The front seemed to be a case of changing oil, replacing spring and maybe fitting the preload ajustment Jaws offers.
As for the rear it was a case of ditch the Honda 'Showa' and get a new one whether that be a direct replacement or an after market which could stretch you up to £650!! Alternatively, I could send it to Jaws, but having heard his overhaul procedure, I wasn't entirely convinced that it was for me. No offence, but putting a liquid (incompressible) into the gas side (compressible) didn't fill me with confidence
. Second to that, you were getting somebody else's old shock as a direct replacement for yours. I know others have had no problems with this 
..........it was just a personal thing!!
I got a friend of mine to have a nosey on 'Gixxer Junkies' as membership of 4000 may be able to offer broader options. I spoke to the most of companies that were recommended, and although the front shocks were no problem, because the rear is a sealed unit, nobody would touch it, except....
http://www.kais-performance.co.uk/
They are a family run organisation and came highly recommended. On calling them up, they were very familiar with the problem of the sealed rear shock.
'Yep, we get quite a few in. No great shakes though. We have a firm down the road who weld a gas valve on the top which allows us to do a full overhaul. It'll cost mind you.'
'Hmmm......how much?'
'£150....tops.'
'So let me work this out.......I can't afford an Ohlins.....I can't really afford any new one to be honest. But your going to do a full overhaul on my old one, including fitting a gas valve on the top which will allow me to overhaul this any time I want again in the future........and in effect, I could get this overhauled 4 times for the price of one new Ohlins rear shock............all for 150 notes?'
'Well I suppose you could put it that way....'
'Done. Now what will you do to the front?'
'Simple overhaul but we will change the characteristics as the
's front end tends to nose-dive. New seals, Ohlins uprated springs, valve ports reduced and top notch oil.'
'....and how much?'
'£250.'
'Each?'
'Don't be daft sir.....£250 for both'
'Done. How do I get them to you?'
'We offer a courier service door to door and back again.'
'....and how much?'
'About £30'
'Each way?'
'Don't be daft sir.....£30 for both ways'
And so the deal was done! Further to that they asked me to include my specifics including weight, height, bike weight, usual riding style, usual luggage states, etc to tweek as they felt fit. They also explained how to set my static sag taking into account the 6mm shim under the rear shock.
Came to collect 1-2 days later. In less than a week they rang to say all was complete. I paid £450 all in (inc. VAT) over the phone and they arrived 1-2 days later.
All was fitted to the bike about a month ago and I've been loving every mile since. I didn't realise how much confidence I had lost in the handling, so the only thing that was letting the bike down for the first few days was me!!
So if you are looking for an alternative to the usual and limited overhaul strategies for your suspension, give these great guys a call.
