ndfellow Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 What would you buy? I have a 2000 RT w/ 36k miles that needs some TLC if I'm keeping it. I'll probably upgrade to a 1200 in 2 years. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Do you ride 2-up very often. Were the stock shocks acceptable? With only 6,000 miles/year, you're not going to have aftermarket shocks long enough to rebuild them. If the stock shocks were acceptable to you, you'll save yourself some money by going with another set of stock shocks. If you're looking for an improvement in the suspension, or you often ride 2-up, or you are heavier than BMW's "ideal", then aftermarket might make sense. I've ridden Works and Ohlins and they are both quite good. I feel like the Ohlins might give a bit more refined ride than the Works do, but the difference is very small. OTOH, the Works rear shock with ARS makes switching from solo to 2-up a quick, simple thing...just pop the black plastic side panel off, rotate the ARS collar 1/3 of a turn (by hand), and put the plastic cover back on. Ohlins would be a bit more time consuming since you'd have to crank in a bazillion turns of preload. Also, the Works ARS actually has two springs...a soft one and a heavy one. The ARS collar basically determines how far the soft spring compresses before you start compressing the heavy spring. This is almost as good as having two shocks with one sprung for 2-up and one sprung for solo. (remember, adjusting for an inadequate spring by adjusting preload is not an ideal situation). Now that I don't ride 2-up much anymore, that isn't such a concern. I have no experience with the Wilbers, but they seem to get really good reviews from everyone who's tried them. I believe they have adjustable compression damping as well as rebound and preload. Ohlins and Works just has rebound and preload. Link to comment
BeemerBill Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 If the stock shocks were acceptable to you, you'll save yourself some money by going with another set of stock shocks. If you're looking for an improvement in the suspension, or you often ride 2-up, or you are heavier than BMW's "ideal", then aftermarket might make sense. I agree completely with the above advice, and will suggest that you consider Hagon shocks if you do decide to go aftermarket. They are a liittle more expensive than OEM, and less expensive than the others that were mentioned. The website is: www.davequinnmotorcycles.com Link to comment
ndfellow Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Do you ride 2-up very often. Were the stock shocks acceptable? Yes I ride 2 up quite often, however towards the end of last summer I did hit the center stand quite often and when I rode the "Tail of the Dragon" I actaully drug my tupperwear on the pavement. Were the stock shocks acceptable, yes and now. Yes they were but no they could always have been better. Seat height is also not a problem for me Link to comment
Art.. Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I have Ohlins, nicely set up by my friend who is a knowledgable tech. I dialed in a little extra ride height. I still ground the crap out of my centerstand and bellypan on the Dragon For me, the decision to install new shocks came from how the bike felt on high speed sweepers. I could feel the back-end wallowing and pogo-ing when I layed the bike over at speeds over 60. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Do you ride 2-up very often. Were the stock shocks acceptable? Yes I ride 2 up quite often, however towards the end of last summer I did hit the center stand quite often and when I rode the "Tail of the Dragon" I actaully drug my tupperwear on the pavement. Were the stock shocks acceptable, yes and now. Yes they were but no they could always have been better. Seat height is also not a problem for me For me, the big reason I picked the Works Performance shocks with the ARS rear was to make the switch between solo and 2-up easier/better. If that's a big issue for you, then I'll say that I've been very happy with mine. Link to comment
Voodoo Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I'll put in a vote for the Wilbers. Having both slow speed and high speed compression damping adjustments made the difference for me. Link to comment
powerman Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 RE: "I'll put in a vote for the Wilbers. Having both slow speed and high speed compression damping adjustments made the difference for me." I'm also in the market for new shocks and are leaning to the wilbers with adjustable compression dammping on the front, I have no real experience with this except i did a little reading on shocks and beleive this is what i needed on my RT prior to researhing specific brands of shocks, i was disapointed that the ohlins did not have this feature. I was bottoming the front on hard breaking on a track day (aprox +110mph to about 70mph at full hard breaking). Question is adjustable compresion damping realy needed or do the ohlins work good enought with the fixed damping? Also I voted "other", since i have no recomendation, so you can delete one count on other. Link to comment
Patallaire Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 My vote is Wilburs. The service is outstanding, Klaus will help you set the shocks up to be right for the type of riding you do. I was shocked at the difference minor adjustments made, went out to the Falling Leaf ralley, tweaked the shocks and the bike just tracked like it was on rails. Great service, great shocks. Link to comment
mikeR1100R Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 After considerable research and price-checking I am going to go with the Hagons. I don't think I am going to need all the adjustments found on the Ohlins, I don't ride that hard to be honest, and I rarely ride 2 up, so standard springs will do fine for me. Plus, Dave Quinn lives 2 towns over from me, so I can keep my business local. I will be ordering next month. Link to comment
R.Garrido Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 If you will import shocks take care with the handling cost by the airline. I had a bad experience with a rear Whitepower imported from Germany to Chile ( over 300 US dollars extra!!) Rudy Link to comment
motorrod Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Mike, What is the cost of the Hagons? Link to comment
SWB Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Mike, What is the cost of the Hagons? I took a look at them, and they seem like a competitive product. I'd be concerned with having to ship them back to the UK for service, though, as required by the manufacturer. And, though I can find shops who will service shocks, they may not know Hagen's or have the parts. So, from a USA perspective, Works or Ohlins look more attractive. By the way, anyone have recommendations for the best place to pick up a pair of Works or Ohlins (price and service competitive, West Coast preferred)? Or does it matter (i.e. just order them from the manufacturer direct)? Link to comment
ericfoerster Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Scott: http://www.ppsracing.com/ He does a great job with the Ohlins. Great to deal with a fair price. There are cheaper, but he is and will be around for service after the sale. These folks also do a great job as well: http://www.kyleusa.com/ Both on the left coast Link to comment
GordonB Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Don't forget Mitch's here in So. Cal. Ohlins for Less Link to comment
smiller Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 By the way, anyone have recommendations for the best place to pick up a pair of Works or Ohlins (price and service competitive, West Coast preferred)? Or does it matter (i.e. just order them from the manufacturer direct)? With regard to Works, I believe that you can only order them factory direct (sorry, no opportunity to pay multiple marks-ups to distributors ) and happily for you the Works factory is in LA. You could just ride up and get 'em when they're ready, and I'd bet that they'd be willing to fit custom-rate springs for you (if needed) while you're there. Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Mike, I love my Hagon shocks and Dave Q is great to deal with! Link to comment
wouteRT Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Hyperpro. At least on my K100 they did a fantastic job! Link to comment
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