Re: Ohlins, Wilbers and Works, Oh my!

[Marco S Hyman <marc@xxxxxxxxx>]

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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