Ohlin's springs, ZX636 shock - very happy!

I just bought this shock:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ayphotohosting

and a set of Ohlins springs for my 2000 curvy. The shock is the wrong type, really, as the reservoir needs to go where the battery sits. I cut two parallel slots across the battery box floor and hinged this "flap" upwards to allow the shock to fit. The battery now sits on a piece of foam on top of the shock reservoir and the fuses are underneath in the small gap left below the battery and behind the shock reservoir. There's still enough clearance under the seat, too.

The fork springs were easy to fit and I changed the fork oil for some new 10w with a 102mm air gap.

I test rode the bike yesterday and it's awesome. The suspension, with no adjustment, is perfectly balanced. The shock doesn't squat under acceleration, doesn't kick the back wheel up harshly from bumps and the forks are much, much better with a lot less dive under braking. Within ten minutes of taking the bike out, I had my knee down and the bike held an easy line round my local roundabouts with very little effort on my part.

I'd also fitted a 7000 mile engine to replace my 34,000 miler that had started sounding like a bag of spanners. So, all up, I've pretty much got a new bike!

Cheers

Ian

How heavy are you?
I thought the 2003 636 shock was pretty stiff on the original bike.

[northwind]

VERY stiff for the new one, not so excessive for the old one, if my numbers are right. Which it might not, today

Good man, that's a good combo. Now if the budget extends to emulators in the future.....

Originally Posted by Razor

How heavy are you?
I thought the 2003 636 shock was pretty stiff on the original bike.

I have a 636 shock on my curvy track bike, I used the bike for the first time yesterday and the shock seemed a pretty good match. Even if it was oversprung for the 636 itself?!?, it seems ok on the curvy conversion. I am ~12.5st by the way.