Replacement rear shock YSS replacement for Honda NSF100

I have both MR125 and 150 versions of the Kayo. I had problems with the stock shocks eventually leaking and wearing out. Blair at SV racing parts has very nice elka shocks. $$$. I also have a honda nsr and nsf minibikes. Both have yss shocks for the nsf100. Unfortunately the shocks are a bit short but mount up on the kayos. For about $300 less than the one ELKa. When you have 4 bikes, this adds up to significant savings.

But there is that fact they are a few mm too short. For full disclosure this is a problem with the shock. Even on my nsf. The bike has too much trail when sitting lower in back. No problem, slide the forks up in the triples. That corrects the behavior running wide in turns. The negative is that both the front and back are lowered and puts the pegs closer to the ground. Once you do this it handles just fine. The lighter you are the less an issue it is.

The bigger issue is the honda shock hose for the compression adjuster exits to the right side of the bike and the angle the hose is at is very wrong for mounting the reservoir to the frame. What i did was loosen the banjo bolt for the hose ever so slightly. Then i tapped the banjo with a hammer to get it to rotate to a different angle so the hose and res aligned with the right side subframe. Because the reservoir is pressurized, i was extra cautious to not loosen the bolt much. If the nitrogen were to escape, i had no way to refill it. Hence the love taps with a tack hammer. Then i tightened the bolt again and all was good.

On this last point, even on the nsf100. The hose on the reservoir was not oriented at the right angle to mount up. So i repeated the little realignment procedure above. Worked a charm.

So an interesting note that the yss shock, made for the nsf, is shorter than the stock shock. And it has the reservior hose attached wrong. Dumb. But on a positive note, the shock is very good quality, has more damping out of the box than Ohliins and is rebuildable but experienced suspension shops. So it could be better, but fitting it and adjusting the bike takes just some hand tools you’ll likely have already. Whether you have a kayo, nsr or nsf.