ok, dropped my bike off the jacks today, thinking it was almost ready to hit the road... whoops, whats this, my bike is now 1.5-2" raised!!!! O_O

so, it seems that the new shock mount welded on the sssa is higher than the oem swingarm.

i knew that, i figured that it wouldnt be that much of a problem. the issue is that the chain is now rubbing against the swing arm rubber chain guard.



i tried to see how much i would have to raise the swingarm up to make sure the chain didnt rub, and its quite a bit. somewhere along the lines i made a miscalculation. so, back to the drawing board. i was looking at the lowering links, and i could do one of those as a start, but it wouldnt be enough of a drop.




as you can see, the front of the shock link is hitting my coolant tank, and the bottom of the shock is touching the top of linkage as well. the chain once tightened would not be hitting the chain guard. and add 200lbs, and the shock will compress a bit. but still... im not sure what i should try first as a solution. i would like to be economic with this fix if possible. i've dropped a lot of money on this bike.

really, what i sould do is attach the shock right to the welded shock mount on the sssa. although i dont know how that would be.

what i really need is a shorter shock. i need to reduce it by at least an 1"-1.5" to get the clearance for the chain and to put the bike down to a decent riding height.

i have heard of people having their shocks re-welded, or is there a shock out there with variable lenght?

to be honest, i dont know the f3 oem shock length (from bolt to bolt)

any suggestions would be great!

 

ttt

seriously, any help would be appreciated. I need to lose about 50mm of height on this bad boy for it to sit at about stock.

Is there a way to shorten the oem shock?

the second thought i had was to get a longer dogbone link, and move the shock mount holes back an inch or so. that will bring the back end up a bit. I will need to trim a little off the pivot thing that attaches the shock, swingarm and dogbone together.

My worry is that im screwing with the amount of travel the bike will have.

comments?
thanks,
n

 

You're going to have to start looking at factory shocks that have similar mounting points. Fins their eye to eye lengths and go from there. This shouldn't be a big deal once you find the correct shock. There's a list on custom fighters somewhere...I'll try to find it...

 

Here's some info:

Vtec Shock Options - VFR Discussion

I can't find the thread on CustomFighters...

On thing you can do is go to RaceTech's website and they have all the shock lengths in their details for each bike...it may take a little time but you'll find something.

 

Boom:

Shock Swap Chart - Custom Fighters - Custom Streetfighter Motorcycle Forum

 

wicked, thanks for that.

Looks like the honda 929 and 900 rr are the shortest stock shocks. doesnt list the f3.. but i know its 295mm (11.5")

I've seen some adjustable height shocks, 11" could be enough to adjust the height of the bike without messing with my shock points on the SSSA.

thanks for the info.

I was looking at this too. maybe an option tied with a shorter shock.

CBR600F3 1995 1996 1997 1998 Lowering Link Links Kit ! on eBay.ca (item 160435227614 end time 10-Jun-11 02:32:15 EDT)

 

Why don't you just drill the dog bone the necessary amount? It seems that żou have enough space.
I would, first, bolt the front of the dogbone and drill on the shock side...

 

The dog bone is hitting the bottom of the shock. So the mount is extended as much as it will go. He needs a shorter shock or new mounts on his swingarm.

 

pretty much.

The big fuss around this is because the chain is riding the chain guard too much. I need to get it to be a bit more leveled. I got in touch with a shop in my area who has an adjustable dogbone for 150. Its a bit more expensive, but im sure i can return it if it doesnt work.

I will try it out first, and see what kind of results i get. I may have to make some small cuts on the pivot linkage, so the bottom of the shock doesnt hit it.

Pending that everything works out, i will leave it at that. I know i dont need much of a shorter shock, but the smallest I have seen comes from a 900rr, thats only 10mm shorter than the stock f3. 10mm may be enough to clear the shock mount.

I was thinking that shaving some material off the pivot link is the cheapest fix, as i can find a new one off ebay for <50$. so if i screw it up, then its not the end of the world. A new shock is much more expensive.

I did see a fox shock, but it was 200$> and the bid was still 9 days from being done. I dont know what the minimum length of the shock was set too either.

I have options and i know i can get this all solved by the weekend so i can mount up my f4 fairings. Im getting pretty eager to take the bike on the road. I know i will need to fine tune my recoil and dampening settings.

Makes things hard that my wife is expecting our second kid in a day or so.

 

You don't need a new shock if you're thinking of replacing the one you have.

For instance, I bought an 08 600RR shock for my track build and it cost me $40 shipped...thing is brand new almost.