[yago20]

Out for a ride this past weekend I hit a pot hole. The bike stayed upright and was surprisingly stable considering the damage. When I came to a stop, I put my feet down to find the ground MUCH closer than it normally is. At first I thought I blew the tire, but that is not the case. I called a tow truck and once got home with the bike and was able to dig a little deeper I found that the tire is worn flat from the underside of the fender (frame?) grinding it away before I could come to a stop. It is still holding air. My next thought was that I blew the air bag in the shock, but hooking up a pressure gauge shows that is still holding air as well. This means I broke something up at the top of the rear suspension linkage. Either the shock mount, link mount, wishbone part or sheered the pin that holds everything together.
So now knowing that I have to replace the rear suspension, I reach out to you for your suggestions. Do I replace everything with stock, or if not, what would you upgrade to what?

Thanks, and ride safe!

 

[broggyr]

Is your bike lowered or stock height? Some folks have had issues with the lowering link snapping or shearing due to forces...

 

[yago20]

Hey Broggyr,
My bike was all suspension. I have short legs and had thought about lowering it, but never did. I contacted the local dealer who I trust. Once I can get the bike to them, they will go over it and let me know what is broken, worn out, etc so I can decide how to move forward. My reason for posting before I even know what is wrong with the bike is to see what others have done as far as rear suspension upgrades and recommendations.
I hear a lot of good things about the Penske shock upgrade, but I will only do that if the stock shock is broken. I will most likely buy a lowering link as well as new kickstand while the work is being done and let the dealer install it.

 

[broggyr]

@PaiN and I recently changed our fork oil from stock to Maxim "V-Twin" (?) 10W and it made a huge difference. Some don't like it, but I love it. I have definitely been entertaining the thought of the Penske shock, but it's a good chunk of change right now.

 

[vindex1963]

@PaiN and I recently changed our fork oil from stock to Maxim "V-Twin" (?) 10W and it made a huge difference. Some don't like it, but I love it. I have definitely been entertaining the thought of the Penske shock, but it's a good chunk of change right now.

I also went with 10w.

 

[Vinish]

It might just be a broken suspension part that is (relative to the air shock) cheap and easy to replace. If this is the case and you are content with the current ride and seat height, why change the expensive shock?

 

[RICZ]

If you have the tools and the where-with-all to work on your bike, why pay $100+/hour for someone else to do it? If you have ever removed the rear wheel, you are most of the way there to removing the suspension parts. I've been there, done that.

 

[yago20]

I agree completely with you guys, I could save a good bit of money by turning the wrench myself. While fixing the rear suspension myself shouldn't be that hard for me, I don't have a motorcycle jack which will make the job a lot easier and my garage floor is currently stone so that just doesn't sound fun to me.
I also started an insurance claim when I called to have the bike towed. Since I have a claim against the insurance already and a deductible to meet, I'll continue with the shop doing the work. This shop (Philadelphia Cycle Center in PA for those of you in the area looking for a good shop!) have never done me wrong and seem to charge fairly. I remember one of my services, I came out to the bike to find the tech had lubed everything that needed lubing, and they didn't charge me for it at all.
I'm in talks with them to take everything apart and let know what parts need replacing, and then we can discuss what I will replace them with (OEM or aftermarket).

 

[RICZ]

Sounds like you had this well under control before you posted. Let us know how this progresses.

 

[yago20]

Sounds like you had this well under control before you posted. Let us know how this progresses.

I have some ideas, yes. Figured I'd throw out a post to see if I missed anything, or that someone else actually had the same problem. Most things on the Vic XC seem built very well, so I figured this was just a case of bad luck.

 

[rojo154]

@PaiN and I recently changed our fork oil from stock to Maxim "V-Twin" (?) 10W and it made a huge difference. Some don't like it, but I love it. I have definitely been entertaining the thought of the Penske shock, but it's a good chunk of change right now.

What difference did it make? My Kingpin takes any significant road imperfections poorly, as if the suspension is too stiff as it rattles the bike. I'm thinking that maybe changing the fork oil may help. ...??. I already removed the lowering links as the bike would bottom on a good bump to the point where the drive pulley had hit the rear fender and bent the belt guard. Screw that, the stock links went back on as I don't need the lowered height anyway.

 

[Speedblue]

shocking

So personally if you are a smaller guy, on the lighter side of the scale and the shock is still good I would stay with it. Now if you find the link is broken and you have to replace it you may want to buy one to drop the seat height a bit. Now if you find something like the shock retaining pin up top broken and everything else is ok there is another way. That top shock pin does have to be grease every so often. If a person wants to lower the bike just an about an inch you can take out the top pivot linkage and mount it back in there upside down this lowers the bike about one inch. How do I know? The dealer I had bought my bike from did it for me before I picked up my bike. I found out later when I had the stock shock out of the bike. I had told them to leave it the stock height because I did not want to loose the corning clearance. They had done it anyway. When I put the rear shock back in I flipped it into the factory setting, it is marked with an arrow pointing up. It did make the bike taller along with the Penske shock at the time.

 

[yago20]

To update this a little bit, the insurance company is not going to cover this. The dealership and the insurance company both got together and looked over the bike. The only thing they have found with any damage so far is the strut, which the lowering link and shock both attach to. There is no other damage. The strut itself is broken right along the weld line. Even to myself, this sounds like a faulty weld which gave away when I hit the pothole.
Both the insurance company and the dealership recommended that I contact Polaris and take it up with them, which I will be doing. As a side note, the dealership will also be doing this. Stay tuned.

 

[visionjohnny]

make sure you have them check the balance of the tire and check rim

 

[yago20]

make sure you have them check the balance of the tire and check rim

This dealer is awesome, yet fair. They are in the process of tearing the bike down, looking it over with a fine tooth comb and reporting back to the insurance any damage they find.

 

[yago20]

So just to update this thread, I called the dealer this morning. The part is on back-order, with no estimated time of arrival. It's starting to look like this riding season may be a wash. Anyone have any ideas or contacts at Victory/Polaris that I can start calling?

 

[RICZ]

Have you been on Victory motorcycle but sell & trade of FB with an ISO?

 

[yago20]

Have you been on Victory motorcycle but sell & trade of FB with an ISO?

I haven't tried that yet. Thanks for the suggestion!