Totally Unauthorized Teaser for the RPM Shock

[SlowOldGuy]

First off, I want to state that I didn't ask Randy for permission to post this because I was afraid he might come up with a reason for me not to.  Since I am way late in providing him some feedback I'm going to do it here.  This is just too big to wait.
First some background.  Randy sent me the shock for evaluation about 3 weeks ago.  Unfortunately the weather turned bad, I got sick, had to help child with her science project, the Spring Break hit and I had to take the family skiing.  Finally I got some free time today and took the '85 out for about 100 miles of evaluation. 

I tried to vary the road surfaces as much as possible, but I only had a couple of hours to work with.  Here are my totally unprofessional observations:

First, the highway ride up to what passes for twisties around these parts.  The ride was Goldwing smooth.  In combination with the RPM fork valves up front, the rear shock was in complete harmony with the front end.  No hobby-horsing over expansion joints, the bike floated over everything.  Both shock and front end action were compliant and responsive.  Very nice ride.

Next, the twisties.  Again, the shock and front end were in sync.  Action was (again) compliant and responsive with lots of confidence while leaned over.  The roads are far from perfect and I hit a few unexpected dips and bumps, some were severe.  The suspension soaked up the bumps nicely.  I could feel the shock tighten up on the big hits, but nothing even close to bottoming out.  These were the kind of bumps that would have popped a kidney with the crapo stock shock.  Rebound was perfect with no excess bouncing after the jolt.

Accelerating out of the curves, the bike felt planted and controlled.  Nice and smooth.  Once when I didn't have enough rebound damping cranked into my Penske, the bike would wobble the rear end when accelerating at the apex.  The RPM shock and fork valves couldn't have performed better.

High speed sweepers.  There is a fun road on the way home that has some nice sweepers and the FJ just loves to rail.  No surprises from the suspension components.  The FJ felt like it was glued to the road.  Both ends were again in total sync with the bike settling into a nice lean at speeds that were, um, "slightly" above the posted limits.

Bottom line:  Start Saving Your Money, NOW!!
The RPM shock and fork valves are a night and day difference over stock suspension components, not even in the same hemisphere.  Start skipping meals, cutting down on the beer, even buy Harbor Fright tools if you have to to save money.

This shock is going to be worth whatever Randy is going to charge.  It's that good.

Compared to my Penske, the RPM shock seems more compliant with excellent control and works great with the fork valves.  The Penske can be a little harsh on the big bumps.  Those with high quality after market suspension upgrades probably won't want to go to the trouble of converting back to stock, but this is going to be a required item for anyone upgrading their stock suspension.
Thanks to Randy for letting me play and for doing so much to make our obsolete dinosaurs so much fun.

DavidR.

[FJmonkey]

Damn it David!!! I needed that money to buy a new kidney, now I have to have Randy's shock instead. I wonder if Chimp kidneys are cheaper???

[Thmsdoyle]

Damn it David!!! I needed that money to buy a new kidney, now I have to have Randy's shock instead. I wonder if Chimp kidneys are cheaper???

Go with the chimps that glow in the dark! I here they are cheaper!

[baldy3853]

Nice report David interesting to note the comment on the penske

Monkey u better buy several cheap ones they'll be needed

baldy

[nurse]

Damn it David!!! I needed that money to buy a new kidney, now I have to have Randy's shock instead.

Monkey it will be fine you only really one one working kidney and besides studies suggest up to 15% of the population only have one working kidney and never even know!!

If you really need one apparently the Russians are very good at sourcing such items just don't ask anything about the donor.  And never ever, ever, ever ask if the donor consented to the removal of the aforementioned body part!

New rear shock here we come!

[SlowOldGuy]

I forgot to mention one final observation.

On the way home, there is this intersection out in the country with a pronounced crown perpendicular to my direction of travel.  Just enough of a bump that when approached above a "certain" speed, the FJ can be launched a short distance. 

Not something I normally recommend and after accidently exceeding the "certain" speed and scaring the $hit out of myself once, I actually keep my speed down when crossing this intersection.

However, in the interest of flight testing, I headed toward this intersection and caught the light perfect at speed.  Total flight distance was only about 5 feet, but as anyone who's done it can attest, it's not the takeoff that's challenging, it's the landing!  My landing was absolutely perfect.  The FJ hit and the suspension absorbed the impact very nicely.  The whole bike just kind of "mushed" down, without bottoming out, and the damping absorbed the rebound energy quite smoothly without any excess bouncing.  It was a great flight!

I still recall hitting a nasty bump with the stock shock years ago.  The lack of adequate damping caused the entire rear end of the bike to become airborne.  I'm up on the rear of the tank riding only on the front wheel.  I remember asking myself if this is what crashing feels like.  Not a good ride.  This would not happen with a shock that has the kind of bump absorption and damping that the RPM shock provides. 

DavidR.

[aviationfred]

All possitive feedback with nothing negative. Regardless of price, I am thinking Randy won't be able to keep the shocks on the shelf and will have a long waiting list . 

Fred

[SlowOldGuy]

Well he certainly deserves to sell more shocks than the 23 oil cooler kits he's sold to date.  Hell, I've bought 2 oil coolers from him and am totally satisfied. 

Of course, that's the problem with owning 2 FJs.  Modification expenses are 2X.  :-(

DavidR.

[aviationfred]

Well he certainly deserves to sell more shocks than the 23 oil cooler kits he's sold to date.  Hell, I've bought 2 oil coolers from him and am totally satisfied. 

Of course, that's the problem with owning 2 FJs.  Modification expenses are 2X.  :-(

DavidR.

The Oil Cooler Kit is on my 'to do' mod list this spring.

Fred

[1tinindian]

I'm ready to order my rear shock!
Now, if I can only get it in time to get it installed before the WCR!

Leon

[ribbert]

Damn it David!!! I needed that money to buy a new kidney, now I have to have Randy's shock instead. I wonder if Chimp kidneys are cheaper???

The new shock may eliminate the need for the new kidney.

[FJmonkey]

Damn it David!!! I needed that money to buy a new kidney, now I have to have Randy's shock instead. I wonder if Chimp kidneys are cheaper???

The new shock may eliminate the need for the new kidney.

I like the way you think..... Solve the root cause.... Not the symptom. 

[andyb]

Will be interesting to hear from someone taking this shock over a road with frost heaves in it.

[FJ Flyer]

David, didn't realize you still had the shock on he '85.  Knew that you had the penske on the '93 and assumed you had upgraded her better looking sister long ago.

[racerrad8]

David, didn't realize you still had the shock on he '85.  Knew that you had the penske on the '93 and assumed you had upgraded her better looking sister long ago.

I presume you meant he still has a "stock shock" on the '85, he doesn't he has a Penske on it as well. That was one of the reasons I asked him to ride the RPM shock as a true comparison.

While David did not get me permission about posting his findings on the shock, it proves to me we are right there and almost ready to head into production.

There are several things that need to come together regarding the shock to complete the package.

Following David's posting last week, I have been answering many emails and PM's about when the shock will be available. To that all I can say is, as soon as I can get them done and everything assembled for the shock kit.

We are working out the springs rates for the rider weights, shock socks and the other accessories that will be part of the shock kit.

I want to thank David for testing this shock, as well as Mike Ramos who is also now happy to be able to share his testing experiences with you. He has been riding the shock for many months now as I needed to make sure I covered as many aspects of the testing process as possible.

I have ridden the shock as well for many months, and I have a buddy that races in the vintage road racing & flat track circuits here is California. He rode my bike for several weeks at the initial onset of the shock to help get the valving right. Without his skilled assistance, the dialing process was sped up as I was having trouble communicating the bikes needs & understanding the was the cantilever swing are effects the valving. Plus, there is different terminology regarding car shock and bike shock which meant the shock manufacture and I we speaking different languages.

So, I wish I had a exact release date and the price mark for the shock. These will be things that in the coming week will be honed down and get sorted. I have items ordered and as these pieces come together, so will more information.

This has been a frustrating and tedious process getting the shock ready and I am really happy with the product I will be offering shortly. I do appreciates everyone patience and stay tuned for more information as it comes along in the next few weeks.

Randy - RPM