Just fitted my wilbers rear shock

PIGGLET

PIGGLET

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My new rear shock landed this morning courtesy of Every Accessory.
Thus ensued a mad scrabbling of packaging, 45 minutes of spannering followed by a grin inducing razz round my local lanes:D
I ordered a standard shock built 10mm longer than stock with hydraulic pre-load and to put it simply, it's the best mod I've made to any bike I've owned.
I haven't gone through the full set-up procedure (static sag, dynamic sag etc) as wilbers pre-set it to what should be correct settings at the factory given your weight, riding style etc.
Even so the difference in handling is awesome. The bike now just feels so much more stable and yet quicker to turn at the same time :confused:
The part of the shock travel is so much more active and light compared to the old shock. Since getting the bike I've always felt the front end was a bit light and vague but this has transfomed it:thumb2 The riding position is marginally different but not radically so and to me feels much better than it did before. I've been meaning to order some 25mm risers for a while and got round to that today so hopefully that'll improve things further.
I'm really impressed with the shock. I've had WP and Ohlins units on crossers and my race rep so thought I'd try Wilbers on the GS. Time will tell how their build quality compares but for the moment I'm well impressed with the service, performance and quality :)
 
Hi Pigglet, interested to hear how you got on. Did you only fit a rear shock? What was the rational for that. And why did you want 10mm higher? Any reason you chose these over Ohlins other than just to try?

thanks,

Martin
 
Ordered my full set front and rear about two weeks ago and waiting for them to arrive any day now. Looking forward to getting them on my bike soon. :)

Reason I chose them over Ohlins is the service from importer is first class, very helpful and spec'd exactly as I wanted. Only heard good reports about quality and fitting etc. And of course they are up to 20% cheaper than similar Ohlin. Oh and the springs come in a nice shade of blue.:)

Sid
 
msgs1200 said:
Hi Pigglet, interested to hear how you got on. Did you only fit a rear shock? What was the rational for that. And why did you want 10mm higher? Any reason you chose these over Ohlins other than just to try?

thanks,

Martin
Click to expand...

It was the rear that felt the most tired and from personal experiance it makes the most difference. Re height as stated the 1100 geometry didn't feel right to me having had a 1150 previousley so thought i'd try raising the rear alter that. I figured if it was horrible I'd get a longer front built up too. I wanted to increase the ride height a bit anyway so now am unsure whether to go for a front or not and if so whether to go for standard height or 5mm raised.
I'd heard good reports about the service so thought I'd try for myself - I'm impressed.
 
1150GS

Think I need to do the same, loads of sag in my rear shock and unhappy with the handling although I am too much of a dunce to know what the problems is.

Was advised to buy stateside because of the weak dollar. Did you buy UK and if so how much?

Ian
 
Think I paid about £380-390. Not sure about the saving but the guys at Every accessory were really helpfull and offer a part exchange service should you change your bike and wish to change the shocks too.
 
Rushy said:
Was advised to buy stateside because of the weak dollar. Did you buy UK and if so how much?

Ian
Click to expand...

I looked into this in detail and even at $2 to one £ it worked out at exactly the same as UK price before VAT. It appears that there is no difference in prices which is unusual.

Sid
 
German v US

Yeah although they are german buying from the US distributor is an option because the dollar is weak and I also know someone who is going out there shortly who could bring it back.
 
us sales

Dont forget it's only if you are dealing in very large amounts this pound dollar
thing will not make that much difference and also you'll get import tax and vat to pay as well. And also wilbers are german not u.s.
 
Rushy said:
Yeah although they are german buying from the US distributor is an option because the dollar is weak and I also know someone who is going out there shortly who could bring it back.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if there's currently a US distributor - there was a problem where the US distributor was selling other manufacturers' shocks and Wilbers cut them off at the knees.
 
davegs said:
Dont forget it's only if you are dealing in very large amounts this pound dollar
thing will not make that much difference and also you'll get import tax and vat to pay as well. And also wilbers are german not u.s.
Click to expand...

Not so.

It could make a big difference because its highly possible that if they are £400 over here they might be only $500 to $600 over there . Last time I looked at the exchange rate it was $2.05:eek: . Which means they could cost me under £300 thereby saving me at least £100:thumb2. Not to be sniffed at.

You may have to pay import duty and tax.

I know they are German (read my post above) BUT there was , so I believe, a US distributor.
 
I am thinking of getting a Wilbers rear shock for my 1150GS and would like to raise the rear slightly. With a 10mm longer than stock shock will I need to change the stands?
 
Don't think you'd have too but I'd check with the suppliers to be sure. I can still spin both wheels freely when my bike is on the centre stand.
I only raised the rear on my 1100 because I thought the front felt vague compared to my 1150. I felt there was a noticeable improvement to be made, took a bit of a chance and it worked. Are you sure about the effect altering the geometry will have? If you don't like it you'll either have to raise the front by the same amount or get the shock shortened again :(
 
I might stick with the standard length to be on the safe side. When my 1150 is on the centre stand the rear wheel is about 1/2 inch off the ground (at a guess) so I can't afford to raise it too much. If I can get rid of the sag of the standard shock that should hopefully improve things.
 
Give the guys at every accessory a buzz and tell them exactly what you don't like about your current shock, what you want to achieve and how much weight you carry, yourself, riding kit, panniers etc. They will advise you on the best course of action :thumb2
 
Wilbers Shocks

I've had Wilbers on front and rear of my 1150gs for a few months now. I don't feel a lot of difference from the standard set up, except on the trip to Garmisch in July, the bike was really loaded with camping gear etc. and never bottomed out,as it did the previous two years when I was in Morocco.I do find that it drops into bends quicker, and that makes me feel I am taking them quicker and at a higher speed.I've never had an issue with the front, it's always felt planted even with the standard set up, I have always used Tourances, although I've got a Pilot Road on the back at the moment on the recommendation of FWR.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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