"Posh Racing Project" rear shocks

[makenzie71]

Yeah...it's covered. I just wanted one thread to be dedicated to them, that will be easily found.

These shocks.

I've talked to three people who use them...two good accounts, and one binned bike that didn't have enough time to really say. Sportster 1200 owner and a CB750F owner. I've tried to contact at least fifty people, only got three responses at this time.

From what I can find, the shocks are preload adjustable and the rebound is adjustable (bound, not so much) by gas pressure.

They are allegedly rebuildable (hear-say from phillip board).

Rumor has it that these shocks do not have oil in them. I'm assured that is incorrect by the CB550 owner who binned his bike...he said when the chamber ruptured there was oil present. This raised a concern or two about how stable they would be in a wreck, but, for the price, you can't expect adamantium.

Springs are powdercoated. Shock body and other bits are aluminum. Shaft is stainless steel (or non-ferrous). Shouldn't rust.

I'm looking into getting a set...actually been looking for a while but the lack of user feedback turned me away from them. I've been searching for quite some time and just can't find anyone on any of the forums I surf whose bought, installed, and then posted their opinion...so what the hell? If nothing else they'll look cool on my GS400 Cafe project (when I get one).

Anything not on the list above that people would like to know? Anyone want to contribute to my "fact-finding" mission?

 

[Tarbash 27]

There was a thread a while ago about these. I think most said they were junk. There cheaply made and more of an eye catcher than a quality shock. Do your self a favor and save up form some progressives or works shocks, etc. I would never run those on any of my bikes. Probably chinese crap. I would probably use oem worn out shocks before I used those.

 

[makenzie71]

There was a thread a while ago about these. I think most said they were junk. There cheaply made and more of an eye catcher than a quality shock. Do your self a favor and save up form some progressives or works shocks, etc. I would never run those on any of my bikes. Probably chinese crap. I would probably use oem worn out shocks before I used those.

Can you show me the thread where someone bought a set?

The problem is that everyone whose said anything as based their opinion on hear-say. There have been no postings based on substance, outside of a chap here (handle escapes me) who says they're made for scooters and have no oil in them. I've got two people who run them on their bikes...and one who is pretty sure there's oil in them.

I want a good review of the pieces. No more hear-say. No more assuming they're crap just because they're Chinese.

And it's not so much about the cost with me. It's about seeing how well a product works.

 

[pontiacstogo]

Post from a couple of days back including my comments on these shocks;

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=139164

And for what it's worth, 'POSH' actually manufacture pretty reputable stuff but only the shock extenders in the auction you posted are made by POSH - the shocks themselves are not made by POSH.

 

[makenzie71]

I know about the "Posh" thing...but everyone knows what I'm talking about from the title. That was the effort there.

You have a PM (or you do in a moment).

 

[makenzie71]

Well I contacted the seller and explained what I would like to do and he's willing to help in a big way. So we'll see. Hopefully I can get a set to destroy, as well...I'd like to dissect on and put another on a pull tester and see what pressure it requires to pull them apart.

I guess we'll see. By the end of this we'll have a solid review of how well they work. If I'm lucky, we'll have a thorough review of their build and strength, as well.

 

[Old Colt]

Well I contacted the seller and explained what I would like to do and he's willing to help in a big way. So we'll see. Hopefully I can get a set to destroy, as well...I'd like to dissect on and put another on a pull tester and see what pressure it requires to pull them apart.

I guess we'll see. By the end of this we'll have a solid review of how well they work. If I'm lucky, we'll have a thorough review of their build and strength, as well.

Why bother checking that way? I would get a set onto a shock dyno and see what the damping is and how they hold up as the fluid warms up. This will tell more real information than destructive testing.
I personally do not care how a shock holds up in a crash, I care if it will provide proper handling and not cause the crash.

To determine if the shock will hold up over time you want to look at the upper bearing and the cylinder bore. A key thing to quality is the alloy of the body and hardness of the bore where the piston will run.

 

[makenzie71]

Why bother checking that way? I would get a set onto a shock dyno and see what the damping is and how they hold up as the fluid warms up. This will tell more real information than destructive testing.
I personally do not care how a shock holds up in a crash, I care if it will provide proper handling and not cause the crash.

To determine if the shock will hold up over time you want to look at the upper bearing and the cylinder bore. A key thing to quality is the alloy of the body and hardness of the bore where the piston will run.

I want to dedicate one shock to studying all the alloys. I have access to that kind of lab work (yay me).

I'm working on finding someone who can put one shock on a dyno to see how they hold up, but I have no idea where to look. It's something I'm researching.

 

[Old Colt]

I do not know where you are but up here we have a number of race suspension shops with dynos within a two hour drive, look for a shop that sells and rebuilds the high end shocks. I have been paying about $30 a run for a shock. There is allot learned in a session.

 

[makenzie71]

Would you mind sharing some of their contact information? I'd be willing to ship a shock to one of these guys to get the info...from my searching there aren't any local joints setup to do this kind of testing.

 

[makenzie71]

Okay well Lionel says he's just shipped the shocks to me. They should be stateside by Thursday or Friday, then USPS to me from there...hoping by the middle of next week, but I can't complain considering the deal he's made me for this. I can't wait. I'm still looking for a second set...I'd really like to find some that have been used for a bit to send one off to be tested on a dyno, and one to be dissected...just in case anyone might have some leads.

 

[TheCafeKid]

Can you show me the thread where someone bought a set?

The problem is that everyone whose said anything as based their opinion on hear-say. There have been no postings based on substance, outside of a chap here (handle escapes me) who says they're made for scooters and have no oil in them. I've got two people who run them on their bikes...and one who is pretty sure there's oil in them.

I want a good review of the pieces. No more hear-say. No more assuming they're crap just because they're Chinese.

And it's not so much about the cost with me. It's about seeing how well a product works.

There was a thread where a member here had a close friend that apparently bought a set of these for his bike. One snapped at speed. The guy was killed. These are junk. The company builds suspension parts for those lil 175cc and smaller comuter scooters you see ridden around China. Im not trying to talk you out of this, but please, do be carefull.

 

[makenzie71]

Obviously, care will be taken. I would like to see who posted this information, though, and I would like to see that they were, in fact, these particular shocks. I would also like to know what the bike was and what the situation was under which the shock failed. It's not a matter of not believing the story, but this is the sort of thing I hope to solidify or discredit. In my searching (and I've been searching off and on for over a year now) I've seen a dozen or more people say they knew someone who knew someone who bought them...that's too many people removed and hearsay is just not something anyone, anywhere, should use as justification for any decision...and it's always the same story. "My friend's cousin bought a set and died because they failed."

There are a number of claims I seek to either prove or discredit. The "scooter" thing is one of them, though it will make little difference. When it comes down to it, a shock is a shock, and it works the same no matter what the lever is attached to. It's strength will be tested, though.

I'm one of those people who likes to see underdogs put into proper spotlight, so I would really like to see these things prove to be safe and effective. However, I also like to see poor products advertised just as they are. In the end, I'll have a website dedicated to telling the truth about these shocks with as much information as I can possibly muster, including a few testimonials from people who actually own and use the shocks (not their friend's cousin).

I can tell you that I'm off to a great start, though. I have three first-hand testimonials for the shocks, and one against (limited experience, biggest complaint was chinese shocks and spring weight). Also, I have Lionel's full cooperation in proving these shocks are safe and effective. If there was any doubt, I just don't see him being so willing to help, considering his name and business, as a vendor of the goods, will be attached to the final report, which will be publicly viewed.

The entire goal here is to prove that the shocks are on par with other "cheap" but proven brands. I'm hoping for performance akin to MDI...something at least better than Emgo. These are not a performance shock, though, and should not be considered as such. They should only be thought of as a replacement for the stock piece, just a bit more "trick" looking. When it boils down to it, there's a huge market out there of people people want something that looks cool, but really don't care too much about high performance gadgetry.

 

[salty_monk]

The user was Addy Leung from memory. Based in Taiwan. His friend was Taiwanese or in China. He says they are under $30 over there for a pair.
From my time in China over the last ten years I can easy see that. I think it's great that you're getting them tested properly - have at it.

There is so much "that's Chinese junk" that isn't true.. (there also is a lot of Chinese junk not up to spec so be careful..)

Dan

 

[makenzie71]

This is the only post from Addy that has anything similar:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=737358&postcount=40

No one died and he doesn't say the nature of the failure. When riding aggressively anything can cause a catastrophic problem. There's too many details missing.

These are not the same shocks as he's referring to, though, because he also says there is no oil in them. I have a first-hand account that there is oil in them.

I'm trying to limit this to first-hand accounts from people who have bought the shocks specifically from Lionel.

 

[Nessism]

Are there any safety standards for shock absorbers (ISO, SAE, ANSI, etc.)? Seems like there should be something applicable. Doing a simple pull test on one sample shock may not tell you a whole lot.

Personally, I'd take the shocks to some known expert in the field and have them dissassemble them and give you an informed analysis based on their experience.

 

[makenzie71]

I don't know that there are any safety standards, but I do tihnk they're technically supposed to be DOT approved...but I can't attest to that because I know the Bitubo on TLS, the foxes on my old GS, the Showas on my current GS, the Works on my old EX500, etc...none had DOT stamps.

There's been a number of people PM me here alone that they have testing facilities near them that tehy have used. I'm hoping to find a set that's seen some road use to send off to one of these places for a full work up. I'll be disassembling one myself eventually to measure seals and such and check into possible rebuild and upgrade capabilities.

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure you were a member here when we were attempting a group buy on 'Vipex' piggy back shocks, also being 'custom built to our specs' in China. Apart from the slick marketing line from the guy who pitched them here, they looked suspiciously similar in hindsight, to these generic items appearing on ebay. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as planned so we cannot comment on the quality, but a similar killer (no pun intended)deal did work out for the members on the CB1100 site, so it's probably worthwhile asking for input. IIRC, those were offered to us as a group for around $200.

Tony.

 

[makenzie71]

I plan to hit up the CB1100 site to see what they think...haven't been on there in a while. I'll have to look into what they were offering for $200...the shocks I saw offered were twince that. Looked cool, and probably worked better, but still...

 

[salty_monk]

If there was enough of us with money up-front I suspect I could work out a group buy to our spec in China....