FJR Rear Shock

[AzItLies]

At least up until 2009 (didn't pay any attention after that) the rear was a two position shock and definitely NOT fully adjustable for preload.  That lever on the side for firm and soft spring put the shock into the two spring or one spring mode.  The stock forks and shock were both undersprung for anyone over about 180lbs.  With stock springs I was always scraping pegs, with a HyperPro upgrade and with Traxxion cartridges and Penske double clicker in corner speed increased and scraping decreased. (note: the right spring is better than changing shock height)

Well I'm a fly weight at 150 but do touch the feelers sometimes. And not looking to increase corner speed as I'm enough over as it is.

Not doubting what you're saying at all, but my st13 was seriously undersprung, the feej is perfect (for me), so it seems maybe the OP must then be quite a bit heavier weight wise?

[Mike-H]

Well, considering the weight that shock has to deal with I would go with a really heavy duty shock....

This from a person that rides  an overweight pretend off road bke .......please

[sprint_st]

Well I'm a fly weight at 150 but do touch the feelers sometimes. And not looking to increase corner speed as I'm enough over as it is.

Not doubting what you're saying at all, but my st13 was seriously undersprung, the feej is perfect (for me), so it seems maybe the OP must then be quite a bit heavier weight wise?

You know you are a rare bird.  I'll swear for every light weight FJR driver there must be 10 in the over 200lb category.  IMO, getting any bike sprung to fit rider weight or normal load makes for much more enjoyable riding.

[Baz]

Baz, out of curiosity, why a different rear shock?

The fjr is very well sprung. Especially if u compare it to the st1300. The st13 is a very soft ride, and on top of that the front has absolutely no adjustments for anything. I put 1.2kg sonic springs in the front of an st13 and it literally transformed the bike. The difference was astounding. But... you had to cut the spacers to the size you guess will give you the amount of sag desired. If you're wrong, you get to take it apart and do it again with a different spacer... as mentioned, no adjustments.


Which brings us to the fjr. Fully adjustable front and back. Well sprung and thus very planted.

So is the rear not functioning properly? A lot of miles on it? You just have money to burn?

I have about 40,000 km on my stock shock and it has become rather mushy as of late. I understand that this is the age that they begin to fail, and I think mine is close.

[Huron52]

Bought in a group buy back in maybe 2005 or 2006. Got a Wilbers. Have had it rebuilt once. Should have it rebuilt again maybe at the end of next season.
 Didn't notice the different from when I first put on the Wilbers but after the rebuild... wow. I almost think that it was under sprung to start with.  

[Baz]

Bought in a group buy back in maybe 2005 or 2006. Got a Wilbers. Have had it rebuilt once. Should have it rebuilt again maybe at the end of next season.
 Didn't notice the different from when I first put on the Wilbers but after the rebuild... wow. I almost think that it was under sprung to start with.  

Huron:

I have read some suggestion that the early Wilbers were actually undersprung and several saw failures as a result. They have since corrected things with a heavier spring.


I spoke to them about becoming their Canadian rep a while ago, (I was going to do it as a part time hobby). Talks were going very well, and I was about to committ to a week in Germany for training, but then the owner got a bit silly with a billion questions, so I finally decided I did not have the time for the headaches he was giving me. I think he expected me to corner the aftermarket shock business here in a few weeks.

[sprint_st]

Huron:

I have read some suggestion that the early Wilbers were actually undersprung and several saw failures as a result. They have since corrected things with a heavier spring.


I spoke to them about becoming their Canadian rep a while ago, (I was going to do it as a part time hobby). Talks were going very well, and I was about to committ to a week in Germany for training, but then the owner got a bit silly with a billion questions, so I finally decided I did not have the time for the headaches he was giving me. I think he expected me to corner the aftermarket shock business here in a few weeks.

If you dig deep in the FJRForum there were several posts on Wilbers failures.  Then again, not sure what they bought on one of their first or second group buys over there but they had failures too.  One of the reasons to  go Traxxion, Ohlins, or Cogent - they spring it for your weight and riding style.

[Huron52]

Mine never failed .... but Baz stated I believe there were under sprung. When I did have it rebuilt I sent it to Traxxion, and yes a new spring. Totally happy as I said before!

Going to send it to them again next time it needs a rebuild. Maybe the end next season.

[sprint_st]

Mine never failed .... but Baz stated I believe there were under sprung. When I did have it rebuilt I sent it to Traxxion, and yes a new spring. Totally happy as I said before!

Going to send it to them again next time it needs a rebuild. Maybe the end next season.

IIRC, and my head has been in Old Timer's mode since birth, the nitrogen bladders were failing (bursting, splitting, whatever).  It wasn't normal rebuild stuff.

I'd try to run those posts down but Iggy made me persona non grata over there a long, long time ago, a fact that I take great pride in  

[Baz]

Guys:

I can't recall where the thread regarding the failures is found, but supposedly when members sent their shocks in for rebuilds, they came back with a larger spring.

I don't know if the failures were caused by a broken spring (from being undersprung) or some other issue. I guess I just assumed the failures were caused by too light a spring by what was written in that thread.

[sprint_st]

Guys:

I can't recall where the thread regarding the failures is found, but supposedly when members sent their shocks in for rebuilds, they came back with a larger spring.

I don't know if the failures were caused by a broken spring (from being undersprung) or some other issue. I guess I just assumed the failures were caused by too light a spring by what was written in that thread.

http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=17911&st=0&p=216230&hl=+wilbers%20+shock%20+fail&fromsearch=1&#entry216230
The above url points to Warchild's experience with the issue and he should know, he was the guy who set up those group buys.  A week spring does not imply that the spring itself will break, as mentioned in the post, it is what a week spring causes to happen with the damping components.  He does avoid the blown bladders, probably because those were extreme cases (they did happen and created very dangerous situations for the riders)  I find it amazing that he quotes me in his post and I stand by what I said.  In my case I did replace the shock and as he said I did experience an improvement, BUT I WAS experience handling issues.  The stock shock spring would squat in various situation causing serious handling issues.  Just going to stronger HyperPro springs front and rear worked extremely well.  For example, I frequently scraped pegs with the stock springs but rarely did with stiffer springs.  Going to a Penske double clicker and Traxxion cartridges went into the great handling for a heavy beast category, BUT that was not a night and day difference between just going to the HyperPro's.  In my not so humble opinion, the reason most FJR riders get an upgraded suspension is because they have the money and they read about it in these forums.

[Huron52]

Sprint  
 You right on the money there (I almost can't believe I said that )  The last line big time!  I knew from the start the stock shock would not last forever. Knowing that I wanted to buy a shock that has some improvement (as if I would notice  ) and is rebuildable.  
As for Dale's bike damage from the shock, I believe there is more to the story.

[mcrider007]

As for Dale's bike damage from the shock, I believe there is more to the story.

I agree...as I remember the shock's seal failed many miles before the bike was damaged.  There were a number of Wilbers that  "failed" from leaky seals but that usually did not happen until after the shock had 50K or more miles.  Wilbers required that the shocks be rebuilt every 20K to keep the shock in warranty and I don't recall ever hearing of a failure under 20K miles.  They were definitely undersprung (which may have contributed to the leaky seals), both as a result of the spring not being as heavy as advertised and Wilber's practice of using a combination of too light of spring and too much preload to attain the correct sag.  I had my Wilbers rebuilt and resprung at GP Suspension and they increased the spring size from 11.5 KG to 14 KG and reduced the preload from 20mm to 10mm.  It was a good shock before, its a much better shock now that it is actually sprung for the weight I carry.

[BentAero]

For those of you (like Baz) who usually ride solo, Öhlins offers the YA 036, which is the exact same shock as the YA 707, except it doesn't have the hydraulic preload assy.

You still get adjustable compression and rebound damping, but preload changes are done with lock rings. This saves a stack of money for those who rarely change preload.

Cogent Dynamics would be an excellent choice to get one from.
motocd.com

[Baz]

And as BentAero states, the YA 036 is considerably cheaper. (Cheaper than a Penske even)

I have been considering this as my wife does not travel with me much, and most of the time I am carrying 30 lbs of gear max on long trips.