Rear shock longevity

I read quite a few posts on the forum regarding rear shocks- at some point, I’ll likely get the YSS shocks (I suspect I’ll have to get them via eBay and have them shipped from either the UK or Europe). My SWing currently has just over 10K miles and now rides much better with the HyperPro springs up front- I read one post by John Grinsel indicating on 2 of his SWings, he never had to change the shocks in 100K miles of riding. I was considering replacing them not because mine are shot, but I get concerned about how long replacements will be available. So the question is, how long do OEM shocks generally last (in your experience) mileage wise?

The shocks on my 01 failed spectacularly at around 70,000km on a big dip taken at speed; the seals effectively popped and the oil ran out. In the bike's defence it had been parked in a salt spray zone for a few years before it fell into my clutches, and it is entirely possible shaft corrosion was the main reason for seal failure.

When I bought my 2nd Silverwing, the previous owner clocked in 136,000km (~85,000 miles) on the stock suspensions.

The suspensions kept bottoming out. Getting over speed bumps were a chore! I replaced it with brand new Hagon suspensions after a good 2 weeks and life has been good ever since.

Most bike shocks are past their best at 30k miles in my experience, although the better quality ones do last longer.

My bike is just on 100 000 miles and the back shocks are still fine but then I'm only 50kgs.

The front seals have been replaced a couple of times and filled with 20W to stiffen up the ride a bit.

But otherwise still standard and no issues.

I am at about 26K miles on the stock shocks. No leakage and no problems but then I don't rode like a kid on a Hyabusa either! LOL

That said I did have my front fork seals replaced a few years ago and put 15w oil in them.

Thanks very much for all of the replies. It seems like I shouldn’t be in a rush to replace them if they’re working fine.

I bought my SW at 15,000 miles and it took me while to realize that the OEM rear shocks were bottoming out with pillion.

When I started to see oil seeping out I changed them for YSS Ecos. The OEM ones were not very clean and being near salty air probably contributed to their early demise.

I now take the YSS shocks off the bike occasionally to give them a good clean. You might be surprised at the amount of crud which builds up, especially at the top end. The OEM shocks look nice but all that chrome is a magnet for salt and crud unless you keep them spotlessly clean.

qu on shock oil. Will changing to a thicker weight oil in my front and rear shocks improve the ride under my 230Lb body. I do get some rear end bottoming out with the current settup.

Note that I am happy to be back on the forum. Purchased a 2004 swing late August /23 with 11,500 miles. on it. Put about 1000 miles on it before having to put it away for the winter in Sept. I like the ride. Then went south to Yuma Arizona for the winter.

Home now . Recently took the swing out of storage for a 50 mile ride. Nice to be riding again. It is snowing right now and I hope it does not accumulate.

Other problem I am having is a slow leak in the rear tire. Sprayed the tire with water but could not find the leak, Put a new inner valve stem, hoping it solves the problem. Will see tomorrow.