I wanted to do the R1 shock conversion on my latest project without cutting or compromising the shock and losing it's adjustment capabilities. You can do this by fitting longer tie rods. A few years ago I built some 1 inch longer tie rods to lower the rear end of a modified land speed bike I ran at Bonneville. I found the tire hit the fender going over bumps so the bike was converted to rigid rear end and the tie rods went in the parts bin.
Initial mock up of the frame with the stock shock, end of the swing arm measures 18 1/2 inches to the bottom end of the rear seat tube. The top of the R1 shock needs about 3mm sanded off the end to clear the upper mount properly. With the R1 shock in place the seat height changes to 22 1/2 inches, so the seat gets jacked up 4 inches! Swapping out the tie rods for the 1 inch longer rods gets the length back down to 18 3/8" and I can adjust out the missing 1/8th inch with the unmodified shock adjuster. This will restore the bike to original ride height. Yay!
The bike is currently being built so no road trials yet, so I have no idea at the moment how the longer rods will affect the handling, spring rates etc. but I think this may prove to be a much better and safer option than cutting up the lower end of the shock and the heim joint and removing any adjustability.
To build the longer tie rods you need get an extra set of sacrificial rods. It's best to Arc weld these . Grind a nice Vee on the joint halves so you get good penetration. I built a short set with the left over pieces and gave them the 10 lb sledgehammer test to try and break them. Couldn't even bend them!
Hope this helps you guys considering this conversion.
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