Hacking Springs

Have any of you cut your springs on the rear suspension? good idea or not good at all, just a thought any ideas?

 

i cut mine, i love it. im only 135lbs, so i chopped 1.5" and bent the last half coil flat for an overall 2". when i adjust the ride height all the way down, sitting on the bike there is about 1" - 1.5"of travel remaining before the bump stop. all the way up there is plenty of travel, and i can flat foot. while stopped at a light.

 

Ya i cut 2 full coils off. I have only bottomed out once in about 2000 miles since i have done it, It rides a little rough but i like it that way lol

 

thats all you have to do? just hack some coils off and go for it?

 

You cut the spring with either a hack saw or a cooled band saw. You don't want to use a grinder because it will heat up the spring and cause the metal to lose its temper, resulting in spring collaps (not desirable). Have you looked into shorter springs from Progressive?

 

haha no i have not if it will cost money it is pretty much out of the question right now. kind of tight these days

 

I'm a newbie to mods on my XJ. I also wanted to cut about 2" off my springs. I've removed the shocks and looked for a way to remove the springs to cut them but didn't see a way. Do you leave the springs on the shock to cut them?

If not how the heck do you remove the springs?

Is it wise to cut more than 2"?

Thanks

 

ya i want to cut a lot off and lower that sucker!

 

that is a good question i cant see how to remove the spring either.

 

THIS IS HOW I DID IT:

you will need a friend (or if you have none, a paid servant or slave will work just fine)

-remove the shocks from the bike.
-spin the preload adjuster so it is down all the way, relieving tension on the spring.
-compress the spring and the top spring retainer down towards the preload adjuster (person 1)
- remove the c shaped piece that is now revealed (person 2)
-person 1 can now let go, and all the pieces fly apart (aim away from your face, tell your friend to duck)........ok they dont really fly apart, but the top cup and spring and preloader can all slide off the top of the shock now.
-cut the spring any way you want, keep in mind that if a grinder is to be used the rest of the spring should be kept cool.
-put the spring in a freezer.
-shut the freezer, open the fridge.
-take out 2 beers, and drink them with your friend.
-take out the spring, and with a very hot torch, VERY QUICKLY.......cherry up the last few inches of the coil where you had cut it, and hammer it down flat (like the spring was BEFORE you killed it) and IMMEDIATLY COOL IT OFF. it is very important that the heat does not spread to the rest of the coil, as it will weaken it and you will be bottoming out often. the plus side is that it will ride REALLY low.
-REASSEMBLE and INSTALL the shocks!
-go for a ride and aim for all the bumps to try it out.
OPTIONAL ENDING:
-drink the rest of the beer, and stare at how cool it looks.

 

Zookie, you are one cool cat. Nice write-up.

 

8) :lol:

i had fun with that....i dont think i missed anything, but im sure someone will chime in if i did.

 

Zookie YOU OWN ALL! good read! I appreciate it. We call that breaking it down barney style so everyone can understand.

 

I'd like to see a picture of a bike lowered 2 inches like this. Could one of you post a pic or 2?

 

I've cut many springs with an angle grinder and thin cut-off wheel.
The last inch might lose it's temper due to heat, but it hasn't been a problem. I've used a wet rag to stop the heat moving further into the spring. I like your suggestion for finishing off the spring, and finishing off the beer !

 

I think I know what I'm doing today! Damn that's simpler than changing my shock mounting position I don't know why I hadn't thought about trying that! (Oh wait, it's because I'm a doofus.)

 

well I jsut did it I lowered the living crap out of my bike by hacking the springs with a cutting wheel and a dremel tool. it is super cool being that close to the ground.

 

How much did you cut off?

Have you bottomed out the shocks?

Can you post some pics?

Thanks

 

Well, Way to go Grease Monkey! You beat me to it so now we need those pics!

I had a super busy day yesterday and didn't get to do mine yet, but I'm pumped to go for it here really soon. Would not mind seeing your Before/After shots though. You DID document the process, didn't you?

 

well there good buddy i guess i could go snap some pics its really dang easy. the shocks do bottom out but I dont really mind as long as it has some play. I just hacked into the springs with a dremel. Due to the fact that it was just my self I jsut cut a couple segments off of the top untill i could take the shocks apart. pretty self explanatory once you get rocking
my bike seat now sits about knee high which is pretty neat. next up for me is the air filter gonna rip it on out.

 

I didnt take any pictures yesterday while i was doing it because I was sweating and cursing my way through it as it was. you know how it is sometimes.

 

You crazy person. Good work I DO know how that goes LOL..

 

NICE........when i have my preload adjuster down (almost always) i have about 3/4" of travel. it bottoms, but barely and only on the big bumps. if i know im going for a long bumpy ride, or if my backpack is all loaded up with tools and parts i will crank the preloader up and it will give me a little more cushion.

well congrats on a successful spring chop, and im glad to hear im not the only one that gets the crap kicked out of me while im trying to do a simple job.

 

haha ya man I got pretty into it. I was ultra worked up because my dremel broke mid chop. so i had to find a way to do it with a hacksaw. That and I live in the middle of the dang Mojave desert and it was super hot, and i was outside.

 

I used a 4" die grinder to cut my springs with no problem to the springs losing any temper. I cooled them in cold water right after I cut them so no problem. I only cut off 1" and got 2" lower with the weight of the bike and me on them (I weigh 140 lbs.) so I have most of my suspension travel left and a nice smooooooooooth ride now!

 

heres a pictures its low as hell boy

 

Indeed nice work. It's certainly your own!

 

Thanks dude It feels riding that close to the ground. I think it Looks pretty cool too. the ride is a bit rougher but fun.