Shock's to Strut's

ok im planning on taking my 650 to the dragstrip when it's done. When i was out riding i seen an old kz 1000, with struts and it made it sit low and look really mean. Is there any company out there that sells struts fot these old beast's, or can i use square tubing for the strut's, iff so what diameter of square tubing should i look for?

Pingelonline.com has them. I picked up a wheelie bar and struts on CL last summer for $100! HA I win!

doode make em....

if you have an old pair of shocks, access to a welder, and some small square stock it is no big deal

just cut off the ends of the old shocks...weld them to the square stock...bada boom...struts

these are all the pics I have in my photobucket of the struts I made...I will upload more if you are intrested

Be careful of a street tire and struts. If you hit a big enough bump you will unload the rear tire. Slicks can expand when they hit a bump with struts, so it isn't an issue. But street tires don't "grow" enough.

Just my $0.02.

later, Doug

we made them from alum bar stock, a 1 1/4 solid square, put a tape center to center of the shock and decide how much lower you want it to sit, drill a couple of holes and you are off and running,you may need to file the end down to make it fit in the stock frame,
if you ride it on the street your butt and lower back are going to feel every rock in the road:unsure:

Post edited by: BSKZ650, at: 2007/09/07 08:36

BSKZ650 wrote:

we made them from alum bar stock, a 1 1/4 solid square, put a tape center to center of the shock and decide how much lower you want it to sit, drill a couple of holes and you are off and running,you may need to file the end down to make it fit in the stock frame,
if you ride it on the street your butt and lower back are going to feel every rock in the road:unsure:<br><br>Post edited by: BSKZ650, at: 2007/09/07 08:36

only qualm I have with that is that there should be some kind of dampening...if you cut up old shocks you get to use the eyelets with the bushings...

I only say this because without bushings you put a lot of stress on your swingarm bushings

thanks for all the info guys:) . But the strut's are going to be for the drag strip only. I used to have a rigid harley sportster, and my backside used to kill me just riding to work that is only 5 miles away:angry:

Use the struts if you like, but a street bike will actually be quicker if you use the shocks. Have to figure out the best setting, but usually you want to soften them up some so they squat on launch. Sometimes you can find lowereing blocks for the rear shocks that help lower the bike about two inches(I think there are a couple sets on e-bay now). Struts will lower the bike but aren't as good as shocks for et., but are a quick fix to lower the bike. Lowering bike helps in et and handling also by making it harder for front-end to rise, but it can still happen. www.Pingelonline.com can custom make any length you want but you can make them by using tubing about 3/4" in right length and welding tubing on ends in right diameter for shock bots and mounting studs for your bike. Or use sloid aluminum stock cut to the length you need and drill hole to mount. Just watch these for wear on mounting holes over time. There are many ways of doing this, just use your imagination. Most struts are solid but they can be built using left-handed and right-handed threaded ends so they can be lengthened or shortened at will, which would be easy to do. Lots of newer bikes use this style, so see if you can look around on the internet and find some pictures. They explain themselves if you can find a photo or two. Good luck.

racer54 wrote:

Use the struts if you like, but a street bike will actually be quicker if you use the shocks. Have to figure out the best setting, but usually you want to soften them up some so they squat on launch. Sometimes you can find lowereing blocks for the rear shocks that help lower the bike about two inches(I think there are a couple sets on e-bay now). Struts will lower the bike but aren't as good as shocks for et., but are a quick fix to lower the bike. Lowering bike helps in et and handling also by making it harder for front-end to rise, but it can still happen. www.Pingelonline.com can custom make any length you want but you can make them by using tubing about 3/4" in right length and welding tubing on ends in right diameter for shock bots and mounting studs for your bike. Or use sloid aluminum stock cut to the length you need and drill hole to mount. Just watch these for wear on mounting holes over time. There are many ways of doing this, just use your imagination. Most struts are solid but they can be built using left-handed and right-handed threaded ends so they can be lengthened or shortened at will, which would be easy to do. Lots of newer bikes use this style, so see if you can look around on the internet and find some pictures. They explain themselves if you can find a photo or two. Good luck.

ditto!

oldkaws4ever wrote:

the strut's are going to be for the drag strip only

Good thinking! Struts just don't make much sense on the street.