[v-2 superbike]

I'm interested in hearing from members on this forum who either have
the 2 or 3 way Penske rear shock.

My question is:
1) What was the most noticeable difference compared to the stock rear shock.
2) Is this upgrade recommended for street use?
3) Any installation or service issues I should be aware of?

I spoke to L. Engineering and they like the Penske over Ohlin. Now I guess
I need to make a decision between the 2 vs. 3 way system. Thanks for
your input.

 

[ebnash]

Something to consider about about LE is that there like of Penske over Ohlins is mostly political. Did he tell the whole sob story about Ohlins deceived the FOX company and then screwed them over?

After listening to him ramble on with no real supporting arguements and the fact he had to order the Ohlins and it woud take 10 days, I left the shop, called Alex at Kyle Racing. The next day I drove to Monterey and picked up my shock, paid cash and saved on sales tax. I now here, they have some ex-motogp Ohlins guru at Kyle as well.

Anyways, I believe the guys at LE do great work (the truth is, I wish I had them do my front forks instead of DK), but I had a hard time swallowing some story from 15 years ago and decided to go elsewhere.

Whether you go Ohlins or Penske, you will notice the difference. Not sure if it's worth it on the street, but if you are ever considering going to the track, do it. The most noticeable difference for me was I could really start to feel what was going on with the suspension on both ends and that helped me to get it dialed in for my style of riding instead of constantly compensating for the lacking of the stock bouncer. When you sell the bike, you can tear it off and get 75% back on EBAY. It is a worth while investment for sure.

 

[pappawheelie]

O heres my deal.
I've had, On different bikes, Ohlins,Fox,works suspension,and now Penske. All have been good with therxception of the works suspension, it was a Piece of SHIT. No nice way to put it.
By far the Ohlins and Penske have been my favorites.
On my Rc the Penske(I have a twin clicker) has been a huge improvement The only downfall was it just emphasized how bad the front is. It used to feel like the bike was kicking me in the ass on every bump.The penske is wayyyyyyy more progressive. Only downfall is its spring hits the swingarm slightly with the Kyle link in it. I dont know if other shocks do this.
I will say, so far its the best mod I've done to the bike since I've bought it.
I would do suspension before anything.
Hope that helps.

 

[mrgrn]

i have the twin clicker and found the same thing as papa. I love the shock though and was going to buy one for my CBR.

 

[v-2 superbike]

Penske Twin Clicker.

Papawheelie-Thanks for your input. Looks like the Penske will be on order. I was planning not to use the Kyle Link since my understanding is that the twin clicker still allows you to adjust the height plus I have a 190 size tire. not that it matters. Will this avoid the spring/swingarm contact?I can totally relate to the stock bike wanting to kick you in the ass on every bump. I just got back from doing a 3 day 850 mile trip through Vermont and New York and I definitely was hating the setup. If you had to do it again, would you still get the twin vs. 3 way Penske? This is the only thing I'm unsure about. The one thing holding me back is the wide range of adjustibility and me not wanting to spend forever dialing things in not to mention that it might be way overkill for street riding. How long have you had your Penske and do you send it in for sevicing every year the way they recommend? Also, I heard the Penske can later be used for other model bikes. Is this true?

O heres my deal.
I've had, On different bikes, Ohlins,Fox,works suspension,and now Penske. All have been good with therxception of the works suspension, it was a Piece of SHIT. No nice way to put it.
By far the Ohlins and Penske have been my favorites.
On my Rc the Penske(I have a twin clicker) has been a huge improvement The only downfall was it just emphasized how bad the front is. It used to feel like the bike was kicking me in the ass on every bump.The penske is wayyyyyyy more progressive. Only downfall is its spring hits the swingarm slightly with the Kyle link in it. I dont know if other shocks do this.
I will say, so far its the best mod I've done to the bike since I've bought it.
I would do suspension before anything.
Hope that helps.

 

[pappawheelie]

Without the link it clears just fine. As for the tripple versus the double. I dont know. If I was racing I would do the tripple , just because. On the street I think my double is fine. I've had it on the bike for about a year, including our trip to laguna which was 11 days and 3500 miles(4 days in Monterey.). Without the shock I COULDNT have done it. I have Helis and a sargent, and it wouldnt have made a difference without softening up the back a bit.

 

[v-2 superbike]

Thanks for all the good info. i've decided to go with the Penske double.
I also plan to pick up a Sargent on E-bay that I will interchange for days
I plan to tour. 3500 miles on an RC51-not bad at all. Good job.

Without the link it clears just fine. As for the tripple versus the double. I dont know. If I was racing I would do the tripple , just because. On the street I think my double is fine. I've had it on the bike for about a year, including our trip to laguna which was 11 days and 3500 miles(4 days in Monterey.). Without the shock I COULDNT have done it. I have Helis and a sargent, and it wouldnt have made a difference without softening up the back a bit.

 

[pappawheelie]

Ask about the sargent seat? Me personally, I dont think I'd spend the money again. I'd like to try a corbin and see if its any better. the sargent is better, but not sure its worth the money. ask around.Heli's are also debateable.the move the bars up, but you have to move them forward to get the clearance you need.
Good grips are key.Also, your gonna want to talk to SP2pilot about an extended sidestand when you put the penske on.

 

[weasel]

I have the triple adjustable. It uses a completely different valving system than the 2-way. I did have to smooth down a weld on the swingarm so it didn't rub with the link. Mounting the reservoir was a pain. That would be my two complaints otherwide it works great. The biggest thing I noticed was a lack of fade on long, fast rides. I sorta half-assed my sag, set all my clickers in the middle and go with it.

 

[jfyoung]

I have the triple adjustable. It uses a completely different valving system than the 2-way. I did have to smooth down a weld on the swingarm so it didn't rub with the link. Mounting the reservoir was a pain. That would be my two complaints otherwide it works great. The biggest thing I noticed was a lack of fade on long, fast rides. I sorta half-assed my sag, set all my clickers in the middle and go with it.

Has anyone got experience on the street with 2 way versus 3 way Penske? I am inclined to go with the 3 way unless they are substantially harder to dial in? I'm sure I would not be able to leave the clickers all in the middle and go with it!

 

[andres]

Papawheelie-Thanks for your input. Looks like the Penske will be on order. I was planning not to use the Kyle Link since my understanding is that the twin clicker still allows you to adjust the height...

Beware that adjusting the height without the Kyle(or Mori) Link will make for a stiffer ride. At least this is the case with my Ohlins, I have a 180 lbs. spring and I weight about 180 with full gear, with the rear height raised about 5mm I am no longer able to set the correct sag when the preload it set to the minimum. You may want to talk with some of the more experienced people here about this.

my :twocents

 

[CBR400RR]

I use an ELKA 3 way and it works great, I have also used FOX and Ohlins and I found the 3 way works better every where even the street as the high speed adjuster smoothes out the bouncy concrete freeways without changing the low speed adjustment. I can get you a deal on a rear shock, let me know.

 

[mrgrn]

scott, i want a RC30 shock:woot: does elka make one with ride height adjustment.

 

[CBR400RR]

scott, i want a RC30 shock:woot: does elka make one with ride height adjustment.

I don't think they make one for an RC30 but I will check.