Aprilia Tuono Rear Shock (Sachs)

[jeremyr62]

Just for info, there's a Nitron shock on sale on the UK Ebay site at the moment for the 750X. The spring on the shock is a 1100 lb/in (193 N/mm) as far as I can tell from the code on the spring. Not a great picture of it. Nitron do spec their springs in imperial units.

 

[milesprwr]

Just for info, there's a Nitron shock on sale on the UK Ebay site at the moment for the 750X. The spring on the shock is a 1100 lb/in (193 N/mm) as far as I can tell from the code on the spring. Not a great picture of it. Nitron do spec their springs in imperial units.

That seems super stiff!

I got around to removing the OEM spring from my 2013 RSV4 shock. It's length is 155mm as seen in the attachment.

EDIT: I have the shock pictured upside down in the picture =)

I had a few questions regarding the other aspects of the shock. Reference the second attachment (Adding some answers after tweaking settings and sitting on the shock and observing):

1. Does the red line adjust compression damping?
   1. This adjust rebound: righty tighty = slower rebound, left loosey = faster rebound
2. Is the distance between the two yellow lines the total travel of the shock?
3. What is the yellow rubber "cushion" marked by the blue line? Something to prevent a harsh bottom out? And does it effectively change the total travel length of the shock?
4. Does the green line adjust rebound damping?
   1. This adjusts compression: soft = less force to compress, hard = more force to compress

 

[jeremyr62]

The red line is the rebound damping adjuster and the green is compression so you have that right. As you wind them in the damping increases When you have the shock fitted you should be able to tell by going from one extreme to the other. Its hard to tell with the shock off the bike. The yellow thing is called a bump stop, and yes, it's to stop the shock bottoming out on very harsh bumps.
I suppose it does effect shock travel as you can't squish it to nothing so the total travel will be less than between the two yellow lines.

Like I said, your sag measurements should dictate the spring stiffness. Nitron build their shocks to the suit the rider. You supply them with your weight in gear, whether you are going to carry a pillion, whether the bike will be used mainly on the road, track or raced and they build it to suit. There is no one size fits all but the OE shock does a pretty good job of trying to.

 

[milesprwr]

I finally got around to installing the RSV4 shock. I added 4 washers to make the top eyehole thickness of the RSV4 shock the same as the OEM shock (see attachments).

After torquing down the to bolt + nut, I noticed a lot of play with the RSV4 shock just hanging down. Unfortunately, I didn't make a mental note of free play when removing the OEM shock. Is this amount play expected while the shock is just hanging down?

Link to video

I figure it's good to double check before proceeding any further =)

 

[jeremyr62]

Yes. You have to shim top
and bottom. Mine also has plenty of free play. When everything is bolted up it won’t be a problem.

 

[milesprwr]

Installation complete! Here are the details of my experience.

• Purchased 2013 RSV4 shock from ebay for $100
• Purchased Ohlins 170mm 01092-41/115 N/MM spring from MRP motorsports for $120 shipped
• Used 5mm of shims for the top mount
• Used 3mm of shims for the bottom mount
• Overall length was the same between the RSV4 shock and OEM shock, the RSV4 shock is height adjustable though
• The gas canister pushes up on plastic slightly which misaligns the LHS side plastic fastener threads; I opted to take that bolt out since it doesn't do much and put a rubber grommet in (both sides)
• Like others have said, didn't need to remove plastics but required some fancy finger work
• Based on 5.9 inches ~150mm of rear wheel travel
  • Used ~75% of available preload
  • 45mm rider sag which is 30% of rear wheel travel
  • ~18mm static sag
  • I'm 185 lbs in gear and run a V47 top case
• Rebound adjustment has 30 clicks, adjusted to 15 clicks for starters
• Compression adjustment has 2.75 full turns, adjusted to 1.5 turns from softest setting

Haven't gotten to ride it yet, looking forward to see how it feels! The gold/yellow contrasting the black/red is a nice touch.

The Congent Dynamics DDCs I ordered should be coming in tomorrow so looking forward to that install as well =)

 

[AVG1940]

Installation complete! Here are the details of my experience.

• Purchased 2013 RSV4 shock from ebay for $100
• Purchased Ohlins 170mm 01092-41/115 N/MM spring from MRP motorsports for $120 shipped
• Used 5mm of shims for the top mount
• Used 3mm of shims for the bottom mount
• Overall length was the same between the RSV4 shock and OEM shock, the RSV4 shock is height adjustable though
• The gas canister pushes up on plastic slightly which misaligns the LHS side plastic fastener threads; I opted to take that bolt out since it doesn't do much and put a rubber grommet in (both sides)
• Like others have said, didn't need to remove plastics but required some fancy finger work
• Based on 5.9 inches ~150mm of rear wheel travel
  • Used ~75% of available preload
  • 45mm rider sag which is 30% of rear wheel travel
  • ~18mm static sag
  • I'm 185 lbs in gear and run a V47 top case
• Rebound adjustment has 30 clicks, adjusted to 15 clicks for starters
• Compression adjustment has 2.75 full turns, adjusted to 1.5 turns from softest setting

Haven't gotten to ride it yet, looking forward to see how it feels! The gold/yellow contrasting the black/red is a nice touch.

The Congent Dynamics DDCs I ordered should be coming in tomorrow so looking forward to that install as well =)

I ran the RSV4 shock on my '18 NC as well. Pretty much the same set up. Ran an Eibach spring. Magic carpet ride compared to stock. "No Ragrets..."

 

[kokomoto]

I've bought an Aprilia RSV4 shock. I'm currently shopping for a spring. Would Eibach spring 0600.225.0800 be a good fit for a 185 lb rider?

Edit: After rereading the entire thread, I'm now considering the Hyperco 187A0800. 7" x 2.25" 800lb spring.

 

[jeremyr62]

I've bought an Aprilia RSV4 shock. I'm currently shopping for a spring. Would Eibach spring 170.60.0750 be a good fit for a 185 lb rider?

You really need to measure the sag with the setup you have now. That will guide you to the spring stiffness you need. The spring stiffness on the OE shock is about 140 N/mm.

 

[Inroads]

I've bought an Aprilia RSV4 shock. I'm currently shopping for a spring. Would Eibach spring 0600.225.0800 be a good fit for a 185 lb rider?

Edit: After rereading the entire thread, I'm now considering the Hyperco 187A0800. 7" x 2.25" 800lb spring.

Hello,I just bought a 2015 RSV4 shock for my new to me 2012 700 DCT..I am the same weight as you (185) would you mind sharing where I might buy a shock spring.....
I'm thinking the stock Aprilia spring is not the way to go ?
TIA..

 

[kokomoto]

Hello,I just bought a 2015 RSV4 shock for my new to me 2012 700 DCT..I am the same weight as you (185) would you mind sharing where I might buy a shock spring.....
I'm thinking the stock Aprilia spring is not the way to go ?
TIA..

I found a Hyperco spring at Hoerr Racing Products for $79.99 + $9.95 shipping. The Hyperco website list them as a dealer, so they should be legitimate.

Hyperco Coilover Springs 2.25

Hyperco Coilover Springs 2.25" ID Description 2.25” ID x 4” FL Sku Rate HYP184A0300 300 HYP184A0350 350 HYP184A0400 400 HYP184A0450 450 HYP184A0500 500 HYP184A0550 550 HYP184A0600 600 HYP184A0650 650 HYP184A0700 700 HYP184A0750 750 HYP184A0800 800 HYP184A0850 850 HYP184A0900 900 HYP184A0950 950...

www.hrpworld.com

I mistakenly thought I had purchased an RSV shock, but it's a 2012 Tuono V4 shock. It lacks the adjustable length feature, but the overall length measures about 310 - 312mm. After doing some measuring, I just don't see how a 7" spring will fit without a bunch of preload with the collars dialed all the way out. I'll probably go with a 6" 800lb spring. The 750lb spring might be fine. I occasionally have a pillion and luggage, so I'm guessing the 800lb spring might be better in my case. IIRC, the original spring is about 6.25" long, and perhaps 550lb. I'm not sure if the earlier Tuono shock takes a longer spring, but some have installed longer springs.

I also ordered a NTA3648 thrust needle bearing to make preload adjustment easier. Found one on the auction site for $10.99 with free shipping. It seems to fit perfectly.