Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Don't cut the stingers. Just put a Z or S bend in them so the cans are up higher, near the top of the wheel.

I actually decided to ditch the old shock as I think it may have came off a four wheeler or something and was setup for linkage like you mentioned. I do have a R6 shock I would like to try and see how it acts. I know its a linkage type shock as well, but will mounting it at a greater angle like 65 degrees soften it?

If this doesnt work then its off to find some dual shocks.

I mounted a shock from a 2008 R6 into the bike and I could bottom it out just by applying weight to the back of the bike. I wonder if the shock is bad or if it needs the linkage to function properly? At this point I am starting to think I should just go back to dual shocks.

They need the linkage to work and every linkage has different geometry.
When I was trying to figure out a shock to use with the RZ rear end on the H2 frame they told me if it was modded at all I had to get to the geometry I was going to use at the rear end (swing arm angle) then measure total rear wheel travel and then measure the linkage to see how much it moved for every inch of travel. Then with that info and my weight they could build a shock that would work.
To much for me so I just put a early R6 shock on the RZ linkage that was already there, is not quite right for sure but it is WAY better than the original RZ shock which bottomed with me sitting on it, but I am XXXL
I had to have a shock built for my Gs for the same reason but they already had the geometry so it was easy i just gee them my weight.

Some fantastic work going on there!

No they don't need linkage to work properly but you do need to do some math to get it to work properly. Take a look at the passage below, it was copied from the 2sw board and written by M in SC. I also suggest you take extra care in the welding and design of the shock mounts. There is a lot of force that can be generated on them and can break if not properly designed. I have seen pictures before on forums of this happening even after they have been warned on a bad design.

That's good info!
I looked for good advice on trying to figure out a shock for my application and what I posted was from works performance but I see now it was definatly only about my application.

If anyone knows of good sites or info on shocks and linkages, I would be interested in reading up on it.
I searched a bit bit found nothing someone without an enginering degree could understand.
And there may be that amount if knowlage needed, I don't have it

I can't wait to see what surrealsam comes up with

Surrealsam, please don't take offense to this but I want to re-state about the welding. The welding on the rest of the bike is not up to par for mounting suspension components. I can't see the whole thing but I would question the lower mount, it look like just a piece of flat plate across the swingarm.

No offense taken, I actually appreciate the constructive criticism . I have only tacked welded things into place for easy removal in case my design isnt working the way I would like (it will be a while before this thing is road worthy). The lower mount for now, is a 1/4 inch metal plate tacked welded above where the H bar is on the swing arm. The mounts for the shock sit right above the H bar (I would provide pics but I am away from the bike atm). I only did this for testing purposes, as it is easier to weld new shock mounts to the plate rather than the swingarm itself. Plus it saves the swingarm from being constantly welded on and then grind clean, welded on again and etc. It is kinda funny because the plate I am using on the swingarm actually is what was being used as the original top shock mount. I didnt cut it or anything, it just fit into place like that on the swingarm.

As for the shock, I believe it is mounted way too close to the pivot point on the swingarm creating way too much leverage on the shock. If I would want this design to work, I would need to move the shock back further towards the tire, but I dont have much room to play with so I dont know if I can make this design work correctly. I am now thinking maybe a monoshock design similar to what yamaha used on bikes in the 1980s would work best.

So I decided to go a different approach after my buddy mentioned that he had a second R6 shock I could have for free! Out of curiosity I had to see if two shocks would handle my weight and they do perfectly. If I am serious about going this route, I will need to build much stronger shock mounts and possibly some frame bracing.