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Penske 8900E Install

Hellgate

Hellgate

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Aug 3, 2008
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Well today was a fun day. :) After my son's flag football game I started my favorite hobby, modding! First up was my new Penske 8900E single emulsion shock.

First off the shock is stunning. The quality of materials and workmanship is first rate. The install took about 30 minutes; place the bike on the centerstand, simply remove the saddles and side covers off the bike, unbolt the shock, and install the new one. Can of corn.

View attachment 2878View attachment 2879View attachment 2880View attachment 2881

I took the bike a short ride and it is a million times better. The rear wheel is much more controlled and tracks much better. The spring rate that was sent is 600. I think stock is 700, please correct me if I'm wrong. Tomorrow I'll go for a ride downtown and see how it does over really rough roads. So far an outstanding value at $556.
:squid[1]:
 
Looks great! I think everyone here will agree with me when I say that a new rear shock is the biggest step to bringing the FZ1 to it's full potential.
 
Wow! That spring looks to be a completely different blue in the different light. Certainly looks nice. Can't wait for mine...lol.:tup:
 
Ozzieboy you are going to love your new shock! I put in about 720 miles this weekend, the majority on twisty, up and down, back-country roads, and the Penske was perfect! It tracks like a dream, with no stutter on washboard surfaces. In 85 - 90 mph sweepers that went on forever it tracked over the road suface with no complaints at all. Hopefully it arrives soon.
 
I don't know how I missed this thread but WOW! That is a sweet looking shock! I knew that the blue would make you go faster too! ;) Finally admitted..... :tup:

That is a great performance report for short money (compared to the Ohlins) so I think I'll ask for that under the tree this coming December!

Thanks Pete!
 
I think this shock is an outstanding value. Unless you're a group 1 track day rider this is all you need. On long, high speed, twisty runs there was no sign of fading at all. Over chattery low speed bumps, it tracked prefectly. To get to our cabin its a 190 mile ride and I was loaded with about 40 pounds of saddle bags, handled the extra weight perfectly.

I can say that after this weekend I'm pretty much "bonded" with the bike. This wasn't a 9/10's weekend but a good, solid 7/10's - 7.5/10's weekend of riding. What I need to do is find a track day so I can fully meld with the Fizz.
 
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Hellgate said:
I can say that after this weekend I'm pretty much "bonded" with the bike. This wasn't a 9/10's weekend but a good, solid 7/10's - 7.5/10's weekend of riding. What I need to do is find a track day so I can fully meld with the Fizz.
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Very glad to hear you are satisfied with the bike Pete. Welcome back to FZ riding! :D

Thanks for the great feedback on the Penske too. I'm convinced enough that this is all I need for the rear. I still need more spring in the front though. I am out of adjustment and the dive is still a bit too much. Either that or drop the last 22 lbs I wanted to lose and see how it settles then. :eek: :D
 
It's really a fun bike Eric, but for the real twisty, high speed stuff it's very hard to beat the Buell, that thing is on rails. The FZ is very good but it feels like a large car compared to a sports car.

But overall I really like the bike. Fred was on his FZ6 and it was kind of a joke. He'd take off and I'm right behind him trailing throttle and still closing on him. He tired. We were "testing the limits of our speedos" and he was trying 4th, 5th, and 6th to go faster, no luck (it was a little up hill with a 25 mph cross wind). I'm right behind him in 6th waiting for him to hurry up. Forum rules prevent me from disclosing location and details of the "said" event. :stirpot:

All I can say is buy the shock, you'll really like it.
 
If you don't mind me asking. How much do you guys weigh that are changing shocks? I'm a buck fifteen and don't do tracks, although I just registered at NESBA so I have nothing to report about my bike's shocks. BTW it's an 07
 
I weigh about 175 in my birthday suit, about 195/200 with gear (full leathers, boots, back pro, etc.)

If you're at 115 I'd say your bike is way over sprung for you.
 
The first thing you want to do is measure the sag of your suspension, if there is any, and see if you can back the preload off until you get the right amount of sag. ~ 25mm to 35mm.

Another place to go it Race Tech and use their calculator to determine the correct weight. According to RT you should have .85 kg for the front, and call them on the rear; I'd guess 8.0 kg or so. Stock it .94 on the front, and 12.5 on the rear.

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