Rear shock reccomendation: YSS Any good?

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

Hello,

So I'm having a motorcycling 'mare right now. The KR1S is pretty comprehensively f*cked in the engine dept, the CBR needs work before it does another trackday, I have too many bikes and the VFR seems to now have a duff rear shock.

So, I've been looking at shocks on ebay and the like, and it seems I can get a YSS shock for about £265. This is expensive, and more than I want to spend but the second hand ones all look as f*cked as the one on my bike right now. I've not heard of YSS before, anybody got experience with their shock absorbers? They seem to be shipping in around 7 days, but it won' t be made custom for my size and weight.

The other obvious choices include:

Hagon - £300 - Decent OEM replacement, but not as good as other aftermarket shocks. May have a long lead time and I need the bike to commute. Can be made custom for my weight but might increase lead time.

Hyperpro - £360 - If I order today I could have it by the 14th of December, so that's probably a no. Decent enough shock though. I assume made to order?

Nitron - £430 - Nitron's basic shock should blow pretty much anything else out of the water, but three week lead time and it may be massive overkill for a commuting machine. I know it'll be built well though! It will certainly be better built than the Hagon and is made to order to my weight and riding style.

Is it worth spending the extra money? Are there other budget brands out there that might be good? (Maxton don't show prices or lead times on their website... poor form! Wilbers have to be made to order in Germany and don't seem to list one for my bike on their price list even though they do appear on Ebay coming from France...)

If I'm going to spend up to £430 then the Nitron is a no brainer, but I don't really want to spend anything at all if I can help it. Getting the current one rebuilt will take the bike off the road for far too long, so that's out. And buying a possibly f*cked second hand one and having *that* rebuilt is a possible minefield and I may well end up spending more than a YSS at £265...
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

YSS are an established brand from Thailand that do alot of shocks for monoshock, twin shock and scooter fitments. They are from what I've heard a good quality well made budget shock. All I know specifically is that they are well liked by the RDLC/YPVS community and are better than the cheap factory stuff. Maybe on par with Hagon as an credible brand of quality budget shock with adjustment but not all the features of high end shocks.

Where can you get the YSS shock from, as whatever I buy I'd want it to be built to suit my weight, and the desired ride height etc. If they can spring it to suit you then I'd be interested, but anything else like a Hagon, Nitron, Wilbers etc would always be built this way to order.

Is this VFR a daily work beater your trying to run on the cheap, or would you like it to ride well and be a nice all round useful bike for leisure and touring too? That'd be my deciding factor in which way to go.

No-one wants to be swapping shocks in and out all the time, but if you got a clean used shock cheaply as a stop gap until you can have a unit built to suit your requirements irrespective of the make, that's what I'd consider doing.

I'd be happy with a Hagon, Wilbers or Nitron on my bikes, and if I could get a YSS sprung to suit then I'd try one too.

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

R1stu · Shrek! Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Karma :

YSS are very Good, I have one on my Pan, and most ST owners swap one of these in as the replacement when original fails.
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stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

I've never fitted one but for a winter bike or adventure/off road bike I really like the idea of these Neoprene shock tubes. If I was going to spend money on a nice shock for an all year round commuter I'd definitely look at fitting one to protect any new shock you fit if there's room for one and it won't burn on the exhaust system that is?

garth · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Karma :

If it's just a work hack why not seek a second hand replacement and/or get the original rebuilt? Will probably cost less than the yss and you could always change spring rate etc.

I haven't been impressed with any hagon shock, but wouldn't hesitate with a nitron, as it will indeed blow the others out the water.

As an aside, I'm in track bike hunting mode. What did you pay for your CBR? I've got the option to buy back my old k4 750 for 2.5k, but unsure if a road legal sports bike is good for me.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Wilber is another make. Can't fault mine and helpful guys on the phone.

EDIT: Get bidding.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Moo. · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Jan 2009 Karma :

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

If you're willing to take a chance, I've got a few club racing friends who buy cheap chinese shocks by length off ebay for less than £100.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

bladerunner · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Karma :

wilber or nitron would be my preference better build and better full stop. Hagon does not impress me in either customer service or price for what you get. they also fail more often if you use the bike in winter. I think it was £150 for a rebuild of the last one I had on a KLE500 and yes it worked but it wasnt exactly adjustable and on the soggy side when new.
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temeluchus · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Karma :

Recluso got great service for a shock from Wilbers, via their Irish dealer. 300 quid ish I recall. **edit** They have several models of shock with varying levels of adjustment, 300 gets you the basic non adjustable unit, other than preload. Recluso has seen no need to adjust it at all, but as usual YMMV.

Shock Factory are made by a guy that used to work for EMC, Ive used one and it was great. 350 ponds.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

I just ordered a Nitron, which I'm pleased about... but I just spunked £430 on it... Sick

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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

I have a White Power shock on my CBR.

It cost more than £430 Confused

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chris-red · Have you considered a TDM? Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Karma :

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Nov 2012 Karma :

I put YSS twin shocks on a '90s cb500 a year or two ago. They were soft as fuck and also must've been not quite the right size because I could no longer use the main stand.

I quickly sussed out that with the bars on full lock the back wheel just about turned.

As for the softness, I actually liked it - better than being too hard, like some reckon the Hagons are. It didn't quite handle as well, but it was acceptable.

The YSS shocks were cheap.
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bladerunner · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Karma :

bacon · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Karma :

Nitron is a good choice, I went with Ktech for my MT09 because it represented better value at the fully adjustable end of the spectrum. But if I was to go for a shock with a combined reb/comp adjuster I'd pick the Nitron over the Ktech any day.

Look at it a different way, keep hold of your stock shock, if you ever sell the bike stick it back on and sell the Nitron on fleebay or an owner's forum. People will rip your arm off for it.

I'd be willing group bet you'd get £250-£300 for the Nitron at that point

redeem ouzzer · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Karma :

I have a YSS on my GSXR 1100, it’s absolutely fine and sensibly priced. Doesn’t have the range of adjustment of the original but it doesn’t have 60k of wear and tear either. At the end of the day it’s only a road bike.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :