Installing an 08 shock on a Classic: Difference between revisions

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[[Category: Suspension]]

~~If you were wondering if a shock~~ from the ~~newer~~ J ~~series would work on an F series~~ bike~~, well,~~ it will~~. Our man swapped his out in about~~ about 20 minutes~~. It's extremely easy; it bolts right up. What you're gaining is~~ a ~~somewhat stiffer~~ shock, ~~and preload adjustability~~. ~~There are no other adjustments on this shock~~.

'''Note from your editor:''' We know for sure now that this swap will work, physically. We also know that the J model shock is "stiffer". We don't know for sure what that means, and this is not a road-proven mod. The one person to post about this sold his bike shortly after he did it. It will only cost you about 20 minutes of your time and the price of a used shock, but this is still a Beta mod. No guarantees. Your mileage may vary.

Here are ~~the two shocks side by side. The one on the bottom is the~~ 08 shock~~. It~~'~~s about 1/4" longer. This means that with 130/90-16 tires, the centerstand probably won't lift your rear tire off the ground. You might need a thin piece of wood or something for that.~~

Here they are, an '08 EX250J shock on top and an '06 EX250F shock on bottom:

[[image:~~08 shock – 1~~.jpg|~~150px~~]]

[[image:shocks_01.jpg|250px]]

~~These~~ are of the shock installed.

Mounting specs are almost identical. The top fitting is 0.5mm less wide on the EX250J. That could easily be due to one of the fittings being out of spec, or having been slightly bent. The other spec difference is that the EX250F shock is 2.0mm less tall (from center/center of mounting holes). It's likely that the '06 EX250F shock settled while in use and that they were closer to identical when new.

Installation takes about 20 minutes and is very easy. The only extra adjustability on the new shock is preload. It still doesn't have compression or rebound damping. Our suspension man says that the difference in spring height doesn't have any meaning one way or another.

One thing to keep in mind is that with Sport Demon or other 90-series tires on the bike you'll have to put a piece of plywood under the centerstand when you need to get the rear tire off the ground.

Here are photos of the EX250J shock installed.

[[image:08 shock – 2.jpg|150px]]

[[image:08 shock – 3.jpg|150px]]

Initial impressions from the guy who sold his:

*When I sat on the bike it felt much stiffer than stock. I left the adjustment on the softest setting and found the ride to be firm but not jarring. When I test-rode it I took a turn onto my street which has a bit of a dip in the middle of the turn. Before, I could feel the shock compress a lot, then unload, somewhat upsetting the bike, or at least upsetting me. I honestly didn't even notice the dip anymore with the new shock.

~~Review: "When I sit on the bike it feels much stiffer than stock. It~~'s ~~firm but not jarring~~. ~~I am very happy with~~ it. ~~I feel like for $42~~ and ~~20 minutes of my time, it was absolutely worth it~~."

That's all the test information we have. As said at the beginning, it will be up to you to do the testing should you decide to do this mod. Please post your reaction and experiences.

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 [[Category: Suspension]]
-If you were wondering if a shock from the newer J series would work on an F series bike, well, it will. Our man swapped his out in about about 20 minutes. It's extremely easy; it bolts right up. What you're gaining is a somewhat stiffer shock,  and preload adjustability. There are no other adjustments on this shock.
+'''Note from your editor:''' We know for sure now that this swap will work, physically. We also know that the J model shock is "stiffer". We don't know for sure what that means, and this is not a road-proven mod. The one person to post about this sold his bike shortly after he did it. It will only cost you about 20 minutes of your time and the price of a used shock, but this is still a Beta mod. No guarantees. Your mileage may vary.
-Here are the two shocks side by side. The one on the bottom is the 08 shock. It's about 1/4" longer. This means that with 130/90-16 tires, the centerstand probably won't lift your rear tire off the ground. You might need a thin piece of wood or something for that.
+Here they are, an '08 EX250J shock on top and an '06 EX250F shock on bottom:
-[[image:08 shock – 1.jpg|150px]]
+[[image:shocks_01.jpg|250px]]
-These are of the shock installed.
+Mounting specs are almost identical. The top fitting is 0.5mm less wide on the EX250J. That could easily be due to one of the fittings being out of spec, or having been slightly bent. The other spec difference is that the EX250F shock is 2.0mm less tall (from center/center of mounting holes). It's likely that the '06 EX250F shock settled while in use and that they were closer to identical when new.
+Installation takes about 20 minutes and is very easy. The only extra adjustability on the new shock is preload. It still doesn't have compression or rebound damping. Our suspension man says that the difference in spring height doesn't have any meaning one way or another.
+One thing to keep in mind is that with Sport Demon or other 90-series tires on the bike you'll have to put a piece of plywood under the centerstand when you need to get the rear tire off the ground.
+Here are photos of the EX250J shock installed.
 [[image:08 shock – 2.jpg|150px]]
 [[image:08 shock – 3.jpg|150px]]
+Initial impressions from the guy who sold his:
+*When I sat on the bike it felt much stiffer than stock. I left the adjustment on the softest setting and found the ride to be firm but not jarring. When I test-rode it I took a turn onto my street which has a bit of a dip in the middle of the turn. Before, I could feel the shock compress a lot, then unload, somewhat upsetting the bike, or at least upsetting me. I honestly didn't even notice the dip anymore with the new shock.
-Review: "When I sit on the bike it feels much stiffer than stock. It's firm but not jarring. I am very happy with it. I feel like for $42 and 20 minutes of my time, it was absolutely worth it."
+That's all the test information we have. As said at the beginning, it will be up to you to do the testing should you decide to do this mod. Please post your reaction and experiences.