Factory, aftermarket, chopped, strut
Factory, aftermarket, chopped, strut
Note: Sorry gents, i forget this is on a GS site, i'm a member of various sites, i would delete this, but it still has some useful information.
Although below I talk about cutting springs, DO NOT CUT YOUR SPRINGS ON YOUR GS MODELS. I do not know if it is all gs models or what years. I had this problem with a 78, but not with an 81, but i dont know if they were original shocks or not. but with the 78, when cutting the springs, (i'm not at a bike now to verify, just going by memory), suzuki used a lockring style shock that kept everything together on top. Most other makers do not do this. But if you cut the GS springs, it releases the tension from the lock ring and can allow it to disassemble on you, they wont completely fall apart on you, but if you say catch an accidential big pop hole and your rear pops up several inches, it could allow the trim cap to slide and wedge itself, so if one side wedged, and the other side didnt, it would be VERY DANGEROUS while already trying to control after a dip like that. I will only keep the below posting instead of deleting it because there is still much useful info.
Nothing difficult or unsafe about it, any 3 versions. And for anyone to say struts are unsafe is absolutely absurd. At least as far as weight distribution and safety needs are concerned, changing the ride height of your vehicle/bike changes the response/handling and riding style. But as far as safety over aftermarket progressive, over chopped factory, over straight struts compared to a weldon hard tail, there is no safety difference, just change in riding style and handling. Just use basic common sense, I'm not in the garage with a tape measure right now, but your spring is basically just 3/8 (probably 5/16) round steel, heated, coiled, and cold wound. So using a 3/8 (5/16)x1 inch flat stock fender strut actually has a greater weight threshhold then your factory spring would. I suppose if I was a Very large man with a Very large passenger carrying something like 800+ lbs then perhaps I'd go with 1/2 inch stock, whether polished or painted black, that much weight would have your factory springs bottoming out, so it's only logical to beef up the rear to prevent flexing if using struts.
Chopped springs are basically just progressive springs. Professional progressive springs have a shorter number of coils and height which increase the resistance of the coil. Same thing is achieved by chopping your originals basically, it gets a little more technical then that, but basically breaks down like this.
I had a pair of 11 inch harley progressive lowering springs a while ago for another chop. A buddy of mine weighed about 350 lbs, big boy, I weight less then 180, but figuring with a passenger, a chick, who obviously would not weigh more then me, he would be a good example of total weight distribution in case i hit a deep pot hole, total weight distribution meaning that you recieve more weight on the rear travel positioned after the shocks then you would forward the shocks in a solo rider seating position. With the Harley springs, him forcefully plopping his ass on the rear I measured 1 3/8 travel if i remember right (been a while, but close to that), with my 11 inch chopped factory springs (which tend to be better quality and strength over aftermarket parts) measured 1 1/8 of travel. Thats when I originally determined chopped springs best suitable for My personal needs desiring the least fender gap and stiffest resistance. I eventually ended up with 10 inch chopped factory springs that with his weight only traveled 7/8. These are very stiff, but grant it has a "little" give over fender struts. And my personal preferred choice over fender struts for a more mechanical look, and when using springs for bobber seats, i line then up to match the look of the original struts. Though i generally dont use seat springs on most of my builds because they are straight frames from the 70's, which by using seat springs places the seat in an awkward look and ruins the flow of the design. I usually prefer chopping up a later 80's or later bike that has an inset seat frame. (Actually I just bought an 86 Honda shadow 1100 yesturday for 150 bucks, front end off and bald tires, hasnt ran in 5 years, but shouldnt take more then a saturday to get her back together and running. that will actually probably replace my current 78 xs1100 chopper once i'm done and slap a VTX tank on it, again, a bike is a bike, frame engine and wheels, the rest is cosmetic and you can make it look like anything, some things are easy to match up, some things you have to modify)
That xs1100 also has chopped 10 inch springs on it, though i had to use springs off a xs750 because these were tapered and couldnt chop so the spring wouldnt land propper in the perch, it's a solo, and with my wieght plopped right on the fender I dont get more then 1/2 inch of travel, in the seat position, it's more like 1/4, thus the 1/2 inch fender gap when mounted. I would of liked to go lower with that one, but it's a shaft drive and couldnt change the angle any further.
NOTE: I forget this is a GS forum (sorry guys,i'm a member of many various forums), Certain years GS springs are a split design, meaning that you cant chop them or the top comes apart. I dont know years, but i found that out chopping a pair of 78 springs, not a big deal for me as I usually have a few sets of springs laying on a shelf somewhere. I just do an ebay search for asian bike shocks, thousands of them, and grab what ever set for around 10 bucks with good chrome. I think the pair i used on that GS were either from a yamaha or honda. Just make sure they are straight springs and not tapered.
Again, it's usually recomended to just grab a pair of 75 dollar 11 inch Harley springs for lowering your ride, much more comfortable, I just chop for my particular needs and fender gap design, or i'll just chop to see what it looks like and lean before i spend the 75 bucks on a pair.
Hope this info helps, chopping springs is not recomended for every situation obviously, and again you have to be careful with certain GS lines, My personal magic number happens to be 5 for what ever reason, I use to start with cutting 3 full coils first, then reinstall, check lean and style, then chop more, dryfit again, etc.. but so far 5 seems to be my personal magic number. Again, for comfort I recommend progressive springs, but for those wishing to drop as low as possible but thinking of fender strut alternatives, chopping works out pretty good.
On a side note, I've also chopped springs on cars, though there was great debate over it, many saying alot of stupid thigns like bouncing and bottoming out, those are results of heated springs, not chopped if cut properly to land in the perch correctly. I had a system of using cable clamps to lock the springs compressed leaving the bottom few coils exposed, then jacking up the car and releasing the wieght off, the cables would keep the springs compressed and I could have free access to the bottom coils without having to remove anything. Total time was about an hour to lower a vehicle, compared to 6-8 hours to pull and remove and replace with aftermarkets, and compared to using 300 dollar Eibachs, the ride feel was the exact same, except mine didnt sag over time like the aftermarkets. There was a great thread some time ago in the Thunderbird SC forum about it where a Elevator designer broke down all the mathmatical equasions of springs and rates and how those formulas were used daily in elevator installation and safety designs. Lets just say it ended the argument between the guys spending big money and the guys using common sense.
Now i'm sure there will be others that will attempt to add their two cents, but i'm not here to debate, I know what works fine and I put my life on it obviously... and mind you I ride hard........ Live fast boys...
