Piggyback Shock

My 84 1100R has original piggyback shocks. They are in great condition, never rebuilt. I was thinking of replacing with a new set of Ohlins piggy backs. Any thoughts on using the Ohlins vs a rebuild.

I guess that the correct answer for you will depend upon whether your priority is the performance increase that the Ohlins will give you, or keeping your bike as original as possible by rebuilding the stock shocks.

If you want to sell the stockers send me a pm.

Several members on www.kz1000r.com have replaced their originals on their ELR bikes with either Ohlins or Works Performance piggies. Pricey but they look correct and the handling is immensely better than the originals. Save your originals and rebuild them (if possible)...it'll help with resale...should that event ever happen.

jackflack wrote:

My 84 1100R has original piggyback shocks. They are in great condition, never rebuilt. I was thinking of replacing with a new set of Ohlins piggy backs. Any thoughts on using the Ohlins vs a rebuild.

jackflack...are you a member of www.kz1000r.com ? If not, join...an ELR focused site that is well run.

Thanks guys. I want to update performance and maintain originality. Will likely go with the Ohlins and hold the originals for future restoration.

I just bought a pair of these. I was in the same place. I have an 84 KZ1100r and the original piggybacks are in good shape but a little tired. It was rebuild the originals or buy new. They were $750.00. They are not adjustable.


www.dynoman.net/chassis/ohlins1.html

I just scored a good set of Ohlins shocks that came from snowmobile for super cheap on ebay. They were misspelled in the description. They are the same length as stock for the KZ but Im going to send them back to Ohlins to get them revalved for a motorcycle. It may cost a few hundred to do it all but still hundreds less than a "new" set.

hal0tw0 wrote:

I just scored a good set of Ohlins shocks that came from snowmobile for super cheap on ebay. They were misspelled in the description. They are the same length as stock for the KZ but Im going to send them back to Ohlins to get them revalved for a motorcycle. It may cost a few hundred to do it all but still hundreds less than a "new" set.

I've bought two pair of those OEM Yamaha/Ohlins snowmobile shocks , one pair new and one pair used. I had the mounting bushings altered to fit on my 550. They ride stiff on the 550 (420 lbs/200 lb rider), but they are acceptable.

Let me know how much the revalve costs.

Heres a pic of a pair on my 550, I swapped the springs on this pair to a progressively wound set. The sled springs are straight rate :

thats a cool look.

If interested in some basic info about shock spring designs, the following is from www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Suspension.html

Springs typically come in three types: straight wound, dual rate, and progressive wound.



Straight wound springs (standard on all Harleys) -- if 100 pounds compresses them 1 inch, then 200 pounds compresses them 2 inches and 300 pounds compresses then 3 inches. These springs are easy and cheap to make, and easy to understand, but do not necessarily give the best possible ride and handling.

Dual rate springs will take perhaps 80 pounds to compress the first inch and 120 pounds to compress the last inch. This particular spring would be called an 80 / 120 dual rate. The idea here is to make your suspension a little softer for small bumps, and firmer for larger bumps. The dual rate springs operate at their lower weight rating until the closely wound coils bind, then they immediately switch to their high weight rating. There is almost no in-between. Some shocks have springs which are wound at two different rates, as shown in figure 2, and some shocks have two separate springs with a collar holding them together. This difference doesn't matter: they work the same in either case.

Progressively wound springs will compress perhaps 70 pounds for the first inch, 85 pounds for the second inch, 100 pounds for the third inch, and 120 pounds for the fourth inch. This particular spring would be called a 70 / 120 progressive. The idea here is to make your suspension a little softer for small bumps, and firmer for larger bumps. The progressive springs operate at their lowest weight rating until the closest wound coils bind, then as more and more coils bind, they progressively switch to their high weight rating. Progressive springs allow you to have relatively soft springs for the first inch or so to give a very smooth ride, and very firm springs for the last few inches to give solid handling and absorb large bumps. There is a suspension company called "Progressive Suspension" which manufactures shock absorbers and fork springs, but other companies also have progressively wound springs.

Also there are torsion bar springs. These are just like a straight wound spring, but un-coiled into a straight piece of metal. When you compress a coil spring, each little length of the spring gets twisted a little bit. On a torsion bar, you simply twist the bar directly. Torsion bar springs are neither better nor worse than straight wound springs. They are typically chosen for 4 wheel drive vehicles, so that there is no need for shock towers to hold the coils, and for show bikes for appearance reasons. Torsion bars are available for Softails and some motocross bikes.

Finally, there are air assisted springs and air springs. In these shocks, there is a rubber bag holding air. Air acts just like a spring when it's compressed. Air-assisted shocks, for example the shocks on Electra Glides, allow you to add air to increase the effective spring rate and the pre-load at the same time. However, as noted above, mostly you want to change the pre-load, not the spring rate. Air shocks (for example Fournales) have no coil springs at all, and only use air bags. Air springs work like progressively wound springs, except they can offer better resistance to bottoming. However, air shocks get stiffer as they get hotter, unlike coil springs. The best reason to use air shocks is how they look.

Good Fortune!

mjg15- I havent talked to them yet about the revalve job but when I do I will chat with you.

Patton- Thanks for the good info. I knew about the different spring types and designs but when I talk to Ohlins about what I need for my project I will get a better idea about what spring types would match the valving they will do.

I will have to modify the bushings to work on the KZ but they shocks look relatively unmolested. Im excited about taking a test ride next spring for sure!