Jump to content

929/954 Shock Install (5th Gen)


Veefer800Canuck

Recommended Posts

I am jumping in late to this thread but am interested in the 929 swap. Is the main advantage of the 929 shock that it has both compression and rebound damping? I also have an almost new CBR1100XX shock, but that looks like the VFR shock-only rebound damping. I also looked at the F4i shocks but it sounds like they need new springs and valves even though they have a remote reservoir. Any advantage to those over the 929, other than the length being closer to the VFR?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
Has any of VFRD's master fabricators gone into the business of making up 929 shock adapter kits for us less gifted members? I am sure there is a market for such a item.

from what rob posted earlier, the 954 shock is not a good option. be advised the 929 install will require some trimming of the battery box. i made several spacers of different length from 1" steel round stock. i have since decided, even painted they would start to rust. (yuk) i bought a length of 1" square bar stock of 6061 aluminum. part is much better (not perfect but i'm trying). the most critical part is the top mount hanger. the 10mm bolt has to be removed and replaced with 120mm length, welded into place. and then the bolt head has to be ground down about half its height. the stock hanger costs $12.01 plus shipping from ron ayers. so they raw costs of parts for me is about $20. rob made his own for $2 ?. having a used hanger would save the $12 but how long would the bike be apart waiting mod. if your still interested, send me a PM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • Member Contributer

this post shall never die! too much good information. i've noticed lately some of these same questions keep coming up, so i decided to add a little more information. if a person has the ability to modifiy the mount for a 929 shock. i would suggest you make a new top bracket rather than use the old one. if you reuse the old one you must grind or cut the top half of the bolt head off for clearence of the top of the shock. this may NEVER be a problem, but i worry just the same. enco sells 1"x1/4"x36" ground flat bar for $22.22. you could still have the 929 shock bought and mounted under $100. your not going to beat that deal!!!! :wheel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

So for the people that have done the bracket welding, are you just welding the hex head of the bolt right to the top of the bracket, or is it below next to the shock? I'm really fuzzy on this part and I don't see any pictures that show how the bolt gets welded to the bracket.

One picture shows the old bolt totally removed and the new bolt sticking up through the bracket. But the hex head is below the bracket, and in later pictures it's gone. Do you weld it to the bracket and then cut off the hex head? Or???

Help! I am stuck at this step and want to get my bike put back together.

1995 VFR with a 929 shock.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So for the people that have done the bracket welding, are you just welding the hex head of the bolt right to the top of the bracket, or is it below next to the shock? I'm really fuzzy on this part and I don't see any pictures that show how the bolt gets welded to the bracket.

One picture shows the old bolt totally removed and the new bolt sticking up through the bracket. But the hex head is below the bracket, and in later pictures it's gone. Do you weld it to the bracket and then cut off the hex head? Or???

Help! I am stuck at this step and want to get my bike put back together.

1995 VFR with a 929 shock.

Thanks!

Opus, I did not weld the bolt to the bracket.

I had to grind the bolt head thinner so it would clear the shock eye, then I installed the lengthened bracket into the frame, then bolted the shock to the bracket.

But I did not weld the bolt to the bracket. You could have that done, no reason why not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had to grind the bolt head thinner so it would clear the shock eye, then I installed the lengthened bracket into the frame, then bolted the shock to the bracket.

That's what I needed, thanks!

I also kind of figured that out/assumed last night after talking with the welder husband of a friend's cousin. He's going to weld that up for me tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the reply!

opus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I just finished this mod on my fourth gen. I followed this post almost exactly and it worked fine for the 96. The washer does not fit so it was left off. I made my extension 41.5 mm which is 2.5mm over stock. There is absolutly no room for anything longer, at least on a fourth gen bike. Huge improvement over stock!

929shock.jpg

Edited by D4N
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Hi all! I've read through this thread a couple times and would like to do this mod over winter. I have a '99 VFR that is all stock as far as this mod is concerned. I do have a couple questions though:

929 questions

The 929 shock reservoir is nice and far from the exhaust, but does it require trimming the battery box? It sounds like yes; can anyone confirm, or perhaps tell me how much the battery box needs to be trimmed? I don't really feel like trimming my battery box.

Are the compression/rebound adjustment screws accessible when everything's installed?

954 questions

The 954 shock reservoir sits very close to the exhaust (less than an inch) but this might not be a real problem.

The 954 spring is stiffer than the VFR/929 spring, yes?

Does the 954 shock require any bike modification other than the upper mount?

Are the compression/rebound adjustment screws accessible when installed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

just installed a 929 shock last night and it was a breeze. I used a thick axle spacer for my extension and it was 45mm, so I left it as it was.

The only different things I have to add are:

* the 929 spring really isnt stiff enough, but will do for now (as BR stated) I had to wind up the pre-load 4/5ths of the way up just to get a baseline.

* I didnt have to trim anything on the undertray

* looks like 45mm is the limit before the bottom eye touches the linkage

* this is really the best modification for money/time vs results

* I did weld the bolt to the bracket ( to ensure that everything remains concentric)

the bike was instantly much better. Instantly familliar and confidence inspiring. sorta like when you take off trashed tyres and notice how good a new set feels, but times 10.

I havent set the shock up yet becaused I had a team of mechanics tapping their toes, waiting on me to finish so they could close up the shop and go home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I just purchased a 929 with a white spring (faster, and goes with my Erion slip on, lol) and I'm looking forward to doing this and seeing what difference I feel. I'm also at almost 45k miles on the stock shock... so with all this info and a decent price why not smile.gif I do like the "plush" (most seem to argue undersprung) feeling of these bikes... but a bit more "bite" would be nice.

Timmy is this all you have done so far or have you put different springs in the front?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

havent done the front yet, I,m waiting for thermosman to steer me in the definitave direction (and help with parts). prolly going to do the F3 cartridge swap with some good springs and fresh oil (obviously)

I am heavier than a honda test rider because those guys are about a buck o five wet and I am 220. Plus, who knows how old the spring was???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
havent done the front yet, I,m waiting for thermosman to steer me in the definitave direction (and help with parts). prolly going to do the F3 cartridge swap with some good springs and fresh oil (obviously)

I am heavier than a honda test rider because those guys are about a buck o five wet and I am 220. Plus, who knows how old the spring was???

Can you post up what Thermosman's answer is when you get it? I was going to call him this week but got sidetracked at work.

Edited by seamus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

So... I decided to follow the trend and replace the rear shock on my 4th gen VFR with a newer CBR929 part. Here are the measurements I got:

- 4th gen VFR shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 324mm

- CBR929 (yellow spring) shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 288mm (36mm shorter)

- 4th gen VFR shock bracket, eye center to top surface - 25mm

- New bracket to be made, eye center to top surface - 61mm

Any corrections and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

gallery_11554_3576_28599.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

All you guys are driving up the fleabay shocks on me!

I should have rebid on one that went for $10.50, but the CFO is watching me :biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I just thought of something... The rear shock does not sit vertical. So if you measure the VFR shock, then measure the CBR shock, then add the difference to the _bracket_ rather than the _shock_ itself... your suspension geometry (namely, riding height) will be quite different from original.

Anybody got measurements and/or AutoCAD drawings of 4th gen rear suspension? Or do you just "add shims till it feels right"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
So... I decided to follow the trend and replace the rear shock on my 4th gen VFR with a newer CBR929 part. Here are the measurements I got:

- 4th gen VFR shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 324mm

- CBR929 (yellow spring) shock, eye center to eye center fully extended - 288mm (36mm shorter)

- 4th gen VFR shock bracket, eye center to top surface - 25mm

- New bracket to be made, eye center to top surface - 61mm

Any corrections and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

gallery_11554_3576_28599.jpg

The VFR shock should be 325mm and the CBR929 one is 287mm for a difference of 38mm. That would make your bracket 63mm long. I'd even err to the side of more ride height and make thet bracket at least 65mm, maybe even longer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Progress report... I bought a replacement bolt (100mm, which is 30mm longer than stock) and made the aluminum spacer (see the drawing below; unfortunately, it does not look as good in flesh - made with a hacksaw and a file instead of a milling machine). The 929 shock seems to fit, I will probably try to put it all together tomorrow.

gallery_11554_3576_13425.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
The VFR shock should be 325mm and the CBR929 one is 287mm for a difference of 38mm.

My actual measurements were 324mm and 288mm... and it's too late now, the spacer is already made (yes, I've decided to go the easy route and make a spacer instead of a bracket). smile.gif We shall see what it did to the riding height when I put it back together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

More ride height helps on these bikes. I usually suggest at least 5mm but you can run up to 10mm if desired. It's about a 3:1 ratio of shock length to ride height. That means an increase of 5mm at the shock translates to 15mm at the axle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
More ride height helps on these bikes. I usually suggest at least 5mm but you can run up to 10mm if desired.

Thanks for the advice, I will make a taller adapter if I'm not happy with this one. Or maybe I should make them for sale in various sizes. smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

gallery_6207_4303_23853.jpg

erion_1_resize.JPG

gallery_6207_4303_35280.jpg

erion_2_resize.JPG

Got to invest a little bit of my thumb on the spring...

Here is my install. I used a <gasp> 3/8" grade 8, 5" </gasp> bolt because there weren't any 110MM 10MM bolts and I didn't feel like a goose chase. I used a ground down steel spacer with washers at each end for the additional needed length. It's a tad long but didn't take much to get in. I have the compression/rebound adjusters at about a third from full soft and I guessed at the sag and am two clicks towards stiff on the spring collar. Interested to see how it does.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Another progress report...

The new shock is in place. The battery box was a pain to reinstall. The ignition coils did not fit (the oil reservoir occupies a part of their private space) and had to be relocated. I was going to take pictures, but I lost my camera somewhere. Oh well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
Another progress report...

The new shock is in place. The battery box was a pain to reinstall. The ignition coils did not fit (the oil reservoir occupies a part of their private space) and had to be relocated. I was going to take pictures, but I lost my camera somewhere. Oh well...

Are you sure that you have a 929 shock and not a 954 one? They are often mislabeled on eBay or labeled as fitting both (they don't). They only battery box interference problems I've seen have been with a 954 shock, the 929 should fit without any problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.