BlingKing
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2010
- Messages
- 1,075
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- 37
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
This precis explains what has developed with the repairs of the LC shocks.
Why is it a thing - because as sad as it is to say for me whose blood is Bavarian Blue - the shocks on the GS LC are given to failure when subject to rigorous S.A. conditions. It is what it it is, fortunately at Bling King we have devoted ourselves at being the best and the best trained in the repair of the ZF/Sachs Shocks in the LC GS/A.
For pricing contact your local workshop or Motorrad Dealer, if they do not utilize us, tell them that they have to.
Or else contact us direct on 082 450 8878 or [email protected]
Bling King Motorcycles & Suspension are renowned as the country’s leaders in suspension repairs & upgrades. We are the best in BMW LC ESA shock repairs as well as all other shocks and forks.
What makes us better is the fact that we have been to Germany on several occasions to train specifically in BMW ESA suspension. We boast international training with Wilbers AG (who are partners with ZF/Sachs,) BiTubo and TracTive (who manufacture the Touratech Suspension) This enables us to do effective and lasting repairs on ESA & non-ESA suspension units.
There are several factors that make the difference with our repairs, compared to all the new wave of supposed ‘experts’ on suspension repairs that seem to be springing up all over the country.
For starters, the old-style ESA shocks were able to be repaired by reconditioning the seal head. Not so on the LC Dynamic ESA series. The original seal head in the LC is equipped with a small caliber “X-ring” oil seal that cannot take the punch we throw at our bikes in SA, and this oil seal blows. This means that the whole seal head needs to be replaced, not repaired as other repairers are attempting.
We used to get replacement seal heads from Wilbers, but they won’t supply us anymore and I can understand why. The Wilbers Importers worldwide were repairing the OEM LC shocks with these parts and the sales of the Wilbers upgrade LC suspensions were taking a knock. So Wilbers have stopped supplying us.
However, after years of research we have sourced a complete shock upgrade parts package. We have now acquired updated, more advanced seal heads & other parts, from the same European manufacturer that makes shock parts for a lot of the OEM shock manufacturers, like WP, TFX, Wilbers, Marzocci etc. They are all CNC machined from aircraft grade 7505 aluminum and are rebuildable and dependable.
We are sole importers of these parts kits & the only company in South Africa with access to these parts.
This is the reason a large majority of BMW dealers and other bike repair shops country-wide utilize us for shock repairs.
After 8 years of doing repairs and upgrades on the Dynamic ESA LC suspension, we have determined that sadly these shocks have four different points of failure and other suspension repairers do not know to attend to these.
This we evaluate by doing a complete strip of the shock down to the bare bones, as per pic below.
The first point of failure is this said seal head. The basic repair that other repairers do, is simply put another oil seal into the existing seal head, which WILL again fail. Our replacement repair with new parts is the only way the repair can be done effectively. The new Seal Head is CNC machined from aircraft grade 7505 aluminum and carries a more robust 15x26 ‘Trelleborg’ oil seal instead of the X-ring seal that the original shock does.
This second point of failure is the shim stack block housing. The mounting is inferior and the whole shim block housing comes adrift out of its mounting. Sometimes to the point where it damages the separating piston after contact with it.
We rectify the housing by securing it with the special tool that we have designed and had made. Even if the shim block hasn’t come adrift yet, we still perform this modification to prevent the future failure of this part. We also add a high-end bonding agent from Loctite and cure this for 12 hours. This product will stick any metals together for good!
We conducted a survey of thirteen front LC shocks that came in over a two-week period recently and nine of those showed that this failure had already occurred.
The third failure point is in the compression canister. In this cannister is the separating piston. This is the part that separates the nitrogen charge in the cannister from the oil in the shock. The OEM one in the LC shocks is made from an ABS plastic material and does not cope with the pressure. The pressure on the nitrogen side of the cannister is a huge 18 Bar, which means the separating piston holds back huge pressure from that side, as well as having to retain the oil pressure on the shock body side. Imagine what that pressure must be when hitting a large bump/jump or pothole?
Our solution is we now have a proper separating piston also made from CNC machined 7075 grade aluminum, from the same European manufacturer. It also has a top-quality outer seal, plus a collar band to ensure a perfect seal and maximum performance without the stiction that the OEM plastic one produces.
This fourth point of failure we have experienced, is the compression cannister end cap.
At the bottom of the compression canister there is a cap which also is given to leaking once charged with the 18 bar of nitrogen that this unit requires. This often occurs once it is removed which is required to affect the repairs.
The solution is we also have a revised end cap to replace the original one.
Again, our replacement unit is made from same top grade CNC machined aluminum, along with a correctly seating seal and a multi-use charge port to allow it to cope with multiple nitrogen fills, which enables future servicing.
Once all these parts have been replaced, we have basically re-vamped all the weak points of the unit, making it less susceptible to further failure.
Once assembled and vacuum bled correctly under current charge (again that others know not to do) The current charge excites the electronic DDA valve inside the shock. The DDA Valve controls the damping by electronically opening and closing. If the unit is bled without adding charge to this unit, air can be trapped inside, which is an instant source of failure for any shock.
A lot of repair shops do not even have the Vacuum Bleed machine because of their imported cost.
The unit is charged with 18 Bar of Nitrogen and then submerged in a liquid bath to ensure there are no pressure leaks.
UPDATE 14/09/2021
Over the last three weeks we have been asked to conduct repairs that were previously done by others. In all four cases, the seal head had been recondition using a replacement oil seal and these had once again failed, obviously and cost to the dealer and customer. The aforementioned shim stack housing was also loose/dislodged in all four of these units.
UPDATE 10/01/2022
Previously, if the shock shaft was scored/chipped or if the chroming was flaking off, which we have found the case in a lot of our repairs coming from the coastal towns, it meant that this shock was a throw away item. This was on account of us not being able to strip the internal DDA motor off to re-chrome the shaft. With a new development and training from Wilbers/ZF Sachs, we can now do this. We also now have the tooling to safely strip the shock completely and have it hard chromed back to better than new!
The replacement cost for these shocks is R24 000.00 for a front shock and R38 000.00 for a rear shock, from BMW dealers. Our repair costs for these units are a lot more cost effective.
Why is it a thing - because as sad as it is to say for me whose blood is Bavarian Blue - the shocks on the GS LC are given to failure when subject to rigorous S.A. conditions. It is what it it is, fortunately at Bling King we have devoted ourselves at being the best and the best trained in the repair of the ZF/Sachs Shocks in the LC GS/A.
For pricing contact your local workshop or Motorrad Dealer, if they do not utilize us, tell them that they have to.
Or else contact us direct on 082 450 8878 or [email protected]
Bling King Motorcycles & Suspension are renowned as the country’s leaders in suspension repairs & upgrades. We are the best in BMW LC ESA shock repairs as well as all other shocks and forks.
What makes us better is the fact that we have been to Germany on several occasions to train specifically in BMW ESA suspension. We boast international training with Wilbers AG (who are partners with ZF/Sachs,) BiTubo and TracTive (who manufacture the Touratech Suspension) This enables us to do effective and lasting repairs on ESA & non-ESA suspension units.
There are several factors that make the difference with our repairs, compared to all the new wave of supposed ‘experts’ on suspension repairs that seem to be springing up all over the country.
For starters, the old-style ESA shocks were able to be repaired by reconditioning the seal head. Not so on the LC Dynamic ESA series. The original seal head in the LC is equipped with a small caliber “X-ring” oil seal that cannot take the punch we throw at our bikes in SA, and this oil seal blows. This means that the whole seal head needs to be replaced, not repaired as other repairers are attempting.
We used to get replacement seal heads from Wilbers, but they won’t supply us anymore and I can understand why. The Wilbers Importers worldwide were repairing the OEM LC shocks with these parts and the sales of the Wilbers upgrade LC suspensions were taking a knock. So Wilbers have stopped supplying us.
However, after years of research we have sourced a complete shock upgrade parts package. We have now acquired updated, more advanced seal heads & other parts, from the same European manufacturer that makes shock parts for a lot of the OEM shock manufacturers, like WP, TFX, Wilbers, Marzocci etc. They are all CNC machined from aircraft grade 7505 aluminum and are rebuildable and dependable.
We are sole importers of these parts kits & the only company in South Africa with access to these parts.
This is the reason a large majority of BMW dealers and other bike repair shops country-wide utilize us for shock repairs.
After 8 years of doing repairs and upgrades on the Dynamic ESA LC suspension, we have determined that sadly these shocks have four different points of failure and other suspension repairers do not know to attend to these.
This we evaluate by doing a complete strip of the shock down to the bare bones, as per pic below.
The first point of failure is this said seal head. The basic repair that other repairers do, is simply put another oil seal into the existing seal head, which WILL again fail. Our replacement repair with new parts is the only way the repair can be done effectively. The new Seal Head is CNC machined from aircraft grade 7505 aluminum and carries a more robust 15x26 ‘Trelleborg’ oil seal instead of the X-ring seal that the original shock does.
This second point of failure is the shim stack block housing. The mounting is inferior and the whole shim block housing comes adrift out of its mounting. Sometimes to the point where it damages the separating piston after contact with it.
We rectify the housing by securing it with the special tool that we have designed and had made. Even if the shim block hasn’t come adrift yet, we still perform this modification to prevent the future failure of this part. We also add a high-end bonding agent from Loctite and cure this for 12 hours. This product will stick any metals together for good!
We conducted a survey of thirteen front LC shocks that came in over a two-week period recently and nine of those showed that this failure had already occurred.
The third failure point is in the compression canister. In this cannister is the separating piston. This is the part that separates the nitrogen charge in the cannister from the oil in the shock. The OEM one in the LC shocks is made from an ABS plastic material and does not cope with the pressure. The pressure on the nitrogen side of the cannister is a huge 18 Bar, which means the separating piston holds back huge pressure from that side, as well as having to retain the oil pressure on the shock body side. Imagine what that pressure must be when hitting a large bump/jump or pothole?
Our solution is we now have a proper separating piston also made from CNC machined 7075 grade aluminum, from the same European manufacturer. It also has a top-quality outer seal, plus a collar band to ensure a perfect seal and maximum performance without the stiction that the OEM plastic one produces.
This fourth point of failure we have experienced, is the compression cannister end cap.
At the bottom of the compression canister there is a cap which also is given to leaking once charged with the 18 bar of nitrogen that this unit requires. This often occurs once it is removed which is required to affect the repairs.
The solution is we also have a revised end cap to replace the original one.
Again, our replacement unit is made from same top grade CNC machined aluminum, along with a correctly seating seal and a multi-use charge port to allow it to cope with multiple nitrogen fills, which enables future servicing.
Once all these parts have been replaced, we have basically re-vamped all the weak points of the unit, making it less susceptible to further failure.
Once assembled and vacuum bled correctly under current charge (again that others know not to do) The current charge excites the electronic DDA valve inside the shock. The DDA Valve controls the damping by electronically opening and closing. If the unit is bled without adding charge to this unit, air can be trapped inside, which is an instant source of failure for any shock.
A lot of repair shops do not even have the Vacuum Bleed machine because of their imported cost.
The unit is charged with 18 Bar of Nitrogen and then submerged in a liquid bath to ensure there are no pressure leaks.
UPDATE 14/09/2021
Over the last three weeks we have been asked to conduct repairs that were previously done by others. In all four cases, the seal head had been recondition using a replacement oil seal and these had once again failed, obviously and cost to the dealer and customer. The aforementioned shim stack housing was also loose/dislodged in all four of these units.
UPDATE 10/01/2022
Previously, if the shock shaft was scored/chipped or if the chroming was flaking off, which we have found the case in a lot of our repairs coming from the coastal towns, it meant that this shock was a throw away item. This was on account of us not being able to strip the internal DDA motor off to re-chrome the shaft. With a new development and training from Wilbers/ZF Sachs, we can now do this. We also now have the tooling to safely strip the shock completely and have it hard chromed back to better than new!
The replacement cost for these shocks is R24 000.00 for a front shock and R38 000.00 for a rear shock, from BMW dealers. Our repair costs for these units are a lot more cost effective.
