Wilber shock install -Rear

[Peteoz]

Pete

Sorry about your problems.
I went back and looked at Martin's video on his Wilbers at the 4:40 mark you get a close up of rear shock and then a little later on looks like it fits in the brace perfectly!!
I'm seriously looking at a set for my F3 so waiting on your review.

Thanks

Thanks ABQ......I had a look and it helped a lot. The F3 Limited does NOT have the same setup. It looks like the below. It certainly looks like Wilbers have sent me the F3 S shocks. Whether they have sent the wrong shocks or they don't make shocks for the F3-L is still to be determined. I had a quick ride yesterday, and they are much better over our potholed roads.
Pete

 

[monkeyboymorton]

Ah I see now, that's totally different than the non touring F3.

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete

Hey Thanks for the picture.
Would definitely fit my F3-S As far as being 10mm short is this just the rear or the fronts also?

 

[Peteoz]

Pete

Hey Thanks for the picture.
Would definitely fit my F3-S As far as being 10mm short is this just the rear or the fronts also?

Fronts also, ABQ.......I am waiting to hear back from the distributor as to how we proceed. I am not prepared to run shocks from a different F3 model for any number of reasons. Looks like I should have gone with Elka, who definitely know the difference between an S and a Limited....see below....

Pete

 

[Peteoz]

I do not know Wilburs, but in general, if the design utilizes a negative spring for top out control, it is possible to see approximately 10 mm shorter length on the bench. In use, the negative spring will compress and the 10mm discrepecy is gone.

If they do not utilize a negative spring, two scenerios come to mind, either mechanically they do not have the room internally for the long travel, or they utilized common production parts as opposed to Spyder specific made parts and beleived the application was acceptable.

If the shock travel was decreased 10mm, that could be about 25mm less wheel travel, and a decreased amount of race sag.

Thanks PMK, they were both measured on the bench. I am just looking to see if I can find any length difference on BRP sites between the F3-S and F3-T shocks. I don't believe there is any doubt these are F3-S shocks.

Pete

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete

Saw your Picture but there's only one problem! ELKA shows the same shock fitting a F3-S.
Hope the Wibers workout and interested in Ride reports.
I won't buy ELKA!

 

[Peteoz]

The Outcome

Ok, so after some lengthy discussions between the distributor, Wilber and Elka, we have a consensus. The shocks that Wilber have sent will work. The are the same spring rates and lengths and the ride height adjuster will allow me to add the extra 10mm to the rear shock. There is no need to adjust the front as it is designed for both the S and Limited and is working very, very well. Wilber engineers are quite happy to certify that the bottom rear shock bolt seating system, with the two spacers each side, will meet specification.

All I have to do now is find some way of getting a couple of 22mm spanners in to adjust the ride height. Then it is just a matter of fine tuning for our roads.

Pete

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete
Great news!
Keep us updated!

Thanks

 

[Peteoz]

Sooooo. Now that the dreadful weather has moved on, a test ride has been possible.

I have left the front shocks exactly as supplied for my 300lb frame. They handle the potholes well and give a confidence inspiring cornering experience.

I have adjusted the ride height of the rear Wilber to be the same as shock, and have set the preload to above centre (7 turns down from maximum preload.....of a possible 22 turns), giving me 35mm of sag when sitting on the Spyder.

I have set the rebound damping to be only 6 clicks off the softest setting (of a possible 22 clicks). This surprised me, and may need changing, but it currently gives me a pretty smooth ride with no apparent bottoming and keeps the tyre on the ground. I assume the fact that the shock was set for 280-320lbs allows this.

I have had a couple of requests for photos, so below are both the front and rear shocks along with the current bottom bolt setup on the F3-Limited, showing the machined spacers that spread the shock load across the 4.5" bottom bolt.

Thanks very much for everyone's help.
Pete