Well, the Wilbers WESA shocks are finally on! They have been specced for mainly solo riding at 105/110kg, an occasional bit of luggage, and very infrequent <10% pillion.
Refitting them was pretty straight forward apart from one minor part. The new front shock shaft doesn't have the allen key hole in the top to prevent it from rotating when torquing the top nut. A little piggery jokery sorted it though.
So, the ride. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as my original front shock had seemed fine, and i had only done around ten miles on the knackered rear. Initial fiddling in the garage showed what seemed to be a wider range of adjustment between the preload settings. The 'bounce up and down ass-ometer' test seemed to confirm it!
My first couple of rides were just an eleven mile commute. Set in one helmet mode the ride seemed nice. A fiddle through the damper settings and some concentration, and i began to notice more. Comfort damping seemed nice and smooth, so i selected sport. At first i thought i had immediately ridden onto a coarser patch of tarmac as i suddenly seemed to be able to feel the texture of the surface. Not uncomfortably so, just an increase in feedback from the tyres. However a few cycles through comfort, normal and sport modes showed that it is down to the damping. One helmet/comfort now seems to be a little firmer than before, but smooooooth! Like being punched through a silken memory foam pillow! Normal and sport offer an increase in feedback from underneath, and make the GS feel a little more like a bike on quality traditional, in a good way that is!
I have since done a few more miles and been exploring some local back roads. In the interests of science i had a fiddle with two helmet and off road modes and found distinct changes between each one. Her Maj hasn't been on the back yet so that report will have to wait.
More relevantly i tried one helmet+luggage. Unsurprisingly this seemed to firm up the rear more than the front, with the perceived bonus of feeling as though it put a little more weight on the front end. Again i tried the three damper settings, finding much the same again, but a little firmer overall. I say firmer as opposed to harder as it all seems to be better controlled, and more comfortable as a result.
Anyway, i started one ride concentrating on the suspension. After a bit of fresh air and near empty roads i began 'enjoying' myself. After about 30 minutes of 'enjoying' myself on unclassified bumpy twisties i saw two guys both on S1000r's coming the other way. They were both jiggling around looking quite uncomfortable and out of place. A quick nod hello, and then i glanced down at the speedo . . . . . . hmm. Now we've all heard the old GS vs sports bike on twisties blah, and i suppose it may have some merit. However what i realised about my revitalised bike was that now, for what felt like the same effort and application in my riding i was going noticeably faster, yet in more comfort, with more confidence. And loving it!!!
To conclude, Wilbers are expensive. Partly because we need two of them! However my bike, to me, feels more comfortable, more stable, smoother, more adaptable and less tiring to ride. It also feels slower. Yes, slower. But it isn't. I think it is simply that the bikes range of ability is now greater than life before WESA. When ridden now as it was before the GS is even further inside its operational comfort zone. Then when you do want to play it will take it all in its extended stride, leaving me with a great big grin. And even happier that for me, Wilbers WESA shocks really were the right way to go.
Finally thanks to Nick and John at Revs Racing for their service, advice and guidance. I went there on recommendation of another GS'er and have no hesitation in recommending them to all the other tossers. Any suspension issues, get in touch with them!
www.revsracing.co.uk 