rebuilding and original BMW rear shock
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2,176 Posts
I couldn't find the name of the company in Canada, but I did find this from a couple'a years ago:
"The rear shock can be revalved and resprung, I had Jim Lindemann at Lindemann Race Suspension (he's in San Jose) do that to my 99. The front cannot be modified, though, and is basically a disposable item. I got Ohlins for my 02 (and ran them on my 05 as well) and the ride quality is far superior to any rebuild you can do to the stock suspension. You spent your money wisely."
I'd be willing to bet that 99 out of 100 guys here will tell you that an upgrade to Ohlins or Wilbers is the best bang for your buck.
"The rear shock can be revalved and resprung, I had Jim Lindemann at Lindemann Race Suspension (he's in San Jose) do that to my 99. The front cannot be modified, though, and is basically a disposable item. I got Ohlins for my 02 (and ran them on my 05 as well) and the ride quality is far superior to any rebuild you can do to the stock suspension. You spent your money wisely."
I'd be willing to bet that 99 out of 100 guys here will tell you that an upgrade to Ohlins or Wilbers is the best bang for your buck.
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313 Posts
I had a rear shock rebuilt at Lindemann's but the turn around time was SLOW!!!! They did good work, but never got close to their promised return time.
I found Kent at GMD CompuTrak in Jasper Ga did a very good job and the turn around time was just a couple of days. He did the shock for my LT and I am very happy with it. For $350 it was much cheaper than Ohlins or Wilburs and I don't think I could tell the difference. For my money, it's the way to go. Kent also has a donor front shock from my LT and thinks he has found a way to rebuild those now. Check with him and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
PM me if you need contact info.
DISCLAIMER; I do not receive any compensation or remuneration for my endorsement of GMD CompuTrak. Rather I am just a satisfied customer telling others.
I found Kent at GMD CompuTrak in Jasper Ga did a very good job and the turn around time was just a couple of days. He did the shock for my LT and I am very happy with it. For $350 it was much cheaper than Ohlins or Wilburs and I don't think I could tell the difference. For my money, it's the way to go. Kent also has a donor front shock from my LT and thinks he has found a way to rebuild those now. Check with him and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
PM me if you need contact info.
DISCLAIMER; I do not receive any compensation or remuneration for my endorsement of GMD CompuTrak. Rather I am just a satisfied customer telling others.
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313 Posts
Went back and found my post from a few days ago. Maybe this is the one you were looking for?
I, like you, balked at the cost of good aftermarket shocks especially for my secondary bike. After doing some shopping around and then browsing deep, deep in the internet I found that our stock shocks can be rebuilt. At first, I sent my RT shocks off to Lindemann's in California. I could not be any happier with the performance of these shocks. The only problem was the turn around time. Apparently, Lindemann's is very busy, or very slow. What was promised in three weeks took three months and that was unacceptable.
Digging even further, I found a place much closer to me in Jasper, GA. GMD CompuTrac took the stock shock of the rear of my LT and rebuilt, revalved and resprung the shock to my specifications. Going on a trip to Death Valley with the wife and severely loaded I asked Kent (the owner) to up the spring on the rear. I regretted that decision as the spring was too much and the LT really did ride like a 1 ton pickup. Please remember that Kent did exactly as I asked, so the problem was one of my own doing. Upon returning from DV, I called Kent and he gladly replaced the spring with the OEM specs. The shock had to be revalved again due to the decrease in spring tension. All this work was done, in a very quick fashion and completely to my satisfaction. The cost for the rear shock to be rebuilt, resprung, and revalved was $350. Completely within my miserly budget.
Kent thinks he has stumbled on a way to rebuild the front shock now too. He asked, and I donated my old front shock for him to experiment with. I did have to replace the front shock with an Ohlins I bought off this site. I am happy with the Ohlins, but equally happy with the OEM shock rebuilt for my size and riding style. It is worth a look in my opinion, especially if you're not of the mind set that megabucks is the only way to get good performance.
(DISCLAIMER) I in no way receive any benefit or remuneration from mentioning GMD CompuTrac or it's services. Merely, I am a happy customer trying to share the wealth.
PM me if you need any more information.
I, like you, balked at the cost of good aftermarket shocks especially for my secondary bike. After doing some shopping around and then browsing deep, deep in the internet I found that our stock shocks can be rebuilt. At first, I sent my RT shocks off to Lindemann's in California. I could not be any happier with the performance of these shocks. The only problem was the turn around time. Apparently, Lindemann's is very busy, or very slow. What was promised in three weeks took three months and that was unacceptable.
Digging even further, I found a place much closer to me in Jasper, GA. GMD CompuTrac took the stock shock of the rear of my LT and rebuilt, revalved and resprung the shock to my specifications. Going on a trip to Death Valley with the wife and severely loaded I asked Kent (the owner) to up the spring on the rear. I regretted that decision as the spring was too much and the LT really did ride like a 1 ton pickup. Please remember that Kent did exactly as I asked, so the problem was one of my own doing. Upon returning from DV, I called Kent and he gladly replaced the spring with the OEM specs. The shock had to be revalved again due to the decrease in spring tension. All this work was done, in a very quick fashion and completely to my satisfaction. The cost for the rear shock to be rebuilt, resprung, and revalved was $350. Completely within my miserly budget.
Kent thinks he has stumbled on a way to rebuild the front shock now too. He asked, and I donated my old front shock for him to experiment with. I did have to replace the front shock with an Ohlins I bought off this site. I am happy with the Ohlins, but equally happy with the OEM shock rebuilt for my size and riding style. It is worth a look in my opinion, especially if you're not of the mind set that megabucks is the only way to get good performance.
(DISCLAIMER) I in no way receive any benefit or remuneration from mentioning GMD CompuTrac or it's services. Merely, I am a happy customer trying to share the wealth.
PM me if you need any more information.
So now the question's for me are:
Are New After market the same or better then New BMW original shocks?
Or are replacement perceived to be better because original's are are used up, or are replacement stiffer, stronger, and better in every way??
just wondering
Are New After market the same or better then New BMW original shocks?
Or are replacement perceived to be better because original's are are used up, or are replacement stiffer, stronger, and better in every way??
just wondering
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313 Posts
Probably both. I'm positive the new Ohlins and Wilburs are a better product than the Showa OEM shocks on our bikes. No doubt about it. But, I think with my rebuilt Showa shock, the quality and performance is better than stock, but most likely not up to par with the top of the line aftermarket replacements. However, that being said, my riding style and 51 year old rear end can't tell enough of a difference to justify paying 1500-1800 for a set of shocks when I can get mine rebuilt for $350. Just my humble opinion; feel free to make it yours.tobiwan said:
Hello All!
New (to me....2005) K1200LT owner here, can someone (ANYONE) clarify two things for me?
1) What adjustments, if any, are available at both ends? (aside from the rear spring preload, saw that under the seat)
2) Do the aftermarket shocks (Ohlins, Wilburs, etc...) provide an increased amount of adjustability?
My purchase did not include any manuals so excuse the silly questions if they're obviously printed in them.
TIA!
New (to me....2005) K1200LT owner here, can someone (ANYONE) clarify two things for me?
1) What adjustments, if any, are available at both ends? (aside from the rear spring preload, saw that under the seat)
2) Do the aftermarket shocks (Ohlins, Wilburs, etc...) provide an increased amount of adjustability?
My purchase did not include any manuals so excuse the silly questions if they're obviously printed in them.
TIA!
Thank you sir!
Wow, I cant believe BMW offered no adjustability to their flagship but then again, I'm coming from sport/road race bikes so that may be the norm, I dunno. Disappointing nonetheless.
If I may ask, what kind of tire pressures are you guys running on these beasts?
I followed the advice from the sticker inside the saddle bag (36F,42R) but I gotta tell you that seems a bit harsh over the sharper bumps. Heck, on a grooved road the darn thing seemed to really telegraph every millimeter of it, not in a good way either. Which is how I found this thread in my search. Is that sorta feedback normal?
Wow, I cant believe BMW offered no adjustability to their flagship but then again, I'm coming from sport/road race bikes so that may be the norm, I dunno. Disappointing nonetheless.
If I may ask, what kind of tire pressures are you guys running on these beasts?
I followed the advice from the sticker inside the saddle bag (36F,42R) but I gotta tell you that seems a bit harsh over the sharper bumps. Heck, on a grooved road the darn thing seemed to really telegraph every millimeter of it, not in a good way either. Which is how I found this thread in my search. Is that sorta feedback normal?
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161 Posts
I have no personal knowledge of this company, but he has been around for quite a while. The website appears to be dated, and possibly not maintained - but there is some contact information. Probably worth a phone call at least for current info on LT shock rebuilds.
Steve Collier
'05 KLT
http://www.brunos.us/shocks.htm
Steve Collier
'05 KLT
http://www.brunos.us/shocks.htm
I run bridgestone BT020s on the front and rear on my 2008 LT. I ran them at 36F 44R onthe road trip I just came back from. I beleive that is the latesat recomendation fom BMW. On my old LT I did run the higher preesure on the front.
As for the shocks, as far as i am concerned there is no comparison between the BMW stock shocks and my custom Wilburs. I liked them so much on my old LT I did not wait for the shocks to wear out on my new LT. I swithched out the shocks with less than 5K miles on my new LT. The aftermarket shocks are made to fit your riding style, ride height, weight, etc. I have custom shocks in both of my street bikes as well as my race bikes. The stock shocks just don't cut it as far as I'm concerned.
In my opinion the 2 best mods I did on my first LT was the HID headlight and the custom shocks. Worth every penny I spent on them. The newer LTs come with better headlights but the stock shocks are still a piece of crap. Good luck with your decision....
WildBill
As for the shocks, as far as i am concerned there is no comparison between the BMW stock shocks and my custom Wilburs. I liked them so much on my old LT I did not wait for the shocks to wear out on my new LT. I swithched out the shocks with less than 5K miles on my new LT. The aftermarket shocks are made to fit your riding style, ride height, weight, etc. I have custom shocks in both of my street bikes as well as my race bikes. The stock shocks just don't cut it as far as I'm concerned.
In my opinion the 2 best mods I did on my first LT was the HID headlight and the custom shocks. Worth every penny I spent on them. The newer LTs come with better headlights but the stock shocks are still a piece of crap. Good luck with your decision....
WildBill
Zippy- Are you running the same 'Stones (020's) as WB? (taking notes here if you haven't noticed!)
WB- are the Wilburs completely adjustable?
What's the pricing like compared to the Ohlins and can you recommend an online vendor?
My race bikes always had Ohlins and/or Penske and I agree most times the factory stuff is garbage but kinda expected things to be different on a tour bike.
WB- are the Wilburs completely adjustable?
What's the pricing like compared to the Ohlins and can you recommend an online vendor?
My race bikes always had Ohlins and/or Penske and I agree most times the factory stuff is garbage but kinda expected things to be different on a tour bike.
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3,180 Posts
I have a set of factory shocks that look new with less than 10,000 miles for 250.00 plus shipping.
Shameless Plug!
On topic you can get some Hyper Pro springs matched to your weight for the rear and makes a huge difference in the OEM shocks performance. I would also think it would add to the longevity of the OEM shock as less stress on it with a weight rated spring matched to you.
Shameless Plug!
On topic you can get some Hyper Pro springs matched to your weight for the rear and makes a huge difference in the OEM shocks performance. I would also think it would add to the longevity of the OEM shock as less stress on it with a weight rated spring matched to you.
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