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| Tech ALL bikes: "Generic" tech questions and answers. Maintenance, general discussions etc. |
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#1
19 Jan 2010
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Replace rear and front shock/suspension?
Hi Hubbers
Planning a long distance (30 000km +) dirt/dust road trip all the way around Africa in 2011. I will replace my rear shock closer to the time with a quality and more reliable one, as I have heard they do take a beating on the rough African roads and tend to fail. Will it be necessary to replace my front shock as well with a better quality one. I haven't heard of any people who's front shock failed on them, and I wont be putting much more than the normal amount of weight on the front. All information greatly appreciated, and any recommendations for which quality rear shock welcome. Safe riding Rassie
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He who lives the adventurous life will remain unafraid when he finds himself alone - Raymond B. Fosdick 
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#2
19 Jan 2010
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It would help if we knew what sort of bike you had.....
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The electric monk always has faith.
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#3
20 Jan 2010
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Travel Bike year: 2008 Bike Model: Skygo GY6 200cc via Profile Champ
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#4
20 Jan 2010
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Front shock
"Rasman", hi there,
in my humbled opinion new fork springs (I assume that's what you are talking about) are always a good investment. I put Wirth progressive fork springs in my 1991 Honda TransAlp last year and it really DOES make a difference!!
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Klaus D. Orth A German in Japan 1992 Honda TA
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#5
22 Jan 2010
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Fork Spring
Hi there
Would you say it is a necessity to replace the stock fork spring with a better quality one, or would my current front spring last the trip. I believe it would be a good investment, but I'm on a small budget and can only afford to replace the rear shock. But I don't want to be halfway onto my trip and my front spring fails. Thanks for the advice. If you can't find any info on my bike, its very similar to a Honda 200cc Bushlander. Cheers Rassie
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He who lives the adventurous life will remain unafraid when he finds himself alone - Raymond B. Fosdick
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#6
22 Jan 2010
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Fork Springs
You can get the progressive fork springs for something like Euro 100 from the Wirth company in Germany. That's where I bought mine (much cheaper than in Japan) and got them installed by my local bike folks. Just google for the company.
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Klaus D. Orth A German in Japan 1992 Honda TA
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#7
23 Jan 2010
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Quote:
 They usually tend to "wilt" maybe, but not heard of any breaking? If the front end is a bit soft, it may be worth replacing the springs & doing the fork seals & oil, maybe a silgthly heavier grade.
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#8
23 Jan 2010
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As above, you'd be pretty unlucky to snap springs in either front or rear suspension!
Most suspension problems are damping failure. The oil/gas seals fail and oil/gas pisses out and your suspension goes all bouncy. This is problematic on rear shocks as often they're manufactured so they can't be repaired. On front forks it's not normally an issue - Oil seals are normally generic parts cheaply sourced from any engineering stockists, and easy to replace. If your front suspension is too soft, you could try preloading the springs by sticking washers/2p-coins under the caps at the top. Or sticking in heavier oil to harden the damping. Good forks, like on proper dirtbikes, often have adjustable damping and spring preload. I wouldn't worry so much about front suspension failing, most of the extra weight when your touring is going on the back of the bike, so it's the rear shock(s) that need looking at. Good quality shock is nice, but most important thing is to have a spring hard enough for the weight you're carrying - Carrying too much weight for the spring(s) is what is likely to induce shock failure.
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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350
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