Thoughts on replacing the standard rear shock?
Currently 14K miles.
Maxton. Not cheap, granted, but on the first ride I thought the bolts were loose… The word I needed was “compliant”. The standard shock is very heavily damped; floats along very smoothly but doesn’t like sharp bumps or edges: can’t respond quickly and as a result passes those shocks straight through. Maxton’s specialist setup knowledge on how to build a shock for your weight, your riding style, and the chassis geometry is worth it IMHO.
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If you aren’t into racing then the hagon mono shock is a competitive priced offering and works well.
You may want to consider upgrading your front fork springs too.
l find the standard V85 shock very good, no plans to replace yet at 31000 miles,it does have damping adjustment which I adjust all the time depending on load, so never find it over or under damped. I’m sure there are plenty of better quality shocks out there but untill mine fails I’m not changing at the moment.
Top & bottom mounts failed on mine, replaced with a Shock Factory unit purchased via Winding Roads at Derby. Arrived from France in under a week. ÂŁ390 for std or shorter version (or an extra ÂŁ50 for one with adjustable length) Quality item, nicely finished and rides well. Better than a Hagon, comparable to Maxton IMHO. Highly recommended
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That’s a pretty good price, my V85 2024 came with an Ohlins fitted (£1000 OEM option) which the previous owner had fitted, but the ride feels harsher than the 2 V85TT’s that I test rode before I bought it, I have the original which can only have done 1800 miles, so may fit that to see how it compares.
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I think that the damping is ok and the spring rate seem fine (with a 96kg rider it uses 26% of the movement for rider sag).
But imho the spring is too short with max preload bike-only-sag is 50% of travel! so rider sag uses 76% of the movement
Sounds like it’s set up for a 300lb lardbucket, his chunky wife, and a ton of camping equipment. Lots of adjustment to be had on an Ohlins so I’d be looking at that first. The stock shock will have been built for a quarter of the price of the Ohlins.