Author Topic: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay  (Read 24776 times)

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Offline eideteker

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #25 on: July 28, 2011, 09:30:22 pm »
Like you Gaucho, I bought a pair of those POS shocks for looks. Put them on my Triumph Bonneville and it looked 10-15 mph faster.

Out for a ride, one of the Chinese wonders came apart at the clevis and spit the spring right off.  Rode it home and put the British OEM shocks back on.  My Bonnie tips the scales at about 325 lbs, wet.  I'd hate to see what loosing one side would do on a fat ass Honda 750.

Any pics of the aftermath or did you just pitch the shocks in the trash?  I have a set of these on my 500 and they seem to work relatively well for the price.  As a caveat I'll add that I've never felt really good shocks like Ohlins or Ikon so I'm only basing my conclusion on the squishy stockers that I replaced with the "Chinese wonders".
"Spit on the tip of your finger, lube the inside of the hole, and then wiggle it around and twist a bit back and forth as you apply pressure." - mystic_1

1973 CB500K - not bad for a first bike
2009 SFV650 - torquey, reliable 90° V-twin

Offline Nikkisixx

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #26 on: July 29, 2011, 01:24:28 pm »
Yeah eideteker, I'm gonna hang the fogger next to my computer as an reminder for those late night eBay purchases.  :-[
I had somebody with a 500 ask about these things via eBay and I said they were ok.  Hope I didn't mislead anybody  :-\


 I will shamefully admit this shock failed once before and I collected the pieces off the side of the road, checked everything over and put it back together.  It looked as if the rod had only been threaded in part of the way, so I checked the other side and sure enough it was also loose.  I tightend everything up and put the shocks back on the bike.  This time Mark and I were out for a ride, and neither of us noticed the sh!t had come appart.  The spring is sitting in a ditch somewhere.  >:(

In a battle between the steel piston rod and the silly putty/aluminum threads the divorce was fast and final:





The steel rod is unharmed:



And the "disassembled" unit:



It is a proven fact that modifying a SOHC Honda in any way will bring on the apocalypse.

Offline crazypj

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #27 on: July 29, 2011, 01:54:59 pm »
I bought same ones through eBay France for about same price.
It's probably my 360 thread on DTT about re-building these shocks. (http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=11736.0)
 Out of the box they had several issues so I completely stripped and re-built them plus made completely new lower mount/spring seats.
 I actually did quite a lot of work on them but it was really worth it.
How do you know shocks are working properly?
 You can't tell they are working (if you can tell they are moving,  they are not working right  ;))


« Last Edit: July 29, 2011, 01:59:24 pm by crazypj »
I fake being smart pretty good
'you can take my word for it or argue until you find out I'm right'

Offline bert96

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #28 on: July 29, 2011, 03:10:51 pm »


 Just wondering if this clevis would fit on chinese chocks?

http://www.gazisuspension.com/_product_50296/Fork_-_Clevis_10


it would be a cheap upgrade....

Bert
QA50 1969,ST-90 1974,mb5 1982,rz350 1983,shadow 1100 1985,vf1000f 1985,BMW K1 1990,shadow tourer 1100 2001,vfr 750 1994,vtr250 199?

Offline wildcatmahone

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #29 on: July 29, 2011, 07:31:39 pm »
Glad to hear your ok man but anyone who puts that chinko junk on their bike should absolutely know better. Last Word=YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Offline Nikkisixx

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #30 on: July 29, 2011, 08:06:49 pm »
Glad to hear your ok man but anyone who puts that chinko junk on their bike should absolutely know better. Last Word=YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Yup, and I knew that going in.  The chinkotastic junk look tits, and the Bonnie was intended to be a bar hopper so the shocks were good for that purpose.  Unfortunately that bike is a freakin blast to ride and it sees more action than my CB750 now, so it may have earned a set of Ohlins. 

  My advice to anyone trying these out would be to do a complete rework like crazypj did or just run worn out gear and eat bologna sammiches until you can pony up for a pair of shocks with a warranty. 
It is a proven fact that modifying a SOHC Honda in any way will bring on the apocalypse.

Offline crazypj

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Re: My cheap piggyback reservoir shocks from ebay
« Reply #31 on: July 29, 2011, 08:10:44 pm »
Glad to hear your ok man but anyone who puts that chinko junk on their bike should absolutely know better. Last Word=YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

 Buy me a set of Ohlins, I'll happily fit them
 As long as you realise they were probably assembled by a 7yr old in a barn, you'll be fine with them
 BTW, It's a standard metric fine thread, pretty sure I have taps and dies the correct size
I fake being smart pretty good
'you can take my word for it or argue until you find out I'm right'