Progressive 465 rear shock.

[HCorn]

I'm kind of a suspension 'tard.  I really don't know much about dialing in a suspension or what causes certain characteristics.  But I always felt like my K75 could be better.  No major complaints, but it didn't feel as composed as it should through turns, particularly rough ones.  Through high speed sweepers it wasn't particularly smooth.  Based upon the PO's records, it had Ohlins springs in front and I could see the Works shock in the rear.  That sounds like a pretty good setup on paper - yet it wasn't.

So last week I finally redid the forks with Progressive springs.  The oil looked terrible.  Still not sure if the springs are Ohlins, but they aren't progressively wound and they had 5" spacers  :confused:.  The new springs up front were a nice improvement.  Really helped through the bike feel more "composed" over bad roads.  Maybe there's some suspension term for "composed", but I don't know it.  I'm thinking the new springs helped absorb some of the roughness and the new oil dampens the shocks to help it feel composed.  Or something.

So that leads me to the Progressive 465 rear shock.  Since the new front end helped, I figured I would take a stab at the back end.  I was hesitant because it had a Works shock and those seem to be generally well regarded.  But I didn't know anything about the shock and never could really figure out how to set it.  So I figure I would just start fresh.

I really didn't want to spend a whole lot of money because I'm cheap and I wasn't sure it would even make a difference.  I thought about just getting the lowest end Progressive 412 for about $200.  But then I started worrying about going too cheap.  So the 465, at about $375, seemed like a happy medium.

So I took off the Works shock and it still seemed to be working properly.  I did notice the preload lockring above the stepped cup thingy was all the way backed out.  Hmmm, maybe I should have spent more time trying to figure out how to adjust the Works! :loco:  Well, in for a dollar . . .

The next thing I noticed, and always sort of suspected, was that my Works shock was actually a short version shock.  I'm 5'8" and never thought the K75 was tall - now I know why :embarass:.  Sure, I could have taken the time to measure it first, but where is the fun in that?  Screw it!  On went the Progressive shock.  (At least it's easier to get on the centerstand now!)

Well, the bike sits taller but still not bad even for my short legs.  I tried adjusting the preload per Progressive's instructions.  Really, the thing just wasn't sagging much even with the preload WAY backed off.  Well, that can't be right.  So I just backed out the preload to the point of there being no tension on the spring and then tightened it back up a bit.  (Look, I warned you I was a suspension 'tard!).  Now I was really worried - this was probably going to be one harsh ride!

So, I took it out this morning (once it got above 40 degrees).  Harsh?  Not at all.  It soaked up the big bumps crossing a nearby bridge that I go over regularly.  Going through the twisties, I didn't notice as much of a difference.  It seemed to keep a line easier, but nothing shocking.  So then I went to try some high speed sweepers (at least the best I could find nearby).  Here there was a marked improvement.  It would smoothly stay on a line through a sweeper and didn't have any of the harmonic springy feeling i would sometimes feel.

So, in short, I'm pretty satisfied.  None of this was night and day different, but it was solidly "better" to my mind.  I certainly don't think it was money wasted.  So I feel the Progressive 465 was a good shock for me.  I can't say if it is better than the other brands or even a new OEM shock.  But I can say it is better than a short, unknown vintage, most-likely-improperly-adjusted, Works shock. 

At least to this suspension 'tard.








*  If you are offended by my use of the term "'tard", I apologize . . . that you're so retarded.

[frankenduck]

If you got rid of that rear uneasiness on the high speed sweepers then you're doing something right.  :2thumbup:

My K75RT had a stocker on it and I hated that high speed sweeper oscillation.

[Chaos]

Suspension improvements are usually incremental.  In the last year I changed fork oil, head bearings, rear shock,  and tires.  The old dog frolics like puppy now! 

[HCorn]

Even though the bike was in pretty darn good shape when I got it, it is 25 years old.  I've always felt it was shockingly good for a 25 year old bike.  But as I make small improvements, such as the suspension, injector cleaning, tune up, headlight relay, it impresses me more.  I will be hard pressed to find an excuse to replace this bike.  Maybe not the best bike in the world, but not a whole lot wrong with it either. I'm sure a $10K bike would be even better.  I just really doubt it would feel $7K better.

I'm looking forward to another longer trip on the bike.  Doing an overnighter during Thanksgiving gave me a lot of quality seat time to assess the bike.  Although I've put a few thousand miles on it already, I'm personally better able to appreciate/critique the bike after 6-8 hour ride.  I guess I'm just a little slow when it comes to subtleties.  At least, that's what the wife says. :uhoh2:

[WayneDW]

I might be interested in your old "Works" shock.  I'll send you a PM.

[Lawrence]

Shortly after I got my 1985 K100RS home I replaced the OEM shock with the very same Progressive unit you purchased.  I've not put a lot of miles on the bike since then, but the few I have ridden were enough to convince me it was money well spent.  For the kind of riding I do (old geezer type) I couldn't ask for a better handling bike. 

[TimTyler]

I've been feeling like it's harder and harder to dial-in the sag on my rear shock this year.  Maybe I'm just carrying too much stuff  :riding:

Took the shock off the bike to clean it up. Dialed the pre-load adjuster all the way out to its loosest setting and found that the spring did not expand all the way. There's over an inch of dead space. This is without expanding or compressing the piston after removing it from the bike. This makes the uncompressed, loose spring length about 9". The minimum spring length spec is 7.10".

I'll put a call into Progressive tomorrow morning, but in the mean time, does this seem normal?

Here are Progressive's published specs:

Order No.: 465-1101
Ext. Length, In: 14.00
Ext. Length, mm: 356
Comp. Length In: 10.45
Comp. Length mm: 265
Travel* Inch: 3.55
Travel* MM: 90 
Spring No.: 1155-20B
Rate lbs/In: 250/310
Rate kg/mm: 4.46/5.54


     

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I would say that as long as the open space between coils is greater than the piston travel that may be the way it's supposed to be.

[stokester]

Works will rebuild that shock.

I've got one on my '91 Airhead and had it rebuilt, not cheap but it's essentially new.

It helped that I had a $100 coupon as a rally prize!  :2thumbup:

[will_kc]

Hey all!
I just added an 86 K75 to my collection and it has a stock shock on it that is wore out.  Being a heavier rider, what shock works best for us big guys plus luggage?  On my other bikes, I was able to just change the spring out.  Is there a nice shock spring combination that some of you guys are using?