GS1150 suspension upgrades

[salty_monk]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ducati-M900-OEM-Shock-36520181A-/160751607525?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item256d8adee5&vxp=mtr

Ridiculous price... right shock. 93-2000 I believe.

[GS1150Pilot]

Monster Rear Shock

What model years work?

It's the front fender.

The no-fairing is sooooooooo bitchin'! Nice seat, too.

I sorta agree but feel that the front wheel seems to take on a chunkier appearance without the fairing. Though it could just be the angle my head is on. Hic!

The no-fairing is sooooooooo bitchin'! Nice seat, too.

[salty_monk]

It all served to bring me closer to the front of the bike which I wanted & helps bring more weight up front.

All in all a very comfortable bike now.

Don't start using logic on me. That is far too easy an answer.

[salty_monk]

I had about 2" added into my seat & a firmer foam upgrade to achieve what you are trying to achieve (i.e. longer length in the leg). They also changed the angle a little too.

Before (Stock seat):



After:

I put the spare discs on Baz's front wheel then swapped it for the interlopers. She rides a heck of a lot better now but the front forks still bottom out on a 1.5" bump. The seals are the most leaky I have ever seen so am picking that is the problem.

Back to Baz's modification ideas.
Funny how dumb a person can be. I looked (for ages) at how I could alter Baz's seat to footpeg set up to make my legs more comfortable. First I considered alterations to the frame to lift the top rail (seat and tank) and eventually dismissed it due to how complicated the frame alts would get. Then hit on the idea of an alteration to the bottom of the frame (changing the angle of the lower frame brace and peg assy) to move the pegs lower and further forward while putting a bigger wheel on front and a longer shock on the rear to jack it up and regain ground clearance to the pegs. This option is/was likely to test clearances between the rocker arm and shock itself so I had grave doubts as to whether the rocker arm could actually be made to work when the top of the longer shock (VTR1000) sat up 15 - 20mm higher.

Finally when looking at it again last night, I realised how dumb I was. All I have to do is use another monster shock (same sizes as the 1150 oem shock) and lift the bottom bolting point for the shock where it fixes to the swingarm. That will give exactly the same result (pushing the swingarm down about 40 to 50mm at the axle) Way easier to physically alter and as there is no change to the configuration of the shock and rocker arm at the top everything should still work fine as is.

Hey Colin
I really like the look of Baz.
As for the other one, that model looks cool with the big arse train headlight and no fairing.......
I hope you get a chance to get and and put some miles on them soon, 'cause time flies. It was about this time a year ago that Baz was down south..........

Cheers Shane. The more I look at them the more I'm leaning toward stripping the fairings off and running naked. It just looks soooo much better.

I guess as long as I have an original looking naked model I will have satisfied my lust for the real old school low slung muscle look that I find so appealing and I won't have any cause for regret in performing mods to Baz. Solves the dilemma if I make the interloper a naked jobbie.

What shall I call him/her/it? I can't think of any more zook tie ups.

And Yes. I need to pull finger or I'll be mistaken for a southern rider or somesuch

Hey Colin
I really like the look of Baz.
As for the other one, that model looks cool with the big arse train headlight and no fairing.......
I hope you get a chance to get and and put some miles on them soon, 'cause time flies. It was about this time a year ago that Baz was down south..........

A little inspiration for you Colin (care of OSS)

Wow looks like a muscle bike. I likey better than how she looks at the moment.





I have been wondering if I should make the Interloper a naked bike.. that's definitely a tug
toward naked. I'm even wondering if my proposed changes to Baz are too much and if I
might be losing too much of that old school muscle look of the EF.

What you guys think?

Glad the shock worked out for you Colin

Yes thanks Dan. Thanks to your tip she's almost ride-able I am looking forward to sorting the front
end out so I can see just how good the monster shock is. On full pre load she is very firm
so I may find I need to back it down to keep her settled on our choppy roads when
cornering, but it's good to know that it's going to work. Cheers

[salty_monk]

Glad the shock worked out for you Colin

[posplayr]

Well it finally happened. The finger came out for a day

I installed the Monster 900 shock to the back of one of my GS1150 EF. I wound in preload all the way before installing it. Other than four extra washers for spacers (as Salty Monk said) she was a straight swap and now has about 15 - 20mm static sag and feels sooooooo much better than the 99% knackered original which pretty much bottomed out when I sat on her

Also installed a spare seat release lock assembly (it didn't have one) and a used set of coils and leads and set of carbs (off my other 1150 which was running well enough before I got ambitious) I needed to do this to get her to start and run properly as it would only start one or two times if I cleaned the plugs and had a fully charged battery and she was also down about 65% on power under load.

The PO had been screwing with the carbs and so many other things that if I attempted to list them I'd hit the word limit for posting before I got half way. He gave me a bit of a list of his DIY maintenance for about three years... It (and the bike condition) are best described as a shocking example of dysfunctional love (Shudddder)

Anyhoo I took it for a lap around the block and she feels way better. Next I'll have to strip the front end to sort her out so she will allow counter steering (badly notched steering bearing very much over tightened, blown fork seals and springs) and salvage the 2" of static sag. It is scary to steer as you have to really (consciously) push the bars to get her started into a corner (at any speed)
Though at least I can now put her on the side stand without worrying that she will fall back the other way because the stand is too long... Lol

A little inspiration for you Colin (care of OSS)

Ducati shock is a bolt-on for the 750. All I had to do was slightly relieve the casting split line around the outside of the top eye. 2 mins work with a file.

I also had to use some washers on the bottom end from memory to get the right width but nothing special, they just came straight out of my metric bolt kit (think they were 8mm or 10mm washers, usual store type).

You should know that it has about 1/2" less travel (maybe 3/4" can't remember now) than the stock one too.

I am guessing with 100lb & the weight of the 750 the Ducati spring might work out for you. It's a Showa with adjustable preload & Damping. It's hard to reach the damping once installed but is just possible.... Possible I might put 100lb of wife on the back of it soon, that would give a decent indication as she'll be out over the back so should be somewhat equivalent at a guess.

Dan

Thanks to Dan (Salty Monk) I have taken the plunge and moved forward with the economical alternative he has installed into his 750 (Mid to late 90's Ducati Monster 600/750/900 Showa Monoshock) .

Thanks again for your help Dan. The guy with the $49 shock on ebay has sold it to me and is shipping to NZ for $65. So cost NZ $175ish (less than half what I would have to pay here if one ever became available).

Will update in about 4 to 6 months when I get old Baz back together

Well it finally happened. The finger came out for a day

I installed the Monster 900 shock to the back of one of my GS1150 EF. I wound in preload all the way before installing it. Other than four extra washers for spacers (as Salty Monk said) she was a straight swap and now has about 15 - 20mm static sag and feels sooooooo much better than the 99% knackered original which pretty much bottomed out when I sat on her

Also installed a spare seat release lock assembly (it didn't have one) and a used set of coils and leads and set of carbs (off my other 1150 which was running well enough before I got ambitious) I needed to do this to get her to start and run properly as it would only start one or two times if I cleaned the plugs and had a fully charged battery and she was also down about 65% on power under load.

The PO had been screwing with the carbs and so many other things that if I attempted to list them I'd hit the word limit for posting before I got half way. He gave me a bit of a list of his DIY maintenance for about three years... It (and the bike condition) are best described as a shocking example of dysfunctional love (Shudddder)

Anyhoo I took it for a lap around the block and she feels way better. Next I'll have to strip the front end to sort her out so she will allow counter steering (badly notched steering bearing very much over tightened, blown fork seals and springs) and salvage the 2" of static sag. It is scary to steer as you have to really (consciously) push the bars to get her started into a corner (at any speed)
Though at least I can now put her on the side stand without worrying that she will fall back the other way because the stand is too long... Lol