Hey everyone

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a Penske 8987 3-way shock for my RC51 to replace the stock unit. Jim Lindemann at Lindemann Engineering suggested a 550# spring even though Penske suggests a 500 for my weight (140 stripped). The shock came with a 600# spring and was valved accordingly.

Before installing the new shock, I backed the preload adjuster all the way out and turned it down by hand until the spring seated. I also brought the clevis all the way down which made the new shock measure the same length as the OEM unit.

I used to get a pretty harsh ride over evenly spaced expansion joints on the freeways but that's just about gone. I think a click down on the high-speed compression damping will cure that. Turn in didn't seem any different so I turned the ride height adjuster one turn which helped a bit. Two more turns and the steering feels like the 2005 ZX6R I rode at the Superbike school. Dropping the bike down a banked freeway on ramp at speed used to result in slow turn in and twitchy mid-corner antics but that's gone now. The RC will hold a line with very light bar pressure and change without fuss. I'll try one more turn of ride-height to see where that takes me.

The shock wasn't cheap but I think it was worth every dollar.

 

Are you sure the difference is not from your wallet being much lighter???

Aftermarket shocks

 

hahaha

I knew that was coming

I tried adjusting sag and messing with the ***** on the OEM Showa and never even got close to this setup as far as compliance and feel.

Getting the sag right on the front made a huge difference though.

 

That's impressive. A friend of mine set up his RC's stock boingers on his own, and the difference between that bike's handling and my Superhawk was simply amazing. I can only imagine the handling of an aftermarket unit.