Aftermarket upgrades that are actual upgrades.

Though you are correct that I am interested for my Zephyr 550. Just curious, but how or why is the Ninja 650 brake better than the stock Zephyr brake? I mean all things being equal, say if you had both fully refreshed and functioning like new, what is it about the Ninja 650 brake that’s superior? 

I upgraded brakes on my Zephyr 750 in this way years ago and still am satisfied with the mode. It was an improvement compared to original calipers and master cylinder (even as original units were cleaned and repacked with OEM rubbers).

Parts have different designs. New Tokico calipers still have two pistons, but both pistons  (unlike those of old calipers) are of the same diameter and their diameters are different to those of Zephyr 550 calipers or 750 (1991-1993) calipers.  Calipers identical to EX650 were installed on Zephyr 750 of fresher years, ZR7 and many other modern Kawasaki and Suzuki bikes.
 
Master cylinder, being of the same diameter as the old Zephyr master cylinder, also has a different design. The main difference is the joint that links the piston and lever: it was designed to eliminate lateral load on the piston.  

Good stuff, thanks! 

Bump! Let’s talk suspension. 

Many posts already here in this thread vouching for certain brands including:

• Öhlins
• Progressive
• Hagon
• Ikon
• Sonic
• RaceTech 

Among those, if money were no object, which would you choose? Which one offers the best bang for your buck? 

In my searching I have come across other brands, but are they any good?

• YSS
• Showa
• TFX
• Nitron
• Bitubo 
• U-CP
• RFY
• Super Value
• Cherry

Now it’s probably obvious I’ve been spending time on Webike, but it seems like there is a glut of shocks to choose from. And I didn’t include KYB, which seems to come stock on many Kawasaki’s, because it doesn’t appear that you can actually buy KYB on the aftermarket.  

Of course, I’m selfishly trying to decide what to get for my own bike, but more importantly and to the point of this thread, please chime in if you have any experience with any brands from either of these lists. Let’s help the greater good (or at least us noobs) avoid buying sh*t parts. 

It seems like you're mostly asking about rear shocks?  I have some opinions, but none of it is based on first hand experience.  Just a lot of reading and hanging out around here.

As far as best bang for the buck, I'd say Hagon or Ikon.  Progressive is probably ok, but the things they offer seem to fall into the "I guess these might fit" category. 
Personally, I'd be most inclined to go with Ikon, although I'm not so sure about their Tri-Rate springs.

As if money were no object, it seems like Öhlins is very highly respected and very expensive.  But if I'm paying a lot of money, I want the shocks to be tailored very specifically to my application.  Personally I would chose Race Tech over Öhlins.  Race Tech builds shocks for your specific bike, swingarm geometry, weight, and riding style.  You fill out a form with all the details, they make you something to fit.  I'm sure there are plenty of folks that customize Öhlins shocks as well (being such a well known brand) but Race Tech seems pretty legit and the customizing process looks like it would be pretty simple.  I can't really speak to the build quality and valve technology.  Maybe Öhlins is better in some way?

The others in the list range from real cheap to expensive.  It seems to me that the cheap ones are probably not worth the savings over Hagon.  The more expensive and exotic brands may not be set up perfect for your specific bike, and it may be hard to find someone who knows who to customize or service them.

 

KYB is Kayaba, you can buy Kayaba shocks on webike...
RFY are cheap non adjustable shocks, there are far better Chinese shocks if you know what you are looking for, and most are real cheap if you buy direct from China.   I have seen Nitron shocks recently and was told that they performed extremely well, this was on a CBX1000 belonging to a guy I know, I'm not sure what shocks he replaced but they were also aftermarket and fully adjustable, compression, rebound and preload .  In your first column, Ohlins are a mile above the rest, and cost the most also....  I have some fully adjustable shocks that I bought from China, they are good but require setting up properly, if you aren't versed in setting up suspensions then my advice would be to ring a well respected shock supplier/seller, tell them what bike you have, your weight and the bikes weight and get shocks to suit....   Ikon shocks are probably the best of the middle priced shocks, again, contact the distributor in the US and tell him what you want, I've heard they have very good service....

YSS are built in Thailand to a fairly high spec, no the cheapest range but built to a good quality, i have these on a few of my bikes.

I currently have a pair of Bitubos on the back of my ZRX1100. They are fully adjustable and fully rebuildable, and several members of the ZRXOA who have ridden both Bitubo and Ohlins say the Bitubos are equal to or nearly equal to Ohlins in performance. I am very pleased with them.
Ohlins and Penske are the gold standard of motorcycle suspension, and are priced accordingly.
At a step lower in price are products from Bitubo, Traxxion Dynamics, Race Tech and such. They are fully adjustable, customizable and rebuildable. Frankly, for street ridden KZs, these will out perform most riders and any stock KZ frame.
A little lower on the price scale are offerings from Ikon, Hagon, Progressive and such. They offer some adjustability and are, in my opinion, an excellent choice for most KZ enthusiasts.
Yet another step down are the non-adjustable shocks from the companies above. They are significantly better than the stock pieces and are also a good choice for many folks.
Below that are the Chinese offerings, and the quality and performance vary quite a bit.

I am not aware of any company offering fork assemblies for stock triple clamps on any KZ, so we are looking at springs and sometimes cartridge emulators. Several of these companies offer springs that will be significantly better than 40 year old stockers.

ymmv

If you look at webike , you must be aware of companies like Bull Dock and Sanctuary   out of Japan  and there crazy cool high tech bikes and parts  
look at the shocks they make and sell  www.bulldock.jp/parts/suspension/
Dave


 

wrote:

YSS are built in Thailand to a fairly high spec, no the cheapest range but built to a good quality, i have these on a few of my bikes.

I have looked at & admired the YSS shocks on a friend's race bikes. They are indeed made to spec for his swing arm dimensions, weight & riding style at a "reasonable" price. 

So one of the best scores I ever got for my Z1 was before I even got the bike.
I was at the Rice-O-Rama motorcycle show in Massachusetts back in 2009 and bought a set of Koni shocks for around $70.  I didn't know what they were for, but knew they were worth more than what I was paying.

About 9 years later I decide to look up the part number (Koni 7610-1343 shock with a Koni 204 spring) and lo-and-behold, they're for the Z1.  I also realized that they've got adjustable damping.

Those shocks were installed in conjunction with a RaceTech spring and emulator combination up front and it's made the bike feel amazing.

wrote:

So one of the best scores I ever got for my Z1 was before I even got the bike.
I was at the Rice-O-Rama motorcycle show in Massachusetts back in 2009 and bought a set of Koni shocks for around $70.  I didn't know what they were for, but knew they were worth more than what I was paying.

About 9 years later I decide to look up the part number (Koni 7610-1343 shock with a Koni 204 spring) and lo-and-behold, they're for the Z1.  I also realized that they've got adjustable damping.

Those shocks were installed in conjunction with a RaceTech spring and emulator combination up front and it's made the bike feel amazing.

I've been using 7610 Koni's for years,  I first fitted them to a 750 Honda around 1980, it transformed the rear if the bike, they were the old alloy bodied shocks, I still have a pair in the shop.....

The Z1 was on S&W shocks and progressive brand front springs before... they were installed by the original owner and they felt pretty good.

That being said, I don't know if I could justify paying what the Konis were actually worth... they go for SIGNIFICANTLY more than what I paid