Time to upgrade the suspension

[racer1735]

I've decided its time to upgrade my 2012's suspension...but like most I'm on a budget. I've searched both this forum as well as ADVRider but am still waffling on which way to go. I would like to do both the front spring and the rear shock, but I can't afford a Penske or Ohlins. I'm leaning towards the Hyperpro Streetbox kit, with the question being 'how much will I miss the preload knob on my OEM shock?'
Does anyone have a Hyperpro 460, and if so, how much time do you spend trying to add/take out preload by turning the rings? I ride solo and 2-up and in stock form my preload is just shy of the middle mark, but with my passenger its almost maxed out (about 8/10 of the way).
Wilbers, Hyperpro and Hagon offer fairly affordable base shocks (which I believe would still be a better performer to the OEM) without the remote preload. Adding the remote puts them out of my price range.
I've searched this forum and others for take-offs but haven't stumbled on any to this point.
My final alternative would be to put an 850 lb spring on the OEM shock (850 is what several spring mfgs recommend for my weight and style riding...I wouldn't go any higher) and add the fork springs.
I like the price of the Streetbox kit because its giving me a decent shock and springs, but don't know if I'll be kicking myself for not having the remote knob?
Advice??

 

[snakebitten]

It's really nice to have remote pre-load.
But not nearly as nice as having a great handling bike.

It's only "time". 5 minutes? (pure guess. Don't have any idea)

 

[cetan]

How many times you will change settings of preload? Ring adjuster takes couple of minutes to set. Not for first time, after 10 times its realy "quick" ... but its not as comfortable as knob

 

[racer1735]

Are you generally change settings a couple times a week. One setting for when I ride solo and another for when I have a passenger.
I'm interested in hearing from people out there who have an aftermarket shock that does not have a remote to preload adjuster

 

[Ironhand]

I did front springs and an Ohlins shock. The springs were a noticeable improvement. The shock much more so. While I do like having the remote preload adjuster, I could definitely live without it.

 

[greg the pole]

i went with a front spring for my weight, and service the front forks every 15 thou km.
the rear, money was well spent on a Yacugar 2 way comp, rebound, and hydraulic preload.

I use it often enough to make it worthwhile.
budget? it was not. The front springs were $100 plus my labor.
Rear shock was $1000-1100 and that was on sale. That said, best money ever spent.

 

[cetan]

On GS I had cheap hyperpro shock with ring preload adjuster. Did change setup only for long ride with heavy luggage. On S10 is knob an I am sometimes knobbing . I have ordered tractive suspension with knob and I will use knob again .. for heavy luggage ride = couple times a year.. same as other adjusters

 

[tubebender]

Racer, I think you should hold out a little longer, save your pennies, and go about it slightly different.
I read up on the Streetbox kit, and for $700 you get a set of progressive front springs and an emulsion rear shock with rebound only.
In my (admittedly F5cked up) mind, that's really not too much different from stock.

I think you should buy the Hyperpro fully adjustable shock and some straight rate springs from Sonic.
Yeah, it would set you back about $1050, but I think it's a better value.

As far as a hydraulic or mechanical preload adjuster versus a ring adjuster, no doubt they are convenient.
But, a few hours spent up front figuring out how many turns (or other means of measurement) where the ring needs to be, really isn't an issue.
I have Penske, take me about 5 minutes to adjust if I'm going to ride 2 -up (no luggage), and 45 minutes to change springs if we are going to take everything.

JMHO

 

[Frenchfries]

For me too, it was time to upgrade my rear suspension since my OEM shock is now 28,000 miles, and my health requires a more plush/compliant suspension.
I did some research, and I came to the conclusion that most products sold in the USA are very expensive, the most affordable being the shocks sold by Cogent. The high price is justified by the fact all the resellers/shops pride themselves in baby sitting you and use some black magic to offer to your ride a unique treatment. Well, I am a bit skeptical that there no off-the-shelve solution for mass market product like my motorcycle. Then I realized that at least for Ohlins, this is a off-the-shelves product. And for Wilbers, the tuning is actually done by the factory in Germany at the time of order.
As a conclusion, I started to look at Ebay to find vendors able to provide a shock for my Super Ténéré at a decent cost, knowing that the OEM shock cost $400 new. I found a US vendor with high reputation (herman-usa) selling the Wilbers 641 for $874 including shipping:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/251319810316?dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F251319810316

But I kept digging and found a French reseller (Mecadata) doing the same thing, but for $700 including shipping to the USA, with delivery within 15 days:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/121452996249?dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F121452996249

Sorry for the shops trying to sell the same things for north of $1,000, but they need to come back to earth...

 

[racer1735]

This was a old thread that still has legs, so thought I'd update on what I've done to upgrade the suspension on my '12 ST. I went with Cogent Dynamics and had Rick rebuild/upgrade my OEM shock (add a new spring, rebuild the shock/seals/etc. and add a port for changing the oil). This was a cost-effective method that really changed the characteristics of the OEM shock. I then added a set of .95 Sonic Springs to the fork as well as the suggested weight oil. I'm happy with the outcome and did so at a price that met my budget.

 

[greg the pole]

To each his own. The Yacugar from the beemer shop was not cheap. That said, the shock was sized for me. Rebuild parts were available for a nominal amount ($100-130).
I had the shock on the bike for 50k km before it started leaking. REbuilt it for $300 and good for another 50km.

You will not find that kind of help, or parts on ebay.

 

[Frenchfries]

Two years ago (June 2014), Ted Porter at the Beermershop quoted me a three-way Yacugar (with high speed / low speed compression adjustment) similar to the Wilbers 641, $1,188. I doubt the price went lower with time. That is +69% over the $700 I found on Ebay for the Wilbers 641, or $488.
I don't think one would have an issue having a well known brand shock being serviced by a local shop.

My post is just to share my findings with others, every one being free to spend his money has he wishes and valuing the added value of a shop. I just find the discretion about the actual pricing of an after market shock deafening....

 

[greg the pole]

Two years ago (June 2014), Ted Porter at the Beermershop quoted me a three-way Yacugar (with high speed / low speed compression adjustment) similar to the Wilbers 641, $1,188. I doubt the price went lower with time. That is +69% over the $700 I found on Ebay for the Wilbers 641, or $488.
I don't think one would have an issue having a well known brand shock being serviced by a local shop.

My post is just to share my findings with others, every one being free to spend his money has he wishes and valuing the added value of a shop. I just find the discretion about the actual pricing of an after market shock deafening....

That's why it's called a shock.
I have the shock you describe. It's excellent, and Ted has been very good to deal with. All this from Canada to boot.
When I had the shock rebuilt by a local guy, he had nothing bad to say about the components of the Yacugar. To me to have 50k of worry free riding, while being glue to the road is worthwhile.

 

[Kurgan]

I would contact Cogent Dynamics in North Carolina and see what they can do with the stock shock or see what he can custom build for a replacement shock. I've had them rebuild the suspension on my old VStrom 1000, based on a tight budget and the improvements were noticeable and not a wallet breaker.

http://www.motocd.com/