Progressive rear springs

[BigRed]

Hey, Folks.

My rear springs are tired, so I'm looking at Progressive. Looks like I can just buy some Heavy Duty rear springs. Does anyone know if those will fit on my (assumed) stock Special shocks?

My only reason for wanting to keep the stock shocks is that they have adjustable dampening. I don't really know if it does anything or not because the springs are so tired. I get air over every little bump on my ride to work. If any of you have found Progressives shocks to be better than stock (I'm talking about the damper part here), then let me know 'cause I wouldnt mind getting them too.

I'll be getting some Progressive front springs as well.

Here's what I'm looking at : onestopmoto rear springs

onestopmoto rear shocks

onestopmoto front springs

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

[ManitoulinLad]

Hey Brian: Its up to you man but the shocks from xs650direct - canadian verson of Mikesxs work fine & are about a third of the price. Thats whats on mine & they are great. I did look at the progressive & almost bit but couldn't walk away from the 'no complaints" on the mikesxs shocks. A TKAT fork brace up front is a must with an oil drain & check air pressure for forks is really all you need. Some guys on the site have been running with the above Mikesxs shocks for quite a few yrs. now & no complaints. I stayed away from the progressive springs up front as with the TKAT, oil drain & reset air pressure everything is fine up front. May go that way eventually - who knows - Dan

[psycoreefer]

I've got mikesxs shocks as well, all I can say is that they were a ton better then the worn out stock shocks I removed. I've got nothing else to compare them to.

I'll add that the mikes xs springs are a bit soft for the weight of our 1100's, they are fine as long as most of your riding is just you, if you add a passenger and some gear then they really are too soft.

My recomendation is:
if you do only solo riding Mikesxs shocks,
If you do a lot of two up and touring with a lot of gear, get progressive or something heavier then the mikesxs stuff.

Are you sure your shocks are OK? I'd bet if the springs are worn out so are the shocks....

[dbeardslee]

I suspect the shocks that Mikes sells are the same ones Partsnmore sells for the 11's. If you look on partsnmore's site, they have the same part number for shocks for the 650's, 750's, and 850's as they do for the 11's. I've got the Mikes variety on mine, and they work just dandy. The only problem I've had with them is when I've had a large-body behind me. With the preload set light it'll drag the silencer a bit too easily. If I set the preload up to max, it's not much of a problem. Course my silencer sticks out a little further than the stockers, so it may not be an issue at all for stock exhausts. They sure ride nice though.

[Elevener]

Ive got progressive shocks on the back. The springs in the front will also be one of your best easiest mods. Front doesnt hurt the pocket book to bad either.

My bike rides way better now.

[jwhughes3]

I have rear Progressives

Much better ride now 2-up as mine are heavy duty.

John

[crazy steve]

...My rear springs are tired, so I'm looking at Progressive. Looks like I can just buy some Heavy Duty rear springs. Does anyone know if those will fit on my (assumed) stock Special shocks?...

Unfortunately, those rear springs are for Progressive shocks, not the stockers. Yamaha used several different length/diameter springs, and even Progressive has different springs for the various shock models they sell, so you would have to figure all that out.

But truthfully, springs rarely 'wear out', so if you're having issues, you probably need new shocks. Personally, I think the shocks offered by PartsNMore and Mikes are a bit light for the XS11, but then again, I'm not a guru...

'78E original owner

[oldyam80sg]

I put the Progressive shocks on after having Works Performance piggyback shocks mounted on the rear.The Works were leaking and to have them redone would have been close to $100.00 so i bought the Progressive ones.They mount right up with no mods.So far i like them.

[Elevener]

Keep in mind the shock doesnt come with the spring, so you will have to order both.

Edit: the type he posted doesnt come with both, I got the same ones, I would get the HD springs, I didnt and ride alone, bike is naked.

[oldyam80sg]

When i ordered from Dennis Kirk the springs came on them.You might want to look them up.I think i paid under $100.00 for a pair.

[bikerphil]

I use the Partsnmore/Mikesxs type shocks with the heavier Yamaha factory springs. A couple of small mods are necessary because of the difference in diameters of the shocks, but handles way better than with the factory \\\"comfort\\\" shocks.

[BigRed]

Thanks for all the replies. I checked out the shocks from XS650Direct (Canadian Mike's XS), and I was concerned that they might be a little light for me. I think I'm going to go with Progressive shocks with Heavy Duty springs. I'll have to try to remember to post a review once I get them installed. I don't ride 2 up very often now, but maybe once the bike is a little more comfy, SWMBO might come along a little more often. Plus, I weigh over 250 with my riding gear, and my ride to work is along a pretty rough road. It seems to have speed bumps every 30 feet in a few sections.

ManitoulinLad: what are these oil drains that you're talking about?

Thanks again!

[dbeardslee]

ManitoulinLad: what are these oil drains that you're talking about?

I think he's talking about the fork drain plugs near the bottom of the forks. Looks like little phillips head screws.

[ManitoulinLad]

Hey Big Red: Ya ditto on what DBeardlee said. I meant drain the fork oil & put new oil in - Dan

[cywelchjr]

I know I'm chiming in a bit late, but I find I'm very happy with a set of XJ air shocks on mine. The adjustment for load is almost infinite, and with the dampening adjustment as well they improved the ride a lot.

You can get pretty good deals on them on ebay too, I paid something like $35 by the time they got to my door. It took me about 3 hours to install them (that's start to finish, removing the originals and putting the air shocks on).