A New Beginning.

[mac1029]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Quick little look at the original shock and the KEOGHS shock from Aliexpress. Even though they listed it as 320mm, it is actually the 325mm unit. Not a big deal to me, but it does raise the rear of the bike roughly half an inch. When I put my bike up on the jack stands the rear wheel was off the ground, after installing the shock the rear tire was just barely touching.




The only other thing that needs to be done to use this shock is to make spacers so it fits between the mount tabs. The closest ACE Hardware to me did not actually have any suitable spacers so for now I bought a big old stack of 2mm thick flat washers. My rough measures showed the factory shock ends to be 29mm wide at the top and 39mm wide at the bottom. The Keoghs shock is 19mm wide on both ends. So for now I have 5 washers up top and 10 on the bottom. It worked out perfectly. Since the top required an odd number of washers I offset it to the left of the bike, although it really doesn't make a difference which side it favored. I just went left because the exhaust is on the right... logic lol.



I haven't touched the preload settings at all, it came with the preload set that high already. Initial impressions are that it is definitely much firmer right off the bat, likely because of the linear spring rate.

As far as the dampening. At this point it has very little, although I suspect that the shock needs the gas pressure adjusted. It's not quite pogo stick, but it's a lot faster to rebound than I would like.

Dan i just ordered the exact same rear shock off ebay, but got the 295mm one as i need to lower the rear some.
My main reason for bike purchase was to teach the wife to ride and also for me to explore the trails and such here in NH.
Shes a whooping 5'3" so most definitely needed to lower the rear,i have also shaved and recovered the seat to gain a little lower stance for the vertically challenged..
I will be following your results with this install and all the other goodies you will be installing..

[ben2go]

I'm just catching up. Glad to hear that the bike arrived in good condition. I'm watching your build carefully. I will be selling off some things over the summer and may finally buy a China bike. I'll have to see how my bills are later in the summer.

[dpl096]

Dan.....please don't forget to post a link here for your vid.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by ben2go

I'm just catching up. Glad to hear that the bike arrived in good condition. I'm watching your build carefully. I will be selling off some things over the summer and may finally buy a China bike. I'll have to see how my bills are later in the summer.

Yeah, it actually arrived completely undamaged. Why I love Saia as a shipping company.

I think you would like one of these bikes. They make a great second bike for sure, and just offer a different kind of fun. Hope to see you making your own assembly and mod thread in the future!

Originally Posted by dpl096

Dan.....please don't forget to post a link here for your vid.

Thanks for the reminder. I was so brain dead last night after uncrating in the heat, taking the bike apart, recording and uploading that I just plain forgot.

Forgive the shakey camera work. One thing I forgot to mention in the video. The reason I went with 35mm preload spacers was due to the 15mm height of the fork valves being installed. From there I can shim it if necessary and increase said preload. Also, yes, I know I said the wrong spark plug. DPR8EIX-9

[Megadan]

A second little video I did after working on the back end.

[Cravin01]

I just watched both vidz, I'm so stoaked to see this get going. Thanks for putting this stuff in video, It makes it so much easier to see whats going on and how to do it. Please keep linking the parts just in case I need something to add to the Storm.


This is so cool Dan, Thanks for all the hard work putting it together.

[Megadan]

They aren't the greatest videos. I was so out of it that I completely forgot to mention the last two steps of removing the swing arm - the lower shock bolt and the pivot bolt. I just hope it is obvious enough that it wasn't needed.

[Megadan]

This is what I recorded today. Didn't get a whole lot done because I wanted to spend some time with my lady today. We don't get much time together these days, so I take what I can get.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by mac1029

Dan i just ordered the exact same rear shock off ebay, but got the 295mm one as i need to lower the rear some.
My main reason for bike purchase was to teach the wife to ride and also for me to explore the trails and such here in NH.
Shes a whooping 5'3" so most definitely needed to lower the rear,i have also shaved and recovered the seat to gain a little lower stance for the vertically challenged..
I will be following your results with this install and all the other goodies you will be installing..

It would be interesting to note the change in ride height on these bikes with these shock lengths vs. the stock shock length. Would you be willing to take a measurement for me using a fixed set of points? Having a couple of data points to compare/verify my math on the swing arm motion ratio could help create a chart for people to use that want to lower their bikes.

[JerryHawk250]

Great job on the videos Dan.

[goat67]

Love the videos.
I see the small air filter did you remove the air pump and line to the airbox and add a pcv valve?
I did something similar on mine.

I also removed the airbox I used a piece of plastic 2LZ's Garbage can mod.
Basicly just use zip ties to secure the plastic to the frame to make the fender.
Keep the videos coming

[ben2go]

Nice vids. It's the little things.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by goat67

Love the videos.
I see the small air filter did you remove the air pump and line to the airbox and add a pcv valve?
I did something similar on mine.

I also removed the airbox I used a piece of plastic 2LZ's Garbage can mod.
Basicly just use zip ties to secure the plastic to the frame to make the fender.
Keep the videos coming

The Hawk doesn't have the air injection system, so there is no air pump to remove.

The little air filter is just a breather filter you can pick up at any parts store. I simply found an appropriate brass adapter fitting that would fit both ends and stuck it on the hose. It's not finished yet, which is why I didn't cover it. I just put it there to help keep anything from finding its way into the crank case.

I had considered the trash can mod as well, although I would likely use a sheet of aluminum I have sitting around. For now I am just using what I have to make things work.

My whole approach to the assembly is to cover stuff that anybody can do with the simplest of tools. That is also why I didn't cover adding a zerk fitting to the swing arm and just smeared grease all over it. I plan on doing the zerk fitting at a later date.

[mac1029]

Originally Posted by Megadan

It would be interesting to note the change in ride height on these bikes with these shock lengths vs. the stock shock length. Would you be willing to take a measurement for me using a fixed set of points? Having a couple of data points to compare/verify my math on the swing arm motion ratio could help create a chart for people to use that want to lower their bikes.

Dan i can do that no problem, i am thinking of buying some spacers at the hardware store as soon as i get it and mount it up centered, then i can see what size i need for the sides of bottom and top.
But will take some before measurements and after...

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by mac1029

Dan i can do that no problem, i am thinking of buying some spacers at the hardware store as soon as i get it and mount it up centered, then i can see what size i need for the sides of bottom and top.
But will take some before measurements and after...

Spacer wise I found the top needs two 5mm and the bottom two 10mm. Hope that makes it easier for ya!