Penske Shock Report

["Paul Steinbacher" <psteinbacher@xxxxxxxxx>]

I finally have enough seat time on the bike with the Penske shock to give
some kind of feedback. It is difficult to adjust the spring preload, the gas
tank has to come off. If you change the preload setting much be forewarned.
The rebound damping adjustment is located inside the hole through the swing
arm, it can be adjusted using a small screwdriver, but you will have to put
the bike on the side stand, and probably get on the ground, not really easy.
The compression damping adjustment is very easy to get to, remote reservoir
is mounted (my mount anyway) on the bottom of the battery box. The shock
just barely squeezes into place with the 900 pound per inch spring on, very
tight going down through the top, a heavier spring might require you to
remove the linkage and come up through the bottom. All that said, I really
like the way it works, I still need to tweak a bit with Dee on board to get
damping settings just perfect, but the transformation is nothing short of
amazing. The front actually feels harsh now, pretty hard to believe. Turn in
has sharpened up to just about the same level as with the BT57 tires but I
still have the stability of the 207's. I think this is a result of the back
end being slightly higher. The feel is really great. Sharp, neutral, stable,
very confidence inspiring even with cold tires and temperatures in the 20's.
All this with the 207's that are really past their prime, with something
over 6,000 miles on them. Whatever shock you replace the stock one with,
make sure you can adjust the ride height! If you have never played with
this, a very slight change can make a world of difference. I think this
change should come before you start mucking with the front end. That said
I'll probably start mucking with the front end.

Paul & Dee


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