Just fitting a Penske to mi X1. Don't know why but the rear bush is a top hat type and I am wanting to get it the right way round in the swingarm clevis.
Any ideas please.

On the subject of Penske , the sevice at S.P.A. Design (UK agents) is above and beyond the call of duty, cant recomend them highly enough. Just talk to Richard.

Don't mean to be funny, but what do SPA Design say? Have they not got instructions they can send you?

_________________
08 Specialized Langster

Yeh I 'll phone em. It would make sense, not being funny just thought this place needed our input and conversation to remain alive ..it is becoming a place of pseudo community where one expects negativity and bad attitude, ridicule and an exclusive mentality where there is no room for exploring any solution other than buying the endorsed products and services.

There are many great people around but most of them have just about given up on the place

No offence pash always found you constructive and helpful ...don't let the bastids grind ya down.

I've got a penske but can't remember what way the bush goes

_________________
Last year I joined a group for anti-social people
We haven't met yet.

I be interested to hear the answer, get some images of the installed shock and also your view on the improvement in ride vs the standard showa shock (assuming that this is what you replaced).

Dread. How does the price of the penske compare to the more commonly recommended (on here) AST

From the chat I had recently, with AST, IIRC they are £600+ (Rebound, Hi & Lo Compression Adj)

From the SPA site it appears a 2 way Penske is £650+
http://www.penskeshocks.co.uk/motorcycl ... mper/2way/
£875+ for same adjustment as AST
http://www.penskeshocks.co.uk/motorcycl ... mper/3way/

Unless there are discounts to be had?

HOW MUCH Thats in the realms of an ohlins. Makes an ast look an absolute bargain

@ jez....The shock is a night and day change with the showa....Instantly I was thinking "now I know what Erik was trying to do"
The shock lifted the rear ride hight at the adjustment it was supplied with. This suited me fine as the bike has always leant in the direction of stability with the showa and now it feels more flickable and lively but still well stable enough the damping adjustments in two step changes are quite noticable which has allowed a very quick and easy dial in. Lovin the bike like never before, response to steering input and tyre feed back very much improved.
This is very much a sporting shock and if that is what you want it does the job very well.

@ dave.....Build quality is very high. Penske are very well known and respected in the motor racing world and have been involved at formula one level. They make replacement sporting shocks for many high end performance cars Ie Aston Martin and you can see and feel the quality of the product.

I encountered a problem after my hyperco spring rebuild this year in as much as the shock body was wearing a little due to contact from the spring retainer endplate.
Turns out the spring ends were slightly out of alignment.
Spa completely renewed all damaged parts plus some road worn ones and fitted a new eibach spring. The shock looks and performs as new.

Cost...Nada....Richard says "I don't like to see any of our shocks not working correctly, No problem"
They even paid the postage.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

The AST works much better than anything I've ever used from Ohlins No experience of the Penske though.

The nice thing about the AST is you can phone the factory and ask for advice and I believe that Ohlins farm out their name to several manufacturers under licence

_________________
If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

I have a Maxton on my S1, a Penske on my X1 and an AST on my M2....... the AST is in a league of its own and has attention to detail that the other 2 sadly lack eg. double wiper seals fitted to the front spring slider which maintain the shock body.

_________________
Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

@ maz...... Can you expand a bit on what you feel puts the ast into a field of its own?

Where to start .......externally, if you put a Penske side by side with an AST the differences would be immediately apparent ie. ......the AST hardware is better designed and uses superior materials ie. apart from subtle things like the double wiper seals mentioned above, the AST uses quality sealed spherical joints at both ends, the spring preload adjuster is of split design which makes it easy to adjust and lock in position without a grubscrew that damages the threads, the spring seats are quality nylon items that wont allow the spring to contact the shock body, the remote res. hose uses swivel hydraulic unions that allow the hose to be routed in any orientation without stressing the hose, the remote has two knobs for rebound damping ie. high and low speed, the comp. damping is via a thimble rather than the poxy needle screw that Penske use (which is known to sieze) the AST is custom built to your spec. ie. comes set up for weight and riding style and can be ordered in any colour combinations as well as ride height adjustment, etc.
Internally AST have done some serious valving work.......virtually every click of adjustment can be felt when riding the bike
Just the same as the Penske, the AST is ultimately rebuildable......the best bit though is that the bloke that builds AST shocks is a member of this forum and.......you have a PM

_________________
Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

What sort of money is the AST? I need a new shock for my X1.

I have been over to SPA design for a chat about some Penske dampers for my Seven.
Nice bunch of Guys. I used to live 15 mins away from them. In a previous life.

can any one tell me how long any of the aftermarket shocks last ? I need to upgrade the one on my m2 but don't want to spend a load of money on something that will only last a year or two. I cover around 30000+ kms a year and some (most) of the roads here are pretty rough plus it can get very hot in the summer.