RFY Shock Rebuild

chris: a general question of sorts. how does the rebound adjuster work the internal needle? i was thinking about it last night when i got into reading your articles and it completely stumped me.

i came up with the shaft having a slot across it, with a pin that the rotating adjuster moved up and down through an internal thread of sorts. which in turn moved the needle up or down, assuming it has a spring loading it downward to keep it in position.

i tied googling ohlins manuals, but they don't show it. well, i just found a parts diagram and that seems to show what i was thinking. just had me stumped.

i also see the ohlins adjuster moves up and down on a thread that is part of the lower mount. i thought they were stationary. looks like i've answered my own question.

it's somewhat ironic that the rfy shocks are good in design (copying is easy enough) and mechanical manufacture (they can do it if they want to), but the assembly (which is where the cheap labour advantage of the chinese is their shining light) is what lets them down.

great articles by the way.
 
I apologize for the slow reply. I try to check this thread occasionally but I've been on the road quite a bit lately.

One thing that I'll add is that the adjuster on the RFY Model 2, as it is built, is actually what I'd call a "bleed adjuster." Typically, a rebound only adjuster would have a check valve assuring the adjustment can only effect the rebound stroke. The model 2 does not have this, meaning that the adjuster effects both compression and rebound events. That said, this is actually common with some adjustable shocks. "Bleed" is a low speed only adjustment. Basically what bleed does is allow the piston move in low velocity movements without having to open the stacks. In my opinion, its a really great adjustment to have. We in fact tune with this adjustment fairly often i formula cars.

And a note on the quality. I got a set in the mail the other day that had an ISO 9000 Certification. Who knows if it's legitimate or not, but given the numbers of shocks I've seen through my shop I'd say the machine work is consistent enough to qualify.
 
I've been contemplating an RFY model 2 set for my next build (assembling nearly a whole bike from my spare parts stash). With the questionability of the port being missing to connect the piggyback reservoir to the main cylinder, as well as price and weight, I was considering the non-reservoir floating piston version of the model 2. Would the major drawback of this be guessing & setting the "proper" internal floating piston height when dismantling to do the proper rebuild with proper shock oil? Or maybe the proper oil amount would be the bigger guess.
 
I think assembly should be pretty straight forward. The order of operation is what is important. Separator piston height should be held at 100% until you screw the seal head nut on, so I don't think you even need to guess on proper assembly height or oil amount.

Of course, all of this depends on the shocks actually having a separator piston. I haven't seen a set in person yet, but they do indeed look promising if they have all the features we hope they do.
 
I finished up the analysis on the RFY shock I have dubbed the "Model 3." Give it a look over.

http://chrislivengood.net/wp/rfy-model-3-shock-analysis/
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400737043032

I think this floating piston non-reservoir version of the model 2 is likely the best choice for the price, features, AND quality out of all of the RFY offerings. I'm assuming that it is identical internally to the reservoir version of the model 2, has the same piston & functional rebound adjustment, AND truly has a fliating piston between the top schraeder valve cavity and the oil & piston cavity.

I'd love to see a set of these torn down to confirm that it is in fact that, an adjustable dampening floating piston setup. Flush & refill/purge with proper shock oil, & charge with nitro, replace with a shorter top out spring, & possibly fabricate a stronger steel clevis, & you'd have the best bargain shock available.

I saw the model 3 on ebay & was quite intrigued, until I found Chris' review of them and the 4 fake compression dampening knobs... & even a fake rebound knob...c'mon, really?
 
110402010021-01_zps4baa43a7.jpg~320x480


As they appear to be a floating piston non-reservoir version of the piggyback model 2, maybe these could be referred to as RFY Model 2.5?
 
Pretty sure people just don't understand how much a rebuild improves the shock.
Even $125.00 is pretty cheap for the work involved.
They won't be equal to $700.00+ shocks but they will be a lot better than majority of $150~$300 shocks.
Oh, just took a look through your website.
Don't know what year your RD is but Yamaha had a clutch modification/unofficial recall fitting new damper 'rubbers' between clutch basket and drive gear.
You grind off the rivets and fit flat head/countersunk Allen bolts with half nuts. Doubt it's still available through Yamaha but you never know ;)
 
Chuck, I forgot to reply to your email. I'm glad you found the information on my site.

I think the "Model 2.5," it's officially called that now, is probably a pretty good setup. One thing to note about the adjuster knob, it adjust bleed, both in the compression and rebound dampening stroke. That can be a tricky thing to work in the real world. Isolated rebound only is better.

Crazy, thanks for the heads up on the damper rubbers. I didn't know there was a recall. Nevertheless, mine are shot and have to be replaced this winter. Banshee rubbers are a direct replacement. Also, I agree with you on the shocks. For the price, they work really well. I am extremely happy with mine. Of the few people who have ridden my bike, they always get off astonished by how well my 40 year old bike ride. It's not a surprise though, it has fairly modern suspension. The RFY's work far better than emulsion type shocks, I don't care what brand.
 
After many many rebuilds I am still here guys. I recently updated my website and it continues to grow along with the information on RFY shocks. I have finally made contact with the RFY mother-ship and I hope that there is some big news to come on that front.

The shock rebuild remains as affordable as ever, IMO. Please check out my site for updates and info. http://chrislivengood.net/wp/shop/

I am also working on a holiday sale. No news on that yet, but watch out for in the coming weeks.
 
can you rework the 400mm? i have a pair id be interested in having done

Sav0r said:
I know that the RFY shocks have quite a following, whether it be good or bad, there’s a good chance they aren’t going anywhere. I have read several accounts of them here on this forum, as well as accounts on other forums. Truth be told, many never do a complete and proper rebuild and as a result get really crappy results. Will these shocks be equal to an Ohlins set? Probably not. That said, after a good rebuild they do actually work fairly well, especially for the price point.

In the last few weeks I’ve been through my set with a fine tooth comb top to bottom. That meant taking them down and inspecting every part down the shim stacks. I have a fair amount of shock experience, mostly on Penske’s for racecars, but they are pretty much the same.

I am offering RFY rebuilds. This includes complete disassembly, inspection for potential problems, assembly with Maxima shock oil, and exact nitrogen charging using a proper shock charging tool. Once the shock is properly purged of air and the reservoir is charged these shocks work beautifully. I hope to get them on a shock dyno soon as to have some proof of it.

The cost is $75. This includes materials, labor, and return shipping. All you are responsible for is sending me your RFY’s. You can contact me here, but you'll have the best results getting me by emailing, the address is available on my website.

I am offering all DTT members a discount of $10.00. This will Expire 2/10/2014

The code is “DoThe100”

The easiest way to purchase is from my website. It uses a paypal checkout system.

My site can be found here - http://chrislivengood.net

I've updated link, as the old one had expired. To get to the products page just navigate via the links at the top right of my page.
Click to expand...
 
Just for future reference, yes I can service the 400mm shocks, though I do charge a bit more as shipping is more expensive and the shocks require greater amounts of oil.
 
I've have too many of these shocks sitting on my shelves right now. I'm tired of looking at them and I'm tired of dusting them off. In honor of Columbus and his diligent murdering of the natives I am having a Columbus day sale. I have three sets of shocks ready to go, I hope to have a fourth online come Monday. The prices I am selling these at during the sale pretty much means I spent money to build you shocks. They are fully rebuilt, good Maxima oil, a proper nitrogen charge, the parts have been inspected and adjusted to the best of my ability.

Here are the three sets I have ready, buy them now if you really want them, or take your chances come Monday. The prices will drop a reasonable amount Monday.

http://chrislivengood.net/wp/product/320mm-dual-rate-shock-set-fully-rebuilt/
http://chrislivengood.net/wp/product/350mm-shock-set-fully-rebuilt/
http://chrislivengood.net/wp/product/325mm-shock-set-fully-rebuilt/

Also, I now have everything to convert RFY shocks to spherical bearing mounts. This a very performance oriented modification. More info at the link below.
http://chrislivengood.net/wp/product/spherical-bearing-modification/

I will add the fourth set here when I get them ready.

As usual, I try to check here often, but the best way to get me is via email or website contact.
 
I did not get the fourth set of shocks completed in time. I did however get pictured added for the third set.

Shocks will not ship until Tuesday, as tomorrow is the holiday.

The fourth set are a 320mm set, with 7w oil, fully nitrogen charged. They are black and gold. I will attempt to get them on the site tomorrow. I actually have this pair set aside to be built out as 340mm (or more) shocks with the use of special extended eyelets. The good deals will be extended to this set, message me for details.


Edited for this addition, I didn't want to bump the post.

I forgot to mention that I am now doing the RFY emulsion shock. I have to machine the linear bearing housing and install a proper bearing and do some machine work on the piston as it has the worst rebound valving (or lack of) of any shock I have ever seen. After that, it's a damn nice package. One that preserves the simple look an emulsion damper but provides proper preload control and does so in a all aluminum shock. It's nice and light, under 10lbs. I just built a set of these at a custom length of 300mm for a CB200t, it required removal of the chain gaurd for spring clearance and a spacer at the top to account for the quarter inch of extra bolt shank (due to the .25" narrower top clevis) but was otherwise a bolt on upgrade. Sweet looking package!

http://chrislivengood.net/wp/product/model-0-rebuild/

Emulsion-456x456.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom