Penske fitment

WhiteBeard · May 18, 2012, 06:57:41 PM

Finished cleaning the bike, now onto fitting the new Penske.

Bolted the top up first, then tried to fit the bottom end. But it's quite off, the shock is extending about 1'' below the lower mount.
I will have to take it off and adjust the ride height to correspond with the OEM shock's free length.
From what I've read, one full turn of the adjuster is 1.5 mm of ride-height. That's a lot of turns to get the shock were I need it to be.

Am I missing something here?

/Nat

Edit: The bike is an 85.

Pat Conlon · May 18, 2012, 07:22:39 PM

Where did you get the shock? Is it the right shock for your bike?
I can't imagine a Penske dealer would send you a shock fully extended or even over extended.

I have in front of me the Penske Tech.Manual open to page 4 and it reads in big bold letters:
Caution!!! Do Not exceed this length; .470" (12mm) Yes, it really had 3 exclamation points after the word caution

Even if the shock was sent to you fully extended, it should not be extended more than 1/2 inch..... so I doubt you will get 1" out of the adjustment.....unless it was sent to you way outside of the adjustment range, so again, who sent you the shock?.

Go ahead and thread the shaft all the way in and see if it gets the lower eye where it needs to be.... Keep in mind:
You do know... on the early FJ's the only way to raise the back end is to increase the shaft length on the shock..?

...and by consensus, everyone here on this forum recommends the back end to be raised on the FJ's?

With the bike on the center stand and the lower shock linkage undone, put a piece of 3/4 plywood under your rear tire and see where the lower mount ends up.......maybe you don't need the full 1" adjustment.

Flynt · May 18, 2012, 10:04:43 PM

Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 18, 2012, 07:22:39 PM
3/4" plywood under your rear tire...

Mine is less than 1/4" (Ohlins shock)... don't you want the rear pretty high? I think 3/4" is right at stock.

Frank

Pat Conlon · May 19, 2012, 12:04:13 AM

Not that I remember. On my '84 it was ~1.25" off the ground when the bike was on the center stand.
I recall a 2x4 flat (1.5") would lift the rear tire just a smidge.

Frank, how's your project coming along? Ready to ride in 2 weeks? Been to the dyno yet? Any numbers?

Flynt · May 19, 2012, 09:36:48 AM

Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 19, 2012, 12:04:13 AM
Frank, how's your project coming along? Ready to ride in 2 weeks? Been to the dyno yet? Any numbers?

Bike is with Randy, but engine not complete quite yet. I had travel pop up that will interfere with the WCR, so I won't see you guys this time (quite bummed). As a result, we've pushed the engine installation back into mid june (I'm traveling from May 29 through June 16). The middle part of my trip is vacation in Germany during which time I'm picking up an Audi TT RS (http://models.audiusa.com/tt-rs) on their Euro delivery program and driving it around for a week before they ship it to me in the US... so I don't think the bummed feeling will last.

I think Baldy will have a chance to see my bike when he visits Randy's place, without engine of course. I think it is turning out very nicely and have decided to go for a paint job as well once she's running and riding again... maybe an XJR looking scheme. Maybe even with the '84 colors. Suggestions welcomed!

Frank

WhiteBeard · May 19, 2012, 12:35:24 PM

Quote from: Pat Conlon on May 18, 2012, 07:22:39 PM
Where did you get the shock? Is it the right shock for your bike?
I can't imagine a Penske dealer would send you a shock fully extended or even over extended.

I have in front of me the Penske Tech.Manual open to page 4 and it reads in big bold letters:
Caution!!! Do Not exceed this length; .470" (12mm) Yes, it really had 3 exclamation points after the word caution

Even if the shock was sent to you fully extended, it should not be extended more than 1/2 inch..... so I doubt you will get 1" out of the adjustment.....unless it was sent to you way outside of the adjustment range, so again, who sent you the shock?.

Go ahead and thread the shaft all the way in and see if it gets the lower eye where it needs to be.... Keep in mind:
You do know... on the early FJ's the only way to raise the back end is to increase the shaft length on the shock..?

...and by consensus, everyone here on this forum recommends the back end to be raised on the FJ's?

With the bike on the center stand and the lower shock linkage undone, put a piece of 3/4 plywood under your rear tire and see where the lower mount ends up.......maybe you don't need the full 1" adjustment.

After reading this, I decided to take one more look, so I went out and pushed down on the tire.
It dropped down to the floor, it had been suspended in midair without me seeing it!
Then I put a piece of plywood underneath and I am proud to say the shock is now on the bike and looking GREAT!

I adjusted the ride-height so that the rear tire almost touched the ground.
Haven't had a chance to ride it yet though. Still waiting for CraigO's rear caliper to arrive.
Secondly, I also had to order a new "footpeg-holder-bracket" , which, as you can see, is not what it used to be.

After I had removed the OEM shock, the bike came off the centerstand, resulting in that fracture.

I ordered a used one from Germany, so waiting for that to arrive as well.

Trying to think positive...

Thank you Pat and Frank. Didn't mean to waste your time.

/Nat

Pat Conlon · May 19, 2012, 01:34:44 PM

No worries Nat, glad to help. Enjoy that Penske! I know you will...

fj11.5 · May 19, 2012, 04:44:41 PM

hate to ask, but what caused the fall

WhiteBeard · May 19, 2012, 05:30:02 PM

I had to move the bike...
it came down off the centerstand... hard because no shock was fitted.

Lesson learned... but it hurts.

fj11.5 · May 19, 2012, 06:38:22 PM

ouch, expensive lesson , how much did the new hanger cost

WhiteBeard · May 20, 2012, 04:31:37 AM

€35.

Thought it would be worse.
But the frustration of not being able to put the bike back together makes up for it.

When they arrive, I will put on the rear caliper, new brake line (thanks Craig) and this bracket at the same time. Also change the brake fluid to DOT 5 instead of 5.1.
Will do some searches and read up on what that involves, I guess the system has to be totally cleansed from the old brake fluid before I put the new one in.

fj11.5 · May 20, 2012, 04:51:18 AM

that's pretty cheap for a new one, will be worth all the extra effort , new rear shock makes the Fj feel like a late model bike

WhiteBeard · May 20, 2012, 04:54:37 AM

Yep, I think it is in decent condition, but it wasn't new though, came off an 84.
I just want to get it in my hands ASAP.

In the meantime, I'm cleaning away the rust and grime I found in all of the nooks and crannies that were hidden away behind the bracket.

fj11.5 · May 20, 2012, 06:34:30 AM

must be a good one then ,, only issue I found with installing a new rear shock was it showed how much the standard set up suck, now I need rpm,s awesome fork valves , sooooon I hope

WhiteBeard · May 20, 2012, 04:46:00 PM

Can't wait to try it out!

The front forks are my next project. But it is difficult to get cheap parts over here. My strategy is to wait it out until I can get them for a decent price.
I want to do the 17'' conversion at the same time as the RPM valves.

Then... R1 calipers.
Then... SS steel hoses in the front.
Then... who knows?

News:

Penske fitment