Upfixin'

[dbell]

Living in the heavily regulated Republik of Kalifornia, I can't ride my 2011 300 Raga for 5 months out of the year in public riding grounds.  Too much pollution they tell me.  But they will let me ride my 2003 280 Pro which has a "Green Sticker" allowing for year-round use on public lands.

 

I want to upfix the older 2003 to ride more like the Raga so I can continue to practice on a comparable machine through the California summers.   It is also nice to have the luxury of a second bike to ride while fixing the other.   The 2003 280 pro is new to me so I am going through it fixing issues and finding things to upgrade.

 

It seems to me that the older Sachs shock on the bike has no damping adjustment.  So my first question,  can anyone confirm this lack of damping adjustment or correct me?

 

Even if I can adjust the shock, I think I would like to upgrade.  Being an older guy, 58, with some money to burn, I have no issue thinking about getting a Reiger for this older bike as opposed to a less expensive Olle or TRP.  I love the Reiger on the 2011 Raga.   Looking on-line, at one of the UK advertisers on this site, I see a Reiger shock similar to my 2011 brand new, offered as custom built to your weight and riding style for $950 equivalent US dollars and the Factory version of the Reiger for $1255 US equivalent with 5-way adjustment with same custom build.   (Recent drop of the Pound Sterling in favor of the US Dollar).

 

If I wanted to go all out, I might buy the Factory unit to put on the 2011 Raga and move the Reiger currently on the Raga to the 2003, improving both bikes.  Maybe get the older Reiger rebuild too.  But there may be some small geometry issue for either bike using the newer Reiger.  The same shop in the UK responded to my question, "Can I fit a Reiger shock to a 2003 Gasgas Pro 280?", with the following reply, 

 

"I think so, GasGas changed the linkage ratio in 2012 but I think the shock dimensions stayed the same, the rebound and compression damping might not be ideal due the linkage ratio change but the Reiger shock is very adjustable so I think you should be able to adjust it to suit your preference."

 

Your comments on this proposed suspension upgrade are welcome.  What do you experts and not so experts think?   Any comments on the "linkage ratio change."  If it makes any difference,  Southern California is dry riding on bigger rocks and our local club competition still rides stop-and-hop rules. 

 

I think I can play with the folk oil and settings to get them to work as needed.

 

Wheels already shod with Michelin X Lite tires

 

- Dave

 

[baldilocks]

I got caught out by the linkage change. I had ridden a gas gas with an Ohlins and kept all of my settings. I switched to sherco for two years and then back to gas gas for the 2013 ssdt. I bought an Ohlins shock the week before and set it up as before. But I had to wind up the spring during the trial as the ride height was too low and this effected steering and ground clearance.

I fitted a heavier spring when I got back home