am I too fat or my rear struts are too weak?

[Attila the Hun]

Ladies and Gentlemen

I own a 1981 GS 750L. When I go for a ride with my wife (sitting in the bacK), and hit a bump, the strut just simply bottoms out. I adjusted the strut on its stiffest setting, and still the same result can be observed. The strut itself doesn't show any leakeage, and you can hear the sucktion sound as I push down on it as I sit. I am 215 lbs, my wife 165 so that's a total of 380 lbs.

I saw 2 people riding one of these italian mopeds, and they didn't have a problem like I do. So what could be the problem, are my springs in the strut too weak, or I'm too fat for this bike?

[rphillips]

After 28 yrs. The springs & shocks won't be near as firm as they once were.

[Can_O_Tuna]

I'd say you need some strut work. I'm 6'4" and run between 235- 280 depending on if I'm working out or time of year. I gave rides to large (over 250lbs) friends here and there on some pretty sh$tty roads and never had that problem on my old '82 850L. That bike had leaking original fork seals and original shocks or with 28k on 'em. YMMV.

Jim

[geisterfahrer]

Attila, I also have a 1981 GS750L. I weigh in at about 240, and ride solo. My rear suspension was bottoming on moderate bumps, so I replaced the shocks and springs with Progressive units. It made a huge difference. They come in different spring rates, so if you go that route, you will need to decide what set will best suit your needs.

[almarconi]

I don't ride 2 up, but I weight about 230lbs and the rear end bottoms every time I hit a bump. I'm probably going to get some progressive shocks w/HD springs. Hopefully this will make the bike handle better.

[Attila the Hun]

Thank you for your help, by the way, is there a website where I could take a look at these struts, and most importantly the price on them?

thank you again

[almarconi]

So far, the best price I've found is from

http://www.powersportsuperstore.com/default.asp

I've never ordered from them before.

[Guest]

Get the dual HD springs.

[almarconi]

PowersportSuperstore.com has the 12-1204B shocks for 140.56 and the HD black springs 03-1368B for $56.62. UPS shipping runs about $15.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Thats a good price, well worth the cost. Their are cheaper shocks, under $100 but you get what you pay for

[Zooks]

They're all lying, you've just been eating too many jelly donuts.