929/954 Shock Install (5th Gen)

[JamieDaugherty]

Ok got the shock in but coils a no go for stock placement. Anyone with a 4 gen have an idea what you did? Do the coils need to be grounded via the bracket? Thanks Brian

Coils? Are you talking about the shock spring?

[mrmatt]

Ok got the shock in but coils a no go for stock placement. Anyone with a 4 gen have an idea what you did? Do the coils need to be grounded via the bracket? Thanks Brian

Coils? Are you talking about the shock spring?

No, the shock reservoir is in the way of the two rear spark plug coils where it is mounted on the back side of the cross member of the frame. I looked at it and I didn't think it needed to be grounded, so I have so far just unscrewed them and let them sit on the rubber heat shield and it still works fine. I'm going to modify the bracket somehow so it will be grounded on the frame again before I'm done. I'm thinking a short piece (1-1/2 or 2 inches) with two holes in it will be enough. I'll post pics on my 750 conversion thread when I get it.

[SLO97VFR]

Yes the ignition coils. After some flipping and switching I cam up with the same idea last night. I removed the stock bracket and flatten an L bracket I had and should be good to go. Ill post up some pics when I get home tonight. Thanks

[Tyke]

What about the talk of an adapter that you could reuse your old mount? Something like this:

I guess I missed that talk, the idea of making an adapter and still using the stock mount never crossed my mind. I haven't put much thought into it, but I don't think that an adapter would be feasible. That makes for another bolt that could come loose or fail. You have to track down another bolt, my mount completely replaces the stock one and reuses all of the original fasteners. I'm not fond of adding another piece, more chances for failure.

More than one way to skin a cat :mellow: As seen in this thread there have been several different methods shown that ended with the same results.

Zach571

I like the look of your bracket and not grinding down the bolt head is a plus! Are you making more?

I can, I won't be stocking them on a shelf though. Made to order.

Zach571

If you could let me know how much and availability, I'm interested for sure.

[johne]

Ok got the shock in but coils a no go for stock placement. Anyone with a 4 gen have an idea what you did? Do the coils need to be grounded via the bracket? Thanks Brian

My bracket is only an inch or so long. It puts the coils at an angle instead of straight vertical and lowers them slightly. They're secure, and while it's a tight fit, nothing makes contact with anything else. I have a pic I'll post later as well.

[johne]

coils relocated on 4th gen

[SLO97VFR]

Thats about what I did and I better stop HIJACKING this thread

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...t=0#entry592851

[Guest Fasterski]

Anyone has ended up making the bracket in larger quantities? I would be in to purchase one :D

[motogpfan]

Thanks too all that posted on how to:especially veefee800 canuck finally got the 954 in and its a big difference over the OE one.Well worth the time and effort.

Thanks,

Mike

[Veefer800Canuck]

Thanks too all that posted on how to:especially veefee800 canuck finally got the 954 in and its a big difference over the OE one.Well worth the time and effort.

Thanks,

Mike

Thanks Mike.

Hey, tell Stewie to stop playing with himself, it's distracting! :biggrin:

[syjang40]

Hi Folks!!..first off, I would like to thank the many knowledgeable people in this forum to help me make the swap to a 929 shock possible. I just want to share my experiences of the install on my 5th gen. and hopefully to add some additional info to those who may be considering the swap.

(1) I went with making my own upper shock mounting bracket instead of modify the stock one just in case I decided to switch back. Here’s the AutoCAD drawing of both brackets. I decided on making it 42mm above stock length (vefeers’ idea). This gives me approximately an additional 6mm overall shock assembly length above stock.

929_Shock_Mount_for _5th_Gen.jpg

(2) Ramax was the material used. It’s made by a Swedish company named Bohler-Uddeholm. It’s a pre-hardened chromium alloyed steel with good corrosion resistance and has excellent machinability.

(3) I used a M10 x 1.5 x100mm ISO 12.9 grade (equivalent to SAE grade 8) socket head bolt so I can countersink it into the bracket and secure with a set screw to stop it from turning during installation. I also used a grade 12.9 lock nut. Please note the above drawing shows a pitch of 1.0mm for the allen(socket) head bolt. In fact, I had to use one with a 1.5mm pitch. My local fastner supplier told me I had to order at least 25 of them to get it...to rich for my blood!.

Mount_1.jpg

(4) With the bracket installed, I could not fit the shock successfully through the swing arm. It was interfering with the exhaust pipes. I had to loosened the bolt so that the bracket would pivot…it did the trick. As a result, I had to turn the shock eye bolt around so that I can access and torque the nut to spec.

(5) There is definite interference between the reservoir and the bottom of the battery tray. There’s some flexibility in the tray and I think it’s only forcing the battery to sit a little higher than usual. During the install I had to force the bottom eye towards the shock link plates (triangular ones) by about an inch.

Install_1.jpg

(6) A scissors jack with a piece of wood under the rear sprocket was invaluable in aligning the shock linkage plate holes during install and removal/installation of the shock itself.

Thanks for the idea veefer!

(7) With the ride height increased, the rear wheel clears the garage floor by only an 1/8 of an inch when on its center stand. It would be interesting how close it would be with a new tire!.

(8) As a baseline, I set the pre-load to 7 out of 9 (with 9 being “hard”), compression at ¼ turn out from full in and rebound at ¾ turn out from full in. I got these settings from poster named Jester from another forum.

Good Luck to others and thanks again!!

BTW, I have 3 extra M10 x 1.5 x 100mm socket head bolts listed in the Pay It Forward section. I had to buy a minimum amount at the time to get them.

[Veefer800Canuck]

Wow, you could hang a battleship in drydock with that bracket!

Nice work. I'm sure it won't break.

[rangemaster]

Beautiful. I have $. Care to make a stock length one? :cool:

[syjang40]

Thanks for the compliments guys!!.

Rangemaster, the stock bracket I had in the AutoCAD drawing was from my measurements from the OEM part. I used that as a base drawing to build my other drawing. If I were to make that stock bracket for you, it would cost a lot more than the one from Honda. As of today, Carolina Cycle has it listed in their fiche for $10.03 (Honda calls it: BRACKET, RR. RUBBER : 50233-MZ7-000).

Cheers!

[SLO97VFR]

Well Track day was yesterday and after trying to adjust my SAG settings on the rear shock it seems the 929 yellow spring is too soft for my 185 lb weight. Its at the top preload and still have 50mm. When I first put it on it seemed that I had 35mm of sag at the 3 setting but I was by myself and could have been off or there has been some settling since install. So Ill track down Jamie for an upgraded spring change. Just wanted to let the other more stout riders know. Brian

[rangemaster]

Thanks for the compliments guys!!.

Rangemaster, the stock bracket I had in the AutoCAD drawing was from my measurements from the OEM part. I used that as a base drawing to build my other drawing. If I were to make that stock bracket for you, it would cost a lot more than the one from Honda. As of today, Carolina Cycle has it listed in their fiche for $10.03 (Honda calls it: BRACKET, RR. RUBBER : 50233-MZ7-000).

Cheers!

Sorry, I was thinking your bracket to work with the 929 shock that would leave the bike at the stock height. (I'm a short guy).

You have set the standard.

[syjang40]

Thanks for the compliments guys!!.

Rangemaster, the stock bracket I had in the AutoCAD drawing was from my measurements from the OEM part. I used that as a base drawing to build my other drawing. If I were to make that stock bracket for you, it would cost a lot more than the one from Honda. As of today, Carolina Cycle has it listed in their fiche for $10.03 (Honda calls it: BRACKET, RR. RUBBER : 50233-MZ7-000).

Cheers!

Sorry, I was thinking your bracket to work with the 929 shock that would leave the bike at the stock height. (I'm a short guy).

You have set the standard.

All it would take is to 'shorten' the seating face of the bracket I made and the bolt by approximately 6mm(0.236") to bring back to stock height. But by doing this I suspect there will be more interference/pressure on the bottom of the battery tray. Maybe someone who has done this mod and left it at stock height might be able to shed some light on this matter...anyone?.

Cheers!.

[Wittmann]

Is this the kind of shock I need for mij '98 VFR (5th gen)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/cbr929rr-cb...sQ5fAccessories

Is there a difference between the yellow one and the white one seen in this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-HONDA-...sQ5fAccessories

Edited May 28, 2009 by Wittmann

[Veefer800Canuck]

The spring colour on the 929 shock does not matter, the one with the white spring is from the Erion edition 929 and is identical to the other one, save for the spring colour.

The 954 shock has the gold colored reservior like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03-Honda...p4506.m20.l1116

And it doesn't fit as well, see early in this thread for why.

[Wittmann]

The spring colour on the 929 shock does not matter, the one with the white spring is from the Erion edition 929 and is identical to the other one, save for the spring colour.

The 954 shock has the gold colored reservior like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-03-Honda...p4506.m20.l1116

And it doesn't fit as well, see early in this thread for why.

Thanks! Now searching for one, with not to expensive shipping to Belgium ...

Meanwhile I also ordered my Ohlins fork springs.

[kgsmotorcycles]

got this lil baby in the post and on the way to me from good old us of a...

cbr 929/954 ohlins Was going for $640.. thats £350 which is cheaper than i was quoted for another far lesser aftermarket shock this morning! Is said to have 2500 mile on it.. so am really pleased.... £30 shipping as well

looking to fab up the bracket to fit said shock on my 4th gen model..

mullet mans fabed up block

am hoping to take this example right out of the thread......

am after standard vfr height as adjustment is avaliable on the shock.. with a 929 front end i may well need to get more length out of the front as its shorter than normal vfr, by adjusting the rear a touch on the shock...

Will i need to adjust the height from 36mm-38mm?

All input here very welcome..

just fitted the two bros system and wow its awsome.. wont be long before the fuzz will be on me case tho as its awesome loud!!!!!!

Edited May 29, 2009 by B4D80Y

[Wittmann]

Just bought one on eb*y for 20$ + 47$ shipping. That's less than 50 EURO. Has 6500 miles.

Cheapest I found in Europe van 100 EURO exl. shipping :fing02:

Cheap!

[ScottC]

Hello,

I'm in the middle of this modification too. I've got a couple questions.

Seems like there are 2 kinds of 5th gen people doing this mod, those with interference between the reservoir and those without. I'm one of those with:) If I rotate the top of the shock 90 degrees, to the reservoir points forward instead of to the right, I have plenty of space. Is the shock OK with this? Will it damage anything internal? It seems the spring tension makes this quite difficult, but force can trump good judgement. I know the spring doesn't care, it's the internal bits I'm concerned about.

One alternative to rotating the top of the shock is to trim the plastic that extends forward from the battery box. I'd rather not do that, it looks to provide some protection to some electrical parts. I think that's a very good thing and don't want to compromise that. I'm probably over thinking that, but, hey, it's my motorbike. Has anyone trimmed this piece without taking it off the bike? Any other problems stem from this?

I could also, maybe, add more spacers to my top mount setup. I'm using a stack of washers, 40mm for now. I see that some have gone as high as 45mm, that would probably clear the plastic. I do have space between the bottom of the shock and the dogbone. My concern is that at 40mm, I measure 19mm more ride height, assuming I measured right. If I add 5mm more to the shock, that's a lot more ride height. I measured from a flat on the axle nut to the bottom of the key slot on the helmet lock/seat release latch.

Also, about the bolt that holds it all in place. It seems it's there to hold things in place, and any force to it from suspension movement is pretty minor. If this is the case, there's no need to use a super strong bolt. If I could find one around here easily, I would, I haven't been able to find larger metric sizes locally. Should I make the effort to get a high strength bolt?

Last question....by using washers, the shock is not keyed at the top, nothing to resist preload adjustments. Any problems here?

Thanks a ton. Can't wait to get riding again, been off the road to long.

Scott

[Baileyrock]

Hello,

I'm in the middle of this modification too. I've got a couple questions.

Seems like there are 2 kinds of 5th gen people doing this mod, those with interference between the reservoir and those without. I'm one of those with:) If I rotate the top of the shock 90 degrees, to the reservoir points forward instead of to the right, I have plenty of space. Is the shock OK with this? Will it damage anything internal? It seems the spring tension makes this quite difficult, but force can trump good judgement. I know the spring doesn't care, it's the internal bits I'm concerned about.

No worries here, spin away!

One alternative to rotating the top of the shock is to trim the plastic that extends forward from the battery box. I'd rather not do that, it looks to provide some protection to some electrical parts. I think that's a very good thing and don't want to compromise that. I'm probably over thinking that, but, hey, it's my motorbike. Has anyone trimmed this piece without taking it off the bike? Any other problems stem from this?

I think no trimming is needed if you use a 929 shock, it's just tight!

I could also, maybe, add more spacers to my top mount setup. I'm using a stack of washers, 40mm for now. I see that some have gone as high as 45mm, that would probably clear the plastic. I do have space between the bottom of the shock and the dogbone. My concern is that at 40mm, I measure 19mm more ride height, assuming I measured right. If I add 5mm more to the shock, that's a lot more ride height. I measured from a flat on the axle nut to the bottom of the key slot on the helmet lock/seat release latch.

Also, about the bolt that holds it all in place. It seems it's there to hold things in place, and any force to it from suspension movement is pretty minor. If this is the case, there's no need to use a super strong bolt. If I could find one around here easily, I would, I haven't been able to find larger metric sizes locally. Should I make the effort to get a high strength bolt?

A grade 5 bolt should be plenty strong enough, Ace Hardware carries a good amount of metric bolts.

Last question....by using washers, the shock is not keyed at the top, nothing to resist preload adjustments. Any problems here?

Not really, I've never had a rotation issue!

Thanks a ton. Can't wait to get riding again, been off the road to long.

Scott

BR

[vifferluv]

Also, about the bolt that holds it all in place. It seems it's there to hold things in place, and any force to it from suspension movement is pretty minor. If this is the case, there's no need to use a super strong bolt. If I could find one around here easily, I would, I haven't been able to find larger metric sizes locally. Should I make the effort to get a high strength bolt?

Hi Scott, I've been able to source large metric grade 8 bolts when needed from Napa. I even call and have gotten somebody knowledgeable about pitch and sizing to confirm they have what I need before I roll.

btw- don't forget to set sag while you're thinking about it.

This was a good baseline for dialing in my settings:

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_suspen...ngs/index4.html

Now go get your ride on the road! :cool: