Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner Anyone chopped the rear springs?

The lowering bracket covers up the rear chain guard screw. So, before I put on the brackets, I took the chain guard off. The other modification that I had to do was get shorter fender strut bolts. The stock ones on my bikes were M8x1.25 in 40mm length. I ended up getting bolts from Lowe's that were only 30mm long and work really nicely.

Boogieman also suggested setting the rear shock preload at one notch higher than stock and it is supposed to provide the best ride quality.

I have only ridden the bike ~10 miles so far around town to see how it goes. The ride height change is noticeable. If you have aftermarket pipes that have a bracket which is mounted by the lower rear peg holder, you will probably be having a scare if you get deep into a corner. Mine are shorter and are mounted in a different place. They haven't hit yet anyway.

I'm heading out to do a longer trip today and will have a better idea of any issues then. For now, I am really happy with how the bike looks. (By the way, I am running a solo seat on an 2006 America.)

whats the differnce in handling/ ride quality like?
cheers

After about 200 miles yesterday(and plenty of compliments), there still is plenty of travel in the rear end. I thought that the ride would be much stiffer than it was. Granted, I adjusted the rear shocks to one setting stiffer on the preload, but not much suspension was lost.

The only thing that bothered me a little was that there is a jamb nut in between the lower part of the shock and the shock mount. This is necessary so that the shock doesn't hit the lowering block, but it does push the lower part of the shock out a little. I was worried about the shock binding up, but travel seemed to be free without any obstruction or uneven pressure.

So far, so good.

So did anyone ever try our bikes after cutting the rear shocks? Is it safe?

Yeah I have my front and rear shocks cut....no problems that i cant deal with, and this is my first bike. The poster "the_dog33" rode my bike, if you ask him about them he'll give you some feedback.

Im sure that it doesnt ride like "progressives" but i cant justify their price compared to cut springs. like i said before, if youre thinking about getting new shocks, you might as well cut the stock ones and ride it first, and if its not what you want, just get the aftermarket ones. when it comes time to resell it, get a pair of original shocks for cheap off someone, everyones got them laying around im sure.

yea i agree...But how much rear spring did u cut off?

I actually bought it with the springs cut, the guy told me 2.5" in the rear, and 2" in the front.

hmm you know how many coils I'd have to cut to get 2.5 inches off the rear?

Not certain cause I've never had the springs off the bike...i'd imagine you would just take the spring out and measure to see where 1or2 inches would be and go with the nearest coil in the spring. then cut it at that point, and then grind the corner of the end piece down so its sorta flat. That way it doesnt dig into the shroad. Alot of guys have different ways of doing it so i hear.

then you gotta cut the chainguard for clearance reasons, just below where the fender meets it. Those two touch when you lower it. My fender was trimmed away instead of the chainguard.

And if you have the freak kit, you might have to do something with that too, i dont have that though.

No i dont have the freak kit....but i think i might just remove my chain gaurd all together...

yeah its a good thing you dont have that freak kit anyway...its a wast of money..hhaah...

yeah my chainguard just broke the other day so i might be taking it off too.

well I'll prolly be selling my chrome one...its new...but Im not going to use it.

Yeah youre better off without that chrome on there anyway..haha

People buy the freak kit cause they want to keep their bike stock looking and they want something they can buy from a place and bolt right on. I personally think that all those plastic and cheesegrater pieces are stupid looking so I have no problem with a hacked air box back to fit the filters into. As long as you dont cut the tabs off the right side, so the side cover can still be attached.

But some people like the stock look, so they build their own freak kit. I think anyone that can bend a piece of metal with a pair of pliers and a hammer can build their own, and save themselves alot of money.

When you think about it, the freak kit is 2 k&n air filters, a tool kit, and $1 worth of steel brackets.

Heres a tutorial on how to make your own.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dziakt/Ghetto.pdf

Alright, I am gonna give it a go and cut a ring or 2 out of the back shocks, but HOW does the top cap come off? Or will it? Or do I have to cut them while the shock is completely together?
Thanks for any input! What a great thread...who started this? Oh, yeah, never mind. You guys rock!!!

Gonna cut my rear springs tomorrow. Any body have any feed back on how theirs came out?

If you are going to cut the springs, you need to shorten the piston rod, too, otherwise they will likely bottom out.

Thanks for the heads up

Im pretty sure my pistons havent been shortened. So if they are bottoming out, I cant feel it at all. I just have a small amount of dampening. The springs are on the tighest setting to limit the amount of travel the piston has inside the shock.

I've done it, but with lowered shocks that I brought a couple of years ago. They worked fine until I put a new rear fender on, and I started catching the tyre on the mounting bolts. Had a rummage around the shed and found some Kwaka shocks, the springs were about 5cm longer than the springs on the lowered shock and they would'nt compress enough to get the cover and the collett on. So decided to cut 2.5cm off with a hand grinder and grind the top of the coil flat with a bench grinder, cover and collett went on piece of cake. Bike still looks lowered, and suspension stiffend up, dos'nt catch anything now even two up fully loaded.
Tools: 2x spring compressor
Hand grinder or hacksaw (if you got the time)
Bench grinder or file (if you got even more time)
Small flathead screwdriver to ease the collett out.
Vice to hold the shock.

Had a bike shop try to remove springs from shocks. said they couldnt do it. Ive got an auto repair shop with a press. Any hints on dissambly? Thanks.

Mine were cut by the previous owner, sorry I cant help you there. Ill try to get in touch with him.

I was thinking of getting them cut or buying a Progressive 412. What is unpsrung lenght of stock shocks.

center of bolt hole to center of bolt hole with shock off the bike is 12 1/2" I just measured a set I took off Wendys bike.

Thanks. Looks I can cut 1" or buy Progressive 412s in 11.5" length.

Ordered lowering kit. Didnt like the way it looked. Looked like it was rigged up. Took springs apart and cut 3 coils off springs. Not low enough. Cut 2 more coilsmoff springs. Too low, shock bottoms out. Ordered 11.5 inch 412s and will fabricate 1 inch lowering bracket

I just bought 2" shorter Hagons for Wendys when I lowered it...done.