Thanks Nathan, if I can't make a decision on which to go for I may take you up on the offer. I guess the shock on your bike has worked quite hard considering the amount of use the bike gets and your US adventure! That in it self must be a good endorsement for it. As a mattrer of interest why did you go for that one in the first place?
David
I think quite simply Hyperpro's involvement with Walter Colebatch's bike is what swung it, and with all the development that had gone into Walters bike, that the guys at hyperpro might actually know a thing or two about bike specific setup.
Over on adventure rider there are more than a few residents that have had the suspension on their XChallenges/Xcountrys sorted by Hyperpro with good results.
I was also short on time prepping my bike for the TAT, so i needed confidence in a solution that would work "out of the box".
I was looking at Wilbers (as recommended over on the rally raid site) and also considered Ohlins as well, and while i'm sure there are specialists local to me that could have spec'd one up for my bike, i wonder how many goes it would have taken to get it right or near enough.
I remember reading somewhere that the Ohlins shock gives longer travel (around an 1") than the bike was originally designed for, giving possible geometry issues. That said these could be easily cured by fitting White power EXC forks though (they have 300mm of travel over the standard forks 270mm).
Which ever shock you go for, if you intend the bike for mixed use (light green laning and touring for example), it's really worth getting a remote preload adjuster fitted to the shock. I didn't spec this on my original shock, and once fitted to the bike it is a sod to change the preload on the spring, especially if your pre-load nut seizes up, and you still have to much preload set up on the bike
. It led to a few of those "oh f*ck my legs aren't long enough" moments, followed by a crash and pinkytiff laughing hysterically
I've since had this adjuster retro fitted to my shock, it wasn't cheap but it has really allowed me to make the most of the shock (something worth considering when you look at the price tag ). I did deal directly with baz at hyperpro while doing this, and found his advice excellent, and his approach very friendly.
With hindsight i should have taken the bike to Holland for purchase and fitting of the shock (apparently the results are excellent if Baz has the bike in person), but then i do have a few other bits from hot rod welding and a Rayz seat that could have been more "personalised" to justify the trip over.
MHSnowy has written a post in this section about his trip to Hyperpro in Holland- worth a read as well.
