TFT Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I bought a Penske shock in the group buy last year but I did not receive it early enough to install it last year. Anyway I am in Illinois for 10 days and now am able to get it installed. I was under the impression it was supposed to be the same length as the original shock, it is about 1/4" longer. Unfortunately I did not discover this until after the shock was installed on the bike. And then it felt too high. That is when I measured an discovered the difference. Did anyone else have this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 If it is ride height adjustable there will be a large double nut set near the bottom. Loosen the lock nut, thread the mount in or out to where you want it. If it's not, well, 1/4" extra ride height is something that many do on purpose. It's pretty much the 6mm shim mod built into the shock. Try it, you just might like it. I've got about 45 minutes before I leave for Easter at the in-laws, let me know if you want me to snap some pictures of the ride height adjuster on my Penske. Oh, and welcome to Illinois (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFT Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 If it is ride height adjustable there will be a large double nut set near the bottom. Loosen the lock nut, thread the mount in or out to where you want it. If it's not, well, 1/4" extra ride height is something that many do on purpose. It's pretty much the 6mm shim mod built into the shock. Try it, you just might like it. I've got about 45 minutes before I leave for Easter at the in-laws, let me know if you want me to snap some pictures of the ride height adjuster on my Penske. Oh, and welcome to Illinois (: I'll get with you this week. I have the directions that came with it and it shows how to adjust it. I was just surprised that it was longer than stock. ANd I am a bit pissed at myself for not measuring before I installed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOXXIC Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 You could always sell it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogoMan Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I installed mine before checking it too and found it was higher. I called Cogent and they said that it was the same length as OEM. No way. I'm glad its longer. The bike handles much better and I don't notice the height anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANKSXXX Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I have a different take on it... As far as length goes, who would think that adjustable means stock length or longer? I presumed it to mean it could be made shorter or longer. I returned mine to Penske and they altered the shock accordingly. I now have +/- adjustment from stock length. As far as the compression adjustments go on the 8987, the owners manual was wrong. Another call to Penske verified errors in the manual. (All settings start from bottomed out position) Low speed compression was to have 30 clicks but in fact had 24. Hi speed compression was to have 18 clicks but in fact had 16. As delivered, the adjusters were set on 15 and 9 clicks, or half of what was in the book. Penske said to set them to 12 and 8 which is somewhat harder. Rebound, BTW, was listed at 34 turns, had 34 turns, and was set at 17. Riding the bike with these settings yielded the best shock performance to date. Sag was set at 32mm rear, 42mm front. 1100 lb spring rear, 1.0 springs front. Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I installed mine before checking it too and found it was higher. I called Cogent and they said that it was the same length as OEM. No way. I'm glad its longer. The bike handles much better and I don't notice the height anymore. Maybe it was the same length but with a decent spring that didn't sack out it seemed longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFT Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 I finally rode the bike with the new shock. WOW!!! Much smoother, much better ride. In fact it works better than the Ohlins on my Alaska bike. I left the height alone, it handled well with the 1/4" additional height, it just took some getting used to. My friend Doug couldn't believe I would notice a 1/4" ride height difference, but when you've been riding the same bike for the past 8 years you know how it "feels". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff James Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Mine was spot on compared with the OEM shock but I lengthened it to 8mm over standard as an experiment as I'd already had a 6mm on the standard shock. To be honest, I don't know whether it turns in any quicker or not but the improvement in handling is huge. In fact, it showed up the front end so badly that I upgraded the forks too and the difference is amazing. The other thing it's done is noticeably improve tyre life - a real side benefit. Makes sense when you think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogoMan Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Mine was spot on compared with the OEM shock but I lengthened it to 8mm over standard as an experiment as I'd already had a 6mm on the standard shock. To be honest, I don't know whether it turns in any quicker or not but the improvement in handling is huge. In fact, it showed up the front end so badly that I upgraded the forks too and the difference is amazing. The other thing it's done is noticeably improve tyre life - a real side benefit. Makes sense when you think about it. The compression damping adjustment on my 8983 does not happen in "clicks" as I thought it would. It's just a nut that turns 4-1/4 turns. I'm still fiddling with the settings trying to get it right. I turned my comp. damping nut all the way out and then back 2 turns. The rebound damping is set on 16 clicks which is midway in the range. I haven't tested this setting, yet, but I'm hopeful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 May or may not be but, every time I have had that happen the gas was gone in the shock. Have found that sometimes there is a leak somewhere maybe very small. If you don't have the equipment to check or refill the nitrogen, find someone to check the pressure in it. Now Ohlins and I think Penske's both have to have a needle to fill. I have one for when I rebuild them. But not easy to get. Not a schrader valve like some others. I have also found that the pressure in them is adjustable and has opinions as to how much is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogoMan Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 May or may not be but, every time I have had that happen the gas was gone in the shock. Have found that sometimes there is a leak somewhere maybe very small. If you don't have the equipment to check or refill the nitrogen, find someone to check the pressure in it. Now Ohlins and I think Penske's both have to have a needle to fill. I have one for when I rebuild them. But not easy to get. Not a schrader valve like some others. I have also found that the pressure in them is adjustable and has opinions as to how much is correct. Thanks, Stan. I'll get that checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurora Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I have a different take on it... As far as length goes, who would think that adjustable means stock length or longer? I presumed it to mean it could be made shorter or longer. I returned mine to Penske and they altered the shock accordingly. I now have +/- adjustment from stock length. As far as the compression adjustments go on the 8987, the owners manual was wrong. Another call to Penske verified errors in the manual. (All settings start from bottomed out position) Low speed compression was to have 30 clicks but in fact had 24. Hi speed compression was to have 18 clicks but in fact had 16. As delivered, the adjusters were set on 15 and 9 clicks, or half of what was in the book. Penske said to set them to 12 and 8 which is somewhat harder. Rebound, BTW, was listed at 34 turns, had 34 turns, and was set at 17. Riding the bike with these settings yielded the best shock performance to date. Sag was set at 32mm rear, 42mm front. 1100 lb spring rear, 1.0 springs front. Hank Hank, How much longer than stock was your 8987? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANKSXXX Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Aurora, when I first received the shock, it was the same length as stock with the adjuster all the way in. Penske modified it so stock length was midpoint of the adjustment range, hence +/- adj. Make sense? Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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