aftermarket shock

[redbandit12]

i think i have decided not to go with busa or the gsxr shock. what shocks are out there for the bandit 1st gen 1200? i know dale sells the Progressive shock. what about works or fox shocks and ohlins? how about a shock from England?  pros and cons of the Progressive shock? i will most likely go with Progressive springs in the forks

[txbanditrydr]

Shameless plug here for a new member..... NC Rick builds custom shocks that are comparable to Ohlins & Penskes.  I believe he offers a shock for the 1G Bandits - I have been using one (on my 2G) for nearly 17,000 miles and it made a TON of difference in the handling.  It's fully rebuildable and he'll set it up for your riding style and weight.

You can CLICK HERE to go directly to his website or PM him for more information.

[redbandit12]

i just found that at m-s. what is the cost of it?

[txbanditrydr]

I don't want to get into other people business... but I will say you'll pay less than an Ohlins or Penske.  Give Rick a shout - he's got a ton of good information to share and will treat you right.  I've purchased a lot of items for the Bandit and have always been satisfied.

[redbandit12]

how does his shock compare to the others?

[gsxr400 racer]

interesting

[txbanditrydr]

how does his shock compare to the others?

It's hard for me to say since I've never ridden an Ohlins or Penske set up but I do know this shock made a huge improvement and was worth every penny.  The things I like about it were - re-buildable (and thus "tunable"), wider range of rebound damping settings, damping settings that actually made a difference in the feel of the bike, drop in replacement, piston travel designed to Bandit specs, and the adjustable ride height (not available for the 1G bike, IIRC).

I believe it resembles the Penske Sport Shock in design but does not use a emulsified set-up.  There's no remote resevoir to deal with.

After setting up the sag and doing some different road condition setting adjustments my corner speed went way up.  You can easily go from a touring feel (very plush) to an absolute corner railer without any tools.  There's a lot more to the technology than I understand so I'd give Rick a shout and let him fill-in/correct the blanks.

[NC Rick]

Hi Folks,  I just re-signed up on the Bandit Alley. I was on the old site and have had the pleasure of riding with a few of you folks at a BRMC meet a few years back.

I have a hard time keeping up with the forums these days, I am in the shop working most of the time  I am happy to answer any questions.

Our shock is built from 100% CNC'd billet materials and is of a very high quality. The seal head design is similar to Ohlins, so much so that you can use some of their parts. Our seal head is a thread in arrangement like Penske use because I like it that way for ease of service. We are able to keep the price reasonable by building the shock with the features that most Bandit riders want and by selling directly, eliminating the normal retail chain.

Cogent Dynamics is also a Penske and Ohlins dealer and we do a good volume of those components (we can offer you folks fantastic pricing on those). With our own shocks design, we elected to leave out the remote reservoir and incorporate an internal gas chamber using a floating piston to separate the nitrogen charge from the  damping fluid. This design limits us to a single, yet very effective damping adjustment. We custom valve and spring each shock based on the individual riders input and needs.

Thank you for the kind words txbanditrydr! We have had very good rider feeback on this shock and it has been in the field for close to a year Right now, one rider in particular has managed to put 17,000 miles on his Cogent Dynamics Shock in less than 8 months!! 

[NC Rick]

Oops,

The Cogent shock for the Bandit 1200 is $439 for the non-ride height adjustable version and $485 for the model with the adjustable length.

[T748]

I've got a little over 3000 miles on my Cogent Dynamics shock. It's the "non ride hight adjustable" on a 2nd generation bandit. The improvement over the stock shock is amazing! I coupled the shock replacement with NC Rick's custom fork valving and springs. The stock stuff just isn't set up for a heavy rider like me. Even with the stock settings cranked up all the way. With the Cogent dynamics upgrades tailored to my weight and riding style, the bike rides and handles 1000 times better. Thanks rick!  Here is a pick of the shock. -Tom.
 

[gsxr400 racer]

thats a nice deal , wonder what you can do on my penske just never seems right and is do  for a rebuild:sad:

[NC Rick]

Thanks for the Kudos Jay and Tom!
400racer, what bike is the Penske on? Those are fabulous shocks and I do have a lot of experience with them. We can service and rebuild here in our shop (we keep all the parts in stock. If revalving is needed, we can do that too and all at our reasonable pricing. While likely to go up a little at the first of the year, $79 plus parts to overhaul your Penske. Parts are often only $20-30 and oil about $12.

[smooth operator]

 Besides a GSX-R shock from a 1100, I have a Works Performance shock on my 98 B12 now. They had 2 shocks also to choose from,adjustable ride hight and non adj. Both being priced simalar to NC Ricks. Mine being the non/adj w/ remote resivour.
   Rick, I've had my WP shock on for the last couple yrs. and it seems I have more sag now than befor when I set it. I've made (bones) to raise the hieght for ground clearence It was a guess,I wanted 1 1/4 max and got1 5/8 over stock. So I was going to go back to the drawing board. I've noticed in past experiments w/ the GSX-R shock changing the ride hieght w/ the bones changes the performance of the shock. If I lowered the shock from the stroke of its design it also changes the performace of the shock. ( couldn't dial in the sag right) Getting my suspension dialed in right is my 1st priority on my bike. It gets track time and has done 30 min. mini enduros and might do 3 hr endrance races. Can you give me some input? And can you rebuild my WP shock. Also I have a 03SV 1K.do you make a shock for my SV?
  I'm waiting for a open lift at my buddy's shop. Then the Bandit goes on, changing all fluids,check bearings, and might add a washer to my stacking order up front(RT internals)then I can take the shock off for better inspection.  Thanks, Dan

[gsxr400 racer]

Thanks for the Kudos Jay and Tom!
400racer, what bike is the Penske on? Those are fabulous shocks and I do have a lt of experiance with them. We can service and rebuild here in our shop (we keep all the parts in stock. If revalving is needed, we can do that too and all at our reasonable pricing. While likely to go up a little at the first of the year, $79 plus parts to overhaul your Penske. Parts are often only $20-30 and oil about $12.

Thanks brother i had it custom made from penske for my gsxr 400 but mainly like a rgv 250 shock, still a deal if you go up penske charges a flat 150.00 I'll email you when ready rather give my money to someone on the board.


Side note Dan you need a team mate for any three hour email me

[NC Rick]

Smooth Op, we do work on the WP shocks. I owned one my self on a BMW K bike I once had.  The Works (not to be confused with White Power ) Works uses a more simple design piston with a few little spring loaded check balls in place of the shim stack set up like Ohlins, Penske and Cogent shocks. Most of the Works shocks we see have raw aluminum bodies that are prone to wear and turning the fluid to mud after some miles. They also use a polyurethane O ring head seal that can start to leak a little sooner than some other designs (we use a Quadra rind with a Teflon anti extrusion backer like Ohlins use). The Works parts are pricey compared to Ohlins or Penske but the shocks are very serviceable. I am sure your shock will be better once it is serviced.