Shortening shock length

[Sarcvicious]

To my understanding, stock shocks on the 82 Gs650 is 13. Would it be possible to fit 12 inch shocks? Im not asking for a lesson in geometry and trail. I realize shorter shocks would be increasing my trail.

Basically, I have 12 inch ohlins that I just installed on my sporty, but they?re not the ones I want. I?m wondering if I could use these shocks on the shafty (I?m trying to turn this into a cafe racer). I know nothing about shaft drive and I?m not sure if there?s something I should be considering before changing the stock shock length.

And yeah Ohlins might be overkill but if I can?t justify reusing these shocks then I can justify getting the shocks I want for my sporty.

thoughts? Opinions?

 

[Grimly]

12 inchers will work, but be aware of the stress on the front propshaft UJ. Ideally, it should run straight for as much of the time as possible. A 1" drop at the shocks might not be enough to bother it overmuch.
Certainly, I'd not fit anything shorter than 12".

 

[rphillips]

My opinion, for what that's worth, You'll never know the difference except possibly in seat height. Heck wouldn't stock 13" shock with spring set at lowest pos. be about the same as a 12" shock with the spring set to the highest pos.

 

[RichDesmond]

Slower steering, a tendency to push the front end when cornering hard, and less ground clearance will be the main side effects.
If this is a cafe racer conversion mainly focused on looks then the tradeoffs may be ok for you. If you looking at actually riding it halfway hard, then it's a bad idea.
Either way, the Ohlins seem a bit of a waste. Why not just sell them?