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So, i bought my Falco many moons ago and it came fitted with a Maxton rear shock. I never did anything with it, until last year the dogbone linkage siezed, and I realised the rear shock was in desperate need of attention. Big thanks to HowardQ who lent me a standard Falco unit. I'm sorry I've had for so long Howard, if i'd have know it would take me this long to get it sorted, I'd have bought a white Sachs off eBay for a hundred quid as a stopgap.

Part of the reason this has taken so damn long is because everytime I think about it, I have no idea what to do. Then other stuff comes up, it falls off the radar etc.

But this time I'm determined to get it sorted. I've got the money, but not sure how to spend it.

Option 1 - Get the Maxton Serviced
The Maxton unit i have is in bad shape. It needs a new spring and a new lower joint, as well as a full service. This is going to cost me £270, plus I have to post the shock to them, so probably about £285 in total.

Cons: Must be serviced by Maxton, as they don't sell spares to 3rd parties. I'd essentially be buying into that again, which I really despise the idea of. If I'f spending close to £300, i may as well pay more and get something brand new and allegedly better than the Maxton?
Pro's: I know how it rides, Cheapest of the options available.

Option 2 - Buy an Ohlins off ebay for £270 ish and get it serviced, not sure on price but lets say £150 all in. Total would be around £420. Presumably closer to £500 if it needed a spring as well.

Cons: Buying a shock that also needs a service. Seems a bit stupid. Potentially the most expensive option. Buying a 14 year old unit - is that really a good idea??
Pros: Ohlins. Would match the front forks if I ever got round to replacing them as well.

Option 3 - Buy a brand new Shock from someone like Nitron or Wilburs. Both are allegedly better than the Maxton. This would likely cost around £450, but I'd be getting a shock with the correct spring for my weight. Plenty of people saying good things about their Nitron and Wilburs shocks. 5 year guarantee on both.



Please help me decide!

I must admit not knowing how good certain shocks are on the Falco, but have ou looked at 2nd hand hyprpro, years ago it was possible to get them at a very good price and parts to service them were not expensive if a b time consumming. (one of the reasons i got it for the BB) like this but just hunt bout a bit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shock-absorbe ... 1970583643

Yeah, I've kept an eye on the popular falco searches for a while, I can't recall the last time something came up for the Falco that wasn't a standard Sachs shock.

A friend just shown me a picture of their Nitron shock. Snapped in half.

Edit: Nitron's fault but not unexplained. The bike he bought it for had a central rod of 18mm, the Nitron shock he was sent was only 16mm, hence the snappage.

Dale, if you need a spring for any shock, let me know as I live about a mile away from a company called Springcoil in Sheffield (Springoil.co.uk). They actually make all the springs for D Faulkner, who are a well known spring suppliers. I've had quite a few springs off them, and they've only cost about £50 cash each. You would need to know the spring rate you wanted, plus inside diameter (normally 2.25"/57mm) and free length. They would also need to know how much the spring would need to compress before going coil-bound. You also need to specify that both ends need to be ground flat for motorcycle use.

Alternatively if you have a spring that is the right rate, they can copy it, or make one softer/harder to your specification. They're very helpful.

On the choice of shocks, you're really between a rock and a hard place. I too would resent paying Maxton to refurb it, given their restrictive business practices. I'd be tempted to give John at Revs Racing a call and tell him your requirements, as he is a Wilbers agent and really does know his stuff. He might even take your Maxton shock in PX, although I obviously couldn't guarantee that. From everything I've read/heard I'd say Hyperpro and Wilbers are very close in performance terms.

I'm wary of Nitron; I've heard of a number of them failing dramatically in use, losing all their damping oil. And as you point out, a secondhand Ohline will almost always need a service, which will never cost less than £100 and may cost a fair bit more. The quality is excellent, though.

Good luck.

I hope this does not muddy the waters further...
I have a white spring Sachs unit that I want only beer money for ( the postage will be the biggest cost ).
It works, it's far better than a 'blue spring pogo stick' unit, it does not look too shabby, no leaks ect.
If this gets you out of a hole then drop me a pm

Right! finally made the decision and decided to have the Maxton rebuild, after speaking more to Richard from Maxton. Posted it off today, so hopefully I will have the shock back in 2-3 weeks.

Fatboy, PM on its way.

Finally got her back. She's looking pretty good now for a 10+ year old shock.

Guess I'll be fitting this and the mille swinger this weekend :)

That does look pretty swish but no remote res ?
I guess it must perform ok as you've had it rebuilt. Maybe we have been brainwashed into thinking only better shocks have a remote res ?

fatboy wrote:That does look pretty swish but no remote res ?
I guess it must perform ok as you've had it rebuilt. Maybe we have been brainwashed into thinking only better shocks have a remote res ?

I can't comment on a remote as as I've not ridden a bike with one.

All i know is that it's a lot better than standard. And that was when it really needed a service.

Anyway, I completely neglected the fact that i'd need to split the chain t get it through the loop of the RSV swingarm, so I need to beg/borrow a chain splitting tool and riveter before I can do this.

That looks absolutely brand new, Dale. Nice work. I've got a chain rivetter but not a splitter, I'm afraid. When chains need replacing at end of life they book an appontment with Mr Angle Grinder, complete with metal cutting disc. It's a very short appointment...

I have a splitter/riveter and the advice given is to grind off the heads of the soft link pins before splitting.
I follow Mango's methodology and chop the link plates, far quicker.
I would not trust a soft link to be split and re riveted.
Afam sell a tool that rivets to presicion, no overpeening of the pins, it's advertised as single use but Bike Torque Racing say the do at least 5 chains with no issues

Bit peeved off today as I've replaced the starter cables with uprated ones. Now she won't start. She's sparking, getting fuel and is turning over, but she just won't fire up.

Yeah, I wouldn't reuse a link anyway. Will order a new one up next week.

Can anyone recommend a chain splitter and riveter that is going to do the job without costing the earth?

Dalemac wrote:Bit peeved off today as I've replaced the starter cables with uprated ones. Now she won't start. She's sparking, getting fuel and is turning over, but she just won't fire up. :smt013

Yeah, I wouldn't reuse a link anyway. Will order a new one up next week.

Can anyone recommend a chain splitter and riveter that is going to do the job without costing the earth?

I have one similar to this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DID-Style-Mot ... 1053720205

I think I paid a bit more for mine. I don't use it for splitting (I grind them off) but it rivets just fine.


Regarding starting: have you given it a big handful?

Thanks, will take a look at that type as i hadn't seen that type before.

Yep, given it a big handful a few times. Does not want to go!

Time to fess up...

I might have connected the ground wire for the power commander to the positive battery terminal

At least she is running again!