Need to change standard SHOCK

bimota

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Hi guys,

got a 2013 gen 1 world crosser i have my holidays 2 up on the tenere with luggage, now i,m 110kg with gear on my wife is 77kg with gear on plus the luggage.

standard shock is quite bad back end in hard sits down so goig to replace the rear shock, in the UK there are NITRON,OHLINS,TOURATECH etc
have any of you guys done the same have a better rear shock can i ask what did you get and are you happy

cheers Rob
 

RCinNC

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Your only choices aren't limited to OEM or aftermarket. I had an OEM shock rebuilt by a company here in the US, and it feels better than the original at about a third of the price of something like an Ohlins. New spring and new valves more suited to my weight, plus I got to keep the handy OEM preload knob. I don't know who does that sort of thing in the UK, but I'm sure there must be someone.

If money was no object I'd go with an Ohlins, but money is always a factor for me, and I'm happy with a rebuilt OEM for the kind of riding I do (lots of two up loaded touring).
 

Longdog Cymru

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Hi bimota, I would speak to Maxton or MCT, Maxton will be expensive but excellent and MCT will be completly honest about rebuilding your stock shock and will advise you accordingly. Don’t forget you could also go for Wilbers and Hyperpro too.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of any suspension specialists near us in South Wales but the Wilbers importers are in the Midlands and they will build a shock to the spec that you want/need. http://wilberssuspension.co.uk/
 

EricV

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Wilbers is another to take a look at. I've been very happy with their products on other bikes. Currently running a Touratech on the S10.
 

escapefjrtist

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Whatever shock you choose, make sure it's set up / sprung properly for you. With the weight you're packing, you'll have a substantial spring to maintain stock ride height and geometry. For two-up riding with ~25kg less weight, I'm using a 1000 pound spring on a 8983 Penske shock.

Good luck!

~G
 

Stridey

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Wilbers is another to take a look at. I've been very happy with their products on other bikes. Currently running a Touratech on the S10.
+1 on the Wilbers. I used the UK agent to service my used one I purchased on here and there service and professionalism was first class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Don in Lodi

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Upgrading just the coil is a cost effective alternative for the rear.
 

Boondocker

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I have the the Penske 8987 (high speed and low speed compression + rebound damping). It's a fine shock but preload adjustment requires a special tool plus a long enough Allen wrench to undo the set screws, not as convenient as a knob, but then adjustments are infrequent once you get it dialed in. I spent a lot of time messing with settings and keeping notes until I found what I liked. Now it's easy, just click and count, give or take a spring swap.

Here's the trick to the age-old suspension conundrum that one setup doesn't work for everything. My 2 main ride profiles are solo/empty commuting or 2-up/loaded touring - pretty far apart suspension-wise. Touring includes as many twisty roads as we can find and we don't shy away from dirt.

The trick is 2 springs. I use a 650 for me and a 950 for us. I made a worksheet with the tools list, torque specs, order of disassembly/assembly, and suspension settings. Having a fair amount of practice, I can swap the spring and dial the settings in under 45-minutes. I do this maybe 3-4 times per year, twice per trip. For me, the effort is totally worth it to have near ideal suspension for both of my main ride profiles.

If it's just a day trip, no luggage, then I'll crank up the preload a line or two and that's good enough. If it's a serious trip, then I'm serious enough about the handling to spend the extra hour and a half. I tried running the heavy spring with just me, but no way. I have a 3/4-ton pickup if I want that kind of ride quality.

Or you could buy a BMW R1200GS with Dynamic ESA (automatically adjusting suspension). I'm not being facetious. We did the Edelweiss Pyrenees Extreme tour this past June and rode that bike, Adventure model no less. My wife proclaimed the handling and ride quality to be superior to our Tenere. I'm not real happy about that but can't honestly disagree. I'm not willing trade my money and wrenches for high-tech gizmos just yet, so I'll swap springs and click knobs with a smile on my face because I feel like I know what I'm doing.

Whatever shock you choose, make sure it's set up / sprung properly for you. With the weight you're packing, you'll have a substantial spring to maintain stock ride height and geometry. For two-up riding with ~25kg less weight, I'm using a 1000 pound spring on a 8983 Penske shock.

Good luck!

~G
 

Boris

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Hi Rob

If you do any research into upgrading the standard spring/shock, if you don't mind can you post up your findings on here?

The following may help with removing/fitting the rear shock

image.pngimage.png
 

bimota

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Hi Boris,

I will thinking now if i can find somebody in the UK to just change the spring on it , rode today in the hard setting you gave me bikes alot taller and you can feel it has hardered up, probably to hard with just my 105kg and top box so may back it off a bit, but will sort a shock out.
rob
 

bimota

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Hi guys,
had this reply from a shock seller in the uk, give me your opinion if you don,t mind sounds to me like he WANTS to sell wilbers as it,s all he can get.
Hi

Ok we know this bike and we know the limitations on it there are all kinds of problems that come about from the shock absorber on this particular bike in fact certain manufacturers refuse to make a shock for this bike because it would always fail before the guarantee period ended and I'm not giving out names.

ok forget the Ohlin’s it's a box product useless for what you want, even if I remember correctly they stopped producing a shock for this particular bike anyway as well as others companies.

The fundamental problem with your bike it was too short a shock with too short and action and too heavy a bike. an over enthusiastic design engineer made the suspension on that bike and didn't really think about it the practicalities for shock absorber.
There is only one manufacturer in the game for this particular bike and that would be Wilber’s
nobody else is making a shock that can cope for any period of time apart from it.
If I remember correctly it is also not covered under their 5-year manufacturer’s guarantee however the shock is rebuild able so when it blows the parts can be replaced quite cheaply in comparison with the whole suspension unit.

Now there is not just one model of that particular bike there is something like 4 or 5 of them but I can't remember the details of top my head but it all comes down to the frame number.
We would need the full frame number to properly identify which version of this bike you have got
This bike was made during the changeover year so we would also want to try to get the dimensions of the shock absorber to make sure there is no possibility of ordering the wrong part.
once we have precisely identified which particular bike model you've got then we can be sure what options are possible however Because of what you are describing there is only one practical option which would deal with what your needs are.
In a technical sense you would need a hydraulic preload connected to one of the type 640 shock to give you the characteristics you are asking for.
Because there's a variation in the EU and the euro at the moment there may also be a necessity to adjust the pricing as well.

I can approximate the cost however I'm also unsure to your location so I can't account for that.

Basic value for the unit at the moment is £437 plus the cost of a hydraulic preload is about £160, that could be built for your weight and with the adjustability for dealing with the pillion and panels with load and would have the adjustability to cope with the environmental changes as the temperature increases due to load and environment.
Total cost at the moment you're looking at around £600 plus add on top of that an extra £25 if you want a 8 working day build.
Comes as standard with blue or black spring black, the default is black at the moment I believe.

Your starting place full frame number it is 17 characters long if it is a standard one starts to get more tricky if it's less than 17 characters long as that would be a non-standard.

I've also attached the small diagram so we can verify we're talking about the correct part for the correct bike.

I'm looking for the dimensions of length A, D, E and (F and G) or (I and J).
All measurements should be in millimetres, then we can cross reference the information and make sure we 100% sure that the correct part built for your needs.

the ok we know this bike downwards is the reply to getting a shock from them and prices. rob
 

Boris

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This response really doesn't fill me with any confidence. Wilbers are a highly rated suspension unit, however there are others available that are just as good and available in the UK. Have you tried MCT in Bury St Edmunds, they have very good reputation and can build units to your spec and have it pre set up for you, along with recommended settings for different types of use.

Are you able to say who the above response is from, I'm very curious.
 

bimota

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Hi Boris,
the reply wasn,t good in my opinon as well thats why i put it up here , bits4motorbikes.co.uk they list a few shocks on there site for our bikes thats why i ask them they were the first to reply.
 

escapefjrtist

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Sounds like a bunch of BS in that response. Only one shock, all kinds of problems with this bike, fails before warranty period...Ugh. RUN AWAY from that place.

Lots of good manufacturers out there, my Penske has been a rock solid addition to my Tenere.

~G
 

RCinNC

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LOL, there are four or five different models of Wilbers shocks for the Super Tenere, and you can only tell which one fits on which S10 if you have the frame number? The rebuilt shock on my 2014 S10 came from a 2012 S10; I'm fairly confident that there aren't four or five different swingarm/frame geometries out there that require four or five different versions of a Wilbers to fit it. And, all that stuff about "there are all kinds of problems that come about from the shock absorber on this particular bike in fact certain manufacturers refuse to make a shock for this bike because it would always fail before the guarantee period ended and I'm not giving out names. " sounds like fear mongering bullshit. I've never heard anything derogatory about the S10 rear shock, other than that like most OEM shocks on Japanese bikes, they're specced to cover such a wide variety of riders that there's room for improvement.

"nobody else is making a shock that can cope for any period of time apart from it." Seriously? So basically companies like Penske, Ohlins, etc are cobbling together their sub par crap out of dixie cups and slinky springs? Normally you'd have to go all the way to a Kansas stockyard to see that much bullshit in one place.

I think what we might have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a guy who is an exclusive Wilbers dealer.
 

EricV

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Some of that response is BS, some is truth. The Ohlins is old technology and nothing has changed on what they offer for the Super Ten, it's not all that.

Yes, you really want the Wilbers with the hydraulic preload adjuster. I've had that shock on the FJR and it's excellent.

No, his head is up his rear if he thinks there are variations from 2010 to 2018, aside from the ES. If you have a non-ES, they are all the same.

You're in the UK... last I checked, you're in the EU. Sure, there is some brexit issues... but he should be able to quote you a stable price in Euros or pounds sterling w/o cramping his brain.

The fundamental problem is that the wanker needs to focus on selling you a shock, not pissing on the bike.

If your VIN is 17 digits? Really, I don't think any modern bike has a shorter than 17 digit VIN any more. How old does he think your bike is?!?

Pick another Wilbers re-seller and ping them.

There are many other shocks out there. Some available in the UK too. That said, the Wilbers is a first rate shock too.
 

SicDuc

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My past experience with Ohlins on a BMW GS wasn't to good. Had to have front and rear rebuilt after thirty thousand miles (both leaking) when purchased had them built to my riding style and weight, installed and setup by professional, for sag and you know what I mean.
 

bimota

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hi guys,

found penske uk, spoke to a guy called alex gave him my weights and wifes etc looking inti it for me quick question to you guys in the USA would you be happy with penske as a shock for our bikes thanks
rob
 
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