I'm Off To New England! (well Almost)

[yamaholic]

Mark-

Glad you made it home and that you enjoyed NE. Beautiful area of the country, that is for sure!

I have some good news for you. I happen to have in my posession a brand spankin' new '05 shock! OK, it has 5 miles on it! Yep, I bought it last year in anticipation of mine going out on me, but with the WIlburs currently installed, I won't be using it! You can buy it for what I paid for it ($150). And as a bonus, I may just install it for you when you come out for the ramble! Was going to sell it on ebay, but just have not got around to it.

Again, glad you enjoyed the trip! Hope to see you at the Ramble!

 

[wheatonFJR]

yamaholic:

That rear shock sounds very intriguing and generous...

I will send you a pm for further discussion.

I would definitely like to attend the OHIO Ramble!

BTW, coming back from my little trip - I have NO idea how those Iron Butt guys do it. I was very comfortable generally with my stock seat with breaks every few hours or so, however - the more days I was on this trip, the less "reserve" my butt had to recover from the previous day's ride.

HOW DEY DO DAT??

 

[SkooterG]

Mark,

Glad you had a good trip. Wish I coulda been there with you!

Just be sure to get your "Candy ***" out to Reno next summer. Looking forward to seeing you again.

 

[snikr]

Yamaholic,

Are the Wilber's worth the money? And did you put in the front springs as well? I've got just under 16k on my FJR and was thinking of getting a new rear shock as mine doesn't handle as well when my wife is on board (which is a lot when she has the time). Any input on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ionbeam]

I'm listening for the reply to snikr's questions too. I have just under 19k miles on my '04. At least 3/4 of the miles were two-up. I am noticing a definite lack of compression dampening, pre-load doesn't take out enough sag and my low beams have gradually been getting higher and need to be lowered. $$$ matter right now so I would prefer to go with a low mileage stock shock until later next year.

Has everyone worked out what size spring should be installed on the Wilber's for a given load? Do the Wilber's have to be adjusted every time you change from solo to two-up?

Alan

 

[yamaholic]

Whether or not you think it's worth it will depend on how bad you think your shock is and how long you want to keep the bike (as well as budget!). To me, yes, they were worth the GB price. But I have an '03 with the softer OEM spring and ride hard through challenging twisties often, sometimes loaded down, sometimes not.

My front end felt vague, pogo'ed on bumpy turns, and could not handle heavy loads or a passenger without the back end really sagging down hard. And my wife is not heavy.

I installed Ohlins springs up front as they are straight rate (versus progressive), which to me has better bottoming resistance and less chassis pitch when braking hard, plus they are stiffer across the entire range of travel, not just a portion of it. I did this long before the group buy along with a superbrace and fork oil change. I can't comment on how the Wilburs fork springs are, but from what I've read, people seem to have zero complaints, so they must be quite good. Some folks will say I'm unmatched, but it handles great!

I would venture to say at 12-16K miles, the stock shock is nearing the end of it's life.

Klaus at Wilburs picked the correct spring based on input from the rider. Rider weight, accessory weight, luggage weight, riding style, types of roads all factor into the equation. I went high on the numbers as my riding gear is heavy and I generally almost always have stuff in the boxes.

I would say for a quick cheap fix, either get the hmarc spacers (1/4" for most riders) or a new OEM shock spring. That will help for another 10-12K miles (estimated). Meanwhile, save up for a Wilburs. Nice thing about them is they are custom tuned to you, versus Ohlins that are one size fits all, with extra modification (ie $$$) needed to suite them to you.

Adjustability will depend on what shock you get. Yes, you do need to adjust pre-load with a passenger. The remote preload is a MUST HAVE as it's very difficult to adjust it without. Don't even think about not getting it. Even with touring luggage I adjust it. Also, you can get either low speed compression and rebound or low/high speed compression and rebound choices. I got the fully adjustable model, including ride height.

Any other questions, just say the word..

 

[ionbeam]

Thanks for the reply yamaholic! I know that a shock like the Wilber's is the way to go. Also, thanks for the advice about the remote preload.

I really like the sound of the adjustable high and low speed compression dampening. It would give me options between peg sparkin' the curves and shooting down the 1/4 mile :devilsmiley:

My rear shock is sacked, it is the compression dampening as well as the spring. So far I haven't had to give up too much solo cornering performance but when we are riding two up and my wife notices the shock is soft it's time for a change :erm:

Alan

 

[snikr]

Yamahaloc,

Thanks for your input. I think I'll get a Wilber rear shock over the long Vermont winter and put it on. So far the front forks seem OK to me. I've just noticed that the back end seems to sag a bit more now with the wife on (worn shock not extra weight on the wife) and the front seemed to push a bit in tight corners. With 16k on the FJR I figure it's time. Once again thanks for your input.

 

[rogerfjrfaster]

WheatonFJR

thats a real good price as a new stock shock is 650.00 priced it before buying my Wilburs as it was a selling point for my wife . Glad you had a good ride as I jus got back Saturday night from England.

rogerfjrfaster

 

[yamaholic]

Yep, $150 is a good deal, but it's just sitting here gathering dust, so I would rather see it get used and sell it to someone who actually needs it now. Plus I'm putting it on for him and letting him stay at my house.

Maybe I should charge for "setup and freight" Geez, not to mention inventorying it and storing the bike for 2 nights! :greedy: :greedy: :haha: :haha:

Seriously, glad to see it go to a good home and to a true sport touring rider. Wheaton, you ride a lot faster than you think you do!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Thanks all for your replies:

@skooter: yeah I am planning to travel out to the national gathering -pansy butt or not

@yamaholic: yeah I would definitely like to take you up on your offer at the Ohio Ramble.

@rad: yeah we would have had fun until we threw the headsets into the ditch - as someone has suggested - have fun in Virginia

Here are a few amateur pics - there were so many "wow" moments on this trip as I would be astounded by the scenery or enjoy the twisty-curvy roads. Pictures don't do it justice except to record that you were there...

My tent camping set up...

US2 over lake Champlain

Lake Champlain again

Ausable Chasm West of Lake Champlain

Me at Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY

In the Adirondacks

My last name is Irving - here's our gas

Me and Mt washington in NH

Smuggler's Notch in VT- the white center lines have not been painted

Thanks again for the the replies - and no flames for wimping out on the 16 day tour. Have fun everybody, and yamaholic - hope to see you this October!

 

[yamaholic]

I really like the sound of the adjustable high and low speed compression dampening. It would give me options between peg sparkin' the curves and shooting down the 1/4 mile 

Actually, it's not high and low BIKE speed, it's shock shaft speed. Small bumps , normal road irregularities, and twisties/acceleration are low speed events. Jarring potholes, bridge connectors, and railroad tracks are high speed events. It lets you dial the two events independently. Otherwise one setting is a compromise at the extremes. Now granted the Wilburs single compression speed shock is not exactly junk! In reality, that shock is just pre-set for high speed events, but it uses a different dampening stack that is not user adjustable. Most folks will find the settings just fine out of the crate.

Wilburs will tweak the non-user settable dampening according to what you tell them your riding style and conditions are. I got the high/low speed model mainly because my dirt bike has them, and I can definitely tell a difference in handling and expecially comfort by tweaking them independently. If I set the high speed to soft, it will wallow after jumps. If I set the low speed to hard, it will bounce around over small holes and ruts. Set them just right and it can handle both with equal plushness while still maintaining stability/control.

Truth be told, I've adjusted the Wilburs hi speed only twice. Once after it broke in softer one click. Then once harder two clicks when I knew I had to ride a very bumpy road (15 mile detour on crappy road). Now it's back to 1 cick softer than as delivered. So you may save a few bucks here if you don't need it.