[subxero]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

The 600 shocks that most people seem to be using have spring rates in the same range as the PreGen and NewGen OEM springs, so most people probably ended up ok (e.g. the '06-'09 is pretty much the same as the stocker (based on RT's listed data)). It just seemed to me that a lot of people didn't know/care what they needed for their weight or what they were installing - they just heard that a GSXR shock was an upgrade so they bought the cheapest one off eBay. A different year 600 or a 750/1000 might have a spring that better matches the person's weight, rather than just duplicating the stock numbers. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but I got the impression that people weren't necessarily informed enough to make the best decision. If you can just make a slightly different model choice when buying your GSXR shock and get one with a spring better suited to your weight, it makes the DIY that much better.

You are probably right about this but some people my self in particular put a lot of time and effort into trying to track down a rear spring that would be better for my weight for the gsxr shock. It was difficult and a waste of money. It is hard to find much info let alone accurate info on rear springs. I figured I could find a used shock from some bike that had the rate I wanted and the correct size but it never worked out. Most of the springs were never the right size despite doing research and looking like the numbers added up and I ended up just wasting money trying different shock springs. I should have just bought a new racetech spring from the get go and saved myself the time and money.

But we all know shocks are more than just springs, there are valves, if you are going to go through the trouble of getting the correct spring, that still doesn't mean it is going to work any better on that actual shock as the valving can be way off. Might be a step in the right direction but with a new spring you are still only addressing some of the potential problems and I don't think the gsxr shocks can be rebuilt/revalved very easily or cheaply for that matter.

In short, sticking with the stock spring on the gsxr shock isn't all that bad or big of a deal. If you are going to drop $70 or so to make the conversion work then another $110 for a new spring you are $180 into it, that is a good chunk towards an aftermarket shock built specifically for you and the ninja that keeps the stock geometry. If I could go back and do it again I would probably have went aftermarket