if that helps, , i already have the 20cent ( am up to 1 dollar) each side in the forks to try get more preload, , pics to come of my mods later , Cheers Wheelie
     
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  14. Wheelie

    Wheelie Active Member

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    Heres the pics, of sv650 shock, i had to help get the setup in the lower knuckle by doing some extra grinding as needed, ,,
     

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  15. Wheelie

    Wheelie Active Member

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    Also In my girlfriends Across we fitteds the GS500 Bandit? rear shock, that was easy , just grind off the spring adjuster to suit,
     

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