Old School shocks, new wave performance?

As many of you know I'm building a sick little cafe bike.........

I'm looking at upgrading the shocks on my 1970 CB350 and have a question.
Has anybody tried YSS shocks?

I have had a set of Progressive's on an earlier, psuedo cafe I did and was not impressed with the performance.

I have heard alot about Hagon shocks, but notice they only have adjustments for spring pre-load.

After some research, I've found YSS shocks that are a direct bolt-on to my bike. I like the fact that they are height adjustable and have 60 clicks of rebound as well.

Here is the website: http://www.yssusa.com/honda.php

Unfortunately, you have to click on CB350, then click on Z-Series to see the model I'm looking at..

Wadda ya think?
Overkill?
Too much for the front suspension to try to compensate for?



oh ya, Here's where the bike is at......

The cutting edge of Thai suspension technology.

Compared to 1970's Japanese technology?

Speaking from personal experience, if they're designed for the roads in Thailand, they should be pretty much indestructible.

What are the guys winning VRRA using on their vintage tiddlers?

My guess is they aren't YSS.

I know what those guys are using, but they are limited by the rules for Vintage racing, AND I'm not spending $800 on a set of Works Performance shocks.:eek1

Honda's got that wierd bottom mount, otherwise you'd be free to source any decent set of used Konis or Girlings from the '70's and just re-seal them.

I'm not a big fan on Hagons. Suitable for cruisers, not sporting bikes, imho.

I've never had an issue with Progressive Suspension or Works Performance. What's your beef?

$800.... really?

I paid just over $400 back in 03 for set of their "street trackers" I highly doubt the price has doubled since then.

Sprung and valved for your weight and riding style....just sayin

Works Performance shocks with adjustable dampning are over $1000.....nope.

Finding and re-building used shocks.........nope

Looking for new shock that will perform well and look good.......yup.

As I said, I had Progressive's on a previous Cafe bike and the improvement over stock was marginal, at best.

Was honestly hoping that someone had some real world experience with the YSS shocks. The price is right, the adjustability is consistant with most new shocks and it isn't a custom order to buy the ones to fit my bike....That's my beef.......

You may want to take a look, they are not that expensive.
They will build them to fit your weight, bike , riding style.
No connection, just satisfied customer.

http://www.worksperformance.com/html/vintage.html

I've used the same pair of Works Perf. shocks since the mid-90's, and they were mediocre until properly set up.

Those YSS shocks aren't all that much cheaper, and they'd still need the same massaging before things are right. You might check with them as to what's available for springs and damper internals.

Once you figure out the rear suspension, put emulators and the right springs in the other end.


I had one of these bikes back in the early 70's; all it took was slightly longer Konis in back and carefully assembled forks. The bucks-up people used CB750 front ends.

One more handling suggestion: if you ever have the engine out, weld a bead all the way around the main components of the frame at the spot-welded seams. You'll notice the difference.

The yss for my CB750 are rock hard basically rods that masquerade as shocks
The up side is they were slightly longer and gave me a little ground clearance Clarance.

Buuuuut, the company is run by a german guy... the same german engineer that designed Wilbers shocks. He got fed up working for them and left.

Any real-world experience with the Chinese NTC shocks?

YSS shocks aren't too bad. They started making parts of bigger name brand shocks with cheaper labor costs.

Compared to what was originally on the bike they'll be a big improvement.

Pete