A maintance TIP for ya...

[james1300]

I just had my 'Wilbers' shock rebuilt. After the seals failed. Why did they fail?

Dirt and goo from riding in the rain, the desert and the shock being located in front of the rear wheel. This will work on a STOCK machine, as well.

The Shock is now 'protected' by a 'Shock Skin'. They are used by the DIRT

riders all the time. It simply wraps around the shock body, and is velcro'd in place. Its made outta neoprene, and breathable.

The rebuild cost $150.00, and the bike was down 2 weeks.

I hope this keeps you from the expense and down time!

 

[cougar8000]

Great solution, but I would be afraid of it getting loose and then getting stuck in the tire while I am leaned over in a nice sweeper. Be careful.

 

[DonRed7]

The seals prolly failed because of the desert heat and rough roads,..moving alot of fluid and heating up the shock.

And now,...... You cover it in a blanket ?

I'm just having fun guessing,....but maybe?

Cheers

-Don

 

[Ignacio]

The seals prolly failed because of the desert heat and rough roads,..moving alot of fluid and heating up the shock.

Actually no.

I talked with the folks at GPSuspension.com when Warchild and I visited last fall. They rebuild a ton of Wilbers and other shocks and they made a point to say that the #1 reason for needing shock rebuilds is dirt and goo getting in that critical piston to seal interface. They say even hosing it out once in a while prolongs shock life signicantly.

The shock heats up all by itself far more than ambient desert temperature through use...and far more through twisites. The amount of heat added by a cover is very small and well within the ranges of the seal material used.

 

[rickysnickers]

Ok, so where did you buy that one from?

Thanks,

Rick

 

[dcarver]

Interesting. I ride 6+ miles of dirt daily; routinely clean out the fork seal wiper, but never thought about the rear..

 

[Kevin Daly]

yeah I might like to do that fark as well.

 

[snikr]

Yes, need to know where you got that cover. :dribble:

 

[Geezer]

Cool idea. I want to get one of those shock condoms for my Wilbers too.

A quick google search and I found them for sale here. A little more expensive than I would expect.

 

[luvtoride]

Jeff Ashe told me awhile back that this is why there is premature shock failures. His suggestion? Keep you bike clean.

 

[Sherman]

Whoa whoa whoa - were we supposed to move the plastic shields from the old shocks over to the new shocks?

To quote Wilbers, "The BMW R 1200 GS models are especially vulnerable since the plastic shield on the OEM shock can not be moved over to the Wilbers shock, which leaves the new shock in full "view" of the rear tire."

This would imply that we should of moved the shield over. Well, at least we do have the fender to protect it...

I think that I could not of done this with the Ohlins anyway with that reservoir thing on top plus the stock cover is a POS anyway.

Originals at $4 less, and no Wilbers logo - I just hope they fit the Ohlins. I'll report back after install.

 

[Crash Cash]

Sheesh, I have the exact same thing for my front forks, but I never even thought about the rear shock (smacks head) - I'll be getting one for both bikes.

Edit: The small size from sealsavers.com if anyone's interested.