How bouncy should my rear suspension be?

[Lee Frost]

Possibly a daft question but while wheeling my DRZ into the garage this morning I noticed that the shock/suspension seems quite bouncy - as in I can easily press the rear end down with my hand and compress the spring and if I lift the rear end above the normal height there's also plenty of give in the shock. Is that normal or should the suspension be harder?

 

[Archie Adv]

Sounds like it's not working very well..... try the boing test push the tale end of the seat down sharply and watch the rebound action to see if the rear end bounces like a spring would do. Do it a few times to get a real feel for it. If you can see it bouncing then it's a fair bet the shocker is shagged and needs servicing. If it rises without any bounce as if it is being controlled it may mean the the damper is shagged but the rebound is still working hence no boing effect. Get it serviced. You don't say how old it is or much about how you ride other that to say when you wheelie.... It's not a unicycle btw....

 

[Lee Frost]

DRZ rear shock needs servicing

Cheers Archie. It's a 2001 bike with 12k on the clock, used for trail riding. The back end doesn't bounce like a spring when I press it down and release but I guess it does rise slowly when released. The suspension just seems a bit on the soft side. I checked the dampener setting and it's at the factory setting - 10/11 clicks in from the softest setting. A service is probably in order.

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good place to send a bike shock for a service/regas?

 

[doyle]

If your a bigger fella ,you;d possibly be better getting an aftermarket shock-depending on how much you want to spend.
No doubt thumpertalk will have many pages on it.

When i had my DRZ i knocked the spring tight and had the shock damped quite a lot as with gear on i must weight near 16st.