Touratech Shocks

[Marty]

Has anyone installed a Touratech shock on their Super Tenere? The look good but, a little pricy compared to Penski or Ohlins. I do like the hydro pre load adj of 15 mm vs 10 for ohlins.

 

[Rasher]

The look good but, a little pricy compared to Penski or Ohlins.

You must be paying for all their expertise in suspension and success in international competition events, whereas who has ever heard of "Ohlins" suspension :

 

[~TABASCO~]

Expensive but nice for sure..

 

[Marty]

I have heard of Ohlins. In fact I bought one for my previous Super Tenere and was not impressed. It obviously wasn't designed for an adventure bike. Do you know anything about the Touratech shocks or are you just bashing something because it is unfamiliar to you?


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[p51super10bombay]

TT shocks might be ok but are very over priced - you can get the Ohlins for less $$$ than their entry level (no, remote reservoir, no hydro proload, etc) shock and it only goes up from there. Get any of the others but make sure it is set up for YOU, not off the shelf.

 

[~TABASCO~]

I have heard of Ohlins. In fact I bought one for my previous Super Tenere and was not impressed. It obviously wasn't designed for an adventure bike. Do you know anything about the Touratech shocks or are you just bashing something because it is unfamiliar to you?


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Did you have your Ohlins specifically set up for you ? If you bought one from a retailer that just pulled one of the shelf it probably was not set up at all... I have an Ohlins and I beat the crap out of it off road. Also ride the bike cross country and the Ohlins works outstanding for me... All the high end brands work very well, but each rider needs it set up for the end users specific needs and wants. Being that we are Touratech dealer I spoke to those folks and there are three Touratech shocks available..

- HP base for $1095 Rebuildable replacement stock shock
- Expedition $1495 Hydraulic preload with remote reservoir
- Extreme $1795 Same as above more heavy duty
Each shock will be set up for each customer before it leaves Touratech. All the brands are better than stock, but again just need to be set up properly for each customer..

 

[p51super10bombay]

Did you have your Ohlins specifically set up for you ? If you bought one from a retailer that just pulled one of the shelf it probably was not set up at all... I have an Ohlins and I beat the crap out of it off road. Also ride the bike cross country and the Ohlins works outstanding for me... All the high end brands work very well, but each rider needs it set up for the end users specific needs and wants. Being that we are Touratech dealer I spoke to those folks and there are three Touratech shocks available..

- HP base for $1095 Rebuildable replacement stock shock
- Expedition $1495 Hydraulic preload with remote reservoir
- Extreme $1795 Same as above more heavy duty
Each shock will be set up for each customer before it leaves Touratech. All the brands are better than stock, but again just need to be set up properly for each customer..

Trouble is, the TT is still over priced a good $500 if not more when compared to the industry standard Ohlins plus if anything goes wrong with it TT USA won't likely be working on it but just send it back to Germany while your bike sits. Ohlins or Penske still a better choice IMO. Wish I'd known you were a TT dealer though - could have saved the $80 tax on the box I just got from them.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Trouble is, the TT is still over priced a good $500 if not more when compared to the industry standard Ohlins plus if anything goes wrong with it TT USA won't likely be working on it but just send it back to Germany while your bike sits. Ohlins or Penske still a better choice IMO. Wish I'd known you were a TT dealer though - could have saved the $80 tax on the box I just got from them.

They have said they will be working on the here in the US... Yea, ya need any other TT just give us a shout ! ::008::

 

[Marty]

Trouble is, the TT is still over priced a good $500 if not more when compared to the industry standard Ohlins plus if anything goes wrong with it TT USA won't likely be working on it but just send it back to Germany while your bike sits. Ohlins or Penske still a better choice IMO. Wish I'd known you were a TT dealer though - could have saved the $80 tax on the box I just got from them.

Higher priced for sure. Over priced? Not sure about that. If you look into it, you may come to the conclusion that Ohlins is not as good of a priduct. The Touratech has features that Ohlins does not have.

As far as it going back to Germany if something goes wrong, there isn't a lot of info out on he web due to this being a new product. In the only case that i found with a customer having a problem, Touratech immediately sent a replacement shock to the authorized dealer. The dealer installed the new shock on the customer's bike. According to touratech's web page, the shocks are serviceable in the USA by any qualified shop.

 

[autoteach]

You could always get a Nitron. looks good, and Lenny is awesome.

 

[emgee]

Has anyone installed a Touratech shock on their Super Tenere? The look good but, a little pricy compared to Penski or Ohlins. I do like the hydro pre load adj of 15 mm vs 10 for ohlins.

Hey Marty,

Yeah, I put one on the bike a couple months ago. I'm happy with it for sure. Like any aftermarket suspension would likely be, it was night and day difference over stock. I put 25K miles on my bike before I put it on and like many here have said when referring to suspension upgrades, "you don't know what you don't know". I was amazed at the improvement and in hindsight, should have done it sooner.

As far as brand X vs. Y vs. Z.... I can't speak to that, but I haven't really heard of anyone being unhappy with their decision regardless of which brand they chose.

I think any of the aftermarket shocks will do an excellent job. I went into my shock purchase with an open mind. I knew I wanted to upgrade, but I didn't have a predetermined idea of what I was going to end up with. The only options I knew of were Penske, Ohlins, and TT. I relied heavily on Alex at Konflict up here in WA (who sells multiple brands) to help inform and guide me. He did a great job understanding my riding style, terrain, capacity, etc. and thought that the TT shock was the best fit for me. I like the overbuilt qualities of the shock, the additional preload, etc.

As far as the shock itself, it's an OEM shock made for Touratech by a company called Tractive. http://www.tractivesuspension.com/about_tractive_suspension.html

They are former WP Suspension (KTM et al) people that stayed behind to start this new company when WP moved to Austria. It's a relatively new company (2010) but they seem to have an excellent pedigree of past experience. I believe that it's an extremely well engineered and well built shock.

As far as pricing, yeah, they are more expensive than the others. The feature sets on the various shocks are similar but not identical as you've already discovered, so you'll need to wade through those small differences to determine if the "premium" is worth it for you and your particular application.

I think your best bet is find an objective professional tuner that is well regarded and up to date on the shocks you're inquiring about and start asking the questions of why they think "this that or the other thing" matters for your application or conversely, why it doesn't. I think you'll soon land on the right fit and never look back.

Good Luck!

Ps. Forgot to mention that my first offroad experience with it was just a couple weeks ago at the Desert 100. I didn't ride in the race like one of the other members (Hoebster) but I beat the crap out of it on the course on the Friday and Saturday before. It felt great! Again, I wish I had it while I was in Colorado!

 

[Marty]

Did you have your Ohlins specifically set up for you ? If you bought one from a retailer that just pulled one of the shelf it probably was not set up at all... I have an Ohlins and I beat the crap out of it off road. Also ride the bike cross country and the Ohlins works outstanding for me... All the high end brands work very well, but each rider needs it set up for the end users specific needs and wants. Being that we are Touratech dealer I spoke to those folks and there are three Touratech shocks available..

- HP base for $1095 Rebuildable replacement stock shock
- Expedition $1495 Hydraulic preload with remote reservoir
- Extreme $1795 Same as above more heavy duty
Each shock will be set up for each customer before it leaves Touratech. All the brands are better than stock, but again just need to be set up properly for each customer..

Yes I did have the Ohlins set up for me. Ohlins sent it to the suspension shop with a spring that was not rated for the stroke of the sock. Ohlins said that it would be fine but, the suspension insisted on a spring rated for the stroke of the shock and it was quite a run around. The Ohlins shock only has 10 mm of preload adj which is good for a change of about 130 pounds. That is not enough to go from one up no luggage to two with luggage. The TT shock has a 15 mm pre-load adj range.

 

[Dallara]

~

Does anyone know how many World Championship titles and events Touratech's shocks have won?

Or even national level events or titles? I'm not knocking them, but I think I might be careful suggesting that Ohlins (or Penske, etc.) are somehow inferior or "not as good of a product" as the Touratech. ::025::

Just saying...

Dallara



~

 

[Marty]

~

Does anyone know how many World Championship titles and events Touratech's shocks have won?

Or even national level events or titles? I'm not knocking them, but I think I might be careful suggesting that Ohlins (or Penske, etc.) are somehow inferior or "not as good of a product" as the Touratech. ::025::

Just saying...

Dallara



~

How many races have been won by Super Teneres with Ohlins shocks?

 

[Dallara]

How many races have been won by Super Teneres with Ohlins shocks?

How many with Touratech's? ::025::

Dallara


~

 

[Marty]

Emgee I spoke to Alex at Konflict today. In his oinion the TT shocks are superior to Ohlins in a heavily loaded adventure bike situation.

 

[avc8130]

Yes I did have the Ohlins set up for me. Ohlins sent it to the suspension shop with a spring that was not rated for the stroke of the sock. Ohlins said that it would be fine but, the suspension insisted on a spring rated for the stroke of the shock and it was quite a run around. The Ohlins shock only has 10 mm of preload adj which is good for a change of about 130 pounds. That is not enough to go from one up no luggage to two with luggage. The TT shock has a 15 mm pre-load adj range.

Interesting statements. This is exactly why I ALWAYS suggest everyone contact not only a suspension shop, but one with specific experience with the Tenere.

ac

 

[Marty]

How many with Touratech's? ::025::

Dallara


~

I don't know. Probably zero with either brand because the super tenere isn't a race bike. I think your point is irrelevant to the discussion of adventure bike shocks.

 

[Dallara]

Emgee I spoke to Alex at Konflict today. In his oinion the TT shocks are superior to Ohlins in a heavily loaded adventure bike situation.

Well, you'd have to kind of expect that... After all, that is the brand he sells, at least according to his website! ::025::

Dallara


~

 

[Marty]

Well, you'd have to kind of expect that... After all, that is the brand he sells, at least according to his website! ::025::

Dallara


~

Actually he sells all brands, and he has a very good reputation. You should be careful with you implications.