front shocker leak......whats are the options?

[APW]

Hi



Ok bike is a 2010 GSA TC with ESA and 29800m on the clock and this morning I noticed a small patch of fluid on the garage floor as I wheeled it out to go to work.

Initial inspection showed fluid at the base of the ESA electronic connection of the front shock unit with a bit of muck on the base of the inner plunger of the unit which has collected on fluid there.

Looks like a shock absorber seal has given up and caused a leak of internal fluid to me.

So options guys?

I would like the collective knowledge to put forward their experience on what they have actually done and how things have gone after they had their bike fixed

Do I

A) Get it refurbish and refit the old unit? Any recommendations on where to have this done and approx. cost. Have you had yours done? If so how long has it lasted since getting it done (in miles please) Also have you had any subsequent handling issues after having this done?

B) Find a second hand unit and fit that? Again where would one get such a unit and what would be the cost? (I will be posting a wanted request up soon maybe)

C) Replace the unit with a Wilber’s or Ohlin’s unit?

Are there any other ESA compatible units out there other that Wilber’s and Ohlin’s that I’m unaware of?

Also, can I replace just the front and leave the rear as Std or is the collective thinking, I need to replace the rear as well to avoid any handling issues?

Ideally I would like to fit a set of Ohlin’s front and rear but the cost I’m expecting to have to lash out to achieve this could be the limiting factor and at 30k miles am I wasting my money that could go towards a new LC
Im thinking give the shocker a good wipe clean and part ex it asap?

Then there is the Wilber’s option, same issues as fitting Ohlin’s but the Wilber’s will be a slightly cheaper option to Ohlin’s, so my question here is, What’s the collective thinking here are Ohlin’s that much better than Wilber’s?

Thanks


Andy

 

[Pukmeister]

Firefox racing or MCT Stowmarket for a rebuild of the OEM unit with new seals.

 

[robb]

i've got a pretty new set of wilbers on a very similar spec GS to yours if you want to try mine. We can discuss option B at the same time if you want a look at my old ones.

 

[APW]

Firefox racing or MCT Stowmarket for a rebuild of the OEM unit with new seals.

less than 3 minutes and we have a reply

pukmeister

I will be giving Firefox a ring in the morning.
only an hour an a half up the road from me too, so not to far either.
MCT will be next on my phone list

 

[APW]

i've got a pretty new set of wilbers on a very similar spec GS to yours if you want to try mine. We can discuss option B at the same time if you want a look at my old ones.

PM on the way robb
we need to talk



Andy

 

[Bendy toy]

The back shock won't be far behind (in leaks and on the road) so get that mortgage updated.

 

[AlexG]

Just a word of warning with respect to rebuilding shocks...I replaced a worn out non-ESA front shock (at approx 24,000 miles) on mine with a secondhand unit last year, no problems with the one I fitted, but I decided to get the one I removed rebuilt.
I sent it to MCT and thought it would be a pretty straight forward exercise, however at about the time I was expecting a call to let me know the total cost I received a call from MCT to tell me that the unit had corrosion on the inside of the shock body and they could not get it to seal properly despite trying twice, so it was scrap. MCT effectively wasted their time and I helped top-up Royal Mail's bank account for no benefit.

If I had a Wilbers/Ohlins/whatever brand shock with the same problem the part could be sourced and replaced, but this is not possible with the OEM shocks.

I dare say the majority of shocks will not suffer the issue my old one had, but just sharing so that you and others can make an informed decision...as for me, there are probably no surprises to hear I'm saving for an aftermarket replacement

 

[APW]

Update for those that are interested

After a couple of phone calls today I’m told that a single unit replacement/refurbish is doable but ideally for best results I should sort both front and rear out, I think makes sense given the mileage and the possibility of the rear giving up sometime soon maybe, so it’s all change front and rear for me.

Now

Option A) Firefox want £189 each to refurbish my old shocks they are willing to remove my shock at cost with a turnaround time of 3 to 5 days so we are looking at a total cost of around £500 and I get my refurbished units back fitted and I’m without the bike for at least a week plus my train fare to get to and from Keighley? We are looking at around £550 all in
not a bad deal really but I'm effectively not getting any improvement just a cure for my problem for £550 this along with the reply from AlexG leads me to move on from option A

Option B) not had any replies from my wanted add on here but its early days Robs offer of his old std units and a blast on his Wilber’s equipped GS is a great offer but I think that the GS shocks are a little bit shorter so his units will not be suitable for my GSA unless I do some other mods to make them fit…… doable but I don’t really want to go down that path TBH but thanks anyway Rob for the offer

Option C) Ohlin’s? mega money for an ESA set up fitted I can only assume as FTR’s promised return call back to discus my needs never happened?
If you snooze you lose boys in my book!

Wilber’s. Revs say they can fit a set of Wilber’s WESA to my bike for £1295 it’s an all day job and the springs will be setup to me and how I ride and use the bike. They will remove my old units and strip off the electronics for the ESA and then refit a new set of Wilber’s with my old Electronics to control them. It’s a drive in at 9am and drive away at around 4pm job

So I’m booked into REVs 27th Aug which is the earliest they could fit me in.
and it’s a set of Wilber’s for me guaranteed for 5 years and rebuildable after that should they ever go wrong after the warranty expires

1295 -550 = £745 so that’s effectively what I’m paying for 5 years peace of mind with the ability to rebuild after 5 years and I suspect I will notice a big difference in how the bike handles compared to the std units on it now

I will let you know what I think of them after they have been fitted

Thanks for your input guys

Andy

 

[Bendy toy]

Unless you are really strapped for cash, a pair of Wilbers make more sense. New parts and built to be rebuilt/serviced as needed.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Well done for getting a solution.

I'm a devil for keeping my bikes standard and on my 2013 Triple Black I am keeping the warranty extended (at a rolling £36 per month). It covers travel insurance and breakdown assist but mostly it's piece of mind, the ESA shocks are covered up to 30k miles and it will help when I sell the bike (soon).

I hope the rebuild goes well.

 

[GORILA]

Other thing to be aware of is with the Wilbers for the warranty to apply you have to service them every two years, so you would have that cost and inconvenience. It may be worth checking if they would cover defects if you have not had them serviced within the five years!

 

[Bendy toy]

I'm sure @APW will love the Wilbers. I have ridden an Aprilia Pegaso 650 with a Wilbers on the back. It's so smooth you would swear the tyre is flat but then it corners stunningly well. At least, it would if the upside down forks on the front could keep up! The only reason I am managing with my old BMW Showa suspension is the cost but I will have to bite the bullet sooner or later.

Wilbers do indeed require service rebuilds but we really shouldn't be expecting precision equipment to survive with the same old oil for ever and a day. I believe the non rebuildable shocks (on any bike) are designed with a mechanical life to meet the oil's life. So they will become less effective after about 15K and are likely to be leaking after about 30K BMW are really quite generous in offering a 30K warranty especially for the back shock. To get the best service life from any motorbike shock it should be stripped and re oiled every 15K (sealed units or designed for rebuilds). This is far more frequent than any car suspensions (except the exotic stuff) but cars are less fussy about suspension quality than bikes so we can get away with less precision equipment.

 

[seahorse]

Don't forget Nitron. Not as expensive as Wilbers, Ohlins etc and made in Britain too.

 

[APW]

Don't forget Nitron. Not as expensive as Wilbers, Ohlins etc and made in Britain too.

Nitron cant say I know to much about these guys
how ever looking at there web site tonight I think I would be paying in the region of £1000 to replace the front with an R1 and the rear with their R2 replacement shocks plus fitting costs, so slightly less than Wilber's but they don't seem to be compatible with the ESA system, which the Wilber's are.

I'm committed to the Wilber's now as REV's wanted a 50% deposit over the phone. But thanks anyway Seahorse

they do look nice though

 

[APW]

Other thing to be aware of is with the Wilbers for the warranty to apply you have to service them every two years, so you would have that cost and inconvenience. It may be worth checking if they would cover defects if you have not had them serviced within the five years!

I will ask the question when I get mine fitted.
but the reality here is if I don't get them serviced and they go wrong what would be the extra costs to get them fixed over getting them serviced every 2 years?
they will still have to remove them from the bike to service them.
they will still have to strip them down to service them.
and if they need parts then they will fit them for free I assume under warranty
If I don't get them serviced and they fail REV's still have to do the above and then add on the cost of bits needed to fix them.

Now if the performance deteriorates enough over 2 years due to Bendy's notion of old oil etc. then that's another story.
only time will tell if I notice them going off the boil so to speak.

I'm no Valentino Rossi so I'm not expecting to have or notice any major issues for a good few years @ an average of 6000m/year

maybe those out there who already have Wilber's can comment on the handling after a few years use?
have you noticed any drop off in performance/handling?
have you had yours serviced?
have they failed since you've had them fitted?



Andy

 

[Bendy toy]

The shock oil is sealed under nitrogen so should not deteriorate with age. Unlike engine oil which gets contaminated so goes off on age and miles.
12K over two years isn't so far away from the warranty limit or use the bike a bit more.
Not knowing any better I ran a Dutch built WP emulsion shock until the damping began to go off. It wasn't leaking but repair needed many parts so expensive and its damping characteristics were never the same.

 

[Pukmeister]

The shock oil is sealed under nitrogen so should not deteriorate with age.

If only that were true, all shocks could be Nitrogen filled and never need a service. All the Nitrogen does is reduce oil foaming. The long chain molecules still get broken down through physical shear.

 

[APW]

maybe those out there who already have Wilber's can comment on the handling after a few years use?
have you noticed any drop off in performance/handling?
have you had yours serviced?
have they failed since you've had them fitted?



Andy

Anyone got any feedback on the above?
surely someone out there who has had Wilber's fitted for 10's of thousands of miles or a few years or so can comment on their experience and how they appear to be holding up? or not if that is the case?



Andy

 

[Bendy toy]

If only that were true, all shocks could be Nitrogen filled and never need a service. All the Nitrogen does is reduce oil foaming. The long chain molecules still get broken down through physical shear.

In thread context, what I said is entirely true.
If the bike does few miles the shock oil will last over time because it's not getting oxidised.
If the bike is getting used, change the oil every 15K miles, because as you say the H-C chains get destroyed.
A weekend rider could have the sealed shock oil last many years. A distance commuter could be servicing them every year or less.

 

[AlexG]

In most practical consumer situations (i.e. not industrial use of oils/fluids) oil breakdown is due to contamination, this is why in cars engine oil has to be changed regularly (combustion by-products contaminating the oil) whereas the associated gearbox oil is changed relatively infrequently (closed system with few external contaminants in the oil until components wear).

I would think that the vast majority of oil 'failures' in shock absorbers is down to seal/component wear or water ingress contaminating the oil rather than actual physical breakdown of the oil.

Not that it is particularly important, the end result is the same.