rear shocks too stiff

[MikeJ]

My 78 GS550 came to me in July with what appear to be (according to an observant fellow GSer's welcome message, when he saw my pix) a set of S&W Street Stroker shocks on the rear.

I have been riding on these for over a month now, putting about 700 miles on the bike so far, and even with the spring preload cranked down to the lowest level, they are still way too stiff for me. Going over bumps, I can feel it in my kidneys almost like I was riding a hardtail.

I'm guessing the previous owner may have put on shocks that were intended for a heavier GS, such as a 750 or 1100, thinking that bigger must be better. Well, in case you were wondering, it isn't.

I'm thinking of buying a clean used set of OEM shocks and going back to stock setup. Are there any particular disadvantages to that? I mean, dangerously bad handling or anything like that? I can live with less sporty lean angles if it gives me a better ride.

Also, any fellow GSers looking for a good clean used set of S&W Street Strokers (no visible rust, appear to work the way they should, just not my style)?

[Nessism]

My 78 GS550 came to me in July with what appear to be (according to an observant fellow GSer's welcome message, when he saw my pix) a set of S&W Street Stroker shocks on the rear.

I have been riding on these for over a month now, putting about 700 miles on the bike so far, and even with the spring preload cranked down to the lowest level, they are still way too stiff for me. Going over bumps, I can feel it in my kidneys almost like I was riding a hardtail.

I'm guessing the previous owner may have put on shocks that were intended for a heavier GS, such as a 750 or 1100, thinking that bigger must be better. Well, in case you were wondering, it isn't.

I'm thinking of buying a clean used set of OEM shocks and going back to stock setup. Are there any particular disadvantages to that? I mean, dangerously bad handling or anything like that? I can live with less sporty lean angles if it gives me a better ride.

Also, any fellow GSers looking for a good clean used set of S&W Street Strokers (no visible rust, appear to work the way they should, just not my style)?

The stock OE shocks are not the most durable, particularly on the smaller bikes. You may be able to find some softer springs for those S&W's, stock springs even maybe?

BTW, I had an '82 550 Vision back in the day and enjoyed it. Got any photos?

[Big T]

Rebuilding them over the winter with new seals and oil and replacing the spring with a softer one would be the way to go

[Nessism]

Rebuilding them over the winter with new seals and oil and replacing the spring with a softer one would be the way to go

S&W shocks are not rebuildable. The springs can be changed though.

[bwringer]

Your weight and riding style are important pieces of information...

Stock shocks are dangerous junk. If I were you I'd pony up for a set of Hagon or Progressive shocks.

Even if you replace the springs, it sounds like the S&W shocks may also have too much damping to ever be comfortable. Chances are you could sell them here and recoup a goodly percentage of the cost of new shocks. If they're eye-to-eye and roughly 330mm center to center, they'll fit any of the shafties.

[MikeJ]

Your weight and riding style are important pieces of information...

280 lbs., 6'3" tall, most of my riding is on curvy 2-lane backroads, and on my other, already-sorted-out bikes I favor a moderately-aggressive cornering style (occasional footpeg feeler scraper at an apex but not a hang-it-all-out kneedragger and I DO have 1/4" or so "chicken strips" on my tires, never like to push 100% of their limits). I've been cornering the Suzuki much more gingerly than that, until I get used to the suspension and get it sorted out, and also because of the amount of wear there already was on the rear tire which gives it a squarer profile (I'm getting a new rear soon - probably a Bridgestone BT-45 which I have been happy with as a sporting tire in a couple of other vintage applications).

Stock shocks are dangerous junk.

Well, BEFORE your post, I just bought a cheap but good-looking (minimal surface rust) OEM set from an Ebay vendor, for 9 bucks (if they were that great, why are they so cheap, you ask? Answered your own question, Mike....) both to try them out, and to see if the spring would fit on the S&W units the bike came with, as another GSer previously suggested on this thread. BTW do I need any special tools to compress the shock spring and change it out so I won't kill myself trying?

If I were you I'd pony up for a set of Hagon or Progressive shocks.

Okay, I'll look into those options. I want decent, safe handling in the technical twisties (not race-track caliber, but close) and on bumpy, uneven, rough, potholed pavement (don't know about where you live, but that kinda describes most of the backroad surfaces I deal with all the time) combined with at least an acceptable level of ride comfort (I don't expect or want a touring-tugboat-quality ride, but a few less sucker punches to the kidney would be nice).

Even if you replace the springs, it sounds like the S&W shocks may also have too much damping to ever be comfortable.

If that turns out to be the case I really need to just sell them to someone who wants to install them on a heavier bike (750, 850, 1100) which they appear to be designed for. They're in quite good shape, just not appropriate for this 550 bike (unless maybe riding two-up with bags or solo with 200 lbs. of luggage) even with a heavy guy like me riding it.

Chances are you could sell them here and recoup a goodly percentage of the cost of new shocks. If they're eye-to-eye and roughly 330mm center to center, they'll fit any of the shafties.

I do believe that's what they are. After I get my new set and try them out I may put the S&Ws up for sale in the forum to a fellow GSer before I try Ebay.

[MikeJ]

__________________
1983 GS850G, Cosmic Blue.
1990 VX800, Candy Luxury Maroon. And Dents.
2002 DL1000 V-Strom, Dark Metallic Space Blue.
1991 VX800, Candy Antares Red

BTW how do you like those VX800s? I almost bought one a few months ago when I came across one on my Ebay forays, after reading up on it and being duly impressed. Too bad they weren't more popular, I've never actually seen one in the flesh. Sorta like an Intruder engine in a sporty-standard chassis, isn't it?

[MikeJ]

The stock OE shocks are not the most durable, particularly on the smaller bikes. You may be able to find some softer springs for those S&W's, stock springs even maybe?

Thanks, I'm going to try that, just picked up what appears to be a decent used OEM set from a 78 GS550 for 9 bucks on Ebay. I'll try them out as-is, then see if their springs fit on the S&W, otherwise.

BTW, I had an '82 550 Vision back in the day and enjoyed it. Got any photos?

Well, not of my actual bike, yet, but here's pix of one that looks exactly like it, which I believe I downloaded from another Ebay listing. I put them in an album on the GSR site:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/album.php?albumid=1156

Mine was cosmetically excellent (except for a leak in a badly-designed, water-collecting pointy corner of the gas tank, a feature you can see in the pictures) which I fixed with JB Weld then repainted the tank, and mechanically fine except for needing the carbs (in a box) rebuilt and reinstalled, and a niggling problem with a finicky, primitive TCI electronic spark-timing box (which I've had to replace twice). Working originals of the Vision TCI box are getting harder to find but there is a Czech company now making reasonably-priced, functionally identical and much-more-reliable units for this and many other older electronic-ignition bikes (they will even custom-make one for you, if you give them a circuit diagram).

[MikeJ]

Stock shocks are dangerous junk.

Okay, warning duly noted and calculated risk accepted.

My el cheapo Ebay used stock shocks ($9 the pair, plus postage) just arrived in the mail. Bushings in good shape, some light surface rust on the springs and piston rods, cleaned up very nicely with steel wool and elbow grease, and now there is just a little pitting left on the piston rod (on the part that only plunges past the seal at the extreme limit of compression). I'll linstall them this evening and try them out, for comparison to the apparently extra-heavy-duty S&W Street Strokers I'm running now.

Show of hands, people, how many GSers are still running the stock rear shocks on our bikes? Anybody?

Is that why there's so many of these gadgets out there at the breakers, for sale cheap? Well, if these work okay, at least that assures me a steady source of supply.

Later on I might try mounting the stock springs on the S&W shock bodies. I asked before and no one answered, is there a special tool I need for that? Or just some special trick to keep from getting myself killed by spring rebound if I don't hold it just right?

[MikeJ]

Stock shocks are dangerous junk.

Okay, I keep coming back to this, not because I know better than an oldtimer like BWringer, but because it's my ass that's on the line when I'm riding....

I really don't want to ride something that's going to wallow like a whale on stilts and throw me into the ditch, with or without ATGATT. So, I did some more reading...

and found this, from Motorcycle Classics magazine's online version, in a review of my very bike, the 1978 Suzuki GS550, at

http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/2008-05-01/Under-The-Radar/1978-1979-Suzuki-GS550.aspx?page=2

'Suspension was standard fare, with telescopic forks up front and traditional pre-load adjustable shocks at rear, calibrated to deliver a firm ride without the wallowing experienced on other middleweights, which tended to have somewhat softly-sprung suspensions. Cycle called it “an excellent mountain road darter.”'

That's what I want, "an excellent mountain road darter" 1978 style. Sounds like the early GS550 was just about the best of its contemporaries among middleweight fours, in terms of its standard suspension . Sure, that's not up to modern standards if I wanted to go full-tilt canyon carving and try to keep up with a modern 600cc supersport, but neither are the brakes, the tires, the front fork, the wire wheels, or anything else on this old putt-putt. It's a vintage bike, and I intend to ride it with due attention to the fact I'm on a vintage bike, not ride it like a squid.

So, I'm going out to install my new-old $9 pair of OEM shocks now. If I survive the test ride, I will report back here on how they feel compared to the S&Ws I'm (at least temporarily) taking off. I will do a before-and-after test ride just to be sure it's fresh in my mind. Also, I will test my theory about kick-starting while in gear (on the center stand, don't want the bike to run away with me) from that other thread over in the general discussion group. 8*)

[Big T]

Mike,

To answer your question about the spring, there are shock spring compressors out there.

Many people use a hose clamp to pull the spring down

You just need to get it down far enough to push the top piece down and slide it out, about 1-2"

[MikeJ]

Mike,

To answer your question about the spring, there are shock spring compressors out there.

Many people use a hose clamp to pull the spring down

You just need to get it down far enough to push the top piece down and slide it out, about 1-2"

Great idea - I've got lots of hose clamps. But I can't quite picture where the clamp goes, to do this trick. What does it clamp _onto_? Wait, do you _undo_ the hose clamp then loop the free end of the hose clamp thru one of the spring windings near the bottom, and then bring the end out thru another winding near the top, and then screw the ends of the clamp back together, to compress the spring? Okay, I think I've got it. Never mind. Unless that's not it, in which case, please correct me.

[MikeJ]

If I were you I'd pony up for a set of Hagon or Progressive shocks.

I'm not pickin' on ya, BWringer, honest. I'm just pickin' your brain for ideas.

I looked at the Hagon site (in UK), and they did list 4 different types that would fit the GS550, ranging from about 120 quid (what's that in real money? 200 bucks?) up to about 350 quid for their "Nitro" rebuildable/fully adjustable model (way too rich for my blood - that's more than I paid for the entire bike). But they left it entirely up to the buyer's judgment which spring rates, etc. to purchase, and I could not find any handy chart or calculator on their website to help tailor the desired spring rate to the rider's weight, riding style, etc. as of course a good custom set of anything should be.

I then looked at the Progressive site and, similarly, a wide range of spring rates, normal or heavy-duty, and 4 twin-rear-shock models that fit the GS550 ranging in price from $134 to $464 for the _body_only_ (per pair) with springs extra, ranging from $36 per pair (to fit the $464 body) to $93 (to fit the $203 body). The cheapest combo available was a pair of the $134 bodies with $77 springs for a total of $211. Now, that might be do-able, if I decide to go that route.


I also tried looking up "S&W shocks." Even though Google mostly found me Smith and Wesson gun stories, with firearms featuring shock-absorbing grips, I did find a couple of references to the S&W Engineered Products company of Buena Park, California and copies of some vintage ads from back in the day. But for the life of me I couldn't find an active website for any such company so, question, are they out of business?

[TheCafeKid]

Mike, If you do end up selling those S&W, I might be interested. Im not a small lad, and, while my wife is rather small, the two of us and gear make for a bit of a load on my 1000G. Some stiffer boingers might be right up my alley...

[bwringer]

Hagon shocks in the US of A are sold by a nice gent named Dave Quinn.

Call Dave (using an old-fashioned voice device called a "tele-phone") and after a brief personal chat regarding your weight, bike, riding style, and credit card number, he'll put together a pair of shocks with damping and spring rates perfect for you and your bike.

Starting at about $200, more if you want fancy adjustments and such. Wotta deal!

http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Hagon.html