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Upgrading suspension on a 1000€ budget

5K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  Hory_Mory 
#1 ·
Hello guys, as the title states I'm looking to upgrade my rear shock and front and I'm on a tight 1000€ budget.
I'm planning multiple trackdays at Mugello in the coming months and that's the main reason I'm looking to upgrade.

I've searched around the forum for more information about rear shocks and narrowed it down to two choices:
  • Ohlins YA467 (524€ from Bikerzbitz)
  • YSS Shock Type 2 (341€ from Bikerzbitz)
The ohlins shock in particular attracted me as I found it to be hundreds cheaper than on other websites, but how are the YSS shocks? Haven't found much information about it which worries me.

As for the front I've looked a lot into Spears Racing Intiminators and they seem really promising, I've also looked into the Ohlins Front Spring kit. Would the intiminators be better on their own or would the Ohlins kit be (or something else entirely)? If I were to buy the ohlin shock both wouldn't fit in the budget (because of the shipping prices), but I could buy one and add the other later. I'm pretty lost on this department so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What do you think would be the best choices?
 
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#2 ·
I have heard positive reviews on YSS components, bu have no personal experience.

Is that Ohlins price quote inclusive of shipping and tax? Price after that may be different.

I have ran intiminators on a different bike, and was ok considering the price I paid. You may need a spring kit, Ohlins or other brand, depending on if your rider weight matches the stock springs or not.

A fancy schmancy shock or fork kit will do no good if it is not correctly sprung for the rider's weight. My Ninja 650 was sprung @ 1.1kg/mm on factory springs lol. That resulted in like 4mm of race sag or something crazy low like that.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Price with shipping and tax is about 600€
Thanks for he spring heads up, honestly forgot to consider that.

You should make inquiries at http://www.matrisdampers.com/. They are local. The YSS is no better than the Ohlins but it might have parity. I would take the YSS to a known-good suspension tuner and have it taken apart and evaluated and possibly revalved.

Surely you can get a decent price on Andreani? They are Italian as well.
I'm happy to hear this, I honestly believe that I'm getting skewed towards Ohlins shocks mostly for the brand name so I have a hard time getting that idea out of my head and hearing someone else advise me YSS instead is good news to me, especially since Kojiiro has read the same positive reviews too.

I did read about Matris and Andreani but I was under the impression that they were very expensive, the andreani kit was listed at about 600€ on their website iirc and I've seen matris shocks listed for 600 to 900€ depending on the model. That said if I were to buy an YSS shock the Andreani kit would indeed fit into the budget, but should I invest more in the rear shock or front fork kit?

I've been advised a good suspension tuner in the city where I live by multiple people I have been in contact with so I definitely plan to bring the bike to him regardless of what I buy.

Thank you both for the advice by the way!

Edit:
Adding on to what you said, I searched around for a few other solutions, asked on an italian forum for resellers with cheaper prices on Matris shocks and various components, found the following:
Ohlins NIX 22 (751€ -15%, 648€ shipped, similar to what I found the Andreani for) // http://www.wrs.sm/it/sospensioni-ca...ohlins-nix-22mm-yamaha-r3-r25-2014-2016-.html
Matris cartridge (642€ -15%, 550€ shipped) // http://pitlanemotorsport.hotdogjoe....r3-2015-matris-nuova-cartuccia-fork-f15k.html
Various Matrix shocks, all discounted by 20% (Ranging from 470€ to 1100€) // http://pitlanemotorsport.hotdogjoe.com/shop/it/679-yamaha?&p=5

Also contacted both Matris and Andreani directly, will report back when I get an answer
 
#3 ·
You should make inquiries at http://www.matrisdampers.com/. They are local. The YSS is no better than the Ohlins but it might have parity. I would take the YSS to a known-good suspension tuner and have it taken apart and evaluated and possibly revalved.

Surely you can get a decent price on Andreani? They are Italian as well.
 
#5 ·
If you can actually get your hands on the NIX-22 I think you'll be the first one in the world. So far they've been vaporware but maybe come March/April they'll actually be available.

The Matris F15K is good stuff aside from the C-leg which hopefully they've fixed by now - the FZ07 application was just ridiculously stiff and I sent them a "did you guys even bother to test this?" email last year.
 
#6 ·
I contacted them and they replied that the NIX 22 is indeed available, so I guess that's one more option to consider. I've tried searching about the problem you mentioned on the Matris kit and the latest information I could find still mention the problem being there so I'd avoid going down that road.

At this point I'm just undecided between trying the NIX 22 (which I haven't found much information about, being new and all) or the Andreani which has been tested by some forum members here iirc.

Matris replied to my eMail (yes I'm surprised too about them actually replying on a sunday!) and the prices for shocks with the same adjustability features as the YSS and Ohlins are starting at 900€ which would be way too high (for me) even when trying to get a better quote at a local reseller.

The only thing that is making me still undecided between the YSS and Ohlins are the features they have, the Ohlins has high-low speed compression adjustability while the YSS shock has only low speed comression damping adjustability.
Being that I don't know much about the technical side of suspensions, is this something that might affect how I can tune the suspension to my riding style to the point of making the Ohlins a better choice or something that I can pass on?
 
#7 ·
Thats cool you bring up the Nix-22. Matt brought it up a few weeks ago and it sprung my interest. I contacted Ohlins themselves and just as Matt mentioned, the folks at Ohlins said it would be available around March, and he would email me when it became available.

This post seems to clariffy a bit on the specs of the YSS shocks:

http://www.r3-forums.com/forum/562-suspension/19049-yss-rear-shocks-thailand.html

I cannot find a pic or publication taht specifies if the Ohlins has its high speed comp and low speed comp as separate adjustments or not. Their manuals are pretty generic.
 
#9 ·
That did indeed help, but I hope to get a lower quote for the MG/X366-275TRWL-12 since the quote from YSS Usa seems to be quite a bit higher from what I found around.

the model designation for the Ohlins indicates it has just the standard 'low-speed' compression adjustment.
You want the YSS MG366-275TRWL-12 or MX366-275TRCL-12 for comparison purposes.

The Andreani is a known entity. You'd hope Ohlins would do a good job on the NIX-22 but nobody knows at this time.

The problem with too many knobs is that it's tempting to start changing things and end up lost. HS comp is for handling sharp bumps. Low is for 'squat' generally under power. You'll likely end up running the HS close to full soft and Low about mid-way. A common error is to make the suspension too stiff. You want it to absorb everything and keep the chassis stable instead of being tossed around.
For some reason I was under the impression that the Ohlins had both high and low speed compression adjustment, I probably misread it while searching.
I contacted a few different YSS europeans resellers to ask for a quote on the MG/X366-275TRWL-12, expecting to get an answer in the coming week, if they come at around or under 500€ I might consider that (baht to EU conversion would put the price found on the YSS catalog at about 520€ for the MG366-275TRWL-12) + the NIX 22 (unless I find an Andreani kit for a quite lower price), otherwise I'll go with the MX366-275TRCL-12.
Will update you as soon as I have some news.
 
#8 ·
the model designation for the Ohlins indicates it has just the standard 'low-speed' compression adjustment.
You want the YSS MG366-275TRWL-12 or MX366-275TRCL-12 for comparison purposes.

The Andreani is a known entity. You'd hope Ohlins would do a good job on the NIX-22 but nobody knows at this time.

The problem with too many knobs is that it's tempting to start changing things and end up lost. HS comp is for handling sharp bumps. Low is for 'squat' generally under power. You'll likely end up running the HS close to full soft and Low about mid-way. A common error is to make the suspension too stiff. You want it to absorb everything and keep the chassis stable instead of being tossed around.
 
#10 ·
Reporting back:


Got some replies from various european resellers, got quoted:
  • 755€ for the MX366-275TRWL
  • 649€ for the MG366-275TRWL
  • 545€ for the MX366-275TRCL

I then decided to ask Bikerbitz wondering if they had a way to sell the MX366-275TRWL model since they had much cheaper prices than the rest, and it turns out after I asked they listed the MX366-275TRWL on their website, at 466€.

I decided to order the MX366-275TRWL from Bikerzbits in the end, as for the fork kit I'm waiting for a reply from an Andreani reseller which might give me a cheaper price than the Ohlins.
 
#11 ·
A little late, but you (or another reader) may want to check out Traxxion Dynamics; its based in Woodstock, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. They rebuilt my worn-out and leaking forks for my '04 GSX-R750, and have R3 performance parts.
 
#13 ·
Lots of great information in this thread. I'm a canyon rider and don't ride knee out or do exaggerated leans off the R3. I ride it very similar to my old Hypermotard since the stock rearsets are low and stock clip ons are high.

I honestly just need a stiffer rear shock with preload and a compression knob. Anyone know what's the cheapest and best bang for the buck? The front end dive is sketch now that I'm starting to trail brake more often downhill. My budget is $700 for both. I will try the Spears Racing preload adjusters first but if that doesn't get to what I want to be at then I'll go for the Ohlins spring kit and heavier Ohlins fork oil. I don't plan on riding aggressive. Just want something stiffer than stock. Thanks.
 
#14 ·
I will be offering a rebuilt/revalved/resprung R6 shock on my site very soon. I offer it now, but haven't listed it on the site yet. It's $360+a cheap oem R6 shock as a core. It requires a little modification to the subframe, but then is awesome, and fully adjustable. Combined with a damper rod kit in the forks, you can do the whole suspension for around $700.
Cheers,
Jesse
 
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