New Shox for my DTX360

[Neil955i]

Those long time readers on here will be aware this was one of the modifications I made to my old X-Town 300i and I was pleased with the result.  Two and a half years in with riding the DTX360, I decided to try the same mod and had the shop fit two new YSS shock absorbers this morning.  One hiccup was the rack for my Shad top case had to be slightly modified, but all told the work was done in 90 minutes.

Now to test the new shocks on some fast sweeping local roads that I am familiar with.  Full disclosure, I am no suspension expert, adjusting the preload is about the limit of my expertise!  So, can I notice a difference?  Yes.  Marginal, but definitely there.  As with the X-Town, the ride hight is now marginally higher (5-10mm?), which should improve cornering clearance when pressing on.  Biggest noticeable improvement is to the spine-jarring jolts I used to get from the omnipresent pot holes we have here in the UK.  These are now much better owing to (I guess) a more compliant compression from the springs/damping.  Yes you still get the bump, but it no longer feels like your fillings are being shaken out!

Overall the handling feels smoother and more taut.  Some of that may be imagined on my part, but the scooter definitely feels more composed as you hustle it through the bends.  £200 well spent.

[Iahawk]

glad you were able to improve upon the stiff rear suspension on your scoot! Good looking shocks, too.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Pretty cool Neil!
Good pics~
You turn the upper collar with a hook tool of some sort, to adjust firmness?
ARE they bolted on right behind those 2 allen bolts?
Or, is the attachment point further up, out of sight - on the frame?

Again, thanks for the post!

Neil - any leads on a fitment guide/chart for YSS shocks. I cannot find one that even indicates your scooter, let alone either of mine.
Stig

[Ruffus]

In this case has to be said that,
-shocks are primarely NOT there to comfort/accomodate the riders rear end, but to keep the wheel/s (and with this) the whole motorcycle firmely on the ground.
So its not always (as long as shocks are not leaking or sqeaking) the softer shock which is safer on the road.
There are a multitude of parameters to consider (weight of scoot and rider, tyres, road conditions, performance, etc) for a change to improvement.

[Stig / Major Tom]

In this case has to be said that,
-shocks are primarely NOT there to comfort/accomodate the riders rear end, but to keep the wheel/s (and with this) the whole motorcycle firmely on the ground.
So its not always (as long as shocks are not leaking or sqeaking) the softer shock which is safer on the road.
There are a multitude of parameters to consider (weight of scoot and rider, tyres, road conditions, performance, etc) for a change to improvement.

I am no expert on scooter suspensions:

What I am looking for is a shock which is 'soft' enough to absorb normal road irregularities without a spine-jarring punch over each surface patch ('too stiff') - and one that will not bottom out on anything but big holes or bumps in the road! ('too soft')

My amateur impression is that my 500lb scooter (Burgman 400) sent much less abuse to my spine than any 275lb scooter is capable of - no matter the shock.

Then there is the ridiculously limited suspension travel remaining after the rider is seated.
I often see advertised figures like "3.5 of rear suspension travel" - sit down and then see how much you have!

Sure - you high speed riders need to keep your tires on the pavement at 65mph in a bumpy curve. Me, I'm just trying to get across town. My preferences are different than normal riders.

Frankly - I am skeptical that there is a comfy rear shock out there for many scooters.
That said, my Burgman (with its thick horizonal mono-shock) hunkered down and rode across crap like a Buick. Years of Japanese turning of this model - and 500lbs at work back there!

Stig

[Ruffus]

100% with you there, not being a comfy, allfit rear (front too) solution in nowadays scoots.
Like I said, many parameters are to be considered by factories peacounters especially.

We engineers want the most safe, durable and most performable solution, which is in many cases the pricey one, headoffice scratches off to meet/lower production costs, and there we are.

In our "scoot" case developers have to deal with low frame level which relevates suspension travel.

If you watch this new "enduros", brand whatsoever, you need a stepladder to get onto seat, there its easy to have shocks with 150mm travel. But on out lowframed scoots, no way.

Will always be a compromise, except one takes custom mades "White Power" shocks for example.

[Neil955i]

Pretty cool Neil!
Good pics~
You turn the upper collar with a hook tool of some sort, to adjust firmness?
ARE they bolted on right behind those 2 allen bolts?
Or, is the attachment point further up, out of sight - on the frame?

Again, thanks for the post!

Neil - any leads on a fitment guide/chart for YSS shocks. I cannot find one that even indicates your scooter, let alone either of mine.
Stig

Qs From the top, yes.  The tool is more a bar that you use to turn the collar - though unused as yet!  It came in the box.
No, not directly behind those bolts but higher up behind the side body work.  The top of the shock is an eye hole which I assume is bolted onto a frame bracket?
Many common parts across the Kymco models.  My suspension at the rear for example is the same part number as the X-Town 300, the Downtown 300s & 350s and maybe the xciting 400?  The trick is to get the Kymco part number and then check for compatibility in a shock absorber catalogue.  In my case when I called about the X-Town 2 years ago, they didn't know, but supplied on the dimensions (length from bolt to bolt in mm & width of the mounting U bracket at the bottom of the unit in mm.  They then said, "oh, that's the same as the DT300!!"

[Neil955i]

In this case has to be said that,
-shocks are primarely NOT there to comfort/accomodate the riders rear end, but to keep the wheel/s (and with this) the whole motorcycle firmely on the ground.
So its not always (as long as shocks are not leaking or sqeaking) the softer shock which is safer on the road.
There are a multitude of parameters to consider (weight of scoot and rider, tyres, road conditions, performance, etc) for a change to improvement.

Spot on Ruffus.  BUT, the ride with the old shocks wasn't stiff per se, they did all the key things you list, they were just non-compliant such that it felt they were not compressing quite as fast or with the progression as they could on bumps - if it were front forks you'd think about maybe lightning the oil weight?  I don't know, like I say, I'm no suspension expert I just felt the higher quality YSS units seemed to work better than OEM ones the last twice I tried them, so I decided to go that route again. 

As I put more miles on them, I'll report back again.

PS I ask a lot of my suspension as I'm 105 kgs and that's even before I (occasionally) put the wife on the back!

[Ruffus]

Neil, yes its sometimes just a feeling of "something isn't right".
Then the search starts.
I had the chance to test shocks on a "rumble plate"  when I upgraded my XC 500.
Would have given an ear in a bet that, new YSS dampers were keeping the rear wheel permanentely on ground (plate).
Proofed me wrong, older OEM shocks had a better "downkeep" profile.
But(t) said differently.

[Neil955i]

We'll see over time I guess Ruffus.  There's a world of adjustment available to me now with the YSS that I haven't even started on yet!  Interesting what you saw on the rumble plate, thanks for sharing.