Original Shock Replacement

Hiya,

Have read quite a few interesting things on this forum when I searched for rear shocks, but still not sure what to go for...

Im a novice rider, with a SK3 - 17k miles. Im around 17 stone, and have the preload sex to max which seems to have helped the wallowing feeling from the back end. I think (although not sure) that the shock on my bike is probably past its best, and was thinking of doing something about it in the winter, however, I have seen this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUZUKI-SV650-K...QQcmdZViewItem

Just wondered what you all thought of it, obviously it will fit, tho will it be better looking for something else? I hope to do a track day at some point (more for experience), and I am certainly not a fast road rider, so I'm not sure if a aftermarket shock would justify the £300+ price tag...

Thanks in advance.

Billy

Personally, I'd not replace with an OE shock. Even assuming that its mileage is true (and there's little way of proving it- I cleaned my old 27K shock before storing it and it'd aesthetically pass as having done a fraction of that to the untrained eye), it's still going to start noticeably deteriorating in another 10K miles and being almost dangerously ineffective after 20K (okay I'm exaggerating a bit, but mine had reached the point where I replaced it primarily out of safety concerns).

Unlike most aftermarket bits rear shocks for the SV hold their value well. You can buy one new, run it for 20K miles, then sell it for almost 2/3 of what you paid for it. So assuming you don't write the bike off/swap the shock out before selling it, it's actually not that expensive (although it's money tied up in the bike). With this in mind, I easily justified the £360 of an aftermarket shock to myself and I don't regret it for one second. It's also dirt cheap to have serviced and the guarantee is extended by a year each time it's serviced.

Depends on if you can afford the initial cost and how long you're looking at keeping the bike/mileage you do, etc. of course, but it was the right decision for me.

[fizzwheel]

I bought a OEM shock of somebody on here that had done very little miles, I replaced the 36K shock on my curvey with it and it now handles beautifull again.

I think I paid £40 for it, thats cheap motoring if you ask me.

At the end of the day if you're a novice rider how much benefit do you'll think you'll get from a shock with all the bells and whistles if you dont know how to set it up for your weight etc etc.

Personally if it were me, I'd be saving my cash, get a low milleage OEM rear shock and spend the money I've saved on a re-springing maybe oil on the front end instead...

lol...thanks guys - 2 very conflicting opinions!!

seriously though, I can see both points...

I intend to keep the bike for a long time, for what I paid for it, and what I may get in part ex in a few years if I wanted to upgrade, its probably not worth chopping it in for - so an aftermarket shock makes sense...

On the other hand, as fixxwheel says, in my current numpty riding, would I notice the difference?!? - Then again, hopefully I'll improve in the next year or 2 and maybe the money is well spent.

Prob not something to rush in and bid on e-bay then...I think I should decide what is best long term.

So in that sense, you 2 were very helpful, and saved me at least 50 quid on ebay!

Cheers guys

[Stu]

Got a super duper GSXR shock on mine!










Never noticed a difference - so I'd go with fizzwheel - at least you can collect for free???? (just don't pay anymore than starting price)

[SoulKiss]

I got the Hyperpro spring kit.

Already done the front, in the process of sorting out the back (Rictus, you got a 24mm open ended spanner????)

I am puting the hyperpro spring onto a stock SV shock that I got from someone on here - 2k or 3k on it, so will be swapping my 8k one out.

So a bit of both from me

[Luckypants]

If you are 17 stone, then forget an OE shock. Get an aftermarket shock with the correct strength spring to support your weight and the damping set to match. You don't need a 'bells and whistles' shock sure, but one that is 'man enough' to handle your weight will make a world of difference.