Anyone with a Works Shock? Comparison needed

[Seaking]

Hi guys.. I just got back from a road trip (ahhh..) and ran into an issue with the new Works rear shock on the bike..

 

When I installed the bike this winter, in a heated garage, I set the preload (sag) as per directions (I don't have the instructions with me to quote what it is).. but I measured and adjusted and measured and adjusted with full gear on etc.. Later this cold spring I took the bike out for runs and jaunts and wow, nice stiff suspension... seems the preload was excellent and the rebound adjust set just right.. And rode that way for a little while before the long road trip..

 

And then it happened.. Traveling from up here in 40-50'F weather, the bike started to ride squirrely when we got into the warmer temps down in the USA, in the 70-80's the bike was now acting like it had a dead Yamaha shock (I should know, I had two dead ones hence why replaced the last warranty shock with a Works). I had hit a divot on the I95 that literally threw my assets out of the seat to such a height my buddy who was following me said he could see the seat of my trousers as I came up out of the seat.. This might have oomph'd the hell out of the system.

 

With my buddy's 08 RSV next to mine to compare, I could push down on the right side passenger hold bar and the bike would rock down a lot compared to his.. At home, my bike's suspension was stiffer than his and wouldn't rock.. When I sat on the bike, he noticed the sag was more than a few inches.. I also noticed that perhaps the rear of the bike was much lower as I could sit with both feet flat on the ground where before I was heel up on one foot.. ergh.. At no time, while the bike was sitting in the garage or in parking lots did I notice any amount of oil on the floor nor any drips from the bottom of the shock.. When I sit on the bike and press down with my weight, I hear a sound from the rear suspension.. my buddy says it sounds like a groan, I hear it more as fluid rushing under compression through a valve or chamber, almost like a swish sound.

 

Needless to say, barreling down the I95 with a dodgy rear shock wasn't any fun at all.. ouch. I made contact with the people who makes the shock and they suggested I should adjust the rebound at the bottom of the shock.. and this helped a lot! Almost as new.. but I had no means or tools to re-adjust the pre-load at the top collar. As we headed back north into NJ and NH, the shock felt fine.. but when we got to Nova Scotia.. wow, there it was, the same shock I remembered having before, except it being a little droopy in the rear.. (somewhat like me I guess).. When I adjusted the rebound with an allen key, I did not feel any 'clicks'.. just free turning but it did do something.. I was under the impression it should "click" into various positions as you rotate it.

 

Do you have a Work shock? Do you notice a difference in the shock from cold to hot? For us, we get this temp difference with one or two days or riding south, so it was rapidly noticeable.. really not fun.. I can't believe that 20-30'F ambient air temp could affect the spring or system that much.. The shock is covered under warranty so I'm not concerned about that.. But is it possible I actually didn't set it up properly in the first place and that one large bump in the heat proved it?

 

Just curious if anyone else with the same shock can shed some light on

 

(A) does the rebound adjuster 'click' or just turns...

(B) do you notice changes in your shock from cold to hot etc? and

© do you hear a fluid swish noise when you put your weight on the seat?

 

thanks in advance..

[Kregerdoodle]

A) does the rebound adjuster 'click' or just turns...

It is very hard to feel, I couldn`t hear it click but can feel it, mine is set at 10 clicks out from stop.

 

 

(B) do you notice changes in your shock from cold to hot etc? and

Not much help on this one, temps pretty much hot most of the time.

 

 

© do you hear a fluid swish noise when you put your weight on the seat?

 

I had a time setting mine up and probably still need to adj the sag alittle, but have never heard any groan or sound from it.

 

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

K

[Bvinson]

Send Rick Butler (here on the forum) a message. He helped in the Works shock development. I bet he can help sort it out.

[Seaking]

Thanks for the info guys, I'd been in touch with him while on the road and sent him a detailed report last night.. I wanted to hear back from others who actually use the shock to compare..

 

Mine doesn't click, it makes a swishing noise when bouncing on it .. but it seems to be doing it's job well.. who knows..

 

I may have to nurse the shock through this riding season and send it in to them in the winter for work on it.. Not giving up a riding season waiting for mail and head scratching while they try to fix it.. not this summer

 

I'll keep you posted..

[Seaking]

Well after chatting with Rick at Buckeye, and sending him a video clip of what the shock sounds like when bouncing up and down on the bike, it turns out it's a normal sound.. just the fluid loudly doing its job flowing through the system.

 

I turned the pre-load collar down some more and adjusted the pre-load again for less sag and the bike appears to be riding properly again.

 

When I got the shock this spring, I had set it up properly as per instructions and the bike road OK this cold spring around here.. I must know where all the pot holes are around here as I really don't think I put the shock to the test with a big bump or hole.. But down the I95 the other week I hit a doozy of a hole that sent me flying out of my seat and the bike handled ever so weird after that.. A roadside rebound adjustment helped to quell the bike down enough to continue on the trip but some thing still wasn't right. I found myself able to straddle the bike with both heels down on the ground, indicating the rear of the bike was low.. too low.

 

After I adjusted the collar, only took about 1/2 to 3/4 turn I'm now off the heels and the bike suspension is again very stiff. I still have to do some more test riding and aim for some normal pot holes and bumps to test it out but I think that's all it was.. Just that one big hit to show the bike wasn't set up right (by me) and the bump loosened things up.. weird. Time will tell.

 

An emergency on the side of the road way to turn that collar is to get the weight off the rear wheel, and get a brass drift (punch) and removing the right passenger boards and side cover, you can access the collar.. some tapping on the collar in the right direction will get it turning.. There is a lot of tension on the spring so you have to get the weight off of it.. I don't know if it will turn with the bike's weight on it. If I had thought of it then early in the trip I should have tried it.. might have saved me some worry.

 

Oh well, everything seems to be fine for now.. but time will tell.