I've owned my '08 Husky TE610 for 1 year and have decided to upgrade the suspension. 1st, I have to lower it about 1 inch (I'm only 5'09") it's too tall for me. 2nd, During the LA-Barstow to Las Vegas ride, I kept bottoming out the rear end on the whoops. Is the shock good enough to just rebuild, or would it be better to go with a "Race Tech" rear shock? I'm not competing for gold medals or the Dakar, but I'd just like the bike to handle better in the desert and up in the mountains. Any and all replies are welcome. Thanks
OK, so I'll post something. I went to see George Capodeci at ESP. I asked about possibly switching out my rear shock (Sachs). He asked if RT made a shock for my bike (knowing that they didn't) and told me that todays bikes are up to technology and stockers only need to be tweaked a little for your style. Sooo, looks like I'll be sticking to my stock rear shock and just upgrade the springs. So, has anybody changed out their suspension? At least 127 people are curious about suspension.
George at ESP revalved my twin chamber WP forks (not stock on my bike) on my orange bike and they are now the best forks I've ever ridden. My rear shock was revalved and modified for more travel by another well known so-cal suspension tuner with good results but I still am not 100% satisfied like I was with George's work. I will have the shock revalved 1 last time and if I'm still not satisfied with it then, I will be keeping my fingers crossed that Ohlins releases their TTX complete shock to fit my bike at which time I intend to replace it altogether. I will say that I have become considerably more nitpicky about my suspension as years have gone by. On my past Showa and KYB suspension equipped bikes I was able to get the results I was after with just a rear spring and some minor internal valving adjustments. With that being said, I would agree that most modern offroad bikes come factory equipped with high quality components and shouldn't require much tweaking to suit most riders needs. I would suggest starting by getting the correct springs for your weight and properly set sag first. Then spend a day playing with the suspension "clickers" on your current shock/ forks to get a good feel for each adjustment and what may be lacking. Doing this before sending it out for internal modification will allow you to better communicate your needs with your tuner and will give you better results. Your tuner can lower your suspension at the same time. There is even the possibility that after setting the sag with your new springs and tinkering with the flickers, you will be content without further modification.
That shock is more than good enough, just find a shop that has experience with it. Your biggest issue will still be the weight of the bike, go for springs first, Springs and a revalve for your conditions will make a drastic transformation good luck!