Shock help requested

[ESJr1642]

Just a thought..

While the shocks are off, check the swing arm to make sure it moves freely.

[Eveready1100]

Another option......... XV1100 Virago shocks bolt straight on to the XS11. Spring rates are perfect and lowers the rear end by an inch.
Here's Pheonix Rider's thread about them - Lowering

And an extract from an email from him regarding the result
"What a huge difference. Much better footing at stops and much easier to manouver in parking lots and places like that. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the look of the back end being lower, but now it is not an issue at all. Even though I have owned this bike since 1999, lowering it has boosted my confidence riding. When you can get a good footing it makes a world of difference.
I got a nice pair that didn't have a spec of rust or wear from a guy out in Michigan. I got the pair for $70.00 US off ebay. They still have the sticker on the shock absorber on the inside. I have them set on 3 and they haven't bottomed out yet"

They're pretty damned good!

[Prothec]

... I'll also note that the XJ shocks are rebuildable (unlike most shocks) so finding a 'perfect' pair isn't a requirement. Look in the 'repairs' forum for details....

I love the smooth ride of my XJ, but after sitting a while, I get a really small amount of oil puddling, leaking past the seal. I rebuilt the shocks within the last couple of years thanks to the repair tip. I plan to replace my missing rubber boots to conceal the slow oil leak and keep it off the frame/brake rotor some day.

The bottom line, they are excellent shocks, but of course not maintenance free.

[TomB]

I thought the XJ11 shocks were the same length as the XS1100 shocks???

Or is it that you can lower the ride height by lowering the air pressure?

I have both XJ1100 and XS1100, I'll have to measure them when I get home from work tonight



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[fredintoon]

- - - I did not know what cutting the springs would do - - -

Hi Clyde,
it works like this:-
Each coil in a coil spring has a fixed rate.
That is, that particular coil will compress a certain distance under a certain load.
The rate depends on the wire diameter, material, heat treatment and coil diameter and doesn't change.
The single coils are all joined up together to make a spring.
The spring rate is the load that will compress the complete spring a certain distance. In the US, it's measured in lbs per inch.
If you chop some coils off, each remaining coil has to be compressed further to compress the newly shortened spring by an inch so the spring rate goes up.

[Clyde K.]

Thanks for the info guys. Mother Nature blessed us with about 6 more inches of snow so I have been out clearing my driveway, parking areas and the road all day long. Tomorrow I should have time to address the shock problem again. I may have missed it but are the XV shocks rebuildable also or is it just the XJ shocks?

[Clyde K.]

Asinine question

How about modding 2 XV920 mono shocks to use in place of regulars?

[Yard Dogg]

Those would be way stiffer.

[Clyde K.]

Yeah, that makes sense. It is one big shock doing the work of 2 individual shocks.

[oldnortonrider]

That's a common complaint on shorter shocks. Reduce the length, reduce the shock travel. Less travel, the shock builder usually increases the spring rate to prevent bottoming so you get a hard ride. I will note that if the Harley shocks you used were OEM, they're notoriously known for bottoming out, even when new. Most owners switch to Progressive shocks, that while curing the bottoming, do ride a bit 'hard'. Cutting coils doesn't work, as you found out....

XJ units are a good choice (and look for the '82-84 1100 versions), but not all that easy to find in good condition. There are several other things you can do though. Some owners have 'thinned' the seat padding to reduce seat height by up to 1.5" (Harley used this trick on their 'Hugger' Sportsters), you can swap from your 'standard' 17" rear wheel to the smaller Special 16" rear wheel to gain about 1/2", and you can lower the front of the bike by up to 2". You can get part of this in the forks by sliding the fork tubes up in the trees, and the rest by doubling up on the rebound springs inside the forks.

Remember that lowering the bike will reduce cornering clearance, so adjust your riding style appropriately....

RE the rear wheel swap; You'll get a FULL INCH difference (lower), if you go from the 17" wheel to the 16" wheel ~~ reason being, is because the wheel rim part is about 3/4 inch more narrow on the 17" wheel~~part that holds the bead of the tire; this squeezes the bead sides of the tire closer together~~makes the tire "taller" from the ground up to the wheel part that's holding the bead ; if you draw an imaginary line (motorcycle parked straight up and down) from axle down to ground, perfectly vertical; the line would touch the ground in the middle of the tire's "footprint"~~the tire patch part that's touching the ground~~measuring from ground to bead rim part of the wheel, you've got at least 1/2 inch gain in distance with the 17" wheel, cuz the much more narrow wheel part that holds the bead(s) of the tire is contorting the tire in a different fashion than the 16" wheel. I made this switch from 16" wheel to the 17" wheel about 2 years ago; planned for doing this swap for at least 5 years; all the time getting around to getting around to doing this~~not realizing that the wheels' width measurements) at the bead/rim part was different. When I had both wheels off the machine and was mounting the new, same tire onto the 17" wheel, I made this discovery, and knew that "this was not good" ; I went ahead and completed the tire mount and wheel change , anyhow, to see how it would make the motorcycle "act" different. I knew the gearing would be "taller", which was some of what I was after. Main gain that I thought that I would achieve~~what I was really after~~was a bigger footprint on the road; i.e. larger circumference would compute to more rubber on the road. Wrong; cuz the skinnier rim made the tire much more narrow. Sidewall is 3/16" further away from the driveshaft housing on that side of the tire. Multiply that times 2 to get approximate change in tire width I might mention here, that this change means you've got to use the stamped out steel brace that holds the part of the caliper; they're angled different; keep the brace that was with the brake setup on the 17" wheel ; keep with that wheel. And vise-versa, same with 16" inch swap, if one would do that swap, to put the 16" wheel onto a Standard. This is addressed in other explanations, in other threads; but I'll say it again, in my own words. The axle spacers on wheel hub side and the last one against swing arm side are different...................................The machine, when I made the swap from 16" wheel and tire~~to the !7" wheel and tire~~differences as follows; I did get taller gearing; but I'm not on roads that I'm motoring along, very often, above 60 mph~~the machine handled fine above 25-30 mph~~but one could tell, cuz it'd been raised up (in the rear) that it was not "balanced" as well at low speed(s) ~~these machines have a "top heavy" problem, bad enough, without raising the front and/or the rear to change center of gravity, or any other geometry that might make them more top heavy. Added to my own top heavy problem~~the 7 & 1/2 gallon Concours gas tank with the extra fuel, because of where it's located; adds to top heavy problem: where these problems are really noticeable is like under 5 mph; navigating tight areas, and Walmart parking lots, etc. The taller gearing in 1st gear, definitely made "tight navigating" more difficult. As I type this, I'm able to look across the room at "the old" 16" wheel next to a new 16" tire , ready to be mounted, and returned to being the rear wheel that I was the most happiest with. Anyhow, the "point" of my post, is = when this wheel swap is done; the change; up or down; is an inch; half inch from axle to bead, and another half inch (difference) distance from the bead to bottom of the tire (i.e. the ground).

[TomB]

Kinda depends on what tyre you're using, I did the swap too, and wondered what height difference there'd be, mine for opposite reasons though, I'm 6' 3" and I wanted to keep the ground clearance, was fitting some XJ11 wheels to my XS, my XS having 17" the XJ 16", I wanted tubeless.

I have an MT90 section Avon Venom tyre on the XJ wheel, quite a tall tyre, and 130 x 90 Avon Roadrider on the XS wheel.

I put both wheels side by side with a spirit level setting them vertical on a flat floor, then the spirit level across the top measured the difference, the 16" wheel was 7mm lower overall in diameter, a tad over 1/4" to you boys. Now from wheel centre that'd be 3.5mm difference in seat height, merely the difference between a new or worn tyre.

You're right, with a different tyre the difference in ride height could be a lot more, a "FULL INCH LOWER" would mean 2" difference in tyre diameter, check which tyres you're using.



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[Yard Dogg]

Or, you could buy an 18 inch rim for a XS750 triple, which I just so happen to have for sale. Hint.

[TomB]

Hahahaha Got one already, way too narrow though, so I have a spare if anyone wants it