[arsenic]

After I get the 750 swap done, and deal with paint..I will probably try swapping in the 2001 Kat 750 shock (bike had less than 5K miles on it) just to see which I like the best.

With 9" PVC spacers and a fork oil change in the front, and the 1200 Bandit shock on my 91 600....it handles GREAT...BUT..it is a bit stiff on rough roads. Something like this is always a compromise....so I plan on swapping in some new progressive springs, seeing the difference, then trying the Kat 750 shock and go from there.

If it matters.....I'm 6'3" and 230lbs.....

dude, I wouldn't recommend swapping to the crappy Katana shock because the B12 is stiff. Unless you weigh like 300+ a 9" PVC spacer is the reason it's to stiff. That should be 8.5". You only surpass the 8" cut off by 30lbs, with a B12 rear shock, I would think about 8" spacers. Before you do anything else, PM me. Seriously, this is bugging me, where on gods green earth did you hear a 9" spacer was a good idea? Wait, do you have the crappy stock springs?

[ctandc]

dude, I wouldn't recommend swapping to the crappy Katana shock because the B12 is stiff. Unless you weigh like 300+ a 9" PVC spacer is the reason it's to stiff. That should be 8.5". You only surpass the 8" cut off by 30lbs, with a B12 rear shock, I would think about 8" spacers. Before you do anything else, PM me. Seriously, this is bugging me, where on gods green earth did you hear a 9" spacer was a good idea? Wait, do you have the crappy stock springs?

LOL...

First off on the rear shock...It's stiffer than the stock 600 shock sure..but the stock 600 shock had 30K miles on it and it's 16 years old. Anything would have been better. I like the taller ride and turn in, but since I have the low mile 01 750 shock here I like to experiment. Heck it only takes 30 minutes to swap the shocks.

As for the front forks...YES you notice I mention trying progressive springs...YES I have the stock springs. I plan on replacing them, other things needed attention first.

First I changed fork oil. Same result...soft, lots of dive on braking.

I tried 8" PVC spacers....I could tell ZERO Difference...which told me my stock springs are worn (imagine that they are only 16 years old...LOL) And since I was GIVEN A 10ft piece of 1" PVC, I tried 8.5.".........SAME Thing..a "Bit" better...but nothing to smile about. So I tried 9"..and

ZERO Dive. It's not 'jumpy' per se, but it's fairly harsh on bumpy roads. In fact, to be quite honest, it now rides almost EXACTLY like my buddy's bone stock 1 year old Gixxer...Minus the price tag, and the back pain from riding position.

In fact he rode my bike one day, and I his, and he got off saying "My Katana NEVER handled this good...I'd have never sold it if it did.."

When I told him my upgrades cost a whopping $40 (Bandit shock and free PVC) he seemed a bit perturbed.. he doesn't do much of his own work on his bike, his local mechanic has him convinced he can kill himself by working on his own bike..LOL

I just want to best compromise of tight suspension setup and ride comfort. I plan on going with the Progressive springs after the motor is in and the paint is done.

[arsenic]

race tech springs are 100% better then progressive, but they are a bit more expensive. You don't have to do the spacer mod either get Gold Valve Seal Emulators.

[Metallihawk]

Hey arsenic, are you aware of any Bandit forums? Since B12 shocks are hard to come by on eBay, they may be more plentiful there. If I can't find anything within the next 2 weeks I'm just going to go ahead and buy a hayabusa shock.

[arsenic]

no, I found gytrdunkat a B12 shock on ebay, well he found it, he got it for like mid $30's. I just told him how to snipe it. Seriously, there's a ton on ebay. Be patient, there on there all the time.

[GytRDunKat]

yeah, first shot I got it on ebay, I got lucky. I'm in the final stages of the the install, but I don't have a torque wrench that is big enough for the knuckle to frame bolt. A mechanic friend is coming over to torque that bad dog down. That's where I'm at right now..

[GregS]

Hey arsenic, are you aware of any Bandit forums?

https://www.maximum-suzuki.com

[Metallihawk]

www.maximum-suzuki.com

Thanks, just picked one up on eBay Didn't have to wait long for one to pop up