I think the shocks were moved closer to the axle it might ride better but that just increases bad geometry of the shock the upper mounts would need  to be moved rearward too , but maybe not angled forward as much as stock
A rear sub frame would need to be added for upper shock mounts
It may be why swing arms crack
I wonder how the weight distribution changes from a stocker to a Ryca with shortened fork and longer shocks.

DragBikeMike wrote on 10/09/21 at 23:53:02:

Gary, thanks for clarifying the static sag (free sag) vs spring rate issue.  I have a better understanding now.  Is it safe to assume that 8% of the total travel is a good target for static sag (free sag)?

Yes, 8% is the correct figure. Close enough is close enough. There is so much stiction in the shocks and system drag from other moving components that it can be difficult to get consistent results. That’s why it is always suggested to take the average from multiple measurements; from both compressing and unloading the suspension.

Again, thanks Gary and Hiko for your latest advice and comments.

Since the grease test confirmed that the rear shocks were bottoming on the softest preload setting, and not bottoming but jack-hammer rough on the stiffest preload setting, it was evident that I needed to be somewhere in between.  I decided to try and set the rear end up using Gary’s guidance (30% race sag, 8% static sag).  That would be 20.5mm race sag and 5.5mm static sag.  The closest I could get to the desired values was the 3rd preload setting, which resulted in 19mm race sag and 4mm static sag.  Gary said the springs are too soft and the static sag measurement supports that.

Using Gary’s setup guidance made a noticeable improvement.  Now it’s tolerable.  I did the grease check and after 50 miles of Oahu’s signature potholes, it is using about 85% of the total rear shock travel.  It never bottomed out, and the constant jack-hammer effect I experienced with the stiffest setting is reduced to a sporadic jack-hammer effect (only occurs on really rough pavement).
 
Not being a suspension expert, or even a suspension rank-novice, all I can say is its not nearly as bad as it was.  I could have simply just started trying each setting to see how it felt, but I wanted to see what I could learn.  I’m likin Gary’s setup advice.  When I change out the shocks, I have a better idea of how to set it up.  I decided to go with 11.5” Progressive 412 shocks with 90/130 springs.  They’re cheap, readily available, and basically plug-n-play.  Just about right for my rudimentary skill level.

Now I’m gonna try Gary’s setup procedure on the front forks.  I’ve been riding it around with a zip tie on the fork tube so I can get a feel for how much the forks travel.  They’ve been using up about 4.83”.  That’s 97% of the available travel (5.00”).  I’m gonna try and set the preload so that I can achieve the correct race sag (1.5”) and see what I get for static sag.

As it sits right now (totally stock) it has 2.19” race sag and 1.54” static sag.  Seems like I will have to add a lot of preload.  So, now I have a question regarding the oil level.  The factory manual calls for 75mm.  Is there any merit to fiddling around with the oil level on the box-stock forks?  I was planning to leave it alone for now.  But once I add more preload, and improve race sag and static sag as best I can with the stock springs, would there be any merit to lowering the oil level?

While I was waiting for the Progressive 412 shocks and a set of Progressive fork springs (11-1153), I decided to try and set up the stock forks.  A set of .69” (16mm) spacers and washers brought the race sag down to 1.49” (38mm) and the static sag to .61” (15mm).  That’s as good as I can get it.

It’s still harsh but it didn’t bottom out the forks.  The worst scenario seemed to be abrupt steps in the pavement.  The front end would kick up and that seemed to set up the rear wheel for a killer crash into the step.  Then the rear wheel would hit the step and ouch!  It was harsh.

I thought that the small holes in the fender washers that I used might inhibit the air pressure in the upper region of the fork from equalizing across the washer.

The larger holes in the washers didn’t change the fork action.  It was about the same, 77% of available travel, seemed better than stock, still harsh.

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to play with the oil level a bit.  I made a simple dipstick.  The lower washer keeps the dipstick in the center of the fork tube so you can get a decent reading even if the fork isn’t straight up & down.

A MightyVac brake bleeder works good for removing small amounts of oil.