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Re: Ohlins, Wilbers and Works, Oh my!



Marco,
Thanks.  I have to tell you that I don't usually ride roads like the one on the second link you sent, however, I live in Quebec, the capitol of potholes, broken up asphalt and generally bad road surfaces. It's known.  I avoid gravel and bad road surfaces when ever I can.   If I rode with closed eyes, I would know when I crossed the border towards Ontario or into the USA.
Thanks for your comments.
Bob Silas
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Marco S Hyman 
  To: oilheads@xxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2005 7:47 PM
  Subject: Re: Ohlins, Wilbers and Works, Oh my!


  Robert Silas writes:
   > I wonder where do people ride, on what kind of terrain, gravel, or asphalted
   > roads only??? 

  All of the above.   Several of my favorite roads are 1st gear roads
  that today are composed of nothing more than a patchwork of pothole
  patches.   There's the road to Bodie --  http://www.bodie.net/ -- 10 miles
  of the nicest pavement you can find followed by 3 miles of unpaved
  washboard guaranteed to test all components of your bike's suspension.
  A typical Sunday ride may take me on roads like this (from last Sunday):
  http://www.snafu.org/smbc/riders/2005/p-20050313-101343.jpg

   > How a stock shock becomes insufficient after 20 - 25,000 miles?

  I replaced mine at something like 12,000 miles.   It's not that the old
  shocks became insufficient, they never matched the feel of the replacement
  shocks.   The new shocks make the bike much more stable, noticeable at
  such mundane tasks as cruising down the freeway.

  Haven't you ever changed tires and thought "wow, what a difference"? 
  Well, I found the same thing when changing shocks, only more so.  And
  Again, I did not feel that my old shocks were worn... they just weren't
  that good to start.

   > What do you do to those shocks???

  I kept my old shocks.   Should I ever decide to send my replacement shocks
  in for a rebuild I'll put the OEM shocks back on the bike.   So far
  (20K miles) I see no need for a rebuild.

   > Can we assume that BMW sells a bike for $20 -27,000 (Can.) and install
   > such lousy shocks??? 

  Yep.

   > They fabricate bikes which last for 125-150,000 miles easily, but not,
   > they put shocks on, which are good only for 1/6 -th of the life time
   > of all other parts (or most of those)???

  Shocks are considered a replacement item, no different than your oil,
  air, and fuel filter.   They don't last 125-150,000 miles, either :-)

   > Guys, you really make me curious. I may just take a deep breath and spend
   > half as much as I paid for my used '94 RS in '98 at 10,000 miles on it,
   > and buy a couple of Ohlins.

  Ohlins may be over rated.   They are good, but as we are hearing there are
  other shocks that are just as good (if not better) and much cheaper.

   > I have 165,000 km., little over 100,000 miles on the '94 RS with the
   > original OME shocks.  I don't want anything which has to be rebuilt.

  There's a difference between "has to be rebuilt" and "can be rebuilt".
  If you're happy with the way your ride used to be you can replace your
  existing shocks with new OEM shocks.

  // marc

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