Who's fitted their Wilbers ??

[Popeye]

Ploughing through all the suspension upgrade threads quite a few people within the last month or so seem to have bought Wilbers shocks but hadn't got round to fitting them and/or posting up some post fitting reviews.

So ......... anybody like to offer up some experience that might make my decision a little easier.

Best price I've been quoted so far is £735:00 for front and rear with remote pre-load to the rear. Decided not to go for the high and low speed compression damping !!

 

[Schtum]

Best price I've been quoted so far is £735:00 for front and rear with remote pre-load to the rear. Decided not to go for the high and low speed compression damping !!

That sounds pretty good. It's about equal to the price I've been quoted for a pair of Ohlins finest in the US. Does the Wilbers have an adjustable ride height on the rear shock?

 

[RickA]

Wilbers

Hi all,

Recently fitted set of Wilbers to my new 1200GSA.

Went for the top-range units with full adjustability on the rear shock. Price was about £845 if I remember correctly.

They ask a range of questions when you order such as rider weight, amount of luggage, what sort of roads used on, off road use etc. and the units come dialed-in for your intended use.

As they came out the box, the ride is firm but not at all harsh, but I specified off-road use with full panniers for a long Moroccan blast next month. With the extra weight, bet they will be perfect.

Took the bike off-road this week on some gentle lanes and the ride was very plush and controlled.

I had Ohlins on my last 1150GSA and the Wilbers seem less harsh whilst soaking up all the rough stuff without any fuss.

The 5-year warranty also says a lot.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Rick.

 

[Popeye]

That sounds pretty good. It's about equal to the price I've been quoted for a pair of Ohlins finest in the US. Does the Wilbers have an adjustable ride height on the rear shock?

Schtum - firstly, Wilbers will make the shock to pretty much any length you want within reason. They work on a 5mm increment. I'm probably going to have one made up 25mm shorter than standard for my 1150 adv. Secondly, they offer an "infinite variable adjustable ride height" of +/- 1/2" for an extra £45:00, which I'm currently trying to get pitched in FOC.

My prices are from Germany direct, the states were more expensive !!

 

[Schtum]

Ta....

 

[Coolcarbon]

Also interested in these as my OEs are getting very tired...and 'WP' have failed to answer 2 emails...

Wonder if they'd be up for some sort of 'Group Purchase' if a few of us were to agree to commit to buying...? They were offered one over the other side of the pond.... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149721

 

[cookie]

literally just got back from a first outing on the bewilburbeeste. loads of dorset back roads. bump test up matchams lane (huge whoops & jumps) to high speed stuff over cranbourne chase.

as earlier poster says, these shocks are supposedly built to order. i told them anything from one up scratching to two up touring with loads of camping kit. i think the rear has a 160Nm spring, also ride height adjust (thought that was standard), remote preload and hi/lo compression damping.

verdict: on minimum preload, ride height is right up, to the extent that i'm slipping down the saddle towards the tank. saddle is on high at the front, low at the back as normal to level it out as much as possible.

rear not as compliant as the OEM unit, which i used to run quite soft, but considering the higher spring rate, it is very good. i expect the ride to soften a bit as the spring gets a bit of use (my ohlins did anyway). should be just right then.

front soaks up everything as it should. much less judder at the bars from road irregularities.

both units seem well matched and the attitude of the bike is way more composed than previously was the case.

i can now cruise at any speed i want, and when i hit a bump the bike settles immediately afterwards instead of the ongoing pogo effect from the largely damping free OEM units. this was the main benefit i wanted along with the capacity to carry a passenger & luggage without the bike turning into a nodding donkey.

riding one up today, the bike felt great. must say it felt more of a hooligan tool than before and certainly encouraged more exuberant riding than my previously alleged "sedentary" style

units fitted & tested on factory settings. next time out, i think i'll back off the high speed compression damping a couple of clicks for comfort reasons.

very happy with them at the moment

 

[Timbo]

I got the ones with the remote preload but without all of the fancy set up stuff which I don't understand.

The ride is firmer than OEM with 25k on (no surprise) but generally great. Only took a couple of miles on the twisties to sort the damping out.

On top of that it is really high quality kit and I'm well pleased. £735 is a cracking price - I stumped up about £820 I recall.

 

[Popeye]

Also interested in these as my OEs are getting very tired...and 'WP' have failed to answer 2 emails...

Wonder if they'd be up for some sort of 'Group Purchase' if a few of us were to agree to commit to buying...? They were offered one over the other side of the pond.... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149721

Spoke to my contact who spoke to Mr Wilbers and yes, they would be happy to offer 10% discount for a group purchase. I think we would need to put together a minimum order of five sets to make it worthwhile.

I'll post up a a seperate thread to broadcast this and gauge interest but I can't hang about too long on account of wanting to get mine on order. Details Here

Thanks to everyone who responded on their experiences of fitting this kit - it sounds like the way to go, for me at least.

 

[hodge1150]

experience of Wilbur

Being a tight barsteward I got the cheapest one they did (Wilbers), preload via big nut on shock and rebound damping only - £340 from `every accessory` (nice people to deal with) last May. If you want to change the preload its a `shock off` job. I did a European tour last summer with bike vastly overloaded and missus on back (2500 miles). Shock was great what a great difference over OEM. When I got home I adjusted the spring for solo, did 20 miles and all the oil pissed out

I sent it back to `every accessory` who took a month to get it sorted by Wilburs in Deutschland. Said it was shit in the seal (how often do I have to do that then???) but its been fine since (4000miles).

For the price and guarantee (5 years) seems good value in comparison to others. WP quoted £475.

Hodge

Front shock is still OEM (64000 miles and flupped, boing, boing) I will probably get a Wilbur for the front soon.

 

[Nasty1]

I ordered mine the other week......missed another opportunity with your 10% deal. My biggest fear is their going to be too firm with the settings I stated, Klaus (I dealt direct with Wilbers US) thought my original luggage settings were a bit light so I went and beefed them up I went for there normal front and fully loaded rear high low compression, remote preload. My settings were 200lb rider 80lb luggage and 120lb for the rare occasion I find some totty to bling up the back. Totty and luggage were are supposed to be only 20% of the riding. Do you think I have gone too heavy? Other than bulking up (What more ) theres not a lot I can do about it now.

Oh the bike is GS1100 and cost $1692

Adie

 

[cookie]

reading between the lines of other posts, it seems most people get the same spring whatever they say

wunderlich sell these units in Comfort or Sport spec. i'm guessing the sport is 160Nm spring and the comfort is a 140Nm which might be as per OEM. anybody know for sure?

 

[Popeye]

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