1100GS two up: rear suspension upgrade?
 

Hi,

I am now on the road and seriously considering a rear shock suspension upgrade. Two up with all luggage, driving in Mongolia, the shock often bottoms out.

1 Can I mount an aftermarket suspension myself, with limited tech assistance?

2 What shock should I get, how expensive are they?

Thanks!

Martijn

1. it's relatively easy to do it your own, i've removed mine just in interest to observe the shock's condition. There's internet manual here too: http://www.advrider.com/Wisdom/Wisdom.html

(Öhlins install & adjustment)

2. I know people hype the Öhlins, but at the same time i read in UKGSer very bad stories about them - suspension geting broken very quickly - about few thousand KMs and think it's complete waste of money, while others have 80 000km with them no problem.

Pro for buying Öhlins is you can choose between springs for rear shock - if you're two-up then choose harder spring, it makes the bike more stable and probably extends the rear shock's lifetime. With harder spring you may go more then Gross Weight permits too.

I don't know if Works Performance or Wiki do the suspension for R1100GS models though...

NB! What ever shock you go with it's VERY essential you have the Touratech "Hard Parts" installed if going two up or doing some offroad or potholed road. I know many who've broken their rear subframe on gearbox casing not having Hard Parts installed, and it's most probably will be dissapointing and expensive to repair once you brake it under huge load.

Hope this helps.

Good luck, Margus

[This message has been edited by Margus (edited 01 August 2005).]