Suspension how-to course

Rode to Stockton CA, and spent the day adjusting suspension and going round in circles on the cart-track. 16k miles together, it’s still stock, and still isn’t right. After today, I’ve ended up using up all the rebound to improve the front, but the rear is still hard enough it would put blood in anybody’s urine. *sigh*

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Yeah. Now you get to choose how to improve the OEM setup, which company & cost.

Gratuitous course-day glamour-pic; GRiSO and I look good together. Better than my wedding day photos. And I’m married long enough to know not to say that out loud.

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I’m done with this relationship. I’ve never felt properly supported in the 2 years we’ve been together - I’ve tried to make it work - I’ve paid for experts and their advice, I’ve taken courses to try to understand you, and I’ve made adjustments, lord knows I’ve made LOTS of adjustments, but you never change - you’re still as hard and insensitive as you’ve always been. I’ve had it, and I’m moving on - I’ve found a German on the internet and I’m beginning a new relationship. Goodbye Sachs, it’s over.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I always knew it wasn’t going to work !

Glad you’ve found someone else

watching this space.

Curious how you determined Wilbers over the other 'known' options.

Any of the 'Top Shelf' products are going to be a vast improvement over the Sachs which is really a pretty poverty-pack product, something that is weird given the fine quality of the forks, albeit poorly valved. The main thing is trying to get the build right first time. It's possible, but it took three goes to get my Matris set-up where it is today whereas Mark's identical set-up was pretty much perfect straight out of the box.

kidsmoke wrote:

watching this space.

Curious how you determined Wilbers over the other 'known' optons.

The Wilbers US rep is Beemershop in Santa Cruz, 30 miles away from my work. I rode GRiSO to get the shock after a 4 week lead-time. The owner Ted Porter had all the time and patience for my stupid questions, and Wilbers has bothered to publish a book, “Motorcycle Suspension Technology” that I bought online and have found useful. Lastly, the price comparison to Matris was as near as made no difference, but the Wilbers comes in a blacked-out version; much more sexy.

Svartipants wrote:

kidsmoke wrote:

watching this space.

Curious how you determined Wilbers over the other 'known' optons.

The Wilbers US rep is Beemershop in Santa Cruz, 30 miles away from my work. I rode GRiSO to get the shock after a 4 week lead-time. The owner Ted Porter had all the time and patience for my stupid questions, and Wilbers has bothered to publish a book, “Motorcycle Suspension Technology” that I bought online and have found useful. Lastly, the price comparison to Matris was as near as made no difference, but the Wilbers comes in a blacked-out version; much more sexy.

I may try to take advantage of your process, wait til you're all dialed in, and follow suit.

What's your weight?

Minor Rant: I'm put off at the lack of 'supension specialists'. I like that Porter puts himself out there as such, and I'm willing to support that. Particularly after you give it a thumbs up, assuming you will.

Svartipants wrote:

I’m done with this relationship. I’ve never felt properly supported in the 2 years we’ve been together - I’ve tried to make it work - I’ve paid for experts and their advice, I’ve taken courses to try to understand you, and I’ve made adjustments, lord knows I’ve made LOTS of adjustments, but you never change - you’re still as hard and insensitive as you’ve always been.

That's because you have a rock for a saddle. I've tried Corbin saddles on three different bikes and they all felt awful. The downside to having such hard foam is it doesn't compress when you hit bumps so more harshness is transmitted to your body than you would otherwise feel.

JonB85 wrote:

Svartipants wrote:

I’m done with this relationship. I’ve never felt properly supported in the 2 years we’ve been together - I’ve tried to make it work - I’ve paid for experts and their advice, I’ve taken courses to try to understand you, and I’ve made adjustments, lord knows I’ve made LOTS of adjustments, but you never change - you’re still as hard and insensitive as you’ve always been.

That's because you have a rock for a saddle. I've tried Corbin saddles on three different bikes and they all felt awful. The downside to having such hard foam is it doesn't compress when you hit bumps so more harshness is transmitted to your body than you would otherwise feel.

I've got a Corbin Gunfighter on my GRiSO as well, and you're correct the foam is hard and unforgiving, but the ergo's and the styling, IMHO, make up for it. They're perfect. I suppose the solution is a custom 'rip-off'. Mine only has 2500 miles on it and I'm hoping it softens over time.

My Corbin isn’t rock hard.

Maybe you have a bonier arse than me?

Between my wife and I, we've had many Corbins on four different bikes. Only one has been less than great. It was on her Hawk GT had a hard spot in the foam near the front.

Ive had several Corbins..I usually ride to their shop, use their ride in service and have them make my seats while I wait..It does take some miles to break them in..this last one I got new and I took on a 7k mile trip this past summer...It was always ok..albeit a little firm but now it fits my Arse like a finely broke in baseball glove. Perfect...and thru the miles and rain the leather has held up like new.
To me NO ONE makes a seat that looks better..and I have tried most all of the top brands and a few lesser known ones.
I also like Mike Corbin..Hell of a nice guy..Of the several times I have been at the factory waiting for a seat to be finished Mike bought me breakfast a couple times , told me his lifes stories and how he got into making seats..and spent a lot of time complimenting my GRiSO and telling me how much he liked their look. He is a rider.....not just a seat maker.

Finally had the free time I needed to put the new Wilbers in. Daughter asks, “why don’t you ever just take it to a mechanic?”
“Because I am the Mandello-lorian. This is the way”[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Simple. huh?...lol
Like even if you did want to do that you could find one....
I love the Wilbers in mine

Am I strange or insensitive? 181 cm, 79 kg, bony ass and my Sachs shock suits me once adjusted to my liking. Ok, I´d take more overall travel in a heartbeat, but the equation of comfort and reliable feeling in fast corners is spot-on. Is this a question of weight?

Weight is certainly a factor. My stock shock was bottoming out over any medium bump. An upgraded shock with stiffer spring cured it. That said, in full riding gear, I'm nearly twice your weight. I probably have less hair too.

Hello Rick, this was a quick reply! Twice my weight is 2 Italians, at least! Have you gone directly to an alternative shock or have you tried a stiffer spring on the stocker first? As it is notoriously overdamped this could be the cheaper ticket for the heavier boys.

To be honest. I don't recall the brand of shock I put on. I do recall it was made in England. I tried tinkering with the settings on the stocker, and got frustrated enough to just open my wallet a bit, and buy a new one, although it was a few rungs down the ladder from the premium units.

Wilbers is great stuff…I’ve been running one on my Norge for a long time now…also bought from Ted at Beemershop.  Excellent quality.

On the GRiSO however I went with a Hyperpro purple stiffer than stock spring and got a proper sag and rebound setup the last time I had new tires put on, and the combination of both makes the GRiSO handle beautifully. If I ever upgraded I would do the Wilbers again… beautiful engineering, externally adjustable and top notch service from Ted.

Also a fan of Corbin’s have had one for 12 years on the Norge
and about 5 on the GRiSO.  Both excellent.

beetle wrote:

My Corbin isn’t rock hard.

Maybe you have a bonier arse than me?

Haha I guess so! I've always found Sargent's foam to get along well with my butt

Svartipants wrote:

Finally had the free time I needed to put the new Wilbers in. Daughter asks, “why don’t you ever just take it to a mechanic?”
“Because I am the Mandello-lorian. This is the way”[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Nice! How are you liking it?

I AM liking it. I’ve been only commuting and haven’t yet tried a proper spanking with the Wilbers, but the crappy surface and hard impacts on the 101 are sooo much more bearable. Right now, I have the high-rate compression at 18/22 clicks, and so phoned Ted whether being so close to one end of the range was to be expected. He wasn’t surprised - one of his techs went to Germany for training, and the tech ended up looking for a building site because the German roads are too smooth. There’s an earlier remark on the Ghetto that you should overstate your weight by a few kilo if ordering a shock from Wilbers, and I’m so far inclined to agree. And in hindsight, I do wish I had bought the height-adjustable option. I am not sure why, but the new shock did make the front end feel lighter - both rear shocks looked the same length - but I felt that I needed to reset sag on the front and might yet drop the triple clamps down another ring. Still learning.

Svartipants wrote:

“Because I am the Mandello-lorian. This is the way”

need a t-shirt with that