Rear Shock Lifespan

mlheck

mlheck

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Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
1,004
Location
Ft. Wayne, IN
Bike
'18 BMW K1600GTL
STOC #
664
I replaced the front springs with the Sonic 1.2 springs and now the back spring feels weak. I didn't realize how undersprung this bike was. So now I am looking at upgrading the rear spring. My concern is if I should just wait until I replace the shock or do it now. I have about 25,000 miles on the shock now. My ST1100 shock only lasted 33,000 miles. I also realze that I could add the spring now and then have Racetech rebuild it when that time comes. So what is the average life of the stock shock? Any suggestions from people that have been down this path is welcome.
 
It is a lot longer than 33,000 miles. The ST1300 shock easily goes twice as long. Is your preload adjuster still working and can you set a reasonable amount of preload on the rear spring? Adjust the damping and change the way the shock reacts to the damping adjustment? If the adjustments still make the shock change characteristics and fluid is not leaking out of the body it is still serviceable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAhksxRCIik&list=UUimI9GyG683Z3c6epUzodGA&index=1&feature=plcp
 
If your preload is set too soft you can wear out a shock pretty fast. Too soft and the shock moving up and down continuously and moving through its entire stroke heats the fluid and wears out the main seal.
 
Yes I can still adjust the settings on the shock and have it respond. I refilled the preload adjuster last fall and it works correctly now. I'd like to put a heavyier spring on, but I didn't want to waste the effort if the shock was nearing its life expectancy. That is my concern. Has of right now I have no issues with the shock its self.

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Yes I can still adjust the settings on the shock and have it respond. I refilled the preload adjuster last fall and it works correctly now. I'd like to put a higher rate spring on, but I didn't want to waste the effort if the shock was nearing its life expectancy. That is my concern. As of right now I have no issues with the shock its self.

Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk
 
mlheck said:
Yes I can still adjust the settings on the shock and have it respond. I refilled the preload adjuster last fall and it works correctly now. I'd like to put a higher rate spring on, but I didn't want to waste the effort if the shock was nearing its life expectancy. That is my concern. As of right now I have no issues with the shock its self.

Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk
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The ST1300 rear shock by accounts here lasts longer than the ST1100 shock. One way you could look at it is to have Race Tech overhaul and upgrade your OEM shock when it becomes necessary but go ahead now and upgrade the spring. You might easily get another 25,000 miles out of it.
 
That's not a bad idea. Probably be cheaper when I have the need to overhaul and upgrade done. Now to figure out which spring and weight.
 
Pretty old thread here, my guess is that there’s a lot more experience out there now than in ‘12 haha! I’ve got over 120k miles on my st1300, should I be replacing my rear shock on principle, cuz it’s got so many miles on it? It seems to be working fine, adjustments work, doesn’t leak. But I don’t want to get caught on the opposite side of the country and it craters on me. And I want to keep the bike.
 
I changed mine at 157K when the rear tire was bouncing. Should have changed it 10 or 20K before then as the ride was becoming uncomfortable, but I wasn't sure why. The place that did mine suggests 30kK
 
The rear shock on my '04 has over 225k km's on it,,, with the stock spring. I crank on the the preloader %100 percent,, all the time and forget about it. I run the bike fairly light,, and use stiff 2-ply rear tires at 44psi cold. The performance is quite adequate and feels balanced against the lightly modified oem front suspension (20mm spacers and 5w fork oil). I hope the rear shock gets me to 300k km's. cheers,, CAt'
 
On my 125000km ST1300, I had the damper screw nearly maxed out but it was still working. I replaced the shock with a YSS and have been very very happy that I did. A more comfortable and more controlled ride, less harsh than the stocker.
 
I think most of us that replace or upgrade the rear shock by 75,000 or 100,000 miles realizes how much the suspension had degraded. It's a slow process and you don't really notice it because the shock still works and there is no obvious failure.
 
Art.
I have mine for sale on the forum however you probably won't gain much by replacing with it.
New shocks are pricey. But the performance is amazing. You can also take yours to a suspension shop and they could rebuild it?
I believe Gizmo had it done to his 1300.
Good luck.
Dave
P.S. Hope all is well with you.
 
Good intel here everyone, thank you all for the feedback. Sounds like my suspicions are confirmed. I’ll find a new one or have mine rebuilt this winter. I’ll have about 5 months to do it in so I should be able to get er done.

Doing pretty good dtcoleman hope all is well with you too, Dave. Hope you got some decent riding in this summer. I know you said you had a pretty busy schedule
 
Art Franz said:
Good intel here everyone, thank you all for the feedback. Sounds like my suspicions are confirmed. I’ll find a new one or have mine rebuilt this winter. I’ll have about 5 months to do it in so I should be able to get er done.

Doing pretty good dtcoleman hope all is well with you too, Dave. Hope you got some decent riding in this summer. I know you said you had a pretty busy schedule
Click to expand...
Hi Art:
If you're looking for a local suspension mechanic there's one in Carstairs I used. Willie is very involved with bike racing and seemed to know his stuff. My rear shock rebuild cost around $475, in 2019, $350 of which was labour: a $250 flat rate for the shock and $100 for the preload maintenance.

Vass Performance Cycle
Willie Vass
wvass@vassperformancecycle.com
313 10th Ave S, Carstairs AB T0M 0N0

I'll PM you the phone number I have.
 
Art Franz said:
I’ll find a new one or have mine rebuilt this winter.
Click to expand...


Your pix shows quite a load on your ride.

If you do ride loaded, you may want to think about a stronger spring when having the shock rebuilt. The 900 # OEM is barely adequate for a solo rider.

A 1300 # spring (for a 1300 ST) is working very well for me (and others it seems) fully loaded and is perfectly fine for solo. Huge improvement. Like riding a different bike.

And as a bonus, because the stronger spring can keep the sag where it should be when fully loaded (or overloaded...), it is also much easier to get on the center stand when fully loaded.

But then you'd need to find a shop that does more than just rebuilding, as you'd probably need revalving as well to account for the stronger spring. And they'd have to also figure out the correct spring length. Looks like some had that done through Race Tech.

Sometimes easier to just go for a new non OEM shock.
 
I tried to get a local suspension shop to rebuild mine but they wouldn't do it. I know Racetech will, but it's not cheap. I ended up going with a new OEM shock.
 
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