I've used a pair of period Arnaco's on my Cheney Yamaha and in their brief time on the bike they did a stirling job of keeping the rear mudguard from connecting with the Pirelli Scorpion. Now that it's being converted from Show Pony to Serious Racer, the Cheney's received a pair of 13.5" (
340mm)steel bodied Works Performance shocks. My Hindall RT2MX had 12" (
310mm)S&W's on it when I got the bike from the US but it's now been fitted with a nice pair of 13.75" (
350mm)alloy Works Performance shocks. I bought both pairs from different Marks Swapmeet vendors for a total of $375. I've fitted seal kits and reoiled and gassed them using kits I got from Rick Doughty back when we were on speaking terms. Total outlay...around $400 for both sets.
My Maico 350 has a pair of 13.75mm (
350mm)YSS E302t and they've done a lot of racing/riding in their years on the bike. They now weep oil but I'm sure Walter will give me a good deal on a freshen up
. On my Boyd and Stellings TM400 I have a 30 year old set of finned body 14" (
355mm)Works Performance shocks I bought brand new from Competition Developments back in the day. They've served most of the next 30 odd years on my 350 Squarie Maico and '74 440 with no dramas whatsoever until replaced by the YSS. I resealed them every four years or whenever they need it and because the internals are identical to the current models, they still work a treat. My current side project, the ex Nathan DT1 is now fitted with a pair of ultra rare Swenco leading link forks and seeing as the bike's being built as a near as damn period correct desert sled, it's got a quartet of circa 1972 Arnacos front and back, at the rear are the 14" (
355mm)pair that Walter rebuilt for me that I took off the Cheney and the fronts are a NOS 13" (
330mm)pair I bought from eBay that I resealed and oiled myself. My Maico trials bike has a pair of 15"(
360mm)finned body Works Performance shocks that I also got off eBay 7 or 8 years ago for my 81 490 Maico project but didn't end up using. They're totally untouched since whoever it was last rebuilt them in the USA and work just great. My Yamaha DT1 powered Cycle Factory flat tracker has a pair of el Cheapo Chinese Gazi's that came to Casa del Firko on Nathans DT1. I haven't ridden the bike yet but Nathan reckons they work pretty well for what they are. They'll be just fine for dirt track. My other dirt tracker, the
other Hindall RT2MX sister bike to the motocrosser, had a pair of 14"(
355mm) Kayaba Elsinore shocks but I swapped 'em for a set of YZ80 USD forks with Freaky so I'm now saving up my pocket change for a bling pair of 100 buck Chinese "
Chohlins" in red anodize to match the bike's red/yellow flame paint job. Finally, my soon to commence TriBSA project will recieve a pair of period perfect shrouded Konis that I think are the originals from my Maico 350 in 1970. I'll stick a kit in 'em before I use them though.
As you can see I'm pretty eclectic with shock selection. I have a long term soft spot for Works Performance shocks for their bulletproof reliability, simplicity and the fact that they work so bloody well. The YSS served the Maico really well and I was about to buy another set when the second set of Works came up on the Swapmeet. I'd definitely use YSS again, this time a more upscale Z 362 TR version with external dampening control . Even though Arnaco shocks were made nearly 40 years ago, they were 30 years ahead of their time with a stacked shim valveing and 10 clicker external dampening adjustment that really works. The only real problem with them is leaks, they spew oil like a Texas gusher when they get hot. I've currently got a pair over at Frank Stanboroughs to see if we can solve this problem with a more efficient (
modern) seal arrangement. If we do solve it my shock buying will be over for a while as I've got another five sets (
3 NOS) and a few rebuild kits. I've been told by many folks that Ohlins aren't as good on 4" travel bikes as they are on Pre 78/Evo machinery, something to do with stroke length and dampening which I don't quite understand. I've used long travel Ohlins on all of my late Maicos and wouldn't use anything else on them although I did go left field on my last 490 now owned by Bernie Ellis. I bought a set of shocks off a 1980ish CZ 513 model for $10 on eBay and gave them to Radar for a look see inside and if he had the parts, a rebuild. He discovered that they were exactly the same as Ohlins internally so he fitted Ohlins upgrade kits and except for the CZ logo cast into the body and grey colour they are, for all intended purposes, Ohlins (in fact, the piggyback reserviour has
more oil volume than Ohlins).
On 4" travel bikes the major demand from your shock is to find something that dampens well with such a short stroke and doesn't leak like the Titanic. I reckon Works Performance fill the bill admirably along with Hagon, Icon and other modern versions of old school shocks. For pre 78 or Evo there are many more choices. Ohlins, Reiger, Promax, YSS are top of the pile while Works Performance Piggyback, Fox Shox and even leaky old Corte Cossos work well enough for far less financial outlay. Whatever your situation, use the
best shocks you can afford. Instead of getting those rims anodized purple or buying a billet Polarizer, add that money to your shock budget and you won't regret it.
