mark, i chose the ohlin because they are the best in suspension. i was not the first they made and sold a number of shocks for the gts before i bought mine. i bought the ohlins instead of the white power or works performance because the works shock did not have a good reputation for quality among the racing people i talked to and works price was about the same. i had purchased a rear white power because ohlins rear shock was not compression dampening adjustable. for some reason they only made the rear ohlins with the same adjustments as the stock shock and i for sure wanted compression adjustment because if you sometimes ride two up with the bags loaded you definitely need to be able to stiffen up the compression dampening along with the preload to better control the back end in two up sport touring . anyway the white power shock i bought was valved to hard for one up riding so i sent it back and had it revalved and was still not happy with it. it works wonderful two up but even on the softest setting is still too firm for solo.anyway to get back to why i bought the ohlin for the front was because the priced went up $75. in 6 months so i figured i better buy a good front shock before the price went out my reach and wasnt that happy with the white power so that left ohlin. i dont want you to get the impression im unhappy with the ohlin. it works wonderful is better than the stock shock but i dont think it is 700. better. if you can get yamaha to credit you toward a new shock that would be a great deal. let me know how it comes out. bob ------------------------------------------------------------ >Hi all.. >I suppose after 60,000km of fairly hard riding , >I should be surprised that the my rear shock >as gone to the meet all the other dead shocks in the sky... And for those of us in the states who are pondering this question or will be in the future, I personally would send mine away to Lindemann Engineering for rebuild or go for a Fox Shox. I believe that the rear is the same as an FZR1000 although the spring rate might vary. A good alternative would be to pick up a used FZR shock from a salvage yard for $100 or so. Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC ---------------------------------------- been there and tried that!! the stock shock is not rebuildable according to linderman and racetech. the fzr shock is not the same length and the linkages are not the same. ------------------------------------------ Kevin, I've had good results from Ohlins shocks, both front and rear. The front is a type 3B, part #YA 3021. The rear is a type 2, without compression damping, but it does have hydraulic spring preload which is great when you add a passenger or luggage. Rear is part #YA3030. They're both expensive at between $500-600US. Pettersson Pro Suspension, Inc. handles them for the western USA. Phone # (714) 630-4777 in Anaheim, CA. Steve --------------------------------------------- Kevin, I bought my GTS this spring from an owner in Michigan who only had 1500 miles on it. When I received it the rear shock promptly sprung a leak (probably dried out seal from lack of use) and that's when I found out from the dealer that the shock is not rebuildable and new one is $500! ouch! Fortunately there is an excellent suspension shop in the bay area here called Lindemann Engineering who does all the AMA pro guys and did great work on redoing the suspension on my "old" bike (Honda 650 turbo). Anyway, I took him my shock and he was able to rebuild it and added a shrader valve (for future rebuilding) - all for $125. Works great now. They are in Campbell, CA, phone 408-371-6151, fax 408-371-4915. You can probably ship your shock to them. Dave Biasotti Kevin, when I first called them, they said the same thing, but said bring it in and sure enough, they were able to do a full rebuild - seals, new oil and repressurize with N2. They did the work the first of June, probably don't remember me by name, but just remind them that a local smuck had his redone by them. Dave Biasotti ------------------- BTW, when they do the shock, see if they can put a "spacer" on the top so you will have 10 spring pre-load adjustments. Works great with mine./ ROB. -------------------- Kevin, It's no biggy getting shock out; just keep in mind that when when you pull either top or bottom bolts out, the wheel is going to drop to ground, so you should put a block under it to hold it up (especially for reinstall). My question for the group is how to get the linkage arms out? One of the tips from Honda Turbo Owners Assoc for my 650T was to install zirk fittings on all the plain bearing arms of the shock/swing arm linkage so you can easily lube regularly. When I took the trailing arm bushings out on my GTS (with only 3000 mi) they were dry and already starting to score. However the main arm (long) bolt hits up against the side plate which holds the center stand. If I remove this, there is no center stand; the shock is out so there is nothing holding the rear of the bike up - any suggestions of how to support the bike in order to remove all the shock linkage arms ?? Dave Biasotti -------- >What is their phone number? Lindemanns number is: 408-371-6151 >Will they rebuild the front shock? He say's nope! >Will they add compression adjustment to the rear shock. I'm not sure. He just mentioned a street rebuild. -------------------------- Subject: Off to see Mr. Lindemann! MIME-Version: 1.0 Well, I removed the rear shock last night. According to the manual, I needed to removed the seat and rear sidepanels. NOT SO!!! I was able to reach the lower mounting bolts easily and the upper mounting bolt from the left side using a 3/8 u-joint nuckle. Out she dropped! I had a Fox Shock for a VFR 750 that I actually bolted right in place so that I could roll her back to her parking spot in the garage. I know what you're thinking......I was thinking it too! I'm telling ya, the VFR shock was a damn close match but I just don't think it would work. The Fox shock has adjustable ride height, but even fully screwed out it was about 3/8 shorter than the OEM which of course resulted in about a 2 inch difference in ride height. I'm sure that Fox could throw one together that would work. They just won't with the small market that we offer. Anyway, I'll get it back in a couple of weeks and report on the results. In case any of you were wondering how you can tell if your rear shock is blown, it was simple. Riding two up a month ago, I was scraping the shit out of my centerstand when railing through some of NC's finest twisties. This had never happened before and when riding solo, the bike would wallow, wallow, wallow through a turn. Obviously the dampening is gone. Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC