Shocks not working properly ..

[OzJavelin]

Just bought a set of rear shocks for my '79 GS550. They are a no-name brand (alarm bells ring!), but supposedly English made. First ride this morning (around 35km) and my back and kidneys are killing me. Every small bump on the road is being fed back. But when I test them statically on the bike they seem fine, no binding, plenty of movement and minial rebound. Any ideas what's happening here? At the moment they are "middle" setting, and I'm thinking of just cranking them down to soft to see if that helps? It's like they are working two-way, opposing both downward movement and upward?

 

[OzJavelin]

Oh .. just had a nasty thought .. maybe the spring rates are too low and it's bottoming out??

 

[bwringer]

There are some Chinese-made shocks out there that are decent, but have very, very stiff springs. (Look up Emgo or MDI shocks and see if yours look similar.)

Let's start with the basics: measure static sag with the shocks in their softest spring preload position and again at the hardest spring preload position, and report back.

 

[OzJavelin]

They are Tecshox .. I've shot the seller an email.

I do vaguely remember when fitting them that the shock length is the same as the originals, but the spring was shorter ..