As we all know the rear shock on the CBR600F1 has some short comings.

Like the lack of real adjustability for rebound and dampening and the design of the 87-90F1 shock leaves Hurricane owners limited in choices for improvements.

So I got to thinking on just how can the rear suspension be improved without spending big bucks on a high dollar Ohlins or White Power type shock.

So off to Ebay I went searching the auctions looking for just the right CBR600 Shock and linkages that would mount on the F1 swing arm and frame without the cutting of either.

And here is what I came up with.

First, I purchased a 98CBR600 F3 Shock, I decided on this shock because of it’s design.

This shock has the ability for rebound / dampening and preload adjustments.

This shock’s nitrogen reservoir has a pigtail of 12 inches making the mounting possibilities favorable for the F1 and as abonus this shock has fine tuning adjustability on the shock base and on the reservoir to help eliminate wheel hop on hard braking in the corners. (which was basically what I was looking to eliminate)!

Other CBR600 shocks either have short reservoir pigtails or the reservoir is mounted directly to the shock body itself making mounting of this type of shock difficult without chopping up the frame or battery box which was out of the question.

Plus an added bonusthis shock (98CBR600F3) is plentiful and inexpensive on ebay, I spent $23.00 on my shock.

Second, again I went searching for shock / swing arm linkages and what I found on ebay was also inexpensive and plentiful.

It is the OEM linkage from the 93 CBR600F3.
(I spent $25.00 for the links on ebay)

This linkage is similar to the F1 but with the changes needed to accept the newer style CBR600 shock.

And with minimal modification on one of these links, this is a pretty easy upgrade for the rear suspension for the F1.

Basically, after carefull measurementsI cut and removed 1-3/8 inches of aluminum from the center of the F3's dog bone link and Tig welded the two pieces back together.

And cut 2 spacers to keep the dog bone link from moving side to side on the lower link mount.

I know a lot of you don't have access to a Tig welder, but for 50 bucks or lessyou could have this link welded for the upgrade.

This is a simple upgrade for themechanically minded. 2 cuts of the dog bone linkand 1 weld.

Basically in a nut shell,you determine the rear ride height on the F1by how much alluminum you remove from the dog bone link.

I removed 1-3/8 inches of aluminumfrom the link to have a final ride height of 18-3/4 inches, up from the OEM of17-1/2 inches.

link to project photos.

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...icane%20Shock/

 

nice read, good econo-solution.

so how does it ride? is it to your satisfaction?

 

Yes, Big Smile !

I have preload setsecond from soft,dampening and rebound set right in the middle, and the first thing I noticed was a softer seat withvery littlesag, before the switch the seat was rock hard and no spring sag.

Due to winter weather I have only had herout a few times before my lips turned blue, but so farvery good, She tracks well !

I ran her really hard intothe corners several timesand she gripped really well with little wheel hop, where before she would hop and chatter going hard into corners.

Now I did install Avon Venoms front and rear recentlyand I have not had the opportunity to scuff up the tires well so this could be a cause of the minor rear wheel chatter hard in the corners and once the weather turns I will fine tune both the shock and tire pressures for maximum grip!

My next project is to beef up the front end with some type of fork brace and different springs, or maybe a totally different front end?

I have been eye balling my Husabergs inverted front forks for a possible switch... Just kidding.

 

front swap, huh?

try this: http://www.cbrextreme.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=9

 

Very interesting thread... well thought out and expertly posted by a true motorcyclist !

Great post... Thats isthe general direction I am looking to proceedwith my project only with longer forks.

Thanks!

 

longer? might i suggest a set of f3 or vtr1000 (superhawk). it's about as long as it will get.

 

What year is your bike? I've got an '89 and my rear shock has preload and dampening adjustmentsand I have a manual for an '87 and it gives instructions for adjusting it. Is there another adjustment on the F3?

 

My F1 is an 87, and yes you are correct this bike'sshock doeshave preload and damping adjusments.And yes there is a 3rd adjustment on the F3 shock (rebound).

My F1 shock is going on 20 years old nowand for some reason either the shock has lost it's charge or what, butI could not adjust rear wheel hop out of the bike under hard braking in left and right hand corners, and I felt that the F1's shock spring rate is way to hard for my taste.

I guess I am spoiled. My GL1800 Goldwing has push button suspension for a soft plush ride for the open roador firm settings for the twisties, and my Motard is like riding a brick, she tracks so well in the corners and is such a hoot to ride, but she is a kick starter and can be a real pain on hot days in traffic and my wife gets real upset when I ride it, I don't know why but I think it has to do withmy last trip to Deals Gapthat and the local PD have an eye for it as well!

I guess I am trying to get my Hurricane somewhere in between GL and the Motard,a streetfighter with manners. I really like the F1, shes light, has good power and getsdecent mpg, so I just had to do somethingandI started on the rear suspension, winters here in the midwest suckplus Ineeded an excuse to get away from the ball and chain.

So I changed swingarms and bearings, I switched out F1's shock2 times and I could not get the desired control and handling needed to keep me on the pavement with this bike.

On my Husaberg Supermoto Ihave eliminated rear wheel hop by simply adjusting the damping and rebound for road conditions, now the Husaberg has a Ohlin's rear shock and White Power inverted forks, set up is a click and a turn away depending on temp and conditions depending on how much I ate and drankthe night before.

And to do this on the F1's shock is possible, but it'skind of a pain in the ****.

The F1 shocks that I have are rock hard even on the softest preload setting.

And like I stated, either the shocks that I have lost their charge or they just don't have the capability to cool the nitrogen/oil charge effectivly without a reservoir to dissapate heat the way I ride.

I was looking to soften the spring with theability to harden the rate, not to go from hard to teethshattering hard.

If I want to ride a brick I will get onmy Husaberg!

I was looking for adjustabilty without spending $600 for a White Power shock and then spending another $100 or so for a spring to fit my fat ***.

And I for suredid not want to spend $1300.00 on a Ohlin's shock, that was out of the question, hey the old lady gets pissed when I spend moneywhen it's not on her, so I had to go smart and cheeeep.

Aftermarket rear shocks are available for the F1, but they come at ahigh costbecause of the bikes age and shock design.

Now youjump ahead a few years andHonda has changed the rear suspension on it's CBR model line. Very close to the F1, but different.

The top shock mount is the same, but the bottom mount is different and by simply changing the shock mount suspension link to a current CBR model gives the ability to use a modern type of CBR shock.

There are many companies building shocks and goodiesfor the newer CBR's and you are in a simple supply and demand situation here, a whole lot of supply for the newer bikes compared to the F1.

I am all about saving money and this seemed to be th

 

Ahhh, sounds like very good reasons, all. I may just have to look into this myself. I just got my bike at the end of last driving season and didn't have a lot of time to mess with settings. We're expecting 8" of snow tonight so I may have time to try this before the riding season.

I just want to confirm. In a nutshell, you bought a 98 F3 shock and link, adjusted the link to the height you like, reinstalled with spacers and drove away?

 

well, it's almost that easy. but SIRR1 cut the link (rod)down or known on other bikes as dogbones, and re-welded the sections back together.