eastsidedirtykid wrote on 03/15/17 at 19:15:23:New here! This will be my first post. I have a Ryca conversion, but weight around 220 on a good day lol so I feel like the Ryca rear shocks are a little short and I feel like I load them so much that the rear of the bike sags so far even on the highest setting. Should I just buy the generic RFY shocks on eBay to see if they work for a few rides before getting them redone? Also, what is the shortest and tallest setting these shocks can be adjusted to? I'm used to cbr's only so I'm definitely used to tight handling and think the Ryca is a tad bit slow in turning.
Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the wonderful world of custom building. Right out of the gate - your cafe racer will never be like your CBR in ride or handling. It will be different - but that doesn't mean "worse" - just different.
Here's the problem with getting an RFY from eBay - what spring rate does it have? And when you get it, is it the spring rate or the damping that you don't like? Before riding with a new RFY shock you should set your sag (10mm static and about 32mm race - assuming 108mm of travel). If the spring rate isn't right you'll never get the sag setting you need.
Chris can send you a set of shocks with the correct spring rate and compression damping built in. He has three different spring rates for the RFY shocks and my guess is you will need the higher rate spring.
I did play with the shock length and found that my chain made contact with the swingarm with any length beyond 13" (330mm). The other thing to be concerned about is the tightness of the chain/belt (I only checked this with a chain drive which, due to slack, is more forgiving then the belt drive) during full compression. With the RFY, at a fully compressed length of 10.25" the chain is about as tight as it could be. At a compressed length of 10.125" the tire is difficult to turn due to chain stretch. My concern with an under-sprung shock and a rider weight of 220-230 is that you will be riding at the extreme limit of chain/belt tension.
Given your weight you might try a length of 13.25" (338mm). If you have a chain drive, listen for chain contact during breaking or unloading of the suspension. If you have a belt drive you won't hear anything if you are making contact, so you'll have to examine the belt for unusual wear. With that said, I believe that the pulley set is larger then the sprockets and the contact points won't be the same.
I'd get the shocks properly sprung.