NC30 - How to Rose Joint rear suspension

[Neosophist]

Hi Nesophist - No, nothing is final yet, I am soaking up the input.. I am trying to stick to the standard shock at the moment (partly because I would like to keep the original parts as much as possible and I dont want to spend too much cash, partly because I dont have much knowledge on good shocks / bad shocks and shock setups so I thought it would be a good plan to adjust what I know instead of throwing the cat completely among the pigeons) - I definately hear you about speaking to a professional, I actually know someone who races and I will have a chat with him.

Speedy - I dont have the experience or skill to know the difference but I suspect an adjustable shock is probably the right way to go because moving the "rocker" point by shortening the dogbone cant be as good as leaving all the stuff at its correct design angles so that X movement on the swingarm results in Y movement on the shock...

But I'm learning and you guys have got me thinking (which is good :))

Ah having someone you know is a great start.

Expect the original shock to be well past its best, so even when it is setup the best its still going to be pretty crap due to wear and tear. The 30 comes with two types of shocks if you dont know, the later type has the remote resevoir and is the best shock to use, it can also be rebuilt so if you want to stick to a stock Honda shock then use this.

To avoid blowing the bank here is what I would do (just for some idea..) obviously ymmv.

1. Get the stock Honda remote res type shock overhauld and reubilt, I have seen quotes of about 120 quid floating on the forum.

2. overhaul the front forks if not already done, consider new springs too (fialry cheap) the later type forks (with the brass adjuster are 100x better than the early forks with only silver adjuster)

3. Reinstall the shock and get the friend to help set the bike up to your weight.

4. ride it and have fun.

A rebuilt stock shock is not too bad, fast road and some light track ive not had any major issues that made me think this needs changing.

*reasoning*

I mentioned the front too as the suspension is only as good as the weakest link, even a 1000 pound super shock wont be great if your front is shot, also the later type suspension (front and rear) is much better and worth overhauling.

I dont see the point in getting the tired / worn out suspension setup to your height pressionally as it wont be performing at its best.

Its quick in the short term but a bit of a waste of time as you wont really have any idea how good it can be, no doubt it will feel a bit better than before but it doesnt answer the question of, is it worth rebuiling for around 100 or so quid or spending closer to 5-600 on a new shock?

Especially if your wanting to use original parts the later shock can be rebuilt and I think its a good place to start, fairly cheap for a new feeling shock.

Once you get it rebuilt get it on the bike and have it professionaly setup (they will set the front too).

Ride it!

Unless your riding hard on tracks I think it will be fine and feel a lot better. But, if you do find the stock shock is becoming a weakpoint it will be easy enough to sell on a rebuilt stock shock and not loose any money, even today there is somebody asking about a stock shock rebuilds in another post.

Hope that gives you something to consider :)

[tigerclaw]

Awesome - thanks to both of you for the detailed info, the rear is the remote reservoir type so thats good to hear. The front is the kind with the little brass screw / one fork "taller" than the other. The guy who had the bike before me said that he opened them and checked them / reassembled them shortly before I bought the bike from him, although they feel soft to me (nose dives quite a lot when I hop on the brakes) - but I will have the professional guy check if its setting or if the springs are old. I also see the front forks have been straightened, they are slightly out of shape right at the top - just below the bottom oke (very slight divet on the one and bulge on the other) - obviously these forks must have been in an accident. I was thinking it may be a plan to buy new internals for the front shocks and new stanchions (correct word?)

[tigerclaw]

I noticed that the triangle section (that sits inside the dogbone) is not sitting centre, its right hand face is pushed up against the frame mount and the face which is sitting inside the dogbone has been ground a bit by the dogbone as well - ie for some reason it appears the triangle section is being pushed to the right and is busy wearing the right face away which is odd? It is very slight wear but I was a bit surpised by it? Is that normal?

Second thing is that the bush that mounts to the bottom of the shock is solid (the bush doesnt rotate freely inside the rubber section) - the other two bushes in the triangle section rotate freely (with a small amount of resistance) - this probably needs to be replaced right? (I think the bush in the bottom of the shock must actually rotate more than the other two when the bike is being ridden?)

[Cammo]

Second thing is that the bush that mounts to the bottom of the shock is solid (the bush doesnt rotate freely inside the rubber section) - the other two bushes in the triangle section rotate freely (with a small amount of resistance) - this probably needs to be replaced right?

This is normal on nc30's, it uses 2 bushes and one solid mount.

RVF400's use a bearing in this mount, it can be fitted to the nc30 linkage if you feel the need.

[tigerclaw]

But surely this makes the linkage stiff (ie it won't rotate nicely on the shock mount)

[Cammo]

Yeah it's not ideal, lots of peeps on here have upgraded to the rvf bearing.