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DL650 VStrom rear suspension upgrade for RTW DL650 VStrom rear suspension upgrade for RTW
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  #1  
Old 14 Apr 2010
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Good call! I do want to see dealing with these things a very important part of the trip. It's boring when everything goes well and there are no problems on the road - no real experience

I've just phoned a shock manufacturer called Hagon Shocks and they can build a custom shock for the DL650 provided I give them the exact loads on the bike (£345). They did say though that they are a road shock manufacturer not OFF Road and they won't give me a proper warranty for it. I think you might be right.
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Old 14 Apr 2010
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I have a K7 DL650,I am going to upgrade my shocks later in the year (when I have saved enough pennies up!) however it will be a road shock as 95% of my riding is paved,main reason I am having the upgrade is because I often have a pillion & the standard suspension struggles a little 2up with luggage.
If you want some more info contact this lot,he does off road too,very helpful.

Reactive Suspension Motorcycle Suspension Specialists

By the way best things i have done to the Strom are a Fork Brace,handles so much better,feels much lighter at the front. Also Barkbuster handguards,since these have replaced the standard ones I no longer get shoulder buffeting no matter what the speed.

All the best,Andy
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Old 14 Apr 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holodragon View Post
I have a K7 DL650,I am going to upgrade my shocks later in the year (when I have saved enough pennies up!) however it will be a road shock as 95% of my riding is paved,main reason I am having the upgrade is because I often have a pillion & the standard suspension struggles a little 2up with luggage.
If you want some more info contact this lot,he does off road too,very helpful.

Reactive Suspension Motorcycle Suspension Specialists

By the way best things i have done to the Strom are a Fork Brace,handles so much better,feels much lighter at the front. Also Barkbuster handguards,since these have replaced the standard ones I no longer get shoulder buffeting no matter what the speed.

All the best,Andy
Could you tell me how many pennies are we talking if you don't mind? I don't want to kill the trip budget

thanks Andy
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Old 14 Apr 2010
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Maybe go for an Ohlins but get the heaviest spring fitted if you're going 2 up with luggage. I started on the standard spring but after bottoming out on crap roads, had to get the spring replaced with a heavier one. And that was solo, albeit on a heavy GS with too much luggage. I also blew the seals but the Ohlins can be serviced.
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Old 14 Apr 2010
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Originally Posted by MikeS View Post
Maybe go for an Ohlins but get the heaviest spring fitted if you're going 2 up with luggage. I started on the standard spring but after bottoming out on crap roads, had to get the spring replaced with a heavier one. And that was solo, albeit on a heavy GS with too much luggage. I also blew the seals but the Ohlins can be serviced.
Ohlins tend to be really expensive and outwith our pricerange I think. The Hagon Shock ones seem to be ok. They said that they could build a custom one for us for 345 quid so it's not too bad. They said that that would be without any adjuster as that costs an additional 120. I don't think we'd be needing adjustment as we'll be carrying the same stuff all the time and the load won't change - or at least won't get any bigger. They obviously said that the suspension is going to be silly stiff when riding solo and with no luggage but that isn't going to happen so maybe it's a posibility?

Andy
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Old 14 Apr 2010
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Yeah the ohlins aren't cheap. I got mine in ebay but you need to watch for that import tax....

Could you just get a stiffer spring fitted to your stock shock if its still working ok? That would be the cheapest option.
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Old 15 Apr 2010
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Regardless of the fact if you stay on pavement, you will need a good rear shock. The Topes and potholes down below the US border throughout central and south America are a shocker, with the stock shock you will have big problems. I would not go forking out big bucks, I did and I think it was a waste of money in hindsight.

I would definately get a larger stiffer shock and have it designed for the 450kg you expect, but it will need to be revalved as well or you will have riding issues, this is hard to do on the stock shock. Another option is if you visit the states, go and see Suspensions by Sasquatch, he will modify the original shock for your weight with a stiffer spring, plus add different valves and it will be modified so the shock can be serviced by anyone afterwards.

I went that route just recently before I returned to Oz and the bike has performed extremely well on the highways and through the desert and corrugations, carrying around the same weight, including extra water and fuel. It still uses the original remote preload and damping controls.

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Old 15 Apr 2010
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Originally Posted by MikeS View Post
Yeah the ohlins aren't cheap. I got mine in ebay but you need to watch for that import tax....

Could you just get a stiffer spring fitted to your stock shock if its still working ok? That would be the cheapest option.
It does sound like a good idea - this is what I though of doing initially but figured it would cost just as much or a little less and won't do the job. I'll do some digging on this and try to find out.

Thanks for the idea!
Andy
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