Stock dog bone adjustment

[lstat]

I am currently considering upgrading the shock and buying aftermarket dog bones for the nifty two fifty. My friend mentioned earlier that he simply drilled new holes in the stock dog bones of his last bike for adjustments. Is this unsafe in anyway? Would it cause instability to the stock dog bones while riding if a person were to drill new holes?

Just curious if it would work as it would save a small amount of cash if this really were something that would work

[Gorilla25]

i dont recommend drilling new holes because it will compromise the structural integrity of the dog bone. instead, look for other dog bones that would fit or make your own.

edit: what kind of shock are you planning on using?

[lstat]

Originally Posted by Gorilla25

i dont recommend drilling new holes because it will compromise the structural integrity of the dog bone.

Exactly why I wanted a second opinion! His last bike was a gsxr 1000, he has a stock rear shock he is willing to supply at no charge if it fits, the question is, will it? If not, what is a good fit from another bike thats recommended? I know I have read a little here and there about sv650 shocks being a good replacement for our stockers. I don't want to go all out with aftermarkets, just something subtle that will give the ride a better feel.

[Gorilla25]

im sure it will fit with some modifying. so far there are some people here who have done rear shock swaps, me included. CBR, R1, and GSXR 750 shock swaps. SV shock is not really adjustable so i'd not consider it.

[lstat]

Perfect, thanks for the help! I will start looking into aftermarket dog bones and modifications for this shock. Hopefully it will be on soon.

[leed]

The modification should be very similar to that of the GSXR750 and GSXR600. You'll need to spread the dogbones apart (via longer bolts) in order to make room for the larger shock assembly. After that, most adjustable dogbones will give you fair room for adjustment, otherwise some turnbuckle style dogbones on eBay will give you the accuracy and precision you need to correct or otherwise adjust the geometry.

Oh, and you'll also need to drill out the eye of the shock for the larger 12MM bolt found in our 250's suspension.

Beyond that you have to consider the spring-rate of the GSXR1000. It's a heavier bike, so it will likely be higher than that of the 600 or 750 depending on the years you look at. To give you an idea, the stock spring rate in our Ninjettes are 9.3 kg/mm

[RaceBikeRentals]

A common racer mod is to drill holes to modify the dog bones. I'm doing the project today. Should be just fine.

[alex.s]

stock dog bones are steel, drilling holes to make a smaller dog bone is fine. just leave like 1cm between the old and the new holes and it should be more than strong enough.

[lstat]

Originally Posted by RaceBikeRentals

A common racer mod is to drill holes to modify the dog bones. I'm doing the project today. Should be just fine.

Awesome, let me know how it goes! If it isn't to big of a deal then I may go back to the whole idea, aftermarket adjustable dog bones aren't THAT expensive though. Hmm...


I am currently out of town with work, as soon as I get home the little ninjette is going for a trip, after that I will be ordering a few parts, dog bones may or may not be on the list, I am once more looking for opinions on this I suppose!