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Wilbers
K1200RS / GT / LT Customer Comments
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| The purchase,
install and testing of the Wilbur Racing Shocks on my BMW K1200RS has been
the best upgrade, for the money, I have done to my motorcycle. I
had 49,000 miles on my K12 and knew that my stock Showa shocks were no longer
absorbing the road imperfections as they once had. I looked into the stock
replacement and Ohlin shocks and could not justify their high price. After
some research and talking to you, I decided on purchasing the Wilbur Racing
shocks. They were less cost with more adjustability features. The installation
was not too difficult (German instructions - were not adequate and I even
speak/read German) and took about four hours to remove old and replace with
new. I will be providing a "How to install" at a later date. Once the shocks were installed, I immediately notice a smoother and firmer ride that gave my K12 a more "planted" feeling. The improved handling characteristics were proved during my last 1900 mile trip to and from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The handling is nothing short of superb. The bike was able to carve up the twisties with no uncomfortable slips or boggles. I even tested it through the "Dragon" where I passed several sport bikes and stayed with a RC51 even though I had full systems cases mounted. The Wilbur Shocks have given me the adjustability, stability, and safety that goes with the BMW K1200RS. It is absolutely the best modification I have done and I highly recommend the Wilbur's to anyone wanting to get the most out of riding. Jim (DYL) Kriner / 2000 K1200RS / Crawfordville, Fl. |
| Got the shox...
Fucking GORGEOUS!!!.You didn't need to send 'em registered... You spent
too much cash on the shipping, but thanx...You are a GOD!!! Had Bob's install
them on the LT before I left... WOW!!!... Very firm ride, but virtually
NO suspension compression in the curves any more: Combined with the added
ride height [I had 'em set it at maximum], I have a whole new performance
envelope to explore... I also accidentally launched the LT about 4 feet
into the air over a rise [At about 85MPH]... With the stock suspension,
that would have been a messy landing, but the Wilbers didn't even bottom
out!.. It did put about ten years on my kidneys though. LOL!..... Tried
'em out on the roads surrounding my new home in Far West Texas, and it's
like a TOTALLY DIFFERENT BIKE!... They are soooo much firmer than stock
that I thought at first I'd made a mistake getting the stiffest possible
springs [And the guys at Wilbers DID ask me at least twice if I was SURE
I wanted them so hard]... But, as soon as I got into some twisties, (You
know the bubble gum tune): "OOOOOOOOOH, I'M A BELEIVER!!!"...
Combining the additional ride height with the reduced suspension compression
I now have, picking off squids on YZF-ZX-ZRR-XX-what-EVERS should be easier
and more fun than ever: I can't believe the lean angles I get before scraping
the pegs and fairing lowers ... Forward this to the crew at Wilbers (I lost
their e-mail addy) along with my profound thanks!... . They are AWESOME!!!;^D... George Pepper / 2001 K1200LT / Alpine, Texas. |
| We especially
liked the nice anodized knob for preload adjustment as well as the adjustment
knob at the bottom of the shock. The pre-load adjustment knob does NOT interfere
with the right side hard bag mounting, which is good. Ride quality is excellent, per Nancy. This with two complete turns of pre-load, and the front and rear shocks set at 1 click softer compared to as delivered. Please consider Nancy & I as "satisfied customers". The quality of the shocks appears to be excellent, and Nancy is happy with the ride quality. We are looking forward to a 3,000 mile vacation beginning on June 14th. Riding from here in Western Michigan to Colstrip, Montana and back. Nancy & Charlie Dunn / 2002 K1200RS / Grand Rapids, Mi |
| After much
contemplation, I took the plunge and installed a set of Wilbers, Front and
Rear on my ‘02 and in hindsight I should never have hesitated. I originally
thought the stock shocks were “OK” but could use a little improvement to
help my back out on long trips (degenerative disks are not fun). The difference
from the stock shocks is dramatic. With what seems to be an infinite amount
of adjustment, the handling is inspiring whether fully loaded or stripped
naked for a Saturday morning ride. The shocks came in about 3 weeks time, pre-adjusted for me based on a few simple questions. I am definitely not a mechanic and didn’t seem to have all the tools necessary to complete the job, but a more mechanically inclined friend helped out and I was ready to ride in under 5 hours, thanks in part to the improved instructions (now in English). I’m sure anyone with some basic mechanical skills could do this job in 3 to 4 hours. The fact that I was able to take advantage of the lowering option without any loss of handling or performance was definitely a big bonus (you must modify your side stand, ask Pirate for advice). I now have 7k on the Wilbur’s and can honestly recommend them to anyone looking for improved handling characteristics, or just wanting the get the most out of their ride. The bike really handles like it is riding on a rail while soaking up all road imperfections. Install a set and see for yourself! Juline McDaniel/ 2002 K1200RS / Willoughby, Oh |
| Just got
home from 4,050 miles, 15 days, San Jose ,Ca. to Fairbanks, Alaska. My '98
K12 and my wife's '90 K75. One for the books. Great trip, beautiful scenery
( Idaho, Rt. 12) a must do for anyone near this road or contemplating a
trip to the Northwest. When the sign says "winding road next 77 miles" it's
got to tell you something. A few observations if I may. Pirate's Wilbers
shocks are great! No fading whatsoever on what are some of the worst roads
(paved and gravel) on the continent. Frost heaves, pavement splits and sink
holes are the order of the day once you get past Whitehorse, Yukon. The
K12, fully loaded, handled marvelously. No bottoming, easy adjustments.
But the F--king instructions are in GERMAN!!! Pirate says this will be corrected
shortly. Note from Pirate: It has.. Scott Smith/ 1998 K1200RS / San Jose, Ca. |
| Weather in
Columbus was 37 degrees yesterday, roads mostly clean. It was time to start
trying out the new Wilbers from Pirate on my 2000 K12. Brand new Pilot Road
complicated things a bit due to scrub in not yet done.Wilbers was noticable
steadier thru the curves, very planted. When I came up on the rail road
tracks hard, the usual bounce and shake were gone. Quite a difference from
the 18k OEM shocks. Have the pre-load cranked all the way out after conducting
the static sag test, dampening was 4 clicks in front and 6 in rear. Hard
braking (have brand new brakes too, experience was usual anti-dive telelever
feel but with a difference, feedback or feel of the road surface was much
better, not harsh just more noticeable, a good thing in my opinion.Since
I have never ridden Ohlins, I can't compare but compared to the BMW OEM,
much better than new. I recommend you give Pirate a call now, delivery was
exactly 22 days even during Christimas rush. Gregg Soster/ 2000 K1200RS / Galena.Oh. |
| My wife has
a 2000 R1100S and she had put on Öhlin's and said it was the best thing
she had ever done for her bike, however with about 1200 miles on my K12
I couldn't justify the price of Öhlin shocks for my planned dedicated upgrade
for my 2002 K1200RS , so after a little research I found the Wilber Shock's
at Pirates' Lair. Besides being impressed with the price I was also impressed
with what other people were saying about them in there testimonials. And
as I was putting a larger 190 tire onto an AC Schnitzer rim, I thought it
would be a good upgrade to do. I can't begin to tell you what an improvement it made for my bike! I didn't think it handled badly before, but now the thing feels as if it is glued to the ground! I can go around a high speed corner and lay the bike over and it doesn't fight me a bit and it makes it feel as if it was most natural thing to do in the world... no bobbing or hunting around. As for the over all ride, it soaked up bumps and pot holes with aplomb. If your looking for just one good upgrade to do to your bike I highly recommend upgrading your shocks with the Wilber's. Jim Hoyt/ 2002 K1200RS / Newberg, Or. |
| Just an update.
I'm very pleased with the performance and adjustability (rebound is quite
easy to get at; even with a gloved hand). As you know, I purchased the Wilbers
shock for the front only (I have an Ohlins rear that's working great). Installation
was straightforward (especially since I had practice with the Ohlins front
replacement). The motivation for Wilbers over Ohlins front is adjustability;
the rebound damping ring can be accessed even with a gloved hand with a
little practice. Also, the Ohlins seems to have lost some of its damping
as compared with initial installation. I find the ride quality at least
equal to the Ohlins and of course the added damping adjustment should increase
flexibility under different driving and road conditions. The build quality
looks equal to the Ohlins as well. And, let's not forget the cost; Ohlins
is $700+ and Wilbers is $420. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Wilbers
front shock. I can only assume that the rear is an equally well constructed
piece. Thanks again for excellent service and support. P.S. I love the Spiegler brake lines and the Rhine West chip too! Your products really do make an excellent bike even better. Kurt Cleveland /1999 K1200RS / Beverly, Ma. |
| I love the
new Wilbers shocks. The ride is firm, but not stiff. I only have a couple
of hundred miles on the bike, and this week it has been in my garage on
the center stand while I removed the side stand and had it modified (shortened).
I will be re-installing the side stand this evening and hope to ride for
an hour or so. The shocks dropped the seat height to approximately 29 1/4
inches. They are great! Gary Giacobbi / 2002 K1200RS / Cogan Station, Pa. |
| I installed
a set of Wilbers Front and Rear on my 02 and I finally understand what oversprung
and under dampned means. The difference is night and day and in my opinion
this is how we should have gotten the bike from BMW. Truthfully I ordered
a set of Ohlins first but after waiting for over three months I cancelled
and ordered the Wilbers. Got them in a little over three weeks and at least
20 percent less than the Ohlins!!Well worth the money - fairly straight
forward installation and info on understanding the adjustments and how it
just works was easy to come by. I called Klaus and he was eager to explain
it all. If you want to make your bike fast and more fun to ride this is
the place to start! Charles Smolka/ 2002 K1200RS / New Milford, Ct. |
| So far, with
minimal time on the shocks, they are fantastic. Way stiffer than the dead
ones and way better than what I remember for the stock shocks. Adjusting
is a slow process, as there are sooo many variables with so many adjustments.
But with time I am sure it will be perfect. Already this morning, I was
10 mph faster in my normal commute canyons just because the bike is no longer
wallowing, etc. The extra height is interesting, I have to remember in some
situations, but I am sure it will be second nature soon. .Thanks again,
and thank Klaus when you communicate. Jim Douglas/ 2001 K1200RS / Fiddletown, Ca. |
|
I went
the opposite direction with my Wilbers and lowered the bike ~1/2 inch.
Avoided the extra compression resovior and could not be happier. The bike
had a little more side stand lean than I wanted with the stock shocks
... now it is perfect. I also asked them to spec the rear shock at zero
hydraulic preload adjustment with no passenger and minimal luggage and
full preload at the bikes full allowable load (488lbs). The result is
a much better ride at every level of load. In fact I have not yet bottomed
out or scraped with the slightly lower Wilbers and I have tried. I had
managed to occasionally do both previously especially when riding two
up with the stock shocks (~24,000 on the stock shocks at the time of change
out).The installation did not require any grinding and the rear hydraulic
preload adjuster fit in the existing hardware like it was designed to
be there from the factory. I did remove about half the rubber stopper
on the center stand retraction bumper.I have concluded that the ability
to design the shocks to the exact weight of the rider, passenger and luggage
is a big advantage over the stock set up. The rear spring seems to be
heavier than the stock shock and I believe the Wilber compression and
rebound valving are also heaver than the stock valving. With the stock
shocks, I used up about half the hydraulic preload adjustment riding solo
with minimal luggage (I weigh 190 lbs in shorts and about 210 lbs in winter
gear including helmet, boots, padded over jacket & pants, gerbling
liner & gloves etc. By the time I added my favorite passenger ( my
wife) and normal touring luggage I was real close to the 488 lbs limit.Hope
this information helps.
Roger F / 1999 K1200LTC Champagne / Northville, MI |
| The new
Wilber's are working great. I actually rode over 4 speed bumps yesterday
and didn't bottom out the bike even one time. It handles much better with
the new ones over the clapped out old ones. I haven't begun to play with
the adjustments to alter them yet but at the factory settings they are pretty
good right now. Denny Kintner / 2001 K1200LTC / Gillette, Wyoming |
| I just
got through putting a set of Wilbers shocks on the LT. Since I was spending
the money I decided to get the compression and rebound damping adjuster,
which is a remote reservoir that mounts on the right frame rail. It was
a PITA getting the reservoir in place to where it didn't interfere with
the preload adjuster that folds down. The reservoir has to go all the way
to the rear to the point that it is pushing against the fender liner. (The
fender liner is soft but it's still something of a pain.) That's the good
news... I thought it would be a good idea to get the shocks 1/2 inch longer to raise the bike a little so I wouldn't be dragging stuff through the twisties. The law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head. By raising the ride height of the bike, the sidestand is almost useless now; the bike is leaning over so far that it's scary. But worse than that is that the center stand is also compromised. Because of the increased ride height, both tires are still on the ground when the bike's on the center stand. This makes the stand kind of wobbly because the full weight of the bike isn't on it. I'm thinking of taking the stands to a machine shop and having them attach some flat stock to the bottom of both stands to compensate for the difference. In the meantime, if you're thinking about getting custom shocks for your bike you might want to resist the urge to increase the ride height. And if I had it to do over again I'd think long and hard about getting the compression and rebound adjuster, too. :-/ Rick Rohlf / 2001 K1200LT / Round Rock, TX |
| Update
8.30.02: The Wilbers shocks are great! I feel they perform as well or better
and have more adjustability than the Ohlins on my buddies's K12, for substantially
less outlay. I especially appreciate the rebound damping control in front,
as well as the separate high and low speed compression controls in the rear.
I have them pretty well dialed in now, and hardly think of them now. The
first major change I made was to back off the high speed compression damping
in the rear to accommodate the sharp drop at the trailing edge of the freeway
slabs. Then I gradually increased the rebound damping on both front and
rear, reduced low speed compression in the rear a few times, then pushed
it back up a tad....It is a real gradual process, and a small amount goes
a long way. My only regret is that I didn't get the remote preload adjustment
for the rear. I would recommend it since the time you are most likely to
want to increase pre-load is when you are all loaded up for a trip, and
the remote would be really handy, and manual adjustment is about 15 minutes
of removal and reinstallation of body work. Nancy & Jim Douglas / 2001 K1200RS / Fiddletown, Ca. |
| Shock
performs great (looks great too.. built beautifully and the red shock nearly
matches the bike..); install took 1 ½ hours (approx. two beers);
spent several hours riding in circles (big ones) tuning it in; Klaus was
a big help here; really makes a difference ..more stuck to the ground?..
how else to describe it on our crappy frost-heaved roads; Thanks again. Paul Bohn / 2000 K1200RS / Northville, MI |
| Hi Guys,
I been traveling (business) and very busy, but I did get the shocks and
got them mounted. With no adjustments at all yet I am amazed! I wasn't really
sure sure how much difference there would be or if I would be able to recognize
it. Just pulling out of the parking lot after the install was enough to
feel a difference. I was able to put about 300 miles on them in the GA mountains
and they made a huge difference. I can tell where I need to do some adjusting
(low speed damping on the rear) but they would be fine like they are now.
Thanks a lot David E. Nash / 2001 K1200RS / Smyrna, GA |
| I bit
the bullet and bought new Wilbers Shocks for the K1200LT. Didn’t have that
many miles on originals, but the bike started to bottom out coming across
the curve of my driveway and drug the center stand in the mountains very
easy. I am a medium rider. I am not a small guy and my wife is 5’8".
So, yes, we tax the bike’s suspension. Why Wilbers? This question keeps coming up. Why not Ohlins? 1st Wilbers’ Price is slightly better. However on a purchase of this magnitude, several 100 dollars will not sway us. 2nd My perception is that the Ohlins are stock shocks, albeit great ones, and the dealers/builders assemble the springs to your size and style of riding. 3rd Wilbers are built to order. It took 4+ weeks to get them from Germany. 4th My understanding is the shock is built per my requirements. I don’t weigh in at 180lbs.!! 5th I wanted the pre-load set to -0- when my wife and traveling gear weren’t on board. This allows me to use more/all of the suspension. When we pre-load the springs, we reduce the available suspension. I want it all. 6th I have a friend with a V-Strom that has Wilbers. It is as plush as a soft street bike. Yet it hasn’t bottomed out. Really nice ride. Corners like crazy.
So, that was the
basic reason for Wilbers. Oh, one more..when I needed help solving how
to get the new shock on the front, Jerry (at Pirates Lair) answered the
phone Sunday afternoon! He didn’t have to answer, so about 20 minutes
later, I got a call from Klaus, Wilbers USA. It only took Klaus 10 minutes
to figure out what I wasn’t doing right. Thanks for the help on your day
off! |
| Follow-Up:
My wife & I just got back from western NC for several days on the LT.
Just wanted to let you know…..no more center stand dragging!!!! I caught
my foot once and the center stand still didn’t drag. Really pleasant! The
bike feels really well planted in the turns. When you hit a stutter bump
in a turn, you can feel the rear tire tracking it. Tires are stock Metz
880. My wife even said she felt more secure on the bike. David Major / BMW K1200LT / Charleston, SC |
| In a
word , Damm ! Just installed some new shocks and my gawd what a great feel
of the road with better handling too. One thing that gets missed when this group talks about shocks getting replaced is that in doing that, you get new springs too. In getting new springs that are of the correct rate/ weight for YOU, your bikes overall feel makes a MAJOR change. Add the fact that your new shocks have adjustable rebound damping, this transforms your big LT into a New Beast !! I ordered the adjustable front shock too. As stated by Wilbers, the bike is setting taller, (Ordered stock height) and leans over quite a bit on the side stand, putting up on center stand is much easier as well. On the road today
in rough mountain road twisties it felt like a whole new machine, very
tight handling with NO wallowing, No bottoming out and just smooth as
hell !! Coming from a background with lots of dirt bikes with very trick
shocks, this $1200 shock conversion was worth every penny !! You have
no idea how spongy of a ride you are getting if using O.E.M. stock shocks.
Save your $$ for the upgrade, You will be blown away on how much better
the bike feels / handles once done. |
| I got
my shocks today 5/24 expected them in about 4 weeks-Just over 6 weeks for
your future orders. SWEET. Works of art. Installed at 26K miles. Holly Shit.
What a difference. A brand new feeling bike after the first turn. Jim Nichols / 2002 K1200RS / Norwalk, CT |
| You asked
what I'd done to the stands after installing Wilbers which lowered my K1200RS
1.5". I always thought the side stand involved excessive lean, so I've
not touched it. The lean now is very slight; too little for parking lots,
but fine for the garage. I had 1.75" taken off the center stand, between
the feet and the cross piece. It's perfect, BUT, if you roll off the center
stand with the side stand UP, the center stand now catches and locks the
side stand in the up position. I must put the side stand down before rolling
off the center stand. Not a problem; I'm a happy camper ! James L Clark / 2001 K1200RS / Highlands, NC |
| Jerry......
Hey got my Wilburs installed on the K12LT and am so impressed by the quality
of the product. Hats off to ya. Dave Lezynski / 2004 K1200LT / Oakland, CA |
| I give
Wilbers and Pirates Lair a thumbs up on the shocks. Build quality looks
to be great, and the service was awesome, which always seems to be the case
with you. Thanks. Richard McNeely / 2003 K1200RS / Urbana, Ohio |