[catamount]

The 'Yamaha Blaster mod' is one that is semi-controversial on this forum as not much is known about it's handling characteristics. It also discussed in this post.



The Blaster shock is shown here on the left, with the stock shock on the right.

Some have had luck directly bolting the shock into their TW. I had to have a bushing made for the upper mount, as the blaster shock's bushing had a much larger inner diameter. I assume that it might matter what year the Blaster shock comes from, or whether it's a front or rear shock.



I never cared enough to do more research into the matter.



Things I had to contend with:

• Kickstand length (your OEM stand will no longer reach)
  
• Chain length (you will need to add some slack to your chain)
  
• Brake rod will now interfere with passenger pegs
  

The height difference is evidenced here. Before:

After:

Now that I've got some miles on the TW, I can give some actual thought to the positives and negatives of the Blaster shock.



Honestly, I've really enjoyed the ride quality of the Blaster shock so far. It handles fine on dirt and pavement and the squat is just about the same as the stock original. I have not done much trail riding yet so I can't comment on how it responds to washboard type riding.



One thing I wasn't expecting... I miss the seat height of the OEM shock!



One of the things that really made me fall in love with the TW, now that I think about it, was how approachable of a bike it was. The low seat was so non-menacing. It is much less approachable when you have to stand on your tip toes to mount up! And I'm 5'11".



Another thing you have to expect: having a high rear and stock front means that you're going to be pushed into the tank when you hit the brakes. I liked this less than I thought I would. I didn't think I would mind it.



For this reason, and because I want my shorter friends to enjoy the bike as well, I'll probably revert back to the stock shock.



There is something to be said about walking over to a short bike and easily hopping on. I miss that part of my TW and am going to get that back!



I know Mike and treybad have both acquired Blaster shocks and am wondering if they'll chime in with their feedback once they've had a chance to try out the shock.











(MODS: I accidentally mis-spelled the title line. Could you please change title from Blast to Blaster? Thanks!)

 

[FnMag]

Thanks for the info about your experiences with the shock Catamount. I have mine sitting in the garage and am still debating whether or not I am going to do it. I'm only 6'0, but have short legs - 30" inseam... So this may not be the right choice for me although I can easily flat foot now.



Think I am going to need to do a fork rebuild before I go goofing around with the rear shock

 

[catamount]

Well, I bounced the the idea of going back to the OEM shock off a couple of friends and they've convinced me to keep the Blaster shock on for a while to see if it grows on me.



One thing I did that is going to help... I got my electric starter working. It was precarious when I'd stall out on a steep trail incline and try to tip-toe to get on the kick starter. Now I can use the kick starter on flat ground with the option to push the button in a tricky spot.



The Blaster shock is staying for now. Plus... it looks so damn good!



Mike, I'll be interested to hear about your Blaster mod. If you go through with it, please be sure to come back and post in this thread.

 

[treybrad]

I know Mike and treybad have both acquired Blaster shocks and am wondering if they'll chime in with their feedback once they've had a chance to try out the shock.

Glad it worked out well for you. I'm actually going to put the TW up for sale soon, so I'll be selling my Blaster shock shortly. It looks to be a good mod, if I were keeping the bike, I would've tried it.



trey

 

[Mr. BigWheel]

How about a compromise? The shock off of an yzf600.



It's longer than the TW shock, shorter than a Blaster shock and has roughly the same architecture as the two.



The yzf shock is not perfect but it offers preload and some compression dampening adjustment.



It's not as good as the Blaster shock when off road, but it is still significantly better than the stock TW shock. And it bolts right in unlike the R6 shock. (The R6 shock is rebuildable and a better quality unit, though)



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1994..._Accessories&hash=item1c12f02583#ht_771wt_941



This is an example of one. It's not my auction but I don't have any photos of the shock. A quick search shows that they are cheap and plentiful on fleabay although some years have a reservoir and others don't.



The yzf shock has to be installed upside down on my BW350. These are all impressions based on my installation in a BigWheel, which uses the same unit that is on the stock TW200.



Regards,



Mr. BigWheel

 

[joedirt1970]

Your bike still seems to sit pretty level. Did you lengthen the forks at all? I have YZ 80 forks coming tomorrow and I am curious if they will help level out the bike.

Thanks.



Brock...



[email protected]



Some have had luck directly bolting the shock into their TW. I had to have a bushing made for the upper mount, as the blaster shock's bushing had a much larger inner diameter. I assume that it might matter what year the Blaster shock comes from, or whether it's a front or rear shock.



I never cared enough to do more research into the matter.



Things I had to contend with:

• Kickstand length (your OEM stand will no longer reach)
  
• Chain length (you will need to add some slack to your chain)
  
• Brake rod will now interfere with passenger pegs
  

The height difference is evidenced here. Before:

After:

Now that I've got some miles on the TW, I can give some actual thought to the positives and negatives of the Blaster shock.



Honestly, I've really enjoyed the ride quality of the Blaster shock so far. It handles fine on dirt and pavement and the squat is just about the same as the stock original. I have not done much trail riding yet so I can't comment on how it responds to washboard type riding.



One thing I wasn't expecting... I miss the seat height of the OEM shock!



One of the things that really made me fall in love with the TW, now that I think about it, was how approachable of a bike it was. The low seat was so non-menacing. It is much less approachable when you have to stand on your tip toes to mount up! And I'm 5'11".



Another thing you have to expect: having a high rear and stock front means that you're going to be pushed into the tank when you hit the brakes. I liked this less than I thought I would. I didn't think I would mind it.



For this reason, and because I want my shorter friends to enjoy the bike as well, I'll probably revert back to the stock shock.



There is something to be said about walking over to a short bike and easily hopping on. I miss that part of my TW and am going to get that back!



I know Mike and treybad have both acquired Blaster shocks and am wondering if they'll chime in with their feedback once they've had a chance to try out the shock.











(MODS: I accidentally mis-spelled the title line. Could you please change title from Blast to Blaster? Thanks!)

[/quote]

 

[joedirt1970]

Well, after having a special eye loop bushing made for the upper shock and several hours and trying a few different crowbars, I FINALLY was able to get the pin through the lower shock eye-loop. The bike looks great. My shock doesn't sag very much when I sit on it.



Now I am excited to attempt the hybrid fork project.



Still to do for the back end...



1. Extend kickstand A LOT....5" maybe?

2. Tighten up the chain...it has more slack than I expected.

3. FIND THE TIME TO RIDE IT...



Being the wanna be off road rider snob...I think it looks pretty cool. The front fork conversion should do the trick. Thanks to all of you that offered your tech advice on my big rear adventure.



Brock in AZ



Stay Tuned for the Hybrid Adventure...I will be back in 2 & 2....

Before...

After...

 

[lizrdbrth]

Brock,



Just a caution about eliminating all that chain slack: You need it.



One of the downsides of lifting a bike this much is that it positions the sprockets closer together when the bike is at rest or lightly loaded. When it squats or hits a bump that distance becomes elongated, and remains the same as stock. If you eliminate the slack you will break stuff. Important stuff. Like your output shaft. Or lower vertabrae.

Even if you don't intend to go offroad, in the real world you will eventually hit something large enough to get you killed or injured if your suspension "goes hardtail".



I know you won't wanna hear this after all the hassle of getting that shock installed, but the best way to verify chain adjustment is as follows (you only need to do this once, but I'd highly recomend it for peace of mind):



1.) Remove the shock



2.) Cycle the swingarm to the point where the chain is at its tightest, which should be somewhere just above (toward the seat) when it's dead level. Find the point where it's tightest and adjust your chain for just a bare minimum of slack at this point. This will ensure that you won't tear out your output shaft on a bump.



3.) Reinstall the shock. Measure and record the chain slack at midpoint in the lower run of chain with no weight on the bike. This will be your MINIMUM permissible slack from now on. It will also be considerably more slack than you're used to.



It's also possible for this variation to be so great as to present the possibility of shedding a chain when the bike is in motion and the rear suspension is unloaded, as when clearing a jump. Others are running this shock and I assume they've checked for this possibility, but if you wanna check it yourself:



1.) With chain adjusted properly, lift the bike by jacking it up from under the motor until the rear tire is off the ground.



2.) Pull sideways on the chain at a point just ahead of the rear sprocket while rotating the rear wheel.



3.) If the chain shows any sign of potentially derailing itself from the rear sprocket, or if you feel it might do so if the chain were to go out adjustment, ditch the shock.

 

[catamount]

Looks great Brock! I'm wondering if there is a stock Yamaha kickstand we might be able to use... from a taller bike. Something I've thought about but never really looked into.



I think you'll like the ride quality.



Oh, and lizrdbrth is right... you need more slack than you had before.

 

[joedirt1970]

Thank you for the insight. My T Dub has almost 3500 miles (Sad and embarrassed to say 99% is on the street) on it so I will be replacing the chain soon.



My rear adjustment was around 4 before I made the switch. I rotated the adjustment down to the minimum (because I read it takes more slack). Any suggestions on a quality but not too expensive chain? Again, thanks for the advice and support.



Happy Holidays.

 

[qwerty]

You'll need to replace the sprockets with the chain. With carefull shopping online you can have 2 new sprockets, o-ring chain, and crankcase cover gasket for about $115. I have 24,000 miles on my current o-ring chain. I've adjusted the chain twice, plus whenever necessary to remove the wheel for a new tire or to change the wheel sprocket. A quality open chain might save you $20, but you'll spend that much in chemicals and lube maintaining it over 24,000 miles, plus you'll invest many hours doing chain maintenance or it won't make 24,000 miles. Maintenance on an o-ring chain is lube often enough to keep it from rusting. Once every three months or so is good enough for street duty.

 

[joedirt1970]

I replaced the stock front sprocket with a higher quality 15 tooth at about 1000 miles. The chain and back are stock. Why do you suggest the crankcase gasket? Is that only if the front sprocket is worn? What is an open chain?

Any suggestions for a good o-ring chain anyone?



Thanks.

Merry Christmas everyone.



Brock

 

[joedirt1970]

I replaced the stock front sprocket with a higher quality 15 tooth at about 1000 miles. The chain and back are stock. Why do you suggest the crankcase gasket? Is that only if the front sprocket is worn? What is an open chain?

Any suggestions for a good o-ring chain anyone?



Thanks.

Merry Christmas everyone.



Brock

 

[joedirt1970]

I replaced the stock front sprocket with a higher quality 15 tooth at about 1000 miles. The chain and back are stock. Why do you suggest the crankcase gasket? Is that only if the front sprocket is worn? What is an open chain?

Any suggestions for a good o-ring chain anyone?



Thanks.

Merry Christmas everyone.



Brock

 

[qwerty]

The crankcase cover has to come off to access the countershaft sprocket. If the gasket breaks it will need to be replaced. I bought a spare the first time I changed the countershaft sprocket but have not yet broken the original gasket. The right side gasket took 2 hours to clean off when I replaced the clutch. Weird.



EK, RK, and DID all make good o-ring chains. Usually the EK is the least expensive, then the RK, then the DID. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some quality differences, but the DID chain runs about $80-90 as opposed to the EK's $50-60 price.



O-ring chains have tiny rubber o-rings bewteen the side plates and rollers to keep lube on the pins and water and grit out. Open chains do not have the o-rings. O-ring chains are lubed for the life of the chain, open chains need to be cleaned and lubed or they wear very quickly. Maintenance on an o-ring chain is enough wax or lube to keep it from rusting. Maintenance on an open chain is lube at least every 500 miles and cleaning every 1000, plus after ever ride in wet, muddy, or dirty conditions. O-rings create a miniscule amount of friction and therefore draw some fraction of a horsepower more than an open chain, but I can't tell a difference on Tdub.

 

[lizrdbrth]

Nice fender swap.

 

[jtskir222]

quick good working trick for blaster shock mod.

use the stock tw spring on the blaster. just make a spacer up for the differance in height of the springs...

by doing this you can make the shock actually longer or short a llittle on the size of yoru spacer.

stock blaster spring way to soft..

i do have a after market spring for the blaster that is stiffer than the stock one but not as stiff as the tw .. if anyone is interested 60 plus shipping..