Options for unlowering the shock in 2021

Guoseph

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Hi all,

Picked up a used FZ6 (2006 vintage) from a friend as a commuter that is supposed to have been lowered with a Soupy's eyelet replacement thing. I want to get the ride height back to stock but the original eyelet thing is long gone and Yamaha doesn't sell it separately as a part afaik.

Any thoughts on what I could do nowadays to sort it out? I don't need anything fancy and I don't want to hack the bike up. I could buy a tired old stock shock off eBay but that doesn't seem worth the money. If I can find a used Penske, Wilburs, or Ohlins I would throw that in, but not sure how often those come up for sale anymore.

I have time to wait around though, the suspension is wonky but I can ride around it and it gets me from point A to point B just fine. Just wondering from those of you still keeping an eye out on parts for these bikes what/where I should be looking.
 

Gary in NJ

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I would not use a OEM shock...not even a brand new one. There is limited damping provided in that shock, resulting in a punishing ride over uneven pavement.

The Ohlins shock is still available, I put one on my FZ a little over a year ago. I also understand that the Hogan shock is available- but you may have to have it shipped from the UK. The Penske/Fox shock is the Unicorn shock, if you find it you should buy it.

The Ohlins shock improved the ride quality of the bike. It eliminated the harsh “slamming” over even the smallest bumps. It’s a great shock for road use. For track duty, I’d seek a Penske/Fox shock.
 

gnyce

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If I can find a used Penske, Wilburs, or Ohlins I would throw that in, but not sure how often those come up for sale anymore.

In my experience, 'rarely'. I watched CL (and some on ebay) for a few years, and just _happened_ upon a WIlbers on CL - it had been lowered (shorter spring), so I had to spend some $ to get it fit for std. height and my weight. Still, if you have the time, no reason not to try and see if something pops up. Good luck.
 

Guoseph

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I would not use a OEM shock...not even a brand new one. There is limited damping provided in that shock, resulting in a punishing ride over uneven pavement.

The Ohlins shock is still available, I put one on my FZ a little over a year ago. I also understand that the Hogan shock is available- but you may have to have it shipped from the UK. The Penske/Fox shock is the Unicorn shock, if you find it you should buy it.

The Ohlins shock improved the ride quality of the bike. It eliminated the harsh “slamming” over even the smallest bumps. It’s a great shock for road use. For track duty, I’d seek a Penske/Fox shock.

Thank you for the advice. Yeah I have never found stock japanese suspension to be particularly good on their "street" version bikes. The supersports are fine but the budget suspension always felt very budget.

Where can I still order Ohlins? They seem to be out of stock everywhere except some Italian vendor on eBay. Also I'll check out Hagon, I've heard that name thrown around before when I had a Honda Hawk and a VFR.
 

Guoseph

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In my experience, 'rarely'. I watched CL (and some on ebay) for a few years, and just _happened_ upon a WIlbers on CL - it had been lowered (shorter spring), so I had to spend some $ to get it fit for std. height and my weight. Still, if you have the time, no reason not to try and see if something pops up. Good luck.

That's what I figured, I'll keep an eye out, maybe I'll get lucky. Or I might get annoyed at the shock sooner and have to plunk down the cash for something new.
 

bigdog9191999

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If you like the ride currently and are looking to just bring the height back up, grab a stock shock and swap the eye at the bottom. I did the exact opposite to lower ours for the wife. I bought used ( being low mile and the same as what was on it I ended up just using it ). Pulled the eye off, cut the length, drilled the hole deeper, and rapped the hole so it would work like stock.


I have a thread on how I did it, you could reverse the process easy enough.
 

Guoseph

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If you like the ride currently and are looking to just bring the height back up, grab a stock shock and swap the eye at the bottom. I did the exact opposite to lower ours for the wife. I bought used ( being low mile and the same as what was on it I ended up just using it ). Pulled the eye off, cut the length, drilled the hole deeper, and rapped the hole so it would work like stock.


I have a thread on how I did it, you could reverse the process easy enough.

Thanks I thought about it too. I am not confident I can find an EBay shock for so cheap. The cheapest one I saw recently was $75 and then adding spring compressor on top and I start down the slippery slope of "that's not too much less than an aftermarket shock"...
 
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