what do I look for in replacement shocks?

I also bought progressive shocks+springs for mine last year for a bit over $200 and they are great. You get the spring that matches your bike and they mount it to the shock.

There's several other factors to consider.

Many of the Harley take-off shocks are too fat low down on the shock - it pushed the chainguard into the chain. When you look at the stock shocks, many of the models have an offset on the lower eye to get better clearance around the chain.

The amount of travel is important too - some shocks have a very limited amount of travel before you hit the bump stops.

If you go with a shorter shock, you lose ground clearance, and can have problems with the tire hitting the underside of the frame/fenders. You can also have problems with the chain slapping the underside of the swingarm.

Z1 Enterprises has nice replica shocks...

PLUG. :laugh:

TeK9iNe wrote:

Z1 Enterprises has nice replica shocks...

PLUG. :laugh:

Also Icon and Progressive <-- Click

Good Fortune!

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationThanks for the pointers Jeff. If I had the coin I would get the progressive shocks from Z1 for sure. Its just the if that's the problem. Luckily, I am chainguardless so I have a bit more clearance.

And thanks for the insight on the stiffness bountyhunter.

Is it possible to gauge stiffness or travel by the coil of the spring? i.e. tighter the coil = less travel?

I am trying to get something that look halfway decent and work.

These are cheap enough that if they didn't work I could hold back my tears.



Waste of time?

A number of folks have installed Harley Sportster shocks. The stock ones are ~13.5" eye-to-eye & the bottom mount on them is a tad too wide for the swingarm mount: you can either grind them down or spread open the KZ mount - ~4mm. Also, you have to swap out the bushings - the Sportys' are the wrong size for the KZ. The clearance near chain guard may be close - the Sportster springs are longer than the Kaw's.

MikesXS650 sells new shocks that may fit.
Z1Enterprises.com might be able to get them - I've never asked about it, though.

Jodyb17 wrote:

Thanks for the pointers Jeff. If I had the coin I would get the progressive shocks from Z1 for sure. Its just the if that's the problem. Luckily, I am chainguardless so I have a bit more clearance.

And thanks for the insight on the stiffness bountyhunter.

Is it possible to gauge stiffness or travel by the coil of the spring? i.e. tighter the coil = less travel?

No, the stiffness has to do with the coil itself and its temper. A progressive spring has a two number spec like: 100/140

This means it takes about 100 pounds of downforce to compress the spring 1" and 140 pounds MORE to make it compress another inch (hence the progressive factor). Note that is the force at the top of the shock which is different than body weight which is centered farther forward on the bike.

The cheapest new shocks of usable quality I found were these:

www.jcwhitney.com/adjustable-shocks-and-...ngs-mc/p2007058.jcwx

I ran them for about 20 years. They worked OK, they fit but were a lot stiffer than stock and raised the rear maybe 1/2". On your bike, who knows?

Some shock springs have a single rate.

Others have dual rates, perhaps two springs on a single shock
(a lighter single rate plus a heavier single rate).

Yet other springs have a progressive rate, usually with coils gradually wound closer and closer together throughout length of the spring (progressive fork springs being a common example).

From one of Progressive's websites:
"Progressive Suspension" Rear Springs
Chrome and black finish.
*FYI: Spring rates are expressed as:
The force in Pounds required to compress the first
inch/The force in Pounds required to compress
the last inch of spring.
70/100 rate #VLE-1351C/B
80/120 rate #VLE-1352C/B
90/130 rate #VLE-1353C/B
100/140 rate #VLE-1354C/B

---

A single rate 100# spring would compress 1" under a weight of 100 lbs, 2" under a weight of 200 lbs, etc.

Good Fortune!