Rear shock, rebuild or upgrade?

[MotoMarkus]

My rear shock is a bit tired and I'm thinking about my options, should I rebuild or throw a R6 shock on it instead?

I don't go to the racetrack and ride pretty slowly ( ) most of the time but the roads up here are quite rough so a good damper is needed.
Is the stock shock, when in good condition, good enough for normal riding?
Right now the handling is poor but the shock has never been rebuilt and the bike has 50000km on the clock...

[bubbaad]

For the price you can pick up a good R6 shock + adapter it doesn't seem worth refurbing a stocker.

[fung]

and as i found out the later model R6 shock is no more expensive to buy than an early one
cheers
fung

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

The TRX rear spring is suited for a 76 kg and the R6 86kg so spring rate suited to your weight is a good starting point.. I'm lucky coming in at mid 80's suited up with a R6 shock. What's your weight???

[Con Rod]

The TRX rear spring is suited for a 76 kg and the R6 86kg so spring rate suited to your weight is a good starting point.. I'm lucky coming in at mid 80's suited up with a R6 shock. What's your weight???

yes but the TRX is a far heavier bike to start with so getting the right static and rider sag will be a compromise, that said I have an R6 shock and love it......despite the compromise

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

193kg wet for a 06/07 R6 compared to 202kg wet for the TRX. Personally I know I've ditched weight in the stock exhaust alone and a few other items so I'm down well down to if not lower than the R6 spec as I'm sure a lot of other forum members are too.... but I agree sag is a key issue in ultimately setting up the bikes suspension

[MotoMarkus]

I'm built like the average japanese (170cm/65kg) so the stock spring rate is almost spot on.

The thing with getting a R6 shock is that I would have to get it from the UK and wouldn't know anything about the condition of it. I'd probably end up buying a shock that has a million miles on it...
All these choises

[dfh]

I fail to see what the advantage of buying as 2nd hand R6 shock as by definition it is used & discarded. At the very least you will need to re-gas & re-oil the R6 shock if you are lucky enough to weigh somewhere between Dani Pedrosa & Casey Stoner. Unfortunatly cobbadiggabuddyblooo the assumption that the TRX is set for 75kg & the R6 for 85kg is a red herring as I doubt the leverage ratios are the same. The only valid inter shock comparisons are
eye to eye length, damper shaft travel & spring rate.
If like me you are normal human sized (70 to 85kg plus gear) both the stock TRX and the R6 shock will need to be re-valved & re-sprung. At that point it is just extra effort for no gain to source a R6 shock and adaptor kit for the R6 shock, just rebuild your TRX shock. I had my TRX shock done by Terry Hay in Sydney to match my weight & use with Eibach spring, custom spring seat, Race Tech Goldvalve Kit (same as YZF750) & a Race Tech Bladder & shaft seal. That was 10 years ago. Every year I take the shock to Hoey's Suspension Adelaide for a re-oil & re-gas for what is a minimal cost as I remove the shock from the bike myself. Couldn't be happier.

[Con Rod]

the advantage is cost. Very low mileage R6 shocks can be had chewap by virtue of the fact that many owners seem to replace them for Ohlins and the like straight away. So the shock you get is almost new.

I agree that you cant compare the bikes weight given the leverage differences, but that said, if you are fortunate enough the weigh the right amount you can get a good sag setting without needing to respring.

also, given that R6 shocks can be had cheap and you only buy the adapter once, you can chuck em after say 40,000 and cuck a new one in......in fact, even if you need to respring it you can reuse the spring

[dfh]

If you already own a TRX then you already own a TRX shock. Nothing is cheaper than free. Even if the planets do align then an eBay R6 shock spring rate matches (it's one thing to get in the ballpark with rider sag, remember you need to get correct static sag figures as well) and the shocks shaft travel matches you still need to pay even more for the adaptor. The TRX shock is actually a pretty reasonable unit. Spending cash on a respring, oil & gas just makes more sence than the same on a misfit unit that will need more cash to get to work as well as the original. That's my experience anyway.

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

I'd have to agree with you on the rebuild if your up for the initial outlay. the R6 unit was a cheap option to fit But I've finally sourced a yzf 750 sp shock and a rebuild to suit is exactly what I'm doing to that.

[MotoMarkus]

If you already own a TRX then you already own a TRX shock. Nothing is cheaper than free. Even if the planets do align then an eBay R6 shock spring rate matches (it's one thing to get in the ballpark with rider sag, remember you need to get correct static sag figures as well) and the shocks shaft travel matches you still need to pay even more for the adaptor. The TRX shock is actually a pretty reasonable unit. Spending cash on a respring, oil & gas just makes more sence than the same on a misfit unit that will need more cash to get to work as well as the original. That's my experience anyway.

Thanks for your thoughts, I've decided to refurb the stocker. The way it rides now with 50000km on it actually isn't that bad so with new oil and gas it should be just fine for my driving!

[dfh]

I'd have to agree with you on the rebuild if your up for the initial outlay. the R6 unit was a cheap option to fit But I've finally sourced a yzf 750 sp shock and a rebuild to suit is exactly what I'm doing to that.

Is the YZF 750 SP shock an Ohlins unit? If so thats very interesting, keen to know the differences (eye to eye length, spring rate etc) between the TRX shock & the SP shock if it is indeed the Ohlins. Terry Hay was able to source Race Tech components to uprate my shock all those years ago because even though RT is a US company & the TRX was not sold in the states the non-SP YZF 750 was & the two shocks were basically the same. If that similarity extends to shock length & mounts you're on a winner.

[xxr55]

Did I just waste my time, effort and money fitting up an R6 shock? From all I'd read everyone has been raving about them. What price is a rebuild of the stock shock? Please at least tell me it's uber expensive.

[Con Rod]

well you also have athe adjustment in the R6 shock that the stocker does not have, but then if you revalve the stocker to suit then thats not an issue.