Shock spring rates....etc.

[Monstermash]

I've been looking into replacing the rear shock on my S2R1K for a while now. I have the Matris F05R fork cartridges up front and the rear has been a huge weak link in the bike since I did all the mods last year.

Recently, I heard that another DMFer Qfactor replaced his rear shock on his S2R800 with an Ohlins from a 1098s and although it was a direct fit there were some issues. It seems that the 1098 has some sort of progressive rear shock linkage and because of this when Q installed the shock the rear of the bike was a few inches lower than it was with the stock shock. I didn't get all the details but I'm sure just adding preload isn't the answer.

 I spent some time discussing this with my local dealer and a few friends and we all came to the conclusion that a stiffer spring rate on the 1098 shock would fix the problem.

 With this in mind I took a chance and bought a Showa from a 1098 with the hopes of installing a spring with the correct rate. It's pretty much brand new with only a few hundred miles on it and I got a stupid deal on it and I just couldn't pass it up.

 So the question is, does anyone know what the spring rate is for a stock 1098 Showa rear shock and is there any way to calculate what the correct rate would be for my weight?

 Is it just as simple as finding out what the correct rate would be for my stock shock and installing that?

 The other question I have is regarding the coating on the spring itself. I would like to change the color before I install it and I've heard it's just powdercoat, can anyone confirm this?

 Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[scott_araujo]

I'm not sure what spring rate you are looking for but you could ask these guys:
http://www.eshocks.com/

They can probably tell you if it's just powdercoat too.

Scott

[Speeddog]

Sounds like the 1098 shock is shorter, which would result in the bike sitting lower.

How long is the shock you bought, center to center of the eyes?

[Monstermash]

Sounds like the 1098 shock is shorter, which would result in the bike sitting lower.

How long is the shock you bought, center to center of the eyes?

 I'm not sure how long it is. It won't be delevered until the beginning of next week.

 From what I understand, they are the same length eye to eye it's just that the spring is softer.