Touratech Extreme Rear Shock upgrade

[NeilW]

I installed the Touratech Extreme Rear Shock and it really makes an obvious difference in ride and rideability. Here is my review - comments are always welcome.

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2022/06/13/touratech-extreme-shock-review-yamaha-tenere-700-project-bike/

[Ray Ride4life]

Check the bolt on the bracket of the preload adjuster, it came loose on mine. Cought it just in time

[NeilW]

Just now, Ray Ride4life said:

Check the bolt on the bracket of the preload adjuster, it came loose on mine. Cought it just in time

Thanks for the heads up. As soon as I see it again I will look at that bolt and loctite it. She is resting at the shop waiting on a whole new front end

[NeilW]

57 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

Check the bolt on the bracket of the preload adjuster, it came loose on mine. Cought it just in time

@Ray Ride4life how do you like the shock? Do you agree with my assessment of it?

 

[Tenerider]

Great review Neil, much appreciated!

[Ray Ride4life]

27 minutes ago, NeilW said:

@Ray Ride4life how do you like the shock? Do you agree with my assessment of it?

 

I didn't read the review, saw this post over morning coffee before work.

I have the complete WTE set front and rear and love it.

The bike feels like a dirtbike and gives s lot of confidence on- and offroad.

[SO_Rider]

19 hours ago, NeilW said:

I installed the Touratech Extreme Rear Shock and it really makes an obvious difference in ride and rideability. Here is my review - comments are always welcome.

https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2022/06/13/touratech-extreme-shock-review-yamaha-tenere-700-project-bike/

Great review Neil, as usual. I have no doubt this upgrade is a vast improvement over stock. A couple of thoughts.

 

Have you already done a fork upgrade? It seems you'd want to do both at the same time to balance out the bike. My experience is similar to yours that the bike is undersprung for my 200# carcass and gear. 

 

As much as I would have liked to buy a full aftermarket shock and fork internals I have gone a different direction. I'll of course get heavier springs front and rear, but am going with a more limited retrofit. I found a suspension tech here in Southern Oregon that seems very knowledgeable and has spent a good amount of time with me, developing a parts package that I believe will get 80-90% of the performance of these more pricier packages at a significantly reduce cost. Here's more specifics:

 

Shock

Rally Raid Spring upgrade and shim kit developed by Clive Ward from Motorcyclebiz in Australia:

 

Motorcyclebiz

 

Clive has alot of experience with the T7 and is continually developing/improving the shim stacks for the T7. In fact, during the install, he sent a revised recommendation on the shims which he thinks is an improvement over what he was recommending previously. His opinion is that the stock shock is very good, with a good size piston and good oil flow, but can be improved significantly with relatively minor upgrades.  And for my riding style  fairly aggressive but not much airtime- he recommends this route for the budget minded. That said, the stock shock still has limitations and I know I will have to replace it at some point when it wears out.

 

Fork

• K-Tech ORVS Piston Kit
  • https://www.ktechsuspensionusa.com/p-24616-k-tech-suspension-fork-piston-kit.aspx
• Rally Raid Spring Guides
  • https://www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk/yamaha-t7-tenere/yamaha-t7-spring-guide-fork
• Springs from K-Tech (2 required) are the recommended as they meet the requirements for the spring guide install
  • https://www.ktechsuspensionusa.com/p-24614-k-tech-suspension-front-fork-spring.asp

Total cost including labor is under $900. This excludes pre-load caps on the front. They are about another $275 or so. They were backordered, so I'll do without those in the short term. 

 

I pick the bike up on Saturday and will report back after I have some time on it. 

 

 

 

[NeilW]

@SO_Riderthanks for sharing. I am hoping to do the front next. I wanted to see what the rear did first. I thought it would make the most difference. 

[SO_Rider]

9 hours ago, NeilW said:

@SO_Riderthanks for sharing. I am hoping to do the front next. I wanted to see what the rear did first. I thought it would make the most difference. 

I agree the rear is probably more important. I actually find the fork performs decent, except for the not infrequent bottom out....

[Jesse]

I installed the TOURATECH EXPLORE HP REAR SHOCK W/ PDS I'm super happy with it.  I also installed TOURATECH PROGRESSIVE FORK SPRINGS at the same time completely change the feel of the bike. 

[Ray Ride4life]

2 hours ago, Jesse said:

I also installed TOURATECH PROGRESSIVE FORK SPRINGS

These are Hyperpro's in a Touratech box.
The WTE set is from Tractive but Touratech has a better warranty and servicepoints worldwide who are not allowed to work on the Tractive own branded.