M2 shocks closing doors in 2 weeks! Announced 1st week of Sept '24.

[Wmoater]

If you ordered or have anything with M2 you might want to call. They are closing shop in 2 weeks. I was just notified after I called them. It was Just Announced! Thought I’d pass on the news. I have a bad top seal, and I hope I get my shock back or I’m screwed!

 

[Peter Aawen]

There's a bit of reading involved in this thread:

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums...3-RT-s&p=1717832&highlight=Marcus#post1717832

But there's also a link to a vid from Marcus about this, and some more discussion on it. So if you want to know more/some of the background, it's probably worth your while to check it out! :dontknow:

 

[broderp]

I am planning to buy shocks after the riding season this year for a "winter garage project". M2 was at the top of my list due to the quality (perceived, based on reviews and research) and I loved the simplicity of their adjustment. This is sad news, but I guess it's better to know before I buy than to buy and not have customer service after the sale if I need it. I reluctantly will need to read up on this. :shocked:

 

[CloverHillCrawler]

I am planning to buy shocks after the riding season this year for a "winter garage project". M2 was at the top of my list due to the quality (perceived, based on reviews and research) and I loved the simplicity of their adjustment. This is sad news, but I guess it's better to know before I buy than to buy and not have customer service after the sale if I need it. I reluctantly will need to read up on this. :shocked:

If you want simplicity and reliable performance take a look at the wilbers and get the HPA option on the rear shock. I really love mine as they are tuned to your weight/riding style, and the HPA can dial it in if you are adding on additional load like luggage or a cooler that I take along with us at times.

 

[troop]

If you want simplicity and reliable performance take a look at the wilbers and get the HPA option on the rear shock. I really love mine as they are tuned to your weight/riding style, and the HPA can dial it in if you are adding on additional load like luggage or a cooler that I take along with us at times.

Yup ... Like this for the F3S

 

[Mikey]

I am planning to buy shocks after the riding season this year for a "winter garage project". M2 was at the top of my list due to the quality (perceived, based on reviews and research) and I loved the simplicity of their adjustment. This is sad news, but I guess it's better to know before I buy than to buy and not have customer service after the sale if I need it. I reluctantly will need to read up on this. :shocked:

There are a lot of reasons a shock seal could go, I would not let one bad post discourage your choice! The nice part of having a rebuildable shock is that you can and should have them rebuilt and freshened up after a while. My sled shocks get drained and recharged after two seasons, been there to see it done and most of the time you would not believe what the oil looks like in there. I've seen shock oil that looked like mud! That seal that was leaking in the OP post is about a 30 min job if that! So if you have your heart on M2's I would still go for it! I am running Elka's, that's my choice! They're ALL better than what you have right now.

 

[Peter Aawen]

There are a lot of reasons a shock seal could go, I would not let one bad post discourage your choice! The nice part of having a rebuildable shock is that you can and should have them rebuilt and freshened up after a while. My sled shocks get drained and recharged after two seasons, been there to see it done and most of the time you would not believe what the oil looks like in there. I've seen shock oil that looked like mud! That seal that was leaking in the OP post is about a 30 min job if that! So if you have your heart on M2's I would still go for it! I am running Elka's, that's my choice! They're ALL better than what you have right now.

I think you've missed the point Mikey - Wmoater's post was not strictly a complaint about that one seal going; rather, it was
telling everyone that because of a whole heap of reasons including but not limited to the inability of Marcus, the owner/operator, to satisfy the current backlog of orders and servicing or any future demand, because:

The entire business of building, selling, & servicing M2 Shocks for Spyders &/or everything else will be shutting down permanently within a few days;

and as discussed/outlined in the rest of the posts & linked threads/vids etc, here:

there's a chance that Wmoater may not ever get his shock back, re-sealed or not! :yikes:

Once the doors close, neither Marcus nor the business nor anyone else will be selling or servicing M2 shocks after that!! :gaah:
So even if broderp did somehow manage to get a set of M2 shocks before the M2 Shocks business closes its doors for the final time, he'd never be able to get any customer service from them anyway!

Basically, what Wmoater is trying to convey to all Spyder Owners is that M2 Shocks are no longer an option as an OEM replacement shock, and broderp has recognised that!!

 

[WRCLVR]

I guess people should really try to slow down and read properly... but not on their phones... too small...

 

[Mikey]

I think you've missed the point Mikey - Wmoater's post was not strictly a complaint about that one seal going; rather, it was
telling everyone that because of a whole heap of reasons including but not limited to the inability of Marcus, the owner/operator, to satisfy the current backlog of orders and servicing or any future demand, because:

The entire business of building, selling, & servicing M2 Shocks for Spyders &/or everything else will be shutting down permanently within a few days;

and as discussed/outlined in the rest of the posts & linked threads/vids etc, here:

there's a chance that Wmoater may not ever get his shock back, re-sealed or not! :yikes:

Once the doors close, neither Marcus nor the business nor anyone else will be selling or servicing M2 shocks after that!! :gaah:
So even if broderp did somehow manage to get a set of M2 shocks before the M2 Shocks business closes its doors for the final time, he'd never be able to get any customer service from them anyway!

Basically, what Wmoater is trying to convey to all Spyder Owners is that M2 Shocks are no longer an option as an OEM replacement shock, and broderp has recognised that!!

Peter, I guess you are right after you enlighten me, and I saw the video! I did not see the old post back then! But the point I was trying to make is people think that just because one guy has a bad seal that all items from that company are junk, seen that happen here a lot. Things wear out, and sometimes don't get assembled the way they should! :bowdown: I feel for the OP.

 

[fatboy]

what a shame i have over 75000 miles on my m2 shocks with no trouble

 

[pegasus1300]

He does say he uses standard seals and o rings so you can at least get those replaced if and when that time comes. What a shame that health is forcing what appears to be a middle aged man to quit the business he is good at and loves at too young an age.

 

[Mikey]

what a shame i have over 75000 miles on my m2 shocks with no trouble

And if something goes wrong with them find a good shock shop and have them fixed. He's not running one off parts I would be willing to bet, some may be made inhouse, but someone made the seals and internals of those shocks.

 

[broderp]

He does say he uses standard seals and o rings so you can at least get those replaced if and when that time comes. What a shame that health is forcing what appears to be a middle aged man to quit the business he is good at and loves at too young an age.

:agree: I also find it sad that there was no way he could find to keep the doors open by hiring or bringing in someone to assemble. If i was local I would offer to assist. I didn't know he was pretty much a one man show. i thought he had a small shop with something like 5-10 employees.

I would hope that he would have the integrity not leave current customers hanging, by either providing service related information (what size seals, O-rings, oil capacity and maybe general "tuning" before set up) but I also complete any warranty work on the table or return those items back repaired or not.

Other than watching a few YouTube videos on motorcycle front fork oil replacement, I have never done this kind of work, but it doesn't look too hard. Given the availability of proper service information and parts, I would still buy a set today if possible.

 

[Wmoater]

Gentleman here is some scoop! My shock is being sent back today! That means I now have 2 shocks on the front of my spyder which is good! I was scared I’d have one shock and not the other and then I have nothing. I am getting it back supposedly recharged and fixed. I am not upset about the shock's performance at all. I beat it up pretty hard, I live on a dirt road, and it was squeaking really bad with 18000 miles. That fact is not impressive but, the seal was not leaking oil but somehow either has a pin hole or rotated enough to let air into it causing it to have a small air pocket. Please allow me to receive the shock and I will let you know how it performs on the return. I agree with the pain and upset feelings of not being able to have it serviced ever again, but I have a solution! I am 95 percent sure I have someone that will be able to service my M2 shocks. (At least the 3rd and 4th generation shocks!) I was able to find and get all the repairable replaceable part numbers for the seals and rings that Marcus uses. My professional shock rebuilding guy who used to service all my racing snowmobile shocks believes he will be able to reservice them. He is very good. He has no affiliation at all with M2. He strictly rebuilds and services shocks for all companies mostly for racers but does do general public work to on the side (Fox, HJC, Wilber, apex, and many others). He has physically never seen an M2 shock. I wanted Marcus to do both fronts at the same time since you should always reservice at the same time, but Marcus only would do the one. My guy now has a list I provided. He wants to take mine apart, service, and recharge both next spring at the same time after he is done with snowmobile season, and he will know once they are taken apart how to service them. Most of the parts are available through common companies he can get! Stay tuned on service work on M2 shocks. I am hopeful he (my shock guy) can rebuild and service them. At this point I believe everything on M2 is rebuildable and standard.

 

[Mikey]

..... of not being able to have it serviced ever again, but I have a solution! I am 95 percent sure I have someone that will be able to service my M2 shocks. (At least the 3rd and 4th generation shocks!) I was able to find and get all the repairable replaceable part numbers for the seals and rings that Marcus uses. My professional shock rebuilding guy who used to service all my racing snowmobile shocks believes he will be able to reservice them. He is very good. .....

Stay tuned on service work on M2 shocks. I am hopeful he (my shock guy) can rebuild and service them. At this point I believe everything on M2 is rebuildable and standard.

I would hope for all of the folks that have M2 shocks they will get that info from you, or is it a top secret? Don't keep it to yourself!

 

[Wmoater]

“No” top secret here Mikey! I will share all the parts numbers once it’s taken apart in the spring. I also have a feeling Marcus is going to publish rebuild kits on his site later on. He wasn’t very happy when I started asking specific questions about rebuilding. My concern is in all honesty... It looks like nothing was consistent. Which really surprises me. A lot of trial and error I am guessing going on from last October to this April. I see 3 different seal companies, 2 different sizes used. Different seal brands for different batches so, different parts from different vendors. One I have traced back to McMaster of all places which totally shocked me. The only consistency is the 14mm X-ring which is an industry standard for the body. Every shock place will have that part! I will also supply my shock guy's name if he wants it advertised. Again, he’s not really a public service guy, he rebuilds primarily for racing machines. He’s pretty busy. For example, I’d send him 4 sets at a time to rebuild or charge to get me though 1/4 of the season. And there were 100’s in my circuit across North America. I want to physically see it for myself and hear what my guy has to say before I start throwing a ton of useless numbers and confusing people. Just wanted everyone to know there is about 95 percent hope that the entire M2 shock can be totally rebuilt and serviced! Its custom made but not untouchable by others.

 

[BajaRon]

“No” top secret here Mikey! I will share all the parts numbers once it’s taken apart in the spring. I also have a feeling Marcus is going to publish rebuild kits on his site later on. He wasn’t very happy when I started asking specific questions about rebuilding. My concern is in all honesty……..It looks like nothing was consistent. Which really surprises me. A lot of trial and error I am guessing going on from last October to this April. ( I see 3 different seal companies, 2 different sizes used. Different seals brands for different batches so, different parts from different vendors. One I have traced back to McMaster of all places which totally shocked me. Only consistency is the 14mm X-ring which is an industry standard for the body. Every shock place will have that part! I will also supply my shock guys name if he wants it advertised. Again, he’s not really a public service guy, he rebuilds primarily for racing machines. He’s pretty busy. For example I’d send him 4 sets at a time to rebuild or charge to get me though 1/4 of the season. And there was 100’s in my circuit across North America. I want to physically see it for myself and hear what my guy has to say before I start throwing a ton of useless numbers and confusing people. Just wanted everyone to know there is about 95 percent hope that the entire M2 shock can be totally rebuilt and serviced! Its custom made but not untouchable for others.

So, are you trying to say that you think these are custom assemblies of generic parts?

 

[Wmoater]

Ron I think you will understand this better as in names of parts than most because you know shocks. When I asked him about having these shocks serviced in the future by another person since you are closing can I get some details about the interior guts, possibly part numbers to explain to my shock builder to see if he can service them. He replied basically I don’t have time for this “crap” (used Otherword). You bought a f’n precision performance shock and it won’t need serviced. I replied that I didn’t mean any disrespect but I’m planning on buying either a 2025 or 2026 RT and would like to possibly put these on that if possible so these shocks will last for the next 10 years. Any shock will need recharged or sealed over that time and mileage. He replied everything on his shock is rebuildable. Anyone should be able to figure it out with any knowledge. I’ve got to much f’n work to get done. When did you buy them? He asked. Replied ordered last august received in April. He said you want numbers, I’ll send you my April spyder shocks orders and you waste your time figuring out which one. They are all custom made. I received the excell print out. I’ll admit he kept good records. There are no customer names but I looked at my spring and found that on his list first and think I’m #2 produced. All 9 say custom tube with no number. That’s the body tube. Fine that’s his. He list the seals. After finding them online they are all about same specs as in sizes. Here is where I am questioning things. The first 2 (I think mine has Bilstein with part number) bilstein is mass produced and very reputable. Not best, not worst. Middle line product. He didn’t make them just purchased and force fitted in his custom cap. The next 2 have Ohlins. Again reputable but why the change? Why another 2 in a row? Better, possibly. Now to me, the seals should be the same for all his shocks for the spyder rt or f3 for consistency. Seals have nothing to do with weight and ride style. Maybe not but weird that seals changed 2 in a row. The last 5 are different yet. They are listed K-Tech. Again reputable and standard definitely different again . Now other things. The First 2 have McMaster part number using a split end piston. Why split? Seems a bit odd to me. The Other 7 are using a solid pin can’t figure out where they came from. Why the 2 different pin types? For the end cap and dust caps they say in-house. So he had the tubes or housing obviously sent out and produced somewhere else. The thread for the caps and ends match so are probably standard thread but he made with his CNC equipment. Why different seals? Couldn’t figure out which was better or worked better? Then why the difference in pin types? My guess the split didn’t work so changed it.

Next the oil. Won’t even say what it is but it’s no where’s close to amsoil! Again that’s normal for shocks I guess. I know for example KYB shock oil is nothing close to ams and that’s the first thing done or changed from the factory built shocks. These are custom high precision shocks and agin I’m not listing the oil but not the highest in my opinion. The only consistent part with all 9 was standard 14mm X-Ring. There is nothing special on this list other than the actual housing and The seals cap for the bodytube. He used standard BUNA O-Ring that you can get anywhere. The end parts and connectors again have multiple different numbers but I understand using different venders for same parts I assume. I can’t find those vendor numbers but guessing price related for changing parts. I totally understand the different companies for the springs. Those are custom for each and what makes it special for style and weight.

Now for the pistons. Only part numbers no company name. I found 2 of them listed under TRC pistons. My shock guy shook his head about that. We’ll just leave it at that. But for being told everything is in-house and custom made there’s only 2 parts I can see on list that can’t be purchased elsewhere. In my opinion seals are like tires. A company picks one manufacturer and stays with them. Same with pistons. Maybe changes for different models but all should be same for one model. The seals are reputable, some better than others in my opinion. The machining is good as in appearance. The entire shock is definitely well made and works. Problem is you have no clue what you have till it’s ripped apart. Why the different pins? Why the different seals? Why that oil? And where did these pistons come from? All custom made with custom parts? Nope I don’t think so. Just a custom tube and mass produced mixed parts.

 

[broderp]

I honestly have very mixed thoughts on this that will unfortunately now resonate to other shock manufacturers. :sour:

I'm not an expert in manufacturing or shocks, but I am glad that the number of proprietary parts is minimal. I hope other manufacturers follow his process on this. This could be good for the DIY mechanic. What would concern me is all the variation in manufacturing. We can only speculate why this was done - cost, availability, had the parts on hand etc. If he makes rebuild kits available, which would be awesome, it's good that he kept good records.


I always thought Marcus had a slight 'chip' on his shoulders when I watched his videos, but thought he was likeable and honest. If his comments above are accurate then this is also not good IMO. I hope his brash comments come from a place of frustration due to the closing his business rather than his true beliefs of helping his customers.

Who knows, these shocks may start to pop up on the used market. I hope all the information (excel information, part numbers, etc.) gets published or posted to help those who may need it.

I guess I'm looking to Wilber's or Elka at this point, with a heavy lean towards Elka simply because of price and color.

 

[Wmoater]

I believe he knows what he’s talking about and is very knowledgeable. I believe he produced a good shock. My “rear” shock was one of the first of the Gen 3 series and has held up very well for the past 2 years. Way better than the stock with 2 up 85 percent of the time and pulling a trailer. I have no problems with the build. My feeling is that when he decided to go all custom on the Gen 4’s, he was experimenting to find the correct formula. I was a driver, not the designer for my race team. I left it up to them do design the perfect combination for me. His attitude is fine. As stated above, he is a mad scientist. He has pride in his work and was part of the racing circuit mentality, which there is nothing wrong with. You just have to let that fly over your head when talking to him. Nice guy, He wanted to produce the best product but with health, was basically a one man show; but trying to advance too fast, and as stated, being a bit rough towards the general public all played a hand in the closing. I have no ill feelings at all with the shock. It’s a quality build, but in all honesty, I think my shock guy will bring my front M2’s back to life and surpass the original shock. Again, this is not uncommon. We got Fox and KYB shocks straight from the factory. Good shocks, but with a rebuild and exchange of dampeners, valving, and a few other modifications, the shocks were superb. I believe with a bit of tweaking, my M2 shocks will shine. Again, I haven’t received my new one back to test it. It will be in my head that both are not equal for the time being, until they are both torn apart and made equal. I believe the seal failure was a fluke. Time will tell.