honda f4i rear shock

[fj11.5]

after reading on here awhile ago about a honda f4 rear shock that may fit an fj, , i asked around and scored a great condition one localy for $20.00 , wanting to upgrade my f**#+#d 84 fj11 one ,, so to make it fit my way was to drill the top bushing on the shock so the original bolt would fit , also needed 2 spacers on top as its 22mm less that standard, , as for the bottom i pressed out the bearing in the bottom shock eyelet and had a bushing made up to accept the mounting shaft , bolted it back in , installed the wheel and test rode,, like a new bike     ps mounted the  compression / gas can where the original adjuster was , just used some neoprene and made a bracket to bolt in the old adjuser holes , will post pics later if anyone wants a look    pps,, shock is about 15mm longer than standard so arse end is raised up nicely ,, works perfctly with the 17" wheel , shock has compression and rebound adjustment as well as preload,    i set preload on 3 as a guess ,perfect for me , lucky as it cant be adjusted easily once the botom is bolted it, but only 2 bolts and the shaft to remove to change it,,, back wheel almost touches the ground on the centre stand,no effort required  ,,, may need to do the sidestand mod now , oh well

[andyb]

What year F4?  Might be a handy thing for people looking for upgraded shocks for less than $500....

[markmartin]

Sounds like a nice find.  Good R & D and good work!!

[Arnie]

That was my write up about the Honda F4i shock.
Mine is from an '06 bike.

With the later bikes that use a clevis on the lower mount point, you'll have to cut the upper eye and weld a clevis to it.
Mount the shock upside down and you can get to all the adjustments.  The remote reservoir gets strapped to the right swingarm leg.

Cheers,
Arnie

[Dads_FJ]

This is GOLD... Honda f4 shocks are a dime a dozen!  Looks like 99-04 are the same?

[fj11.5]

its off an 01 model, , and they all seem alike from what i looked at on ebay ?? thought about drilling the top mount out and fitting it upside down, but have no need to change preload that often, , nice work arnie how did you work out the f4 shock would work to start with   

[Arnie]

Mainly by  the number of coils and diameters of the spring, which give you spring rate.  The Eye to Eye distance was not too much longer and I knew I could adjust some with dogbone length.  It was also cheap enough to take the gamble.

Arnie

its off an 01 model, , and they all seem alike from what i looked at on ebay ?? thought about drilling the top mount out and fitting it upside down, but have no need to change preload that often, , nice work arnie how did you work out the f4 shock would work to start with   

[fj11.5]

sure are cheap and after looking on ebay theres no shortage of them, if only the front end was as cheap and easy to fix,, 

[oldktmdude]

  I fitted an F4i shock to my '85, about three weeks ago. The changes to the bike's handling and ride are remarkable. For a total outlay of about $85 and 2 hours labour, it's a huge gain for very little outlay.
The '05 model shock was bought from Ebay and delivered to my front door for less than $70, I bought 3 spherical bearings (GE-12E) for the top mount (12mm ID, 22mm OD and 10mm wide $18 delivered). The bottom mount was achieved by removing the CBR shock bush and using 2 FJ relay arm bushes, cut to length to match original shock width. The remote reservoir is hose clamped to the frame strut on the RHS, under the side-cover.
I'm not very heavy so the spring pre-load is wound to it's lowest setting, as is the comp setting. The rear end has been lifted by approx 30mm, so it steers quicker and feels much better to ride.
  Thanks Arnie, for bringing the use of the CBR shock to my attention. It is a big improvement over my original 27 year old shock and will suffice till I can afford one of Randy's new shocks.   Regards, Pete.   

[markmartin]

Sounds like a nice find.  Good R & D and good work!!

I had missed your original post on this subject.  Good work Arnie!

[giantkiller]

after reading on here awhile ago about a honda f4 rear shock that may fit an fj, , i asked around and scored a great condition one localy for $20.00 , wanting to upgrade my f**#+#d 84 fj11 one ,, so to make it fit my way was to drill the top bushing on the shock so the original bolt would fit , also needed 2 spacers on top as its 22mm less that standard, , as for the bottom i pressed out the bearing in the bottom shock eyelet and had a bushing made up to accept the mounting shaft , bolted it back in , installed the wheel and test rode,, like a new bike     ps mounted the  compression / gas can where the original adjuster was , just used some neoprene and made a bracket to bolt in the old adjuser holes , will post pics later if anyone wants a look    pps,, shock is about 15mm longer than standard so arse end is raised up nicely ,, works perfctly with the 17" wheel , shock has compression and rebound adjustment as well as preload,    i set preload on 3 as a guess ,perfect for me , lucky as it cant be adjusted easily once the botom is bolted it, but only 2 bolts and the shaft to remove to change it,,, back wheel almost touches the ground on the centre stand,no effort required  ,,, may need to do the sidestand mod now , oh well

Yes would like to have pics, would be great. I have an 86 Would it mount the same on 1200? Great find!
Thanks Dan McCoy

[oldktmdude]

 [/quote]   Yes would like to have pics, would be great. I have an 86 Would it mount the same on 1200? Great find!
Thanks Dan McCoy
[/quote]
  The '86 top and bottom mount bushes share the same part numbers as the 1100's but the shock has a different number. My guess is that they may have a different spring rating or some other minor differences but  essentially the same. Overall length may also be slightly different but can see no reason why the F4i shock could not be adapted to fit. Someone with first-hand knowledge of the '86 1200's shock maybe able to shed more light on the subject. Regards, Pete.

[fj11.5]

2 pics in gallery , standard Fj shock is 285mm c/c , , f4i shock 300mm c/c approximately ,raises the back nicely with the 17" wheel conversion

[Dads_FJ]

I have a shock coming from an '06 f4i that had 5000 miles on it.  $50 to my door!  I'll post w/updates...

[fj11.5]

well done mate,thats a bargain, , once you,ve sorted out the mounting eyelets on the shock, and you ready to install it, have the fj parked on the centerstand but have something at least half inch thich under the stand, as you need the extra height when you install the rear wheel again, trust me you need to take the wheel out as the swing arm has to come down to line up the lower arms with the shock, also makes it easier to install the wheel again ,