Rear shock, upgrade or rebuild?

[mart3442]

Standard rear shock on my vtr is showing its age with a big mot advise. I see little point in buying a secondhand unit, s I know I can get this one rebuilt relatively cheaply.
Just wondering what anyones thoughts are about going the extra mile and upgrading the unit completely.......

[popkat]

if you were happy with the way the original shock worked when it was good then i'd say go for the base model Nitron or Hagon, £300-350. Nitron being the probably the better of the two. the advantage being you can have either set up to suit you and your weight. with nitron they say you can take the shock to your next bike, they'll rebuild it to suit that too.

[mik_str]

You can also get it rebuilt and re-valved (Racetech kit).......

[mart3442]

Yeah, probably going for the rebuild idea. No, I wasn't happy with the shock but its not worth me spending the best part of 400 quid on a trick road shock.....

[VTRDark]

A rebuild unless your doing it yourself would probably work out the same or as close to buying a cheap Hagon or Nitron shock. Don't forget the price of rebuild kits plus import duty's etc if from Reacetech, then the price of someone doing the work. It all adds up.

(:-})

[mart3442]

A lot of places are doing it unbelievably cheap: Average price for a rebuild is £100+vat.
Must be a lot of people going for that as an option.....

[VTRDark]

That's loads cheaper than I thought. Is that with an upgrades spring or just seals and re-gas. If not it would be worth getting one put on at the same time.

(:-})

[mart3442]

Cheaper than I'd thought as well! Rebuild, re-gas, new seals and new Oil is the basic package.
Going to get a quote to upgrade the spring for a fat bloke. Lol.

[popkat]

Not worth it IMO. £120 inc vat plus postage, to re oil and regas a shock that was crap in the first place ! so you'll have a like new crap shock
Add a spring and it'll be at least another £50 add revalving which will probably be more than another £60. your upto about £240 at least and it's still only a modified standard shock.. A Nitron starts looking better and better, and makes much more sense.

[mart3442]

Which is better than the old crap shock that I have. And is cheaper than buying a new standard shock which would only be the same as the rebuilt shock anyway.
I have neither the budget nor the inclination to spend 350-400 quid, which is what a Hagon/Nitron/add equivalent, will cost.
If I was a track day merchant, then I'd be spending that dosh and more but I ain't so its a bit pointless.

[tony.mon]

Which is better than the old crap shock that I have. And is cheaper than buying a new standard shock which would only be the same as the rebuilt shock anyway.
I have neither the budget nor the inclination to spend 350-400 quid, which is what a Hagon/Nitron/add equivalent, will cost.
If I was a track day merchant, then I'd be spending that dosh and more but I ain't so its a bit pointless.

You're right. Just bolt in a rigid bar and let the back tyre down a bit.


(Oh, and avoid corners...)

[Tweety]

Which is better than the old crap shock that I have. And is cheaper than buying a new standard shock which would only be the same as the rebuilt shock anyway.
I have neither the budget nor the inclination to spend 350-400 quid, which is what a Hagon/Nitron/add equivalent, will cost.
If I was a track day merchant, then I'd be spending that dosh and more but I ain't so its a bit pointless.

Well, then at least leave the spring well alone... Spring and valving goes hand in hand, and the stock spring is really good enough unless you weight upwards of 250 pounds or more... So, unless you are planning to go for new valving, just refresh the shock with the basics, and set it as best as possible, and it's a cheap fix to get back to new... It's still crap, but like new, so the MOT guys can't say much...

[mart3442]

Well, then at least leave the spring well alone... Spring and valving goes hand in hand, and the stock spring is really good enough unless you weight upwards of 250 pounds or more... So, unless you are planning to go for new valving, just refresh the shock with the basics, and set it as best as possible, and it's a cheap fix to get back to new... It's still crap, but like new, so the MOT guys can't say much...

Well, I'm a big lad but not quite in that leaque.
Thats my point, it has to be a cheap(ish) fix. I don't have a lot spare dosh to throw around , and I very much doubt that I'm finding the limits of my bikes suspension on my daily commute....
I know, I'll sell up and buy a house on a straighter bit of road. Should have thought of that in the first place.

[popkat]

Just wondering what anyones thoughts are about going the extra mile and upgrading the unit completely.......

If you have neither the budget nor inclination to buy a hagon/nitron etc then why did you ask the question in the first place ?

I think you've got the general consensus now that a new new non original shock is by far the best option.

If you ride steady and you just want an as new standard shock then get it re oiled and gassed, Ride steady it'll be fine, avoid mid corner bumps and plan well ahead. if you did change the shock you could look forward to being able to chuck it in late or in an emergency, change line easier mid corner and those mid corner bumps and troughs won't upset it (unless they're huge). you'll have overall better bike for it.

It's also worth mentioning if your forks are standard then it's good practice to upgrade the springs and oil which will improve the front end which will help balance the bike out better and maybe your shock won't feel quite as bad then.

[thumperslaw]

I've got a
Hagon rear shock fresh service on it. So far its 10 times better then the standard one