Gs rear suspension

[Tam]

Having a bit of trouble with me bikes rear suspension.I bought the bike a couple of weeks ago,brought it home and discovered the rear shock's pre load wouldn't work.The dealer taken the bike back and are going to fit a wilbur shock if i pay £250 towards this which I'm going to do.And they keep old shock.The dealer says they have had a problem telling if the bike has been lowered as they have nothing to compare it to .I know the seats lowered and i can get both feet flat down on the ground so assume its a lower bike as well. Question is do BMW only lower the suspension and seat or are there any any mods to the frame and if the bike is set up for a lowered shock would it be ok to fit a standard shock for better resale as i think i would be ok with standard bike with a lowered seat as I'm a 30 inside leg.Also if the bikes been lowered by BMW would the side and centre stands work after a standard shock was fitted.Has anyone converted a standard bike to a lower shock lenth. Also thinking a standard wilbur shock may be cheaper than a lowered one as I'm skint.The bikes a 2010 model
Any help welcome.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

The stands are a different length or at least the side stand definitely is. I would have thought that a dealer would be able to find out the different shock lengths. If not from BMW then pretty sure Wilbur's will tell you to make sure you get the right one.

 

[Schtum]

I'm taking it that you didn't buy the bike from a BMW Motorrad dealership. The tale that they don't know if the bike was originally a low-chassis model is really a bit pathetic. If that's the case, they need to contact their nearest Motorrad dealership and using the usual motorcycle trade courtesy, ask them to run the VIN and establish if your bike was a standard or low-chassis model. The difference between a standard and low chassis model is the length of the shocks and for a 2010 GS, I believe, it would also have been fitted with a low seat from the factory.

As you've identified, if you fit a standard length shock to a lowered bike, you're probably going to run into issues with the side and centre stands being too short. Also and perhaps more importantly, if you only fit a standard length rear shock without similarly replacing the front one with a standard length unit, you're going to raise the rear of the bike and change the steering geometry by steepening the angle of the front fork legs. That will speed up the steering but by reducing the trail of the front fork, it could potentially lead to some instabilty and the increased chance of the bike shaking its head or even, in extremis, going into a tank slapper.

HTH

 

[Bendy toy]

As you are buying a shock from Revs Racing you can ask them the details you need to know.

Schtum is of course dead right regarding front and rear ride heights. Simply increasing the rear preload will noticeably quicken the steering so a lowered shock on the front with normal length on the back would be *interesting* to say the least.

 

[bikemad]

Sounds to me it's a normal bike shop ? bmw surely wouldn't offer a Wilbers in place of a OEM,that'd be admitting their units are rubbish
If the shop goes online all the specs are there shock lenth,stand hight etc
Id queary the bike get YOUR own measurements to compare,then again not the first or last I'll hear of a shop fecking up

 

[Tam]

Thanks for that,This is good to know about changing the steering on the front if the wrong shock was ordered,thanks again.

 

[hatzyian]

Are we talking about a bike with ESA? If so, the problem might be with the electronic unit, which does not come with a new Wilbers shock.
I had a problem with preload not working, and it was reprogramed by dealer.

 

[Tam]

No it hasn't ESA

 

[Neil W]

The standard gs rear shock should be 435mm on centre or so I was told

 

[Neil W]

Oops sorry duff gen, the gsa rear shock is 405mm on lowest and 430mm on the highest....... off the bike brand new shock.

The standard gs shock should be approx 30 to 35mm shorter

 

[Tam]

The shop has removed the old shock and measured it to order the same size,so I'm reassured the correct size will be fitted.The wilbur shock has rebound adjustment, hydraulic pre-load (silver with black spring)does anybody know the cost of this.The shop say it's worth £734.00. Is this full retail can you buy cheaper.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

If it is a 640 which I think it is then it's a bit expensive. Go onto the Wilbers site and see for your self.

 

[DC]

if you purchased this from a dealer " your quote .." The dealer taken the bike back " i would be leaving it there till they fix if FREE …you shouldn't have to fork out more money after two weeks ! tell them to fix it or you want your money back and will go elsewhere ….amen

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I'm surprised they are asking for more money for a Wilburs as they are a lot cheaper than the OEM one!

Give Revs a ring yourself Tam and check the price for yourself. They should be able to get it a bit cheaper than you I would think as they are trade and then add their profit margin but shouldn't be charging you more than you can get it yourself..

 

[BOBAD]

......I bought the bike a couple of weeks ago, brought it home and discovered the rear shock's pre load wouldn't work.......
Any help welcome.

Simple.

Take the bike back to the dealer you bought it from and tell him that it needs fixing, that you will not pay anything towards the repair and the dealers only other option is to refund in full as it is not fit for purpose in it's present condition. Demand OEM parts, as good as Wilburs are, you bought the bike on the understanding that it was in standard condition.

Don't be fobbed off as you have Trading Standards and The Sale Of Goods Act on your side.

 

[Bendy toy]

Knackered preload suggests there will be other problems hidden away so the dealer should fix the problem.

Wilbers shocks are better quality than standard so no reason to ignore that option.

 

[BOBAD]

Knackered preload suggests there will be other problems hidden away so the dealer should fix the problem.

Wilbers shocks are better quality than standard so no reason to ignore that option.

There is no reason to pay anything at all towards the cost of repair to a bike which was bought only two weeks ago.

Wilbers are not THAT much of an improvement over stock shocks to someone who has admitted to being skint.

 

[Bendy toy]

No argument there but other than insisting on the dealer fits a new rear shock, this isn't reason to demand OEM over Wilbers.
In fact a dodgy dealer could probably find a new looking but used OEM. That's a lot less likely with a Wilbers as there are fewer available used.
Is that the real trick they are playing? By the time they've had the used OEM serviced they might as well get a new Wilbers. Of course they are planning to have that OEM serviced. Of course they are. Silly me.

 

[Tam]

Thanks for the advice,The dealer's first option to me was to have a Hyper spring fitted with a progressive spring£170(may be wrong with the name) my problem with this was it wasn't the spring that was the problem but the pre-load.I asked about servicing the original shock but was told these are sealed units and wasn't a option,2nd option was a maxton shock 3rd was wilbur.I went for wilbur as of what I've been reading here(seems like a popular choice)I've told them to order the wilbur now so kind of committed to it but will check with rev's price to make sure i'm not paying lions share.I know i could take the bike back and demand money back but do like the bike and the way i was looking at it was £250 for a better than standard shock and fitted might be the way to go.

 

[Shunt]

Plenty more Gs's for sale. Tell them to play fair or reject it an find another from a dealer that's not pullin your pisser.