hi my stock ds650 rear chock is scrap and i can have a bajax rear shock for almost nothing $$
i want to know if this will fit and if the baja x rear shock is better

my ds is a 2001

 

well im think the baja x shocks are all around better than the none x models.... if it will fit...i think so but not to sure since they changed the swingarm for 04

 

From what I was told when I did my swingarm conversion is that the 04 shock has different valving and spring in the rear. The front shocks are all the same in dimensions but the Baja X shock are high pressure gas shocks.

 

Fine tuning my old '01 DS rear shock took a lot of experimenting. If I didn't adjust it just right, it would slap me in the ***. My X rear shock works great, never did anything but back off on the preload front and rear. Pretty decent for stock shocks. I wouldn't spend the money to replace them with something marginally better.

 

the rear shock on the aluminum swingarm models have to have different valving inside to work right because rebound rate would be all screwed up due to the much lighter swingarm. you can't just swap the shocks on a steel swingarm model with one from an aluminum swingarm model. but there are no differences in rear shock quality on any of the model years, they are all great shocks and there isn't any better stock rear shock out there on any bike.

but like any shock it must be set up for the rider weight and terrain. the rear ds shock has loads of travel along with compression and rebound adjustments and the factory did a poor job of setting them up in the earlier days. they were all about trying to keep the bike sitting low, but these are not zero preload shocks and spring preload is vital to proper performance. Setting the rear spring preload is the first and most necesary step - it must be adjusted to provide 4" of sag with the rider on the seat. lifting the bumper until the shock is fully extended and measuring to the floor, then getting on and measuring again and subtracting from the first measurement, gives you the sag measurement. sag should remain the same no matter where you ride. compression and rebound are available to fine tune the suspension for different terrains. I run a plush compression and very slow rebound for sand dunes and whoops, and stiffer compression and faster rebound for trails. its all just a few clicks away.