Rear progressive on K75S

[chipperdoo2]

Just installed a new Progressive rear shock on my beloved K75S. Now when the shock is loaded or unloaded, such as hitting a bump, or, as little as putting it on or off the centerstand, I hear and feel a loud clunck. At first I thought it was due to the slop present just below the upper mount, (which Prog. says is normal and necessary). After taking it off I found 2-3 coils binding on the upper cover/cap, enough to take the finish off. Just wondering if anyone out there might have had a similar situation, and what if anything is the solution? Thanks

 

[Paul_F]

I've had a rear progressive shock on my K100RT for two seasons now. I've not encountered your problem. Sorry.

 

[wndsrfr]

Hmmmmm.........

I've got a Progressive 412 "short" rear shock that doesn't make any sound like you're describing. A couple of questions:

1. "Slop" present at the top mount is not clear to me....can you describe it differently, such as is it in the mount bolt/bushing or within the shock rod/housing.

2. Have you tried different preload settings--is the noise there on only one setting or all settings?

3. The binding of the spring in the "cup" doesn't sound right at all...is the cup oval from some damage in shipping/handling.....if so, I'm sure Progressive will make it good right off if you return it to them.

4. Are you experiencing any bottoming on big dips/humps in the road? There's a bump rubber and washer that are trapped at the top of the shock rod that get hammered into place when the shock bottoms out.

5. Last thought--is it possible that the shock rod isn't secured properly in the top mount? Even as I write it, it seems that the spring would just drop loose off of the assembly if that were the case, so I really can't see how that could be......just the same, gotta ask....

Good luck,
John

 

[OfficerImpersonator]

I, too, have a K75S with the Progressive rear shock. Your description of the shock doesn't seem to jive with what I see on my bike.

What, exactly, are the coils "snagging" on? All of my coils are exposed to the air. There is no shroud or housing surrounding the coils that could possibly rub against the coil. The "cup" on the top of my shock isn't nearly large enough to come into contact with anything other than the top coil.

Is there anyway you can take a picture of this and post it to the forum for us to examine?

 

[ziegelreiter]

I've had a progressive for about 2 years. I took it out of the box and put it on the bike, and have been riding without any problems.
You might make sure you got the right one, but you may have a defective shock.
Good luck!

 

[chipperdoo2]

The slop I described at the upper end of the shock is below the mounting point.
On the bottom of the upper mount is a stud welded to it which has a flared circular bottom. This fits inside of a chromed top piece which is on top of the cap. There is slop between the chromed piece and the flared stud, (which Prog. says is normal and needed for a monoshock? The original is one solid piece from bottom mount to top, BTW the original is back on the bike )
Below the chromed piece is the cover/cap in which fit the top 3 or so spring coils. Started out on min. preload and went up from there to the 3rd setting-no difference. The cover isn't damaged or out of shape. Not bottoming out.
I can take a picture, but as for posting it on here I don't know how, (HELP!)
I'll check this in the afternoon, off to Bob's to gawk at some GS's

 

[OfficerImpersonator]

I guess due to server space issues you can't post photos directly to the BMWMOA server. The solution is to post them to a Yahoo photo album (or equivalent) and then post a link here to the photo on the other web site.

 

[OfficerImpersonator]

Also - is your shock the 412 or the 420?

 

[jrx222]

K75ster:

Based on your description .... I had the exact same problem with the Progressive shock that I installed on my '90 K75s a few months ago. The coils would "catch" on the inside of the shock cap as the rear loaded and unloaded. After a couple of emails with Progressive I got the impression that this is uncommon(?). Seems like a tolerance problem during manufacturing. I pulled the shock and (using a Q-tip) put some grease on the inside of the cap, and a little on the upper coils where there were rub marks. That has cured the problem - well at least it has for the 700 odd miles I've ridden since I did that. I told Progressive about it, and the guy there seemed to think that was a good way to go. I suppose its possible to do that grease job while the shock is on the bike - maybe a little more difficult though.

I thought about returning the shock, but I won't bother if this "fix" works for a long enough time.

 

[johnnyquest]

Just installed a new Progressive rear shock on my beloved K75S. Now when the shock is loaded or unloaded, such as hitting a bump, or, as little as putting it on or off the centerstand, I hear and feel a loud clunck. At first I thought it was due to the slop present just below the upper mount, (which Prog. says is normal and necessary). After taking it off I found 2-3 coils binding on the upper cover/cap, enough to take the finish off. Just wondering if anyone out there might have had a similar situation, and what if anything is the solution? Thanks

Mine does the same thing. May try putting the grease in there. I had mine put on by my local dealer back last December. Perhaps the new ones aren't as well made as the old ones.

JQ