Reactive Suspension - Shocks
Reactive Suspension offer a wide range of motorcycle shock absorber products and services. Shock servicing and re-valves can be carried out at our workshop and replacement shocks from Penske and Ohlins can be supplied. We also supply Hypercoils springs and spare parts for Kayaba and Showa shocks.
Most standard shocks have a whole catalogue of faults and cannot justify having a single penny spent on them, replacement is the only sensible option.
Wherever possible we recommend Penske Shocks, they are custom built at the factory in the USA to your specific requirements, they are not an off the shelf shock with standard damping and spring, the damping and spring rates are specifically chosen for your weight, use, and how you ride, then built accordingly.
Shocks shorter or longer than stock can be built at no extra charge, should have an obscure bike or are building a project bike we can usually have a shock built to suit.
Penske shocks are of a fully CNC machined construction with no cast parts making them both lightweight and strong, they have extremely hard wearing surface finishes for reduced friction and increased oil life.
Typically we supply three models of shock, the 8900E Sport Shock, the 8983 and the 8987, other adjuster options are available should they be required. They are of a "modular" construction and share many common parts, all have an adjustable length bottom mount to allow the optimisation of the rear ride height without removing the shock from the motorcycle, direct spring preload and a 36 click rebound adjuster.
All our Penske shocks are fitted with a Hypercoils spring as standard, matched to your weight.
Sport Shock
The Sport Shock is an emulsion shock for street riders who want a quality replacement shock for road, commuting or touring use.
The shock is adjustable for spring preload, rebound, and ride height, should further adjustment be found necessary the shock can be upgraded to an 8983 or an 8987, without the need to buy a complete replacement shock, an adjustable reservoir can be added at our workshop.
8983
The 8983 provides new dimensions of adjustment and versatility for racing, trackdays and road use. The compression adjuster uses a unique parabolic needle giving enhanced linear steps between settings. The shock is also adjustable for spring preload, rebound and ride height, piggyback or remote reservoir options are available.
8987
The 8987 offers the ultimate in suspension tuning for all uses featuring separate adjusters for both high and low speed compression adjusters. The high speed adjuster controls larger road inconsistencies while the low speed adjuster controls slow shaft movements such as pitching. Unlike many on the market this high speed adjuster actually works, with a very wide range of adjustment. The shock is also adjustable for spring preload, rebound and ride height, piggyback or remote reservoir options are available.
Penske Upgrades
Uniquely amongst motorcycle shock manufacturers Penske offer a number of piston options, we stock pistons to suit a number of different uses, a road shock can be upgraded for racing or track days or for better launch performance on the drag strip.
Being of modular construction a Sport shock can be upgraded to an 8983 or 8987, equally an 8983 can be upgraded to an 8987. contact us for more information.
Penske Twin Shocks
The highest quality twin shocks available on the market today, available in a range of adjustment options custom built for the bike and rider. Available in a piggyback style in either silver or black for Harley V-Rods.
Penske Drag Shock
A custom built shock designed for drag racing, maximising the weight tranfer to the rear on launch, increasing traction all the way down the strip.
The shock is available in standard or shorter lengths for Hayabusa's, ZX12's, ZX14, CBR1100 and others.
JRI Drag Shock
The JRI drag shock is a damper specifically built for drag racing, the shock gives increased chassis control, allowing the bike to plant the tyre harder and hold it.
Used by Bud Yoder on the RMR Hayabusa to set the pro street record of 7.115s at 203mph, users report an average 60ft time of 1.19 to 1.26s.
Öhlins Shock Absorbers
More than 60 World Championship titles are definitive proof that Öhlins shock absorbers offer outstanding performance and reliability.
Öhlins manufactures more than 300 different shock absorber models. Based on your bike's performance, its price and space available they have designed a shock to suit.
Hypercoils Springs
All coil springs look similar but there are huge differences not immediately apparent or visible to the naked eye, Hypercoils are a different product to other springs on the market being manufactured from the very best materials to closer tolerances. Having a wider range of wire sizes on their inventory than other manufacturers they are able to select the exact wire diameter to optimise the spring design. They are more reliable, more accurate, lighter, will not lose free length, and generally offer more deflection than any other spring available.
In a planned phased transition Hypercoils are moving over to the Optimum Body Diameter Spring, this is the very latest breakthrough in spring technology featuring a design where the main body diameter is greater than that of the end coils resulting in a spring with improved rate linearity, more resistance to bowing, additional shock to spring clearance and a lighter weight.
OBD springs fit all standard hardware, over time, 100% of the line will be produced in the OBD configuration.
Download/ view a spring application chart for Penske shocks here
A video about OBD Springs can be seen on the Hypercoils website here
Load Centralizing Hydraulic Spring Perches
An inherent characteristic of coil springs is that as they compress they produce a lateral, or sideways load acting on the shock shaft trying to bend it resulting in highly increased frictional forces within the damper, these extra forces give lowered tyre grip levels, and increased tyre wear.
The assembly allows the end coils of the spring to tilt (up to 4 degrees) as compressive loads are applied centralising the loads fed into the shock. The result is that up to 96% of the bending is eliminated increasing mechanical grip.
The spring perch can be used with any existing shock absorbers fitting between the existing spring collar and the spring.
Titanium Springs, 57mm Internal Diameter, 150mm Free Length
The properties of titanium allow a larger wire diameter and fewer coils to be used to achieve the same spring rate to that of an equivalent steel spring, the resulting Titanium spring is both significantly lighter (typically by 40%) and will provide more travel due to having fewer coils.
The reduced weight of a titanium springs lowers the unsprung mass of the suspension generating less inertia, contributing to a more responsive suspension action and maximum tyre contact.
Penske Spare Parts and Shock Conversions
We carry a full range of spare parts to keep your Penske shock working at it's optimum performance level from service parts such as seals and bushes to shafts and bodies. If you've bought an EBay bargain we can service it to ensure maximum performance and if necessary modify it to suit your riding style and use
If your selling a bike that has a Penske shock fitted to it, it can often be more economical to convert the shock to fit your new bike rather than having to buy a complete new shock.