Why should I consider upgrading the shocks? What should I expect if I do?

[Allen42]

I know that shocks on a car generally help the tires deal with road unevenness and smooth out the ride. I assume they do the same on our spyders. The only suspension issue I have faced since adding BajaRon's ultra bar is that I bottomed out twice where the road met the river crossing/overflow areas of the Three Sisters in Texas. I assume I was just going too fast and the current suspension couldn't compensate for the inertia and road angle change, as I did not see anything visually that alerted me.

So, what should I expect from spending the large chunk of $$ that Elkas or Wilbers would cost? (And why are they so darned much? I know that value is measured by what people will spend, but, cmon...)


Educate me, please.

 

[BajaRon]

You can convert your non-adjustable front shocks to adjustable which allows you to add some height and stability to the front end. It is an alternative to new shocks and gives you exactly what you're looking for.

 

[EdMat]

Already had the sway bar on my 2019 RTL and added the Elka front shocks. The biggest difference I noticed was less dive during extremely hard braking. Before that, I had added Ron's adjustable collars on the front shocks, and that did decrease the bottoming out.

 

[AndysF3S]

Check out my review if you like: Install and 1 st ride on the Elka Stage 2 spring and shock package on 22 F3S @ 2300 m.

The F3S with the Elka Stage 2 is pricey but brings heavier springs (no bottoming), should be set for your weight, passenger weight and luggage to give you the correct ride height etc. from your retailer. Almost no dive under braking and much less lean in the corners which reduces the push that the stock suspension had.

The slight compromise is that the front suspension is now slightly stiffer which is noticeable when hitting large cracks in the pavement. The stage 2 come with rebound adjustment and are rebuildable if that is required down the road.

You can get the spacers mentioned above which will raise your ride height by compressing the stock spring more but will not change the characteristics of the shock itself.

Bottom line is you get what you pay for.

 

[troop]

Get a set of Wilber's and be done with it. German quality is impeccable. They are totally built to your specs. Not just spring rate, but also valving. First rate materials, fit and finish. Haven't heard much from Marcus/M2 shocks lately, but he hand builds Spyder shocks here in the USA.

 

[Allen42]

Get a set of Wilber's and be done with it. German quality is impeccable. They are totally built to your specs. Not just spring rate, but also valving. First rate materials, fit and finish. Haven't heard much from Marcus/M2 shocks lately, but he hand builds Spyder shocks here in the USA.

As always, thanks for your input troop, but that wasn't really what I'm asking. There's plenty of threads that talk about how awesome Elkas and Wilbers both are, and it's good to know you prefer wilbers ... I want to know what that big of a spend will do for the bike, ergo, me.

 

[KW1M]

Installing my Wilbers (longer & Nightline edition) - https://www.martinthevlogger.com/product-page/spyder-rt-20-present-wilbers-front-shocks-road-630 - from MartinTheVlogger this weekend - along with the high performace H&R swaybar - https://www.martinthevlogger.com/product-page/heavy-duty-pro-rt-sway-bar-made-in-germany-by-h-r

 

[troop]

As always, thanks for your input troop, but that wasn't really what I'm asking. There's plenty of threads that talk about how awesome Elkas and Wilbers both are, and it's good to know you prefer wilbers ... I want to know what that big of a spend will do for the bike, ergo, me.

Fair enough .. On my 2022 Sea To Sky, I stayed with all OEM shocks but installed Martin The Vlogger H&R front springs. Dramatic difference. Much more planted and no wallowing. Cross winds have less effect in moving me around. And, I noticed these changes BEFORE installing the BR sway bar.

 

[KX5062]

I know that shocks on a car generally help the tires deal with road unevenness and smooth out the ride. I assume they do the same on our spyders. The only suspension issue I have faced since adding BajaRon's ultra bar is that I bottomed out twice where the road met the river crossing/overflow areas of the Three Sisters in Texas. I assume I was just going too fast and the current suspension couldn't compensate for the inertia and road angle change, as I did not see anything visually that alerted me.

So, what should I expect from spending the large chunk of $$ that Elkas or Wilbers would cost? (And why are they so darned much? I know that value is measured by what people will spend, but, cmon...)


Educate me, please.

As always, thanks for your input troop, but that wasn't really what I'm asking. There's plenty of threads that talk about how awesome Elkas and Wilbers both are, and it's good to know you prefer wilbers ... I want to know what that big of a spend will do for the bike, ergo, me.

I'll take a small stab at your question. An upgraded shock will help in ride quality. In particular, cornering and bump handling. It won't bottom out as easily. It will help in stability in cornering when encountering a mid-corner bump or road imperfection. Also, in windy conditions, like gusty quartering winds or when passing semis in said windy conditions. It'll help in smoothing out the overall ride because of precise dampening and rebound effects within the shocks as tuned by a professional for your weight and riding needs.

If you are a sensitive rider or experienced motorcyclist, then you'll notice it more than a novice or casual rider.

There's way more to it, but I think this is a brief answer to your question.

 

[CloverHillCrawler]

I did the Wilbers front and back, and like troop stated it is a much more stable ride. I was also bottoming out a lot while riding 2 up, so that was also eliminated.

I opted for the HPA to give me some flexibility for the type of ride I wanted and Wilbers will ask you about the weight you will be carrying and the style of driving that you do and customize the shock to your needs.

Also, if you look at what people are saying around the web, they are having to rebuild Elka's and M2's only after a couple of years, and the cost of a rebuild is almost as much as a new shock.

You don't hear or see that about Wilbers, so I spent more money with not only the expectation of performance but also some added durability to get more "bang" or in this case miles for my buck.

Also, the only thing that survived my rear end accident back in September, when they had to replace everything from the swingarm on back, was my Wilbers rear shock.

 

[KW1M]

Quick update - the longer Wilbers are now installed. Pretty easy install and already making a world of difference.

Side benefit - the increased length (1cm?) actually lets the windshield sit a little higher for better protection. I'm a big guy and tried purposely braking much harder than normal to test - no scraping!

Great support from the Martin The Vlogger team - https://www.martinthevlogger.com/product-page/spyder-rt-20-present-wilbers-front-shocks-road-630 - had a stupid question on Sunday and they responded immediately. That kind of support is AMAZING.

Next step; install the H&R performance swaybar.

Anyone up for a vacation in Slovakia/Austria next year - he rents Spyders! I've already started saving for that bucket list item!

 

[Allen42]

Looks like Wilbers are the way to go if I decide to spend that kind of $$ for this. Still cannot figure out why they are so pricey, but they are selling, so....

 

[AndysF3S]

The choice of what you buy is up to you but most people tend to recommend what they bought. Do your own research before you buy. Some of the former sponsors carry aftermarket shock/spring packages as well.

The only shock/spring package that I have bought is the Elka 2 for the F3S but I have had their shocks/springs stage 2 on my 2013 Outlander 1000 where they have performed well and do not require a rebuild. In the sledding side the long distance trail riders tend to rebuild shocks every couple of years but that is a different and more severe application. I own sleds, sxs, an Outlander and now my first Spyder. JMO

 

[Peter Aawen]

Looks like Wilbers are the way to go if I decide to spend that kind of $$ for this. Still cannot figure out why they are so pricey, but they are selling, so....

You want to get similar performance & longevity, but pay less?? I reckon you could do worse that looking around - there are others besides Wilburs, Elkas, & M2's - I used IKONS on other vehicles waaayyy back in the dim dark, and when I was looking for something to replace the limp spaghetti OEM Spyder jobbies, I found them again; and have been very pleased with them on my Spyder ever since. They are an Ozzie company, but there's an IKON USA site, www.ikonsouspension.com - I don't know if they list all the shock/coils they have on offer, but they DO supply IKON coil/strut assemblies front & back for all Spyder models/years; and at least here in Oz, they're available at a much more reasonable price!

And there are others too, very likely equally as good, but certainly not as exxy$$ as those better-known brands - brands which I believe are using their pricing as a tool to limit demand/boost their 'image' as a quality product! It's not necessarily that they aren't a quality product that works pretty well, but by increasing their price as a tool to boost the 'image' & demand, many will pay the extra $$ just cos they ARE more expensive and not really because they find those brands suit their needs better!! :shocked: So why shouldn't those makers/sellers take advantage?? But you don't have to pay that premium unless those brands of shocks/coils are the only brands that will fill your needs - so all I'm saying is that there are very likely other equally as good options out there for less $$ - maybe significantly less $$! I found an alternative brand that's worked for me; I know of others who've found different brands that work for them; you just hafta look for them. :thumbup:

 

[Dmetcalf]

Elka stage 2 shocks, BajaRon's swaybar, get rid of the Kenda tires (2 ply), and put good quality tires on - the front especially, for a nice difference!

 

[Mikey]

Looks like Wilbers are the way to go if I decide to spend that kind of $$ for this. Still cannot figure out why they are so pricey, but they are selling, so....

Whatever you did would be a GREAT improvement over what you had. Would I have gone Wilbers? Maybe if I had a dealer that I could have got them rebuilt every now and then! But then I have a friend that works on my sled shocks, and I can get him to tune my Elka's I am quite sure!!:2thumbs: