Boerbok
Race Dog
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2007
- Messages
- 926
- Reaction score
- 604
- Location
- Melbourne
- Bike
- Honda CRF-1000L Africa Twin
So I upgraded my 2013 F800GS front and rear suspension with Wilbers about 6 weeks ago... O0
- The front was fitted with progressive springs, and the shims were changed (on the 2013 WP shocks this is possible).
- The rear shock was replaced by a new Wilbers WESA shock, built for my weight.
- On the rear, the hydraulic pre-load adjuster from the OEM shock, as well as the ESA stepper motor unit was transferred to the new Wilbers shock.
- The ESA adjustment functionality on the handlebar is retained. On the 2013 F800GS you can select "comfort, normal, sport" for the rear shock rebound adjustment via the handlebar button.
- Rear pre-load is still adjusted via the OEM hand-wheel
- The front shock cannot be adjusted.
I have been using it mostly for commuting since then. My commute is a 90km round trip per day, 5 days a week, between Centurion and Bryanston. It includes a stretch of highway, small sections of dirt road (good and bad), and some secondary roads (good and bad).
Impressions:
- front shock feels much stiffer than before, not harsh but also not plush.
- front is now quiet during operation. I do not get the loud clanking noises I got with the previous springs, which is a great improvement!
- on tar, the front feels almost too stiff - I get a lot more road feedback than before, especially noticeable on bumpy tar. At first it bothered me, but I either got used to it or the front has broken in somewhat, because I do not notice it as much now. For my purposes, I prefer it over "a little too soft".
- on dirt the front feels great, and more capable than before. I can throw the bike around without a worry about the shocks. It's still no MX bike, but I would say it now suits the capabilities of the bike better. I have not bottomed it out yet, but I can see that it uses the available amount of travel nicely.
- rear shock is **PLUSH**, but still firm. Very little stiction.
- rear gives such a smooth ride, I often forget it's there, which tells me that it works very well.
- on tar it's smooth.
- on dirt, it's smooth.
- I cannot really feel the difference between the different ESA settings. It seems to be a very fine adjustment. I just keep it on "Normal" most of the time.
- I have not bottomed the rear out yet.
- I feel the front and rear works well together
- The bike is definitely much more stable at speed in bumpy corners than before, it just soaks up the bumps and keeps its line.
There is a specific bumpy tar corner which I could take in 3rd max with the OEM suspension. At that speed (+-50km/h) it would feel on the limit of what the front was capable of. Now I can take that same corner in 4th and at speed with the bike just soaking it up while keeping its line. Very impressive.
- On dirt roads I also feel that I can sustain higher speeds over the same terrain, as it feels more stable.
All in all I feel that this change was a good improvement over stock. In my opinion, it complements the purpose and design of the bike if you use it more as a dual sport and less as a tar tourer. For tar only I would prefer the softer front (i.e. get the progressive springs but do not reshim). The rear is a real improvement over stock in all conditions.
I like the fact that I can now have my suspension serviced (2 year / 20k intervals if I remember correctly).
At R10k, this was not exactly cheap, but in my opinion you can buy a lot of crappy farkels for that price which rather limit the bike than improve it. :deal:
EDIT: forgot to mention, 5 year guarantee...
- The front was fitted with progressive springs, and the shims were changed (on the 2013 WP shocks this is possible).
- The rear shock was replaced by a new Wilbers WESA shock, built for my weight.
- On the rear, the hydraulic pre-load adjuster from the OEM shock, as well as the ESA stepper motor unit was transferred to the new Wilbers shock.
- The ESA adjustment functionality on the handlebar is retained. On the 2013 F800GS you can select "comfort, normal, sport" for the rear shock rebound adjustment via the handlebar button.
- Rear pre-load is still adjusted via the OEM hand-wheel
- The front shock cannot be adjusted.
I have been using it mostly for commuting since then. My commute is a 90km round trip per day, 5 days a week, between Centurion and Bryanston. It includes a stretch of highway, small sections of dirt road (good and bad), and some secondary roads (good and bad).
Impressions:
- front shock feels much stiffer than before, not harsh but also not plush.
- front is now quiet during operation. I do not get the loud clanking noises I got with the previous springs, which is a great improvement!
- on tar, the front feels almost too stiff - I get a lot more road feedback than before, especially noticeable on bumpy tar. At first it bothered me, but I either got used to it or the front has broken in somewhat, because I do not notice it as much now. For my purposes, I prefer it over "a little too soft".
- on dirt the front feels great, and more capable than before. I can throw the bike around without a worry about the shocks. It's still no MX bike, but I would say it now suits the capabilities of the bike better. I have not bottomed it out yet, but I can see that it uses the available amount of travel nicely.
- rear shock is **PLUSH**, but still firm. Very little stiction.
- rear gives such a smooth ride, I often forget it's there, which tells me that it works very well.
- on tar it's smooth.
- on dirt, it's smooth.
- I cannot really feel the difference between the different ESA settings. It seems to be a very fine adjustment. I just keep it on "Normal" most of the time.
- I have not bottomed the rear out yet.
- I feel the front and rear works well together
- The bike is definitely much more stable at speed in bumpy corners than before, it just soaks up the bumps and keeps its line.
There is a specific bumpy tar corner which I could take in 3rd max with the OEM suspension. At that speed (+-50km/h) it would feel on the limit of what the front was capable of. Now I can take that same corner in 4th and at speed with the bike just soaking it up while keeping its line. Very impressive.
- On dirt roads I also feel that I can sustain higher speeds over the same terrain, as it feels more stable.
All in all I feel that this change was a good improvement over stock. In my opinion, it complements the purpose and design of the bike if you use it more as a dual sport and less as a tar tourer. For tar only I would prefer the softer front (i.e. get the progressive springs but do not reshim). The rear is a real improvement over stock in all conditions.
I like the fact that I can now have my suspension serviced (2 year / 20k intervals if I remember correctly).
At R10k, this was not exactly cheap, but in my opinion you can buy a lot of crappy farkels for that price which rather limit the bike than improve it. :deal:
EDIT: forgot to mention, 5 year guarantee...
