question for penske shock owners

[nybryan]

I have oem hard panniers and ordered up a penske shock. I weigh 185 < about 200 geared up> and ride 2 up on occasion. Penske recommended a 1100 pound spring. This seemed high to me but what do i know.

What spring weight did you get on your penske shock and how is your bike set with luaguge and weight?

[HANKSXXX]

I weigh about 195 + gear and luggage.

My Penske was set up with an 1100 lb spring and its fine.

Note that my manual had a few errors in it regarding the # of turns on the adjusters and when I called Penske,they gave my starting points for all adjustments that were very close.

Mine is an 8987 Triple clicker. I had the 8983 first and wanted to try the 8987 and feel it was an improvement although I'm not sure it was worth the extra money for street riding..

What is important is to get the front suspension working properly along with the back.

I used 1.0 springs and Penske compression and rebound Supersport valves, all from Cogent Dynamics...Hank

[nybryan]

hank

Front springs are replaced as is the fork oil i like. That is as far as im going with the front end for now

Penske shock is a double clicker. I had it on my st1300 and sent it for conversion to the blackbird. I should be getting it back in a few days.

How difficult is it to change out the shock on the bird.

Plan of attack suggestions.

Should i pull the rear wheel and go in from behind? do i need to pull the battery? the rear cowl? I'm guessing you have done this a few times and would love some advise. I haven't really looked at the proceedure yet.

Also, on the double clicker what do you suggest for starting points for compression and rebound settings.

Thanks

[HANKSXXX]

Well, my bike is a bit different with no airbox, etc. so I don't know for sure what you'll run into but I'd put it on the centerstand and then put something under the rear wheel to support it.

Next loosen the 3 nuts and bolts holding the triangular plates under the swingarm, noting where the arrow on them points. The bottom of the shock should be free.

At the top, the long bolt going through the top and locates the radiator overflow tank so you will have to be careful to get it re-engaged when doing the install.

I couldn't figure out a good spot for the reservoir so I put it underneath the tool kit strap on top of the inner fender. To do so and to run the connecting hose properly, I had to remove the rear cowl and loosen the starter relay and the rear subframe. This gave me the room to snake the reservoir under the frame and clear everything. I'd guess there's a better spot/way but I'll be damned if I could find it.

As far as adjustments, the guys at Penske were very helpful.

The # of clicks specified as an adjustment range weren't there...the book specified 30 clicks and mine had 24...same on the rest so I called Penske and told them what I found...They gave me a starting point which I felt was pretty damn good.

Having said that, my suspension setup was pretty unique due to lowering, clearance issues, road quality, etc. and I didn't find happiness until I redid the front a number of times and finally got all issues resolved by putting the forks on Cogents shock/fork dyno.

I also had to have Rick service the 8987 and when he disassembled it, he found the quad ring inside had been installed incorrectly. I noticed the dampening going away with miles and this was the reason...Once corrected, the suspension is as well sorted out as any I've ridden.

Hank