penske shock

[fj johnnie]

  So after reading all the rants about the Penske shock I have decided to order one now so I have it before spring. My bike is a 1990 FJ (obviously). It was retrofitted with an FZ1 swing arm. My question is what information do I need to supply to Penske in order to get the correct shock etc. I beleive the stock FJ shock is fitted to the bike with custom made lowering links.Will they know what to send me? Thanks in advance for any help I receive. The wealth of knowledge shared here amongst this group is truly awesome. I have severe FJitis and the only cure is.... More fj. This one I am working on now is my 6th! I plan to keep this one as it has only 21,000 k on it and is in very good condition

[FJmonkey]

I was thinking of a Penkse shock but put it on hold. Earlier this year I installed the custom (designed for the FJ) RPM valves in my forks. What a difference. RPM is currently developing a shock, if it performs on the rear like the valves did on the front then I will be one happy Monkey. Randy at RPM is hoping to be price competative with other shocks so I am also holding out to save some money as well. Food for thought. If you are getting the Penske 3 clicker for adjustability then go for it. The RPM shock is designed for the FJ with some adjustability, it should be as Randy stated an off the shelf solution for 80% of FJ owners. Not being a racer or knee dragger I know his shock will suit me very well.

Check this thread: http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=7469.msg69066#msg69066

[fj johnnie]

  Thanks FJmonkey. I actually have looked at this thread regarding the RPM shock. Having checked his website there is no mention of it and  do not want to be scrambling in the spring. I am actually living close by the Canadian Penske distributor so.... Apparently if I order one now i will have it in a relatively short period of time. I am planning a trip to Nova Scotia in July with Four other FJ owners,( all non members btw?) oh well.  I did not do the mods to this bike so am not too familiar with the suspension. Also my 85 FZ 750 is on the lift at the moment so didn't want to lay on the cold shop floor.

[craigo]

http://www.le-suspension.com/penske/

I just installed the 8900 series Penske on my 90. I had them put in a track stack as Ed Sorbo called it, a little firmer than the street stack. Made a big improvement and is totally adjustable in compression, rebound and ride height.

I was going to wait for RPM's shock but could no longer as the stock shock was just not safe with 2 up. Bounced like a pogo stick and bottomed out on every little bump. Real happy with it.

CraigO

[fj johnnie]

 I weigh 200 pounds. Will do some touring with luggage so maybe a slightly stiffer spring like yours would be wise. Do you have the stock swing arm?

[vandenw]

Own of those guys is a member!(now)

[FJmonkey]

Own of those guys is a member!(now)

Welcome first poster. Tell us more about you.

[fj johnnie]

I weigh 200 pounds. Will do some touring with luggage so maybe a slightly stiffer spring like yours would be wise. Do you have the stock swing arm?

No I do not. My bike has an FZ1 swingarm, from a 2001 machine. The conversion was done by the previous owner. It is approx. 1.5 inches longer than the stock FJ so I am not sure of the effect on the spring . Therefore I am a little apprehensive. Thanks John

[fj johnnie]

 Penske has been ordered, however I discovered that the attachment point on the swingarm for the dog bones on an FZ1is 20 mm narrower than the pick-up point on the FJ linkage. So I took a stock linkage from a spare FJ, drove out all the bearings and had the part machined down 10 mm on each side (approx.). Then the bore for the bearings made correspondingly deeper to accept the original FJ bearing. I ordered two FZ1 collars , two FZ1 bolts and all the bearings for the linkage. So all the parts for the old FJ came in but the FZ1 parts where back ordered!!!. It was being ridden with the original length FJ collar protruding 10 m out on each side at the swingarm.