Bandit Alley
MODEL SPECIFIC => SUZUKI BANDIT 250 & 400 => Topic started by: 400runner on May 05, 2005, 03:15:46 AM
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A bit of hard work pays off.
All you need is the shock. nothing else. Some tools including a grinder. I used my drill with a grinder to get the job done.
First you have to take the air cleaner housing off the bike. and also the cooling housing along with the battery tray. This will give you lots of room to work in.
you also have to remove the rear tire and the swingarm because that is the only way to get the bolt out from the top of the dog bones. you can now remove the linkage.
Once you have everything off the bike, inclucing the old shock linkage and dogbones, install the new shock with the top bolt only.let it hang.
Then you should reconect the linkage at the frame but do not use the nut because you will need to pull it out and replace it a few times during the grinding.
Now that the linkage and bolt are hanging, try to connect the shock to the link and you will see that it makes contact making it so that the eye of the shock does not meet with the eye of the link. You will see where the shock and link make the contact and that is where you need to grind. If you can make a mark with a pencil it will be helpfull. Grind untill the holes from the shock and link meet. I will be a bit laborous but it works. Leave about 3/16' of space between the the shock and link. Once you are done with the link and are able to connect the shock you will need some washers to create space between the shock and the dogbones. All this will be obvious when you start the job.
Now the reservoir on the new shock is in the way so you will have to move the battery tray back about two inches and reconnect it to the frame with some extensions. both on top and on bottom. I made mine out L- brackets. (braces). All you are doing is moving the battery tray back a couple of inches. The coolant bottle will need to move down about half an inch. The braces where the bottle botls on to are very easy to manipulate with a set of pliers. now put everything back and make sure that you tighten everything to specs.
If anyone runs into trouble I am more that glad to help.
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Nicely done, Jose! :thanks: :bigok:
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did you get any pics of before/after?
sounds like a handy enough mod.
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I saw 400runner's bike yesterday and the shock installation looks very clean.
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I have photos of the bike before and after, but not of the job in progress. I will post photos of the finished product soon.
400runner
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What is up killerB,
Hey thanks for a smooth transaction. Let me know how that regulator works out for you.
400runner
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What is up killerB,
Hey thanks for a smooth transaction. Let me know how that regulator works out for you.
400runner
No, thank you. It's always nice to avoid shipping whenever possible. I'll be soldering those two wires from my old regulator onto the one you sold me. I will hopefully have my new battery tomorrow and then I'll cross my fingers, fire it up and take some voltage readings. Hopefully that's the fix. I just need to make sure not to get too much heat on the wires when I solder (it's my understanding too much heat can damage the diodes). Thanks again and best of luck with your gixxer front-end project. That'll be one mean B4 when you are done.
John
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how much difference is the lenght between the 2 shocks?
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about 3/4 of an inch longer than the stock shock. I will measure it for you if you want the exact lenth.
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when you make a ride height adjustment its usually in incriments of 5 to 10 mm from stock . im sure it turns on a dime . Good experimenting bro. :beers:
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Yes it turn on a dime, but it isn't very different from stock. It is not squirly at all. I am very happy with it. :banana:
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AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS BRO IS THAT YUR HAPPY! :beers:
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:bslap: bump
Any word on those pics? Also can you set the rideheight on that shock to about stock B4 length? Thanks.
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I want finish the front suspension before I post any photos. I will be done in about a month. I am having a difficult time figuring out how to mount the light and clocks on the new top triple clamp.
400runner
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I saw it in person.
It is amazingly clean and simple. I plan to do it myself as soon as i get my hands on a used shock. My stock shock is in pretty bad shape
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Jose - you may have said it in a post somewhere but, which F/E are you going with?
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I am going with 2002 gsxr1000. I have it built but I have run into some issues with the speedometer and the top triple. I want to be able to keep the sme speedometer and I want the ignition to stay in the same place. I want it to look as profesional as possible. (My thing). I will post it when I figure it out.
Jose
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Are all these shocks the same, from a GSXR 600, 750 and 1000? I can buy a GSXR 600 '01 shock.
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I know that the 750 and the 1000 share the same shock. I am not sure of the 600 from 01. I am sure that the 04 600 does.
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I checked it at my local Moto Shop. They said the order numbers are all the same for the GSXR 600, 750 and 1000. K1, K2 and K3.
However if I look into the Bitubo books it says the following:
GSX-R600 (K1-2-3) = 46mm Showa shock (8kg-mm)
GSX-R750 (K0-1-2-3) = 46mm Showa shock (7.2kg-mm)
GSX-R1000 (k1 -2 ) = 46mm Kayaba shock ( 7.7kg-mm)
GSX-R1000 (K3-4) = 46Mmm Kayaba shock (8.6kg-mm)
So if I were to believe Bitubo they are not the same, but who cares about those little differences. I'd rather believe the moto shop as they are Suzuki dealer.
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When I first started doing the research on this mod. I got alot of minor unnecessary details. The only thing you can do, is try it for yourself. I know that I am 5'6" tall and weigh 160 lbs. The shock I have used for this mod is a 02gsxr 1000. The bikes ass has raised the perfect amount and and it has not affected the steering at all. I am very happy with the look and feel of the bike. So if the part numbers mach I think you have a good chance that it will be the same. Suzuki's, as I have learned are highly interchangeable. If you have any questions on the job I can help you work them out. I cannot say this enough.... The only way to know these things are to talk to someone who has done it or just do it yourself.
If you end up going thruogh with this mod I can tell you that you will like the change. Or maybe not.. There is only one way to find out.
Good luck.
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There's a GSX-R 750 K2 shock on the way. To be continued :toocool: By the way, did you measure how much the bike got raised?
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Alright, I've done this mod. I still need to do some other work to the bike before I can take it for a test ride but it looks promising. It raised the bike like I wanted to. I will post some pictures that I've taken along the way tomorrow as it's about 3:30 am over here.
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Some pics are bad. I'll make those again in daylight.
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/7.jpg
Both shocks
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/4.jpg
Spacers
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/8.jpg
Doesn't fit
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/9.jpg
After some grinding it fits
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/11.jpg
Two brackets to hold the battery tray and the coolant reservoir. I've moved the battery tray back 40 mm.
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/14.jpg
The airbox is pretty close to the shock. The shock also moves in this direction. However we've jumped on the bike with two persons (140 KG total) and it wasn't any problem.
http://members.home.nl/herrtod/Bandit/GSXR_Shock/16.jpg
The centerstand made contact with the link system so I had to extend the rubber on the exhaust.
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Nicely done. Thanks Herr Todd!
Can you elaborate on what you ground and how much?
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What a lovely angle on that shock linkage!
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It looks great, take some shots of the bike when you'r all done. I can't wait to read what you have to say after the first time that you take it out to the twisties. I bet you will be left with a permanent grin on your face :motorsmile: The extension of the center stand stoper is a good Idea.
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Took it for a spin. Even though I need to do a bunch of adjustments to the shock it's much better already. Feels like it's constantly pushing the wheel on the road, like it should, instead of caring about rider's comfort. It's also easier to throw the bike around, but I think I need some more rebound damping as the wheel tends to hop a little bit when I throw it from a steep left angle to a steep right angle or vice versa.
I also need to adjust the centerstand. I wasn't sure if it was going to hit the pavement but now I am... it does. I will try to bend the legs some more so it will go around the linkage. That way I can raise the centerstand about 15 mm's, which will hopefully be enough.
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I have left the stand to rest at the bottom shock bracket. I have not had an issue with it. I assume that its because the stand moves with the shock. If you bend it so that it goes past the shock bracket it will hit the chain. Be aware of this. I weigh 160 bls. I have hit the foot peg but not the stand.
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It felt as if it was blocking the shock when I tried it with the stand against the linkage. I only need to bend the legs before the pipe in the middle. Not sure of this though, need to take a look at it tomorrow.