Shorter Shocks - Are the available?

[Guest]

I'm running 11" shocks from Dime City Cycles on my bike right now. I really like the stance of the bike with this setup, and it also makes it easier for my feet to reach the ground while keeping the seat foam at full thickness. That said, these shocks are pretty cheap and I'd like to get some better quality ones.

I've checked with Hagon and Progressive - both will make eye to eye shocks in any length you want, but only make 13" eye to clevis shocks. Has anyone seen or heard of a quality manufacturer building shorter eye to clevis shocks? Has anyone tried or seen an eye-to-eye conversion on a GS? It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult, but since I would likely have to fabricate and weld a bracket to the swing arm, I'd be effectively adding length to my shocks and defeating the purpose. Another option might be to buy a set of eye to eye shocks in the length that I want, and then weld on clevis's. Has anyone tried that?

Thanks in advance for your help. You guys are awesome.

[gsgeezer]

Y.S.S. can probably do it, but I really would encourage you to stay with the stock length, since you really don't want to decrease your travel.

If you are making a "show bike" you can go hardtail, but if you are going to ride it much, I would go with the 13 inch length.

[GreaseMonkey]

Thanks. I appreciate the input. It's too ugly and stays too dirty to be a show bike. I'm putting a lot of miles on it and I'm trying to get it into shape for cross country riding. I'm considering moving the upper mounting points up and forward just a bit so I can use typical 13" shocks but still get the stance I like. This should give me almost the same travel as with stock shocks, subtracting just a little due to the angle change of moving them forward. Do you know if there's any downside/danger to mildly changing the angle at which force is applied to the shock? This would also save me a lot of money in the long run since Progressive 412's are a lot cheaper than custom made shocks.

[Shin-Ken 1074]

One other point to consider is that by going too short with shocks they will alter the geometry of the front end. Shorter shocks will slow the steering.

Cheers.

[gsgeezer]

Yeah, unless the front and rear are balanced, it's gonna be a hoppier ride!