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Rebuild of stock 2000 VFR800 Showa shock ?


Kiwiwannafly

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Anyone experienced a rebuild of a stock VFR shock of this vintage?  I don't have a huge investment in my old girl, so a flash Ohlins/Wilbers etc will never be justified (although desired).  Re-set sag to 35mm today but the dampening adjustment is just spinning freely - won't screw in or out and virtually no discernable dampening actually happening.  Surprisingly stable for a pogo stick?!

Anyone with experience of a Showa shock re-build and opinion?  Only shocks I've seen on fleabay look in similar condition - how do you adequately assess dampening remotely? Take the sellers word? "Yeah she's all good as new". Almost 20 years on - yeah right.

Sources in Australia that do rebuilds? Nobody locally (NZ) that I've found.

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There are places that rebuild OEM Showas, the limiting factor being the questionable/difficult availability of internal parts, e.g., bushings and seals, but I don't know of anyone on your end of the planet (and the ones I have used in the US and UK in the past are all long gone).

 

Unfortunately, as they don't generally last more than a few tens of thousands of miles anyway, any used one you find is probably going to be in need of its own rebuild.  Aren't there any Chinese/budget replacement shocks available?  I thought I'd read of some, maybe made in Thailand?

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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JZH is spot on, there is a manufacturer in Thailand of after market suspension parts for bikes. Here is a link to their Australian subsidiary and the shock for the 98-01 VFR.

 

YSS Australia - Official YSS Importers for Australia

 

YSS Suspension Australia (yssaustralia.com.au)

 

I have no experience with them so you should do due diligence as far as quality, fitment, reliability, etc.

 

I know at least one member here bought one a few years back, but I can't remember who or for what bike.

 

Good Luck.

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Don't bother looking for an original shock. They will all be well past their sell by date. No one can rebuild them and not economically viable either. I know , I tried. 

 

Your choice of aftermarket shock is quite wide. 

After much research I went with a YSS  rear shock .

 

 I am very pleased with it. I have had bikes with Ohlins / other high end shocks and I have absolutely no qualms giving the YSS shock a recommendation. Quality is excellent , beautifully made and went straight on with  absolutely no issues. 

I am not lightweight , about 105 kg. I find the shock works admirably .

 

I bought mine from Brooks suspension . They gave me excellent service and can recommend them. When I spoke to them about it, they thought I was working on a track day / race bike and their comment about YSS was " surprisingly good ". When I told him it was for a VFR 800 Fi road bike he said its all you will ever need. 

 

I am not sure what else I can tell you about it. 

 

Some pictures of mine just after fitting it.

YSS1.jpg

YSS2.jpg

YSS3.jpg

YSS4.jpg

YSS5.PNG

YSS6.PNG

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Hello, greetings from Finland, and as a visitor here. I am also interested Yss rear shock. Nice to know it works well. I thought that yss would be worse than eg. Nitron, which is more expensive and which I have also looked at.

 

Secondly, do I see correctly that you have installed the black widow headers?. are you satisfied? I am interested because I put the bw headers on mine 99 which have o2-sensors, and I have not been able to ride it properly because of the winter.

Regards Jukka

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Hi Jukka ,

 

You are correct , I have installed the black widow headers and end can . 

I am very happy with it and I thought the quality, fit and finish was very good. The O2 sensors fit straight in and I have had no issues with any of it. The bike runs very well and I think if you are using the standard air filter and the standard end can it just fine as it is.

However , if you change the air filter for something like a K&N and use a different end can then I think you would benefit from a fuel re-map to get the best out of the new system as these bikes run a little lean from standard and the changes will lean it out further . I have gone that way , having fitted a power commander V with a generic map, which did make the bike ride much better . When the weather gets better as its winter here also, but nothing like your winter ,  I shall go an get a custom map for it because I think the bike has more to give .

 

I have included some pictures in case anyone else is thinking of going the Black Widow way .

 

Rewgards,

Nat.

BW1.jpg

BW2.jpg

BW3.jpg

BW4.PNG

BW5.jpg

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Those BW headers look nom nom nom! But will you guys get some DIRT and BUGS on your bikes! It takes me 10min riding to generate a 3 day cleaning and I've still got ugly shit on everything.  Just as well I can ride my filthy girl with a reasonably clear conscience.

The Showa rebuild for me is a moot point now that I've sourced a 929 shock. Even the AU$600 price tag for a YSS is well more than half of what I paid for the bike.  There's showroom rebuilds and there's economic reality for me.  Regardless, very much enjoying this bike.  A far cry from the two Transalps that took me (mostly off road) around Australia and bits of Africa - grossly overladen and at an appropriate pace: slow!

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Those headers look a lot better than the "Sandy Bike Spares" efforts of old, I must say...

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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On 12/30/2020 at 5:45 PM, juju said:

Hello, greetings from Finland, and as a visitor here. I am also interested Yss rear shock. Nice to know it works well. I thought that yss would be worse than eg. Nitron, which is more expensive and which I have also looked at.

 

Secondly, do I see correctly that you have installed the black widow headers?. are you satisfied? I am interested because I put the bw headers on mine 99 which have o2-sensors, and I have not been able to ride it properly because of the winter.

Regards Jukka

 

I have an YSS on both my VF500F2 and VFR750F.  Very happy with the quality. Imho you pay less because it doesnot have brand recognition Wilbers, Nitron and the like has. Yet.....

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