1997 R1100rs rear suspension replacement

Good evening OilHeads!
Been reading for about 2 hours regarding suspension upgrades. Many threads from 2013-2015. My rear cylinder is spewing fluid. The cycle was purchased for 2500, not gonna put in 1000+ for shocks. (or struts? A rider handle, DARK-something corrected people, but never explained the dif?) Finally found a used part supplier in the U.S. Cyclebarn? I used them for 70/80's parts for Hondas I owned in the past. Forgot about them!

ANYway, price is right- 80 bucks for OEM well-used shock. Shipping is good- 20 bucks (better than the two parts houses I found in Germany. 33USD total, or 33 per kilo?) I'm pulling the trigger in the morning.

Here's my question: The RS has a remote adjuster for rear, on right side down by passenger footpeg. The units I see available on-line don't come attached to/with that remote adjuster. Is that a stock feature? Thought they came as a unit. The shock on the bike disappears into the black plastic tunnel of the lower airbox. Can I access that without a lot of disassembly? Does the remote adjuster screw in or attach in some obvious way?

Going to spend a few more hours looking up the parts fiche, and googling the replacement process, but thought I would post and get some more specific and knowledgeable information. Going down to parking lot in morning to look under the seat, and get into shock mounts to see what I'm dealing with.

Thanks!

The R1100RS rear shock (strut) can be changed in about 15 minutes once the rear wheel/tire has been removed.

Purists say the shock is just the part without the spring and a strut includes the spring. I use the terms interchangeably right or wrong.

Awesome!
Ordering part tonight!
hmmmmm..... off a '94 (save 20 bucks!) or off a 2000? Haha, ha I'm drunk on savings!!!!

Pre load hand adjuster?

Does anyone have a tip on that? Just looked at parts fiche. Line diagram just shows hydraulic line disappearing into top of shock.
Is it a removable fitting? Are shock and adjuster a single unit?

Here’s a pic of the top of the shock from my 97 RT. You can see a banjo fitting where the oil line connects at the top. My guess is the setup changes the damping force with DOT 4 or similar.

romulanremus said:

Here’s a pic of the top of the shock from my 97 RT. You can see a banjo fitting where the oil line connects at the top. My guess is the setup changes the damping force with DOT 4 or similar.

Click to expand...

I believe you'll find it s a preload adjuster.

Great pic! Banjo fitting each end, can fill with hydraulic fluid. The shock I bought has a manual adjuster for pre load. It is from 1994. Seems to be the wrong one. I think about 1997 the remote adjuster was added as standard on RS, from the GS model. I'll still install it to make it more stable, more ridable and less messy. Then, keep on looking for a better one.

Hello!

I just last week replaced the front and rear shocks on my ‘94 R1100RS. At 49,400 miles the rear shock was leaking and the rear spring was sagging. I bought a set of shocks from a ‘99 R1100RS with 20,xxx miles on it. The ‘99 rear shock came with a remote preload adjuster (BIG plus for me!) and the units seem much higher quality than my ‘94’chome stock shocks. Oh and I paid $65. Like you I can’t bring myself to my $1000+ for shocks on a $2000 bike, and I’m not a good enough rider/suspension snob to appreciate the difference between decent stock shocks and aftermarket high quality shocks.

Denny