v11 sport rear shock

[scre103]

Would someone be kind enough to guide me through, step by step , getting to and changing out the rear shock, and any shock brand suggestions would be great too. this is for a stock 2001 v11 sport. thnx

[gstallons]

Suspend the bike so the rear wheel is off the ground. Remove rear seat,fuel tank,air box, side panels,etc. to get to upper mount.Be careful removing the nitrogen cartridge. If you are scared place all fasteners with the component you remove. If you are not sure you can do it, pay someone you have confidence in to do this for you. It is a very uncomfortable feeling when you hear something fall off YOUR bike while riding. There are no extra parts on a bike!

[jrt]

No extras? Uh oh.

 

I have the stock Sach's, but I've heard good things about almost every aftermarket shock. Ohlins, Hagon, and the Guzzitech.com stuff (I don't remember the brand, but you can look them up)

[Guest ratchethack]

Would someone be kind enough to guide me through, step by step , getting to and changing out the rear shock, and any shock brand suggestions would be great too. this is for a stock 2001 v11 sport. thnx

Scre, it's pretty straightforward. Gene has the basics above. If you're at all handy with tools, no big deal. Put a block under the tire when disconnecting, so the swingarm and driveshaft don't drop all the way down and stress the front U-joint when you remove the first pin. Don't forget to lube the new shock eyes with grease (like the Luigi's neglected to do in Mandello).

 

As far as suggestions on what shock to go with, for every 10 riders, you'll get a minimum of 11 suggestions on "the best", and 12 reasons (each) why anything other than wot they have is WRONG. Why anyone would be obsessed with bolting the latest "racing" shock up to a hopelessly overweight, short swingarm, obsolete shaft drive slug with a short swingarm, sporting a great wallopping bevel drive transmission in the middle of 50 lbs. total unsprung weight at the aft end is beyond me. I went for reputation, quality support, and high long-term customer sat over racetrack wins by the Mfgr. (where long-term durability has no value wotsoever), and got a full custom shock with rebound damping adjustment and remote high and low speed compression damping adjustment for the road and +5mm eye-to-eye length for +10 mm ride height, sharper geometry and improved ground clearance, but that's just me. As far as ride height adjustment and remote preload (also available as options), I imagine if you're making frequent changes due to one vs. 2-up riding changes and cargo load changes, etc., these would be very handy. Though they were available as options on my shock, I didn't order, and don't miss them, since I only chassis tune for one-up and have no need for heavy touring cargo adjustability.

 

I reckon you can't go too far wrong with any top name shock with features and options that fit your needs -- as long as you can get the service, support, and parts you may ever need. More important than anything else IMHO is to get a good match of the spring rate to your weight and riding needs -- which should also be a good balance with the correct spring rate of your forks. Best get it right the first time -- you don't want that sinking feeling later that you know you got it wrong (yes it happens lots more often than you'll ever hear about here).

 

Good luck.

[dlaing]

More important than anything else IMHO is to get a good match of the spring rate to your weight and riding needs -- which should also be a good balance with the correct spring rate of your forks.

Ditto!

But Do get a "racing" shock, with all the features you can afford. The overweight Guzzi needs all the help it can get!

But titanium springs are probably a waste of money, unless you just have to have the ultimate.

Getting the spring rate is truly the most important aspect of the purchase, but opinions are all over the place on spring rates.

For a 200# rider, ideal spring rates have been declared anywhere from 500# to 600# and maybe even out of that range.

YSS, Wilbers, HyperPro, and Penske are all good bets.

YSS, Wilbers and HyperPro offer lots of features for the money, and all share common design features.

HyperPro offers rising rate springs, which may be an unpopular choice on the race track, but should do well on the street.

Penske offers the best (IMHO) technical support and servicability.

There are also many other good ones out there:

See the thread I started here for more options:

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5488

I chose Penske because I know parts and service will be available, and they were the only shock that came close to matching the long travel of the OEM Ohlins shocks (compared to the travel of the Sachs shock).

If you are on a race track you likely won't need that travel, but in the real world, I appreciate the little extra bit of travel.