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1150 dog bone linkages

Carter Turk

Carter Turk

Forum Sage
Charter Member
Anyone know how to make a dog bone linkage to fit a 12'' long shock, 1'' shorter than stock? Or stock at 330mm.

I bought a cheap Bandit shock hoping it was long enough.
 
Dog bones work for lowering, but I think you're SOL on making it longer.
 
Anyone know how to make a dog bone linkage to fit a 12'' long shock, 1'' shorter than stock?
Click to expand...

I am sure you can fabricate new linkage dog bones to compensate for the short shock ( the new dog bones will need to be longer, that's all), but you may find a hidden problem or two.

1) There may be clearance issues because you have moved the linkage components to areas not intended by the manufacturer. Pieces may bottom out on the swing arm or frame members. Check carefully by moving the swingarm through its travel by hand before taking it for a ride.

2) The linkage ratios will be different and you may end up with funky suspension response because you have deviated from the OEM layout. Probably not a big problem, but its good to be aware of it in case you need to troubleshoot a weird handling problem after the changeover.

3) Realize that making the links longer makes them more prone to buckling. I would make sure I made the new links significantly beefier and thicker than the OEM ones to avoid this problem. This is not an area to ignore, as a linkage failure WILL put you down, usually at the worst moment.

There is nothing magical about the linkage pieces (the dog bones on my ZX-9 are simple steel stampings), but they are a critical suspension component and must be treated with respect.

Mark
 
mark m said:
Anyone know how to make a dog bone linkage to fit a 12'' long shock, 1'' shorter than stock?
Click to expand...

I am sure you can fabricate new linkage dog bones to compensate for the short shock ( the new dog bones will need to be longer, that's all), but you may find a hidden problem or two.

1) There may be clearance issues because you have moved the linkage components to areas not intended by the manufacturer. Pieces may bottom out on the swing arm or frame members. Check carefully by moving the swingarm through its travel by hand before taking it for a ride.

2) The linkage ratios will be different and you may end up with funky suspension response because you have deviated from the OEM layout. Probably not a big problem, but its good to be aware of it in case you need to troubleshoot a weird handling problem after the changeover.

3) Realize that making the links longer makes them more prone to buckling. I would make sure I made the new links significantly beefier and thicker than the OEM ones to avoid this problem. This is not an area to ignore, as a linkage failure WILL put you down, usually at the worst moment.

There is nothing magical about the linkage pieces (the dog bones on my ZX-9 are simple steel stampings), but they are a critical suspension component and must be treated with respect.

Mark
Click to expand...

A dog bone works by bolting one end into the stock hole on the swing arm, and then the other end bolts onto the end of the shock right? If you make the shock longer the compression force will always buckle because you just added another pivot point to the mix. How do you get around this, or am I missing something?
 
A dog bone works by bolting one end into the stock hole on the swing arm, and then the other end bolts onto the end of the shock right?
Click to expand...

Typically, the linkage works by having a link that pivots one end on the frame with the other attached to the shock. The dog bones bolt to the middle of the link, then the other end of the dog bones bolt to the swing arm. When the swing arm moves, it moves the dog bones, which in turn moves the link and then the end of the shock. The overall linkage layout does not change with new dog bones, only the lengths of the pieces in the linkage are changing.

So, no extra joint and no instant buckling... :)

Mark
 
Yeah, I was just trying to avoid plunking down 500 bones for a Works or the like with such cheap shocks on the internet. $25 bucks compared to $1000 for OEM replacement. The wrecking yards want half that.

I may try an early GSXR, but the wet weght difference is substantial. I'm also concerned about the width of the eyes fitting without having to do a lot of machining.

I guess I'm looking for an easy swap. I don't think an eye/clevis would be a problem if its at least 13"(330mm) or should I? Thanks for the info
 
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