Alternatives to Ohlins?

[swilson]

I've seen plenty of threads singing the praises of Ohlins. They sound great. But I haven't heard much talk about their competitors. Any one using another brand? How well is it working for you? Anyone out there who has had the opportunity to compare Ohlins with another brand? How did they stack up?

 

Thanks for any info you have. I was actually considering ording some Ohlins tomorrow, and then thought it was strange how little I've heard about other brands.

[squints]

Bitubo! More adjustable than Ohlins and cheaper, at least when

I bought mine.

[John in VA]

I was actually considering ording some Ohlins tomorrow, and then thought it was strange how little I've heard about other brands.

 

There are several other good brands but I haven't heard anybody regret going with Ohlins. Discounts of 20% off list are available from reputable retailers online.

[W. Mazelin]

Don't forget Wilbers (sp?) & Works. I have Ohlins on my GS & they're great!

[Davis]

I've got Wilbers and love them. With more adjustment and as high quality as Ohlins at a slightly less cost. Klaus is great to work with and would suggest you try the Hyperpro he is now distributing.

[smiller]

Ohlins, Works, Wilburs, all good and each have their advantages (Ohlins may have the best resale value though due to the name recognition.) Do a search for each of these brand names and you'll get plenty of opinions and input.

[JerryMather]

Don't forget Wilbers (sp?) & Works. I have Ohlins on my GS & they're great!

 

Someone told me last weekend that the Wilbers only have one spring and so you can't match your spring with your weight, all you can do is adjust the preload.

If that's true....I'd get a set of Ohlins with the proper spring so you can adjust the preload better. I would think that, if your lite & you may have a heavy spring, the ride may not be as pleasent as it could be.

The guy that told me this was very upset because he couldn't match his weight with the right spring and had already spent a good deal of money of his suspension upgrade.

[Davis]

Wilbers has a wide range of springs available to match the riders weight. When Klaus was the distributor he did an excellent job of getting your info and shipping shocks which were properly set up. I don't know where this person purchased his, but he is misinformed.

[Highway41]

Installed Ohlins on my '03 GT and enjoyed a greatly improved ride. Installed Wilbers on the '05 RT and noted much the same improvement in ride quality. I would recommend either but Wilbers are a little cheaper and you deal directly with a stateside manufacturer when it comes time to rebuild.

Bill

[RFW]

Don't forget Wilbers (sp?) & Works.

No, forget Works! The triple-spring rear shock I bought for my good old K100RT, is a just-plain-stupid design. Not only that, but the first one they shipped was leaking oil through a porous weld, and one of the springs was binding in the preload adjustment cup.

[swilson]

I saw Klaus not longer sells Wilbers. He now sells Hyperpro... anyone using these?

 

So if I do go with Ohlins, who has good prices AND CUSTOMER SERVICE?

[Steve_Witmer]

Previous owner installed FoxRacing shocks on my RT. I've been happy with them.

[smiller]

No, forget Works! The triple-spring rear shock I bought for my good old K100RT, is a just-plain-stupid design. Not only that, but the first one they shipped was leaking oil through a porous weld, and one of the springs was binding in the preload adjustment cup.

Once again (how many times do we have to go through this?) the oilhead application is a completely different product line with many happy customers (in fact yours is the only complaint I've seen, and it might even be relevant if it was for the correct product.)

[JerryMather]

So if I do go with Ohlins, who has good prices AND CUSTOMER SERVICE?

 

Kyle Racing seems to have the best prices and great customer service.

[ericfoerster]

Kyle racing

 

Ordered my third time from them today. The new shock for the Feejer ships tomorrow with the custom spring on it. The whole procedure took 10 minutes while they made one quick call to Ohlins USA to check on the spring.

They are awesome in every way The price is well below MSRP as well.

 

Now I MIGHT be able to keep up with Jerry and crew

[swilson]

Pulled the trigger on some Ohlins just now. They were $170 more than the Hyperpro. Not as big a price difference as I was expecting. Thanks for the link to Kyle Racing.

[JB-BMW]

Wilbers has a wide range of springs available to match the riders weight. When Klaus was the distributor he did an excellent job of getting your info and shipping shocks which were properly set up. I don't know where this person purchased his, but he is misinformed.

 

Well I bought a set of Wilburs from Klaus for my GS. I weigh 225 ( ah hmm). I provided all the pertinent information as part of the order (Rider Weigh, Passenger WeightI, Riding Style...)I bought them as part of a group buy on the ADVRider board. Turns out I have the exact spring as another rider who weighs a svelte 175. There were a lot of reports on the board that the springs were all the same. The set up was the factory clicked in the correct about of preload and compression adjustment for the rider's weight. I know the GS bottoms out when I put my wife on the back. The preload is set to maximum. I did call Klaus and at least with me he suggested making some compression adjustments. Not once did he offer to swap springs.

 

I don't thinks this counts as misinformed.

 

I'm glad your experience worked out better.

 

Also see R1200GS Wilburs Install for more comments on the springs.

[JB-BMW]

Technoflex is another brand. They custom build the shock for the rider. Lots of options (a few more than Ohlins).

[Carnadero]

Thanks for the link to Kyle Racing.

They're not all that far away, ya know.....

[SAAB93driver]

No, forget Works! The triple-spring rear shock I bought for my good old K100RT, is a just-plain-stupid design. Not only that, but the first one they shipped was leaking oil through a porous weld, and one of the springs was binding in the preload adjustment cup.

Once again (how many times do we have to go through this?) the oilhead application is a completely different product line with many happy customers (in fact yours is the only complaint I've seen, and it might even be relevant if it was for the correct product.)

 

Here's a relevant complaint. I put the ARS equipped Works shock on my rear of my '98 R1100RS, the first time they shipped it to me the threaded preload collar threads where mismachined and the collar jumped the threads and went to the lowest preload condition when I went over some railroad tracks. Works fixed it but I had to pay the freight back to them for their own screw up and they sent it back to me ground (from California 5 working days to Florida). I wasn't too impressed with that. also the hook wrench they supply to do the initial preload doesn't fit their collar very well - in fact it is almost unusable. The ARS system, however, when the initial preload is setup right works as advertised.

 

OTOH I still have the front shock from that bike now installed on my R1150RS - it probably has 50K trouble free miles other than the spring is rusting where the paint has peeled off and the tool for the preload works great - but I am waiting on a set of Hyperpro's from Klaus to hopefully ship to me this week. I may get the works shock rebuilt and keep it around as my spare, or sell it depending upon how the hyperpro's work out.

[MWS]

I saw Klaus not longer sells Wilbers. He now sells Hyperpro... anyone using these?

 

Ordered Hyperpros 6 weeks ago for my '04 KGT. They should be in this week, and hopefully installed by next week. I'll let ya know!

[pismopal]

I have never used Ohlins but I have used Works Performance, on the rear on a 91 GS and on front and rear of my 05 R1200RT. I am very happy with them, not only for the price but the proximity of the front office in So Cal. The quality is apparent outside and they make my RT handle like I wanted it to. It's hard to articulate but the front and rear work together and give me confidence under hard driving and braking. Works Perf. has some great people working with you and they make the shocks for you and your riding style. Almost anything beats stock BMW shocks I think.

[Tommie]

I went with bitubo on the front and back. Love them, and the price was right.