Which rear shocks????

[Garnet]

I just purchased these Betor rear shocks for my /5:
http://www.motobins.co.uk/displayfinal. ... =&bike=991

When I installed them I noticed that they have only a bit over 3" (80mm) of travel compared with the +4"(120 mm ish) of the stock Boges. They ride nice until I get into the rough stuff and then they bottom out. If I increase the preload to stop the bottoming they don't have enough rebound damping to offset the spring load.

So I says to myself "Self, I wish you would't allways be such a cheap c@%t and buy somethin decent to begin with."

Anyways I started to drool over these Ikons:
http://www.motobins.co.uk/displayfinal. ... =&bike=991

But after some resurch I find that they only have 75mm or LESS than 3" of travel.

So I moved on to Hagon's..... 80mm which is what my cheapo Betors have.

What to do?????? I didn't look at Ohlins or Wilbers because this is just my winter bike and my wife want's a kitchen reno.

I can find Boge cartridges for about 130E each. Has anyone tried to rebuild these? Mine are not leaking but their rebound is not as good as the new Betors. Perhaps I can just drian the fluid and useing a hevier wt.

Any other ideas???????

[Garnet]

I forgot about Progessive's.

Their 412-4215 HD and 412-4217 std shocks have 4.14" or 105mm of travel. That's a lot more like it.

Again........ anyone have any experience???

[bluboxer]

I have been running the Progressives and am happy with them.Put the heavy duty springs on a set for my sidehack and they are really stiff.Another set on my R100 developed a spring noise upon compression (a squeak) but work fine.

[Chuey]

I use the Koni shocks. I thought Ikons were supposed to be the same shocks made by the new owner of the company. Mine work fine and that's over a stable of three different bikes.

I have a friend who just bought a bike with Ohlins (1984 R100CS) and I'm anxious to try that out. I have wondered if they can make a difference I'd be willing to pay that much money for.

Chuey

[Major Softie]

I use the Koni shocks. I thought Ikons were supposed to be the same shocks made by the new owner of the company. Mine work fine and that's over a stable of three different bikes.

They didn't exactly buy Koni. They bought the rights and drawings to the Koni product, and (I believe) all their remaining parts.

I have a friend who just bought a bike with Ohlins (1984 R100CS) and I'm anxious to try that out. I have wondered if they can make a difference I'd be willing to pay that much money for.
Chuey

Ohlins are an amazingly superior product, but I don't know if the general design of an Airhead warrants the expense. IOW's, I don't know if you'd be able to appreciate them enough for it to make that big a difference. On the track, well, better is always better.

[Garnet]

"They didn't exactly buy Koni. They bought the rights and drawings to the Koni product, and (I believe) all their remaining parts."

And, I believe, they are an exact copy of the Konis.

So Chuey, does the superoir ride control of the Konis make up for the missing inch and a half of travel?

[Ringo]

Interesting. I have a new set of Ikons that I put on my R75/6 about 6 months ago. I think they are excellent and a good value. I have not noticed any bottoming out - both riding solo and two up and fully loaded. Love the ride. Smooth and stable. I adjust them for load, when necessary. Much, much better than my original Boge's. Plus, they are easily and readily rebuildable. I also have vintage Konis on my R65/LS and they are also great. Actually they seem better, but I can't really compare as the LS is a much better handling bike overall.
Bottom line: My guess is you could buy a better and more expensive shock, but I doubt you could buy a better and cheaper shock. And I too wonder if you would notice the full benefit of a "better" shock, meaning that there is a point of diminishing returns here.
"You get what you pay for. Or less." That's my motto.

[Garnet]

Thanks for that Ringo.

The Betors work well within their travel (better thab the old Boges), it is just when I get on the side roads and broken pavement that I have a problem, and I'm afeared that I may have the same isue with Ikons, though I could adjust the rebound to match the spring preload.

Before I get too carried away I need to change the fork oil to a lighter wt to make sure I'm not blameing the back end for problems at the front.

[robtg]

http://www.worksperformance.com/html/street.html

[Ringo]

What weight fork oil? I'm using 7.5 wt. with good results.