Description
RFY Shock Rebuild Overview
- Replace unknown factory shock fluid with Maxima fluid providing known damping properties
- Purge air from damper system providing consistent performance throughout suspension travel
- Proper bladder pressurization with purpose built tool means precise control of damping characteristics (standard tire gauges do not work for setting this pressure as the bladder volume is too small!)
- Proper pressurization reduces oil cavitation and keeps the damper working consistently no matter how long or far you ride
- The use of pure nitrogen eliminates moisture in the system while providing greater temperature stabilization compared to air
- Apply friction reducing seal grease ensures smooth damper operation and longer seal life
- Additionally, top out spring replacement is available, see below for details
The RFY shock rebuild includes: Maxima shock oil (3, 7, or 10 weight), complete inspection, charging with nitrogen, optimization of shock dimensions, complete reassembly, and high quality valve stem caps. Additionally, once the shocks have had their initial service, the cost is reduced to only $65 for each reoccurring service.
Top Out Spring Replacement and Preload Correction
Top out spring replacement removes the overly stiff and excessively tall factory spring. This accommodates greater travel in the sag component of your suspension travel. The replacement spring decreases the droop limit, meaning the shock has a longer travel than stock. Ultimately, this allows the setup of the shock to be maximized in both the compression and sag characteristics. Preload correction is applied in conjunction with the top out spring replacement and serves to reduce factory set preload as much as possible. This is ideal for lighter bikes and riders who may struggle to achieve popper sag. Note: this service may add up to 10mm to the total length of the shock.
Oil Weight
If you are uncertain on oil weight, generally speaking 7w is the best choice.
Spring Exchange
If you have springs that are not appropriate for you motorcycle there is a spring exchange service for both 340mm shocks and 320mm shocks.
Spherical Bearing Modification
The spherical bearing modification adds spherical bearings to the eyelets of RFY and CL MotoTech shocks. This is a premium upgrade for the performance oriented individual. The benefits of spherical bearings are many:
- Reduces misalignment forces on the shock piston and shock rod linear bearing
- Increases shock sensitivity
- Lessens fiction and wear on shock components
- Less rotational friction that results in smoother action of the suspension
- Removes free play or slop common with rubber lined mounts
- Easily changed when worn
- A more professional and clean aesthetic
- Extremely long life with proper maintenance
The downsides of this modification:
- Greater maintenance requirements, cleaning, lubrication, etc.
- More expensive replacement
All spherical bearings have a 15mm inner diameter, though bushings will be supplied to adapt that to 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm mounts.
The Process
To adapt your RFY shocks for spherical bearings the shocks must be partially disassembled. Once this happens the shock cap is then milled via a vertical milling machine to fit the spherical bearing. The bearing is retained with an internal circlip. A similar process is performed for bottom eyelets. All of these processes are inclusive in the purchase of this item.
Purchase Options
This process is always performed to the top eyelet, the one that is an integral part of the shock. For those with clevis mounts, you only need the Dual Conversion. For those who have eyelet lower mounts, you can choose to have the Quad Conversion. The Quad Conversion converts the upper eyelets and the lower eyelets to spherical bearings.
Note: This process is not reversible, once your shocks have been modified to accept the spherical bearing they are like this permanently.
Service Time
Once I have received your shocks they will be serviced and return mailed within 7 days and usually quicker. However, added features such as the spherical bearing modification will extend this time.
Shipping
Shipping is $15 on this item. The item is shipped 2 day priority.
Note: Once you have purchased/paid for this service you will receive the shipping address via email. The address is written in a small light grey font at the bottom of the invoice.
If you have further questions be sure to visit the FAQ.
Joe –
I had Chris rebuild the 320mm shocks with the lightest 7mm coil. Even though my motorcycle is only a few months old, the difference in handling is very noticeable. The main difference is the rebound damping that these shocks provide. This is one of those things that you didn’t know you were missing out on until you tried it. The stock rear shocks feel like pogo sticks compared to the rebuilt RFY shocks. Everything feels much more planted and bumps and road imperfections in a turn don’t unsettle the bike anymore. Highly recommended!
Note – if your bike needs the 12mm ID eyelets, the shocks only come with 2 sleeve bearings that will fit. I was not aware of this, but the sleeve bearings can be found easily enough at Lowe’s and probably Home Depot. The size is 12mm ID x 15mm OD x 20mm length
Mike (verified owner) –
I want to start off by saying that this is the first time that I’ve ever written a review for anything that I’ve purchased. Since the service was so good and the product performed so well, I felt I had to give recognition where it was due.
I bought a pair of 350mm (really 320mm eye to eye) LFX (same as RFY) shocks off eBay for a cart that I tow my kids in behind a snowmobile. After researching online, I decided that I should have them rebuilt. Since this wasn’t for your typical application, I had a few questions (about spring rate, oil weight and top out spring removal) so I emailed Chris to see what he recommended. He got back to me quickly and answered all of my questions with great detail. After being impressed by his response, I decided to send my shocks to him to be rebuilt. When he received the shocks, it was right before he had to go out of town for business, and he was honest and up front about it in an email he sent me to let me know when he would be able work on them. When he disassembled them he found they were manufactured without the drilling that connects the reservoir to the body of the shock. This is something that he had only seen one time before on a pair of RFY shocks he ordered for himself. He contacted me immediately to break the news to me and to go over my options. I could have had him put the shocks back together and try and get my money back from the seller on eBay (that didn’t sound fun). If I did that, I’d be out the shipping back to the seller, and I’d still owe Chris something for the rebuild because he did the work and it wasn’t his fault. Not to mention, I’d still need to buy shocks, have them rebuilt, and shipped to my house. This is where Chris went above and beyond in my opinion. He came up with a great solution. He’d keep the bad shocks to use for parts, and in return he’d take money off the price of a pair of rebuilt 340mm shocks and I just owed him the difference between that and what I already paid him for the rebuild. The discount he gave me was about what I would have gotten back if I had returned the shocks to the seller on eBay, minus what it would have cost me to ship them (and that’s if the seller would have refunded my money). Chris’ solution allowed me to get the size shocks I wanted (the originals would have worked, just not what I truly wanted) and it saved me about $80 if I had to return, reorder, and rebuild another pair of shocks. So all of these things considered, I thought that this sounded like a great deal. It got me the shocks that I wanted, I didn’t have to deal with the stress and hassle of dealing with the seller on eBay, and it kept my losses to a minimum.
I truly appreciated Chris’ honesty throughout the process and his willingness to answer my questions and help solve my problem. In fact, I’m so impressed by Chris and the work he does, I’m ordering a second pair of shocks from him for my friend’s cart that we borrow when there is another family with small kids snowmobiling with us.
Long story short, I had Chris rebuild my shocks and I could not be happier with the service I received or the performance of the shocks after they were rebuilt.