Converting a Sachs shock to fit a bladder?

K

Keg

New member
Has anyone fitted a bladder to a Sachs shock like you can do to KTMs???? It currently runs a piston and I have not been happy with the o-ring life of it so far.

I know racetech do a 46mm diameter bladder in 88mm long which should work. But I believe it is for a KTM so has a screw on end. I can machine the thread down and fit a circlip ring grove to make it fit.

That way it should be more reliable, easier to bleed up and slightly better in performance.

Anyone done anything like this???
 
I suspect another problem is at hand. I've had no failures with Sachs, Ohlins or WP shock piston o-rings over the last eight years.
 
Dave said:
I suspect another problem is at hand. I've had no failures with Sachs, Ohlins or WP shock piston o-rings over the last eight years.
Click to expand...

It did have a little bit of swarf-like metal fleck in the o-ring. The bore and piston are un-marked.
 
I have tried to call Pro-moto but their were not there at 3:30pm Pacific time? Are they open this week?
 
Keg,

That's a bladder for a KTM. The bladder kit they sell fits inside the stock shock body and replaces the piston with a bladder. If it's not on the website call or email them.

Jason
 
with the bladder in the bike feels just that bit softer or you might say plusher. It might be just retail therapy but it seems a worth while mod so far.
 
That MAY be a placebo effect, because you spent $$ and expect results.;)

My Sachs is just revalved and its absolutely the best suspension I have ever ridden in rocks and trail trash. In my never ending quest to get KTMs to feel decent when I rode them, the bladder conversion made no difference. IMO, the leverage on that shock during the initial travel will overcome any stiction that piston o-ring may cause to the point of it being a non-issue. Have you ever noticed the stiction of the linkage when its torqued down with a fresh set of o-rings? It seems scary stiff but makes no difference in performance. Forks are another matter because they are not progressive.

Tuners like the bladders because they make it eaiser to service the shock. Like Dave said if you have had o-ring problems there are other issues at hand.
 
I totally agree with GMP on this issue. I'm no suspension expert by ANY means but I read allot about it all the time and you get pretty good reading between the lines of peoples posts. My personal belief is the whole bladder thing is way over hyped and is not necessary to get that suspension nirvana (if that exists). Factory connection has made a killing on the bladders in KTM's and done a really good job of convincing people it's necessary. On the other hand the KTM suspension god at the moment Trail Tricks in CA who does not use the bladder system and just ask people about his stuff.

FWIW, Trail Tricks (Javier) is now also riding a Gas Gas 200 and is another option for your suspension work. He loves super gnarly rocky technical stuff and uses a quite different rear sag setup than the norm seen here. Just ask Hasslbri (on this site) how he likes his Trail Tricked suspended 125 and 300 bikes.
 
Yeah, sometimes you have to sit back and look at the math and the marketing will become apparant. That piston moves to displace only the volume that the shock shaft displaces over a given travel. Since it is several times larger in OD than the shaft, there is already a mechanical (hydraulic) advantage there in the shock alone.
 
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