Another shock thread ...

JO55

JO55

Full member
Location
Cornwall
I'll start with apologising, as shock threads seem almost a frequent as oil ones! I have a had a look, but not found anything that completely fits the bill for me.

I'm interested in putting some decent shock on the back of my '79 Jota. Currently it has Konis on it, very 'of the day' but absolute junk as a shock. I'm guessing the same is true of many of the original options available back in the day. I'm thinking of the usual quality contemporary alternatives, Nitron, Wilbers, Ohlins and I'd be interesting in the experiences of riders who have fitted any of these. Probably not going to go all in for piggy backs as I'm not about to hit a track anytime soon, but more likely something like the dual damping (one adjuster) offering from Nitron. Also, any pics? I know Nitron do some very nice 'classic' and 'stealth' versions, but I can't help thinking the blue spring version would look quite trick and a break from the normal orange and silver everything.

Any thoughts, much appreciated.
Cheers, Julian
 
With only 90mm to work with that's a limiting factor. Most modern road bikes have 120mm or more travel. You really need to have the correct springs for your weight fitted or you're just wasting your time. Another consideration is what kind of roads your riding on, we had an extremely wet couple of years locally and road surfaces are pretty crap. I went fully monty on the Nitrons on my 3c and am still playing around with settings. Most of my adjustments involve high-speed compression, it's the big lower of the 2 knob that controls comfort on big bumps. Directly above it is the low-speed compression knob that controls cornering traction. You need to be carefully adjusting both unless you use a 10mm tube spanner to hold the upper small knob still they both move when turning the lower big knob. With such small travel, it's easy to get it wrong and it either has not enough movement or you get bottoming. For a time I was moving the bump stops down to gauge how much travel I was using but I found they moved around on their own, so recently I added a cable tie that now gives a better indication, unless you do this your only guessing at what's actually happening, I Go PRO would be even better. Thinking you can get them to handle really big potholes isn't possible from what I have found, probably why I like the 200mm travel my Atlas has.
 
RGScott said:
As you're in the UK get Maxton to make you a set to suit you and the bike. My view is they are better than the brands mentioned and will be tailor made. You can spec as high-end as you want if you're looking for 10/10's performance. Call Richard Adams - owner.
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Absolutely agree. The standard gas Maxtons (non piggy back) as set up to the data you give Maxtons will be fantastic and are highly unlikely to need any adjustment.
 
a14rgs said:
Very happy with the YSS on my 1200 and (former) Jota - Good quality kit at a reasonable price 👌
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They look decent actually. I have a friend with some on a Z650 and he rates them. I think I’m going to try some on my old SUZUKI GS1000.
 
Vince said:
With only 90mm to work with that's a limiting factor. Most modern road bikes have 120mm or more travel. You really need to have the correct springs for your weight fitted or you're just wasting your time. Another consideration is what kind of roads your riding on, we had an extremely wet couple of years locally and road surfaces are pretty crap. I went fully monty on the Nitrons on my 3c and am still playing around with settings. Most of my adjustments involve high-speed compression, it's the big lower of the 2 knob that controls comfort on big bumps. Directly above it is the low-speed compression knob that controls cornering traction. You need to be carefully adjusting both unless you use a 10mm tube spanner to hold the upper small knob still they both move when turning the lower big knob. With such small travel, it's easy to get it wrong and it either has not enough movement or you get bottoming. For a time I was moving the bump stops down to gauge how much travel I was using but I found they moved around on their own, so recently I added a cable tie that now gives a better indication, unless you do this your only guessing at what's actually happening, I Go PRO would be even better. Thinking you can get them to handle really big potholes isn't possible from what I have found, probably why I like the 200mm travel my Atlas has.
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Agreed. You need some pretty fancy damping to be effective with that little travel. I’m used to c.300mm on dirt bikes so travel was a bit of a luxury!
The Nitrons do appear to be quality kit. I have a single adjuster one on a 250lc Yamaha mono, and it’s really good.
On a dirt bike, I’d always go for the minimum HS compression damping I could get away with and the maximum rebound without it ‘packing’ ie, not returning quick enough to handle the next bump. Obviously, this isn’t an issue on a road bike.
 
RGScott said:
As you're in the UK get Maxton to make you a set to suit you and the bike. My view is they are better than the brands mentioned and will be tailor made. You can spec as high-end as you want if you're looking for 10/10's performance. Call Richard Adams - owner.
Click to expand...
That’s a really good shout actually. I’d forgotten about them. Don’t they do fork kits too?(although from what I understand, the issue is with the lack of bushings rather than damper action!
 
Tippie said:
Absolutely agree. The standard gas Maxtons (non piggy back) as set up to the data you give Maxtons will be fantastic and are highly unlikely to need any adjustment.
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I think I’ll look into that, thanks. What sort of price to they come in at compared to the others?
 
JO55 said:
That’s a really good shout actually. I’d forgotten about them. Don’t they do fork kits too?(although from what I understand, the issue is with the lack of bushings rather than damper action!
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I had Maxtons do my Cerianis, last November. Had them do me a set of rears, too.
A vast improvement on the 47 year old originals, albeit they'd only had oil changes and several sets of seals, over the years.
Brought the steering back to 'as new'.
Done over a thousand miles on them, still fiddling with the many available adjustments.Maxton Suspension 1.jpgMaxton Suspension 2.jpg
 
The Sock said:
I had Maxtons do my Cerianis, last November. Had them do me a set of rears, too.
A vast improvement on the 47 year old originals, albeit they'd only had oil changes and several sets of seals, over the years.
Brought the steering back to 'as new'.
Done over a thousand miles on them, still fiddling with the many available adjustments.View attachment 82087View attachment 82088
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Have you any photos of what is done inside your forks? Just curious. I reckon it wasn't cheap either.

I was just looking on the Maxton website and it shows they are still a dealer for the EN Products forks and yokes. They are a Canadian company that made a replica Ceriani fork with modern internals. I thought they had gone out of business as I can't access their website anymore.

Thanks
Jim
 
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helicopterjim said:
Have you any photos of what is done inside your forks? Just curious. I reckon it wasn't cheap either.

I was just looking on the Maxton website and it shows they are still a dealer for the EN Products forks and yokes. They are a Canadian company that made a replica Ceriani fork with modern internals. I thought they had gone out of business as I can't access their website anymore.

Thanks
Jim
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No photos of the internal machining, Jim. They fitted the SD20 Cartridges, cost, at the time, £726.75 exc. including the machining.
That equates to three sets of tyres or 85% of my annual fuel cost (for the Laverda).
Feels worth it, to me.
 
Replaced the originals with a pair of Maxtons piggy backs a couple years ago - huge difference to the rear end. Only problem was I could not fit the piggy backs under the SFC bodywork and had to run them "upside down".IMG_9959.jpg
 
I recently acquired a very well set up low mileage 78 1200 Jota America, it came with MUPO (Italian-built) rear shocks and I am very impressed. The ride is superb and to date, I cannot fault these shocks, I would rate them as excellent. I am seriously thinking of replacing the KONI shocks on my Jota with a set of MUPO shocks. To be honest, before buying the 1200 I had never seen or heard of MUPO. Here is a link to their site.
www.mupo.it
 

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Rob said:
It may have been in its time, but things have moved on a long way since then. Just as well given the state of our roads
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Well, that is an ongoing debate because the whole bike "may have been in it's time".
Flexible frame and forks. Spindly swing arm and spindle, spindly wheels spindles.
Take the bikes for what they are.

And keep the points on them.

Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
Well, that is an ongoing debate because the whole bike "may have been in it's time".
Flexible frame and forks. Spindly swing arm and spindle, spindly wheels spindles.
Take the bikes for what they are.

And keep the points on them.

Paul
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Are you talking about an XS650 Yamaha from the era, Paul??? If you've never ridden the wheels off a decent SF on the track or the road you'd know they aren't flexy or spindly in the slightest - put modern damping on them and they are even better. In fact good quality modern shocks will REDUCE the tendency of a spindly bike to play Gumby! Or are you just trying to upset the triple owners? :cool:

If you're happy to ride 1970's Bridgestone tyres and Ceriani shocks because they fit the era, go for it.
 
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