Raiderwing? GL1800 rear shock with RAP

[toy]

As many of you know parts are in short supply. I found this in a road star group several months ago and began researching. https://www.jrbk.net/roadwing/roadwing-conversion/

In summary this is a gold wing rear shock on a roadstar (they call them roadwings). I now have this mounted and working on my raider. This shock is a drastic improvement over OEM from yamy.

Kris Kohler (mentioned in the link) makes a RAP, but he also supplies a GL shock and mods the shock to spec for a cost. I contacted him and ended up going with his shock work over DIY.

The raider has 2 differences compared to the road star article. The shock length hole to hole is 12.5" so its 1/4" longer than what the RS uses. For fitment on the GL shock, this means that the OEM goldwing clevis can't be cut and re-drilled because the new hole location is to close to the oem location and there isnt quite enough room to make the raider hole. Kris replaced the GL clevis with one that fit the hole depth the raider needs.

The second departure is on the eyelet end where the RS bushings cover a ~1.41" width. The raider oem eyelet is 1.535"... I found that I needed 2 shims (one on each side of eyelet) to fit between the dog bones. The shim I used are .06" thick with an ID of .71". I made these from ss washer by drilling center out using an 18mm bit. The ID of the eyelet bushings Kris used is spot on for raider. Just needed shims. The article linked also explains where you can buy them vs making them.

Im posting this because this setup DIY cost is 1/4 of what a progressive rap cost and based on the fact that Goldwing owners almost never replace rear shocks its a fantastic shock. Even with the work Kris did, I still paid less for this full RAP than I would have for the progressive shock WITHOUT the rap (assuming you could even find one, I couldnt...) In total this was $50 more than an OEM shock from partzilla.

 I now have a fantastic shock with a great remote preload adjustment. It may be the first raider to try this, but it does work.

The additional note I’ll give is that because the GL spring weight is higher than the raider OEM, it feels a little stiff with my one-up 180lbs butt in the seat. What Ive worked out so far is that riding alone, I need the preload at zero, and for my wife, I only turn about 1/3 or 1/2... Obviously your riding preference and weights would have their own setting preferences.


Even riding one up on the raider OEM shock I had a bunch of the pre-load set trying to get it where I wanted it... IMO it was under sprung from the factory. This is WAY easier to adjust than messing with that damn spanner wrench.

(I did call racetech and ohlins about rear shocks they had that fit these measurement. For them to make a shock to spec cost about the same as buying a used raider. Lol…) I am considering racetech to fork valves at my next fork flush though…

[RoadStarRaider]

[Fiddles]

Interesting  but I already have the progressive 465-5011b with RAP when they were affordable, they went from 680 to a 1000  bucks now

[the urban legend]

Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind.

I've been running RaceTech valve emulators in my forks for 2 years. I like them. The front suspension feels a bit stiffer on small bumps, softer on the harsh bumps, and has definitely less dive when braking. I adjusted them as per RaceTech's recommended settings when I bought them. They ask a few questions about weight, solo of 2 up, riding style etc. and then send you a spec sheet based on that info.

[toy]

Interesting  but I already have the progressive 465-5011b with RAP when they were affordable, they went from 680 to a 1000  bucks now

I couldnt find anyone with stock on the non-rap, and I just wasnt going to pay $800+ shipping+tax for the Rap version I did find... It took several months to vet this GL1800 option. So far working great. Got a bracket built and mounted the rap.

[Zxdave]

That’s pretty slick and definitely cheaper route … great idea bro

[toy]

That’s pretty slick and definitely cheaper route … great idea bro

Thanks man! I was pretty excited to find that there is a whole OEM line of shock that can be used... This parts market is insane, and with the raider going EOA from yamaha, I only see parts getting harder to find...  Since a GL1800 shock from 2001 till 2017 can be used, and they made a ton of goldwings... it theoretically makes it easier to find...

Anyway, just wanted to catalog this in the library of "all things raider" so others could access.

[toy]

Interesting. I'll have to keep this in mind.

I've been running RaceTech valve emulators in my forks for 2 years. I like them. The front suspension feels a bit stiffer on small bumps, softer on the harsh bumps, and has definitely less dive when braking. I adjusted them as per RaceTech's recommended settings when I bought them. They ask a few questions about weight, solo of 2 up, riding style etc. and then send you a spec sheet based on that info.

Thats sounds awesome. If I could pick my front fork behavior, it would be what you are describing. probably get into this winter... im going to do steering bearings just becasue, and forks while front end is off.

You get their spring also, or just valves?
What kind of effort was it to valve install beyond fluid and seal replacement?

[the urban legend]

I just got the valves. The desired stiffness is one of the questions they ask when you order the valves, and I wanted standard stiffness. The spring preload was a bit tighter than OEM after I cut my spacers to their specs.

You don't have to remove the seals to do this. You don't need to pull the tubes apart at all, but I understand if you want to replace the seals while you're there. That's what I did.

Installation is pretty easy. You have to remove the internal fork components and drill a few holes in your damping rods, then cut the spacers to match the preload value they give you. Once that's done, you reinstall the damping rods, adjust the valve to spec (they come with 2 different springs and 2 bleed discs), drop it in the tube, add oil, insert the spring+washer+spacer, install the top cap, and you're done.

I searched around and I still have the instruction PDF. I attached it below.