Just bought a new Progressive 300ex shock for my 85 250sx....real sweet and $80 shipped. I read here last year about someone doing it. On the "other" forums there are a few guys like me who have bought it but not yet installed it....any tips? The only thing I see is the bushings are for larger bolts than mine so am contemplating 1) using a sleeve and my bolts 2)swapping bushings 3) drilling out my frame/swingarm holes to fit larger bolts. I believe the difference is 2mm in bolt size so not too big a deal. My bike is a golf-cart so it won't be seeing any jumping except for a curb or so. Main reason for swap is mine is shot from age and I aready wasted $$ on a used one that is bad also so....this is my only option being works nolonger makes 250sx shocks. This should be a real nice addition to my 200X front end swap I did a while back....what a difference that made.

What have you done? Nick

 

Biggie, here's the link to the post you likely saw last year:

250SX Rear Shock Swap

I would not recommend drilling your frame, as I could not find a way to line up a drill bit on mine and feel like I was going to get a straight hole when finished. Even if you have a right-angle drill, trying to ream out a frame with no support for the drill is likely going to leave you with one messed up frame. I also could not find any bushings that filled the gap from 10 to 12mm. That is why I drilled out the shock.

The 300ex shock helped a lot, but it is still a stiff ride, i believe due to the swingarm geometry of the 250sx. Start off with the preload in the softest position.