Hey, question for owners mostly who have changed rear shocks but all input welcome. I know Simmy and Ginge46 have for example but what was the main reason? When I test rode the bike it was great but now I'm riding much more I would say the rear end is very vague, nothing really wrong with the action, although it's a bit overwhelmed by fast bumps at speed, but it's the vagueness that I don't like. Does anyone else feel this? I know MCT do a great rebuild for £175 and apparently this makes the shock work really well but will I get more feel? I know the '60' rear tyre is a variation on a normal super sport bike running 55's but this would improve 'feel' judging by all the things u read. I just want to canvass some opinion before spending £175-200 with MCT because £600-800 for a rear shock isn't doable at the mo (saving for a wedding)!
Phil, define vague and I realise that this like describing a colour to a blind man. I would not have thought that your shock absorber was old enough to have gone off so it just might be a characteristic. A good service is never a bad thing and a conversation with an experienced suspension man doing the service describing what you want might just result in a few minor changes that deliver a more responsive end result. I had a long chat with the guy who rebuilt my Ohlins forks which delivered a near perfect for me result so only needed a click or two to fine tune. Have the sevice and see where it goes. Even if you end up changing, your OE shock will have had a full service which is a good selling point. Andy
I obviously am not pushing on hard enough lol, but then I'd ride a barn gate if I had to. I find the rear on mine pretty firm when firing her down a country lane at pace, I'll be getting Perry at HM to have a look at it in the new year. I'm not a good/fast enough rider evidently to get the best out of all this fancy Ohlins Gucci stuff on the road. I just want it set up for my weight.
It's about the feeling of 'connection' with the rear tyre, I open the throttle and I don't seem to feel the grip, just trust it. I know this may sound odd, as I said the 'action' is fine, it's that feeling of the Tarmac under the rear wheel that I'm missing, it feels a little 'dead'. For context, the 675r had Ohlins, the rear was ridiculous in terms of feedback, perhaps because it was Ohlins but plenty claim the Triumph stuff isn't real Ohlins (a separate debate not for now!) The 848 Evo I had was horrid on the rear end, SUPER stiff and threw me about but I could still feel the grip from the rear tyre more. I spoke to the magazine editor that borrowed the bike recently and he did agree it's a 'thing' with the 899, but maybe I'm just noticing it because the rear shock in the Daytona was so good, it really was. My rear tyre is nearly wasted from commuting (but the vague feeling has always been there), so in spring im going to try some Dunlop Sportsmarts and see whether it's a tyre thing. I'm honestly not a hero on the road or claiming to be, I think the overall bike is great but it's one area I wanted some feedback on. It's only since they moved the swingarm pivot on the 959 for more rear grip that I started thinking 'hmm do others feel a lack of confidence in the rear?' I think the MCT thing by all accounts turns it into an almost unbeatable shock for road use, trackday guys would find its limits still I believe when things get hot but for road use I think I'll do it, just wanted to float the thought and see what others think.
Phill,i had my bike from launch December 13 and the first thing i noticed was rear of the bike was way to harsh,i could not adjust it to get a good feel(more to do with a 15 stone rider than anything else)so i set about sourcing a spring and none were available at the time,so i ordered a ttx,straight away i knew it was money well spent.I would take a guess and say change/revalve the rear shock and it will give you the same sort of feedback as your 675.Tbh just look at the standard shock its a £50 parts bin special,probably the cheapest thing on the bike.
Thanks mate, that's the sort of thing that I needed to hear. I'm not an Ohlins snob, I would say the front BPF's are really good and equally as well set up as my Daytona Ohlins (albeit seem to have much less granular adjusters should u need it) but the rear is just missing that little bit of feel. I agree that it's a harsh rear shock but I still think it's better than my 848 Evo was, the shock wouldn't move on that thing!!! I'm going to try the MCT route I think and on the same tyres I have now so I can feel the difference. I'm 15 stone also (kitted)
Hi Phil I changed mine for the same reason it just seamed harsh and vague and on the track I just didn't trust it! I took it to my suspension guy he fiddled with it but suggested changing it as like simmy he couldn't get enough range of adjustment out of it. Swapped it for the k tech and never looked back! It's smoother and gives you more confidence, also after a day on track the tyres are perfect no cold tear etc The only thing I will say is after I fitted it with the wheels it was fine on the road but felt nervous when pushing hard into corners, al agreed so I fitted matching forks and a slipper clutch and it's perfect now If your just using on road you'll be fine and won't regret binning the standard shock Hope this helps buddy
Thanks mate, appreciate it. Do U know when our bikes are going to be in the mag? I'm not planning a complete shock change because at most I'm a 1 or 2 trackdays a yeah, but I was just so spoilt with the rear end of the Daytona, without being overly dramatic I felt like the palm of my had was on the floor when accelerating, that's how much feedback I had
Cool! Looking forward to hearing how much shitter my bike is than hours haha no seriously you have done a lovely set of mods there, would be interesting to hear how heavy it is once u have done the subframe mod and tank along with all your other parts. I'll do the shock after Christmas then I want to save up to get some gold Oz Piega's but that's for another thread!!
The thing MCT do is worth ringing them to get an explanation. There's a design flaw that means the shock can feel locked out. The 1299 doesn't have the same vagueness but its so different at the rear its daft to compare. I would definitely go with the mct option as I've heard great things about what they do and the massive improvement.
Thanks mate Done a lot more since you last saw it check out the blogs as they go up Hopefully it will be a lot lighter and have a few more ponies Keep an eye on eBay keep seeing shocks pop up on there that are hardly used
