[Dez]

Hi all,
I can hear my rear fender rub against the wheel when going over bumpers with some luggage or a passenger.
its also looks like the wheel and the fender are a bit too close to begin with.
shocks length is 290mm, wheel is 19''.
could it be that the shock absorbers are too short? any recommendation of an alternative shocks?

thanks!

[Adrian II]

290mm or 11.4" is the stock length for older Bullet shock absorbers, and it looks like you have the stock rear fender mounts. What size rear tyre/tire do you have?

A.

[Dez]

3.50X19

[BruLan]

I fitted some (I think) 320 mm shocks on mine from a later model
They were from a 2016 EFI Model and cost me £65 off eBay
Made a nice difference to the ride
The camera angle make the wheel / mudguard gap look larger then I had previously noticed

[axman88]

I'd be interested in checking out the exact nature of the high spot that is contacting the tires.  On some machines I've owned the first thing to contact would be the inward facing tip of a screw.  On others it was a hanger or junction for the rear end electrics.  One could be very unkind to tires and the other doesn't wear very well.

[stinkwheel]

Maybe you need to turn the preload up?

[BruLan]

Maybe you need to turn the preload up?

From my GSXR Gixer Days I dont think that would help, if the shocks to short or soft its NFG, RE Shocks are regrettably not exactly state of the art LOL,  My £65 replacement worked wonders

[stinkwheel]

From my GXR Days I dont think that would help, if the shocks to short or soft its NFG, RE Shocks are regrettably not exactly state of the art LOL,  My £65 replacement worked wonders

He said it's bottoming with luggage and passengers, so presumably it isn't without them. So compensate for the increased rider sag by increasing preload when carrying luggage and passengers. That's what preload adjustment is for.

[BruLan]

He said it's bottoming with luggage and passengers, so presumably it isn't without them. So compensate for the increased rider sag by increasing preload when carrying luggage and passengers. That's what preload adjustment is for.

Not too sure how that works on RE Shocks, Not the best initially and age wont have helped.
I have a pretty good idea of how suspension works and RE is fairly archaic, so my upgrade was my best and easiest informed option.
£65 posted and problem solved 

[stinkwheel]

Difficult to see with the tiny picture but I think those ones have 4 preload settings. You stick a tommy bar in a hole and turn the base of the shock. You'll get a good inch from lowest to highest setting.

[Super45]

Cheap option first...

Adjust preload and retest.

Then if still the same look at new shocks.

[BruLan]

Cheap option first...

Adjust preload and retest.

Then if still the same look at new shocks.

If all else fails .....https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156111569949?itmmeta=01HT2K87Z21W6NCZJ7ECWE736S&hash=item2458f9841d%3Ag%3ACnAAAOSw6M9l7u6q&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8A5ssVJ0nqpv72qWznDnm4D5eiOgtifWVH%2BJW7q5wh0BPF6ZPK6vBWPwZO8QqL2F7Q6kqQ%2FBLkcyBLPV%2FMLhrDUx2hSPHuTJmGLcAgUIhj%2F4AG2wrDipXyosPTnGXOUlC7sqX28fqAvabD0CWEZ0HejsvjrLMwEd4q0Zl295wQVCiAmzRezJas1Nfjvhyp9wlfzH1p4hIKMKQCnfLlEtm6rj9jc9x7Q%2Bku3rr2zaF9hxuW6K9sz2U3ZCxKV923RhHJm4asywzZ1cA31r3iyP0L5wPiKtAtBQ2TQ%2B1BplkMIQqCBOClk4OoGymj5jezUW%2BQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9D_oNPQYw&LH_ItemCondition=4

[Super45]

Not too sure how that works on RE Shocks, Not the best initially and age wont have helped.
I have a pretty good idea of how suspension works and RE is fairly archaic, so my upgrade was my best and easiest informed option.
£65 posted and problem solved 

From my GSXR Gixer Days I dont think that would help, if the shocks to short or soft its NFG, RE Shocks are regrettably not exactly state of the art LOL,  My £65 replacement worked wonders

Lets talk about the elephant in the room shall we so we don't confuse the OP as you seem to contradict yourself in the above 2 quotes.


Preload is exactly the same on either a gsxr or a bullet. the difference being a gsxr is a mono shock and linkage and the Enfield maintains the traditional  twin shock lay out.

Preload adjustment has been the standard way of adjusting springs for extra weight / luggage  (without going into compression and rebound damping) since the first adjustable shocks were available and in some cases such as a velocette venom and other classic bikes you adjust the mounting position of the shock to do the same thing.

As others have said you increase preload (which 'pre loads' the spring) to allow for extra weight which in turn raises the rear ride height and reduces the static sag you get when both the bike goes from full extension of it's shocks to bearing its own weight and further reduces the sag when rider is included in that mix.

Even knackered springs will respond to preload adjustment when the bike is on the stand,  so only if the spring has had it would you see no improvement to how the bike rides with pillion and luggage so the preload test would rule that out.

longer shocks sometimes come with a softer spring so may not be of any use to the OP in this case and personally what's to say the 2nd had pair of shocks would be any better in condition as you wont know their true history.

If preload doesn't work and a new set of suspension doesn't cure the issue, and the bike is put together correctly the only way forward would be to fit a firmer spring or have a bespoke set of springs and shocks made up to the OP's specification.   

That's not to Poo Poo what worked for you in anyway mind, just don't want the OP getting confused.

[BruLan]

Lets talk about the elephant in the room shall we so we don't confuse the OP as you seem to contradict yourself in the above 2 quotes.


Preload is exactly the same on either a gsxr or a bullet. the difference being a gsxr is a mono shock and linkage and the Enfield maintains the traditional  twin shock lay out.

Preload adjustment has been the standard way of adjusting springs for extra weight / luggage  (without going into compression and rebound damping) since the first adjustable shocks were available and in some cases such as a velocette venom and other classic bikes you adjust the mounting position of the shock to do the same thing.

As others have said you increase preload (which 'pre loads' the spring) to allow for extra weight which in turn raises the rear ride height and reduces the static sag you get when both the bike goes from full extension of it's shocks to bearing its own weight and further reduces the sag when rider is included in that mix.

Even knackered springs will respond to preload adjustment when the bike is on the stand,  so only if the spring has had it would you see no improvement to how the bike rides with pillion and luggage so the preload test would rule that out.

longer shocks sometimes come with a softer spring so may not be of any use to the OP in this case and personally what's to say the 2nd had pair of shocks would be any better in condition as you wont know their true history.

If preload doesn't work and a new set of suspension doesn't cure the issue, and the bike is put together correctly the only way forward would be to fit a firmer spring or have a bespoke set of springs and shocks made up to the OP's specification.   

That's not to Poo Poo what worked for you in anyway mind, just don't want the OP getting confused.

Your reply has its merits , however I think replacing the shocks with longer ones with the same level of adjustment for the price of a Pub Meal is the proper solution.
Without Poo Pooing any ones "advice" I would doubt most sincerely that "bespoke springs and shocks" would be needed

[REpozer]

Back in the olden days of Classic Motor Works, seems that Bullet 65 rear shocks was an affordable up grade. I went with Hagons years ago, and cant remember what I did with my old RE shocks.
I checked Ebay and was blown away by the choices .