Hookalatch
Mar 27th, 2008, 11:32 am
If you frequent other GS sites you may have seen this but for any who haven't and are interested here is my impression of the Wilbers shocks I put on yesterday. Based on other people’s responses after upgrading their stock shocks I expected a fair improvement. WOW!! I am simply amazed by the difference. My bike is a 07 GSA. I only had two issues with the stock shocks- they were a little harsh over bumps and they were under-sprung for my 250# carcass. One of the many reasons I chose the Adventure model was at 6’2” I could flat-foot it with the seat in the high setting. After riding it for a while and setting the sag correctly I found I had to use 2/3 of the available preload and the bike sat quite a bit higher off the ground and had no static sag. When my wife would ride with me even with the preload fully cranked in we would still drag the center stand frequently. With the Russell seat we added I was now on my toes at stops.
I ordered the Wilber shocks from Ted Porter’s Beemer Shop. I asked to get them 11mm shorter on each shock. After 45 years of riding and racing motorcycles I am no longer an aggressive rider (relatively speaking) and specified I wanted the shocks valved for a smooth compliant ride over the bumpy, pot-holed, twisty roads I spend most of my time on here in rural Northern California. I resisted the urge to get the fanciest shocks and went with the basics having only adjustable rebound damping and a hydraulic preload adjuster for the rear.
As soon as I started down my gravel driveway I knew the bike was going to be much smoother. My driveway leads to about a mile of a very bumpy chip sealed road before hitting the county road. This normally shakes the crap out of you. The bike was way smoother down this road and only the biggest bumps were felt. I could see the fork sliders making lots of small movements that never happened with the stock shock. I did not expect to see much improvement on the somewhat better county roads, especially through the turns. As I mentioned, I do not consider myself an aggressive rider and I try to leave a little cushion in the corners because of turkey vultures, deer, rocks, and other unexpected hazards. I was simply amazed by these shocks and how they changed the handling of the bike. I was cornering much faster and feeling far more at ease and much more stable. Nothing seemed to upset the bike at all. I really didn’t think I would notice much difference but I am just blown away by how much better the bike feels. I felt the GSA was one the best handling bike I ever had with the stock shocks and now I know it is, hands down. I am a very happy Wilbers customer.
Getting the slightly shorter shocks does make a difference I can see but as of yet cannot feel. The rear wheel is higher off the ground when the bike is one the center stand but it still goes onto the stand fairly easily. It is about the same height sitting on it as it was with the old shocks. It does not seem to have enough sag. Based on what others have reported I will ride it for a while and see if it settles. I sure have no complaints about the way it rides! If it doesn’t settle I can take out some of the preload that was put in with the adjuster rings at the factory.
Chuck
I ordered the Wilber shocks from Ted Porter’s Beemer Shop. I asked to get them 11mm shorter on each shock. After 45 years of riding and racing motorcycles I am no longer an aggressive rider (relatively speaking) and specified I wanted the shocks valved for a smooth compliant ride over the bumpy, pot-holed, twisty roads I spend most of my time on here in rural Northern California. I resisted the urge to get the fanciest shocks and went with the basics having only adjustable rebound damping and a hydraulic preload adjuster for the rear.
As soon as I started down my gravel driveway I knew the bike was going to be much smoother. My driveway leads to about a mile of a very bumpy chip sealed road before hitting the county road. This normally shakes the crap out of you. The bike was way smoother down this road and only the biggest bumps were felt. I could see the fork sliders making lots of small movements that never happened with the stock shock. I did not expect to see much improvement on the somewhat better county roads, especially through the turns. As I mentioned, I do not consider myself an aggressive rider and I try to leave a little cushion in the corners because of turkey vultures, deer, rocks, and other unexpected hazards. I was simply amazed by these shocks and how they changed the handling of the bike. I was cornering much faster and feeling far more at ease and much more stable. Nothing seemed to upset the bike at all. I really didn’t think I would notice much difference but I am just blown away by how much better the bike feels. I felt the GSA was one the best handling bike I ever had with the stock shocks and now I know it is, hands down. I am a very happy Wilbers customer.
Getting the slightly shorter shocks does make a difference I can see but as of yet cannot feel. The rear wheel is higher off the ground when the bike is one the center stand but it still goes onto the stand fairly easily. It is about the same height sitting on it as it was with the old shocks. It does not seem to have enough sag. Based on what others have reported I will ride it for a while and see if it settles. I sure have no complaints about the way it rides! If it doesn’t settle I can take out some of the preload that was put in with the adjuster rings at the factory.
Chuck