Wilberized

Tanabuso Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19

Although I told myself I was not going to pour lots of money into a shock and pipe on the GRiSO like all my other bikes, well you know how that goes.
I have bought both Ohlins and Wilbers in the past, I went with the Wilbers for several reasons.

The shock looks beautiful with rebound and both high and low speed compression damping
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Next to the stock piece
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Seems a shame to have a nice upgrade hidden under the bike
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For those wanting to teach themselves about suspension tuning the book Wilbers puts out is highly recommended. A lot packed into one small book.
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Why I went with Wilbers rather than Ohlins
I recently bought an Ohlins for my Versys and when I called the importer to find out what spring they would be installing based on rider weight I was told that nearly everyone gets the same spring as it comes from the factory unless the rider is very heavy or very light. The tech support guy named the range of weights which I don't remember but was a very wide range, at least 100 lbs. So the Ohlins is a mass produced piece (nothing wrong with that) and the Wilbers is made to order with, according to the importer, a wider selection of springs. When shock came it was screwed up.

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Not that hard to see something is wrong. I sent pictures and explanations but was told repeatedly (through the retailer from the importer) that nothing was wrong.
Thankfully the retailer, SoloMoto exchanged it for me. I know that Ohlins is a quality shock and this was an anomaly but to be told several times not to believe my lying eyes pushed me to the Wilbers for the GRiSO.

Still dialing it in but so far am happy, the shock is more compliant yet controlled over bumpy roads. I would rate this an expensive ($1000 USD) but worth while upgrade.

But nothing has been as big an improvement to the bike as Mark's map. Can't let the opportunity pass to publicly thank him for his efforts for us.

cheers,
Tod

Guest

Tod, congrats on the purchase.
Took me six months to get my head around how Hi & Lo speed work in conjunction with each other.
Read the book, and ask lots of questions. Once you make sense of it all and find the sweet spot there will be no turning back.

Downside is you'll never settle for stock suspension ever again.

Tanabuso Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19

ghezzi wrote:: Tod, congrats on the purchase.
Took me six months to get my head around how Hi & Lo speed work in conjunction with each other.
Read the book, and ask lots of questions. Once you make sense of it all and find the sweet spot there will be no turning back.

Downside is you'll never settle for stock suspension ever again.

Agreed. I must have read that book a dozen times over the years. Lots of sources for suspension information but I like this book the best although it is getting a little long in the tooth.

Grignapoco Posts : 144 Join date : 2014-09-25

looks great! My main (probably only) dislike of the GRiSO is the stock suspension. Will certainly consider an aftermarket suspension in the future.

Godfather Posts : 3154 Join date : 2013-05-28 Age : 59

Fantastic! Now to find $1000...

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2012 MOTO GUZZI GRiSO 1200SE

2013 MOTO GUZZI STELVIO 1200NTX - Orange Blossom Special

GRiSO Capo Posts : 10047 Join date : 2013-09-30

RIP Wilbur - Alan Young 1919-2016

A horse is a horse, of course, of course, unless the horse is Mister Ed.

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In GRiSO we trust!
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GRiSO Capo Posts : 29 Join date : 2014-09-22 Age : 72

So who would be the preferred Wilbers/GRiSO distributor?

Tanabuso Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19

whitmire wrote:: So who would be the preferred Wilbers/GRiSO distributor?

Ted Porter from the Beemer Shop in California is the US importer and very knowledgeable. The are built to order in Germany so it takes some weeks to get one.
Cheers,
tod

GRiSO Capo Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 62

Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that Razz

) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.

Grignapoco Posts : 127 Join date : 2015-09-04 Age : 67

waterbottle wrote:: Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that ) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.

Pictures in high demand when you get the shock . I ride with pillion every weekend and have thought about the same shock absorber. The difference in price over the 'basic' model is not that big .

Tanabuso Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19

waterbottle wrote:: Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that ) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.

I kind of wish I had gotten the one with remote preload as changing it for a passenger is too much trouble to bother with. Don't expect night and day differences to the stock right off the bat. I found the as delivered preload used up half the shock stroke with my weight on the bike and I am light (150lb) so follow all the usual advice on setup starting with sag. The high and low speed adjustment is nice once you understand what they do. And, as you say, they sure are pretty. We kid ourselves sometimes by saying all we care about is function but when the upgrade looks nice as well it just encourages popping a beer and just looking at it sitting in the garage. BTW, what spring did they supply with yours (and what is your weight). Fishbulb is a Simpsons reference, from one of my favorite episodes. Please let us know how it goes.
cheers,
tod

GRiSO Capo Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 62

Tod: It will be a couple of weeks before I see it, I ordered it to cater for my dressed riding weight of around 92 kg/ 203 lb., so it's coming with a 600 in lb spring, and I can wind it up a bit when touring with baggage. GRiSO standard spring is supposed to be around the 543 in lb rating, Your 150lb ? did you have a leg taken off Shocked

Cheers

Guest

Ron, its not wise to refer to Jan as ........."baggage". Razz

GRiSO Capo Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 62

ghezzi wrote:: Ron, its not wise to refer to Jan as ........."baggage".

Ohhh Maaa, I'm telling

Tanabuso Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19

waterbottle wrote:: Tod: It will be a couple of weeks before I see it, I ordered it to cater for my dressed riding weight of around 92 kg/ 203 lb., so it's coming with a 600 in lb spring, and I can wind it up a bit when touring with baggage. GRiSO standard spring is supposed to be around the 543 in lb rating, Your 150lb ? did you have a leg taken off
Cheers

"did you have a leg taken off" My wife and I laughed our asses off over that. Thanks for a laugh.

The spring on my Wilbers is progressive (which is different from Ohlins which uses straight wound springs) and is 100 to 150 N/mm. Force per unit length. I don't understand in lb as your spring rate. Please help me convert.

tod

GRiSO Capo Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 62

Tod, Mine is coming with a 105 N/mm or 10.71 Kg/mm Boing

GRiSO Capo Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 62

Well, thanks to Pete Roper and his best boy Izzy, a new Wilbers has arrived, with a windy bit to adjust the spring pre-load. The box, daughters bitch Molly and Pepperjack, always Christmas at Ron's place cheers

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The Shock

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GRiSO Capo Posts : 10047 Join date : 2013-09-30

Phwoooaaar!

cheers

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In GRiSO we trust!
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Guest

Nice ~~tits~~, bits. Damn that predictive text.

Sfregiato Posts : 477 Join date : 2014-10-22 Age : 64

Grignapoco Posts : 127 Join date : 2015-09-04 Age : 67

I'm sold

Grignapoco Posts : 193 Join date : 2014-04-30 Age : 55

Noice.

Biondino Posts : 268 Join date : 2015-10-20 Age : 51

Waterbottle, please post a few updates as you go with this. It's a magnificent looking piece of kit!

I'm about 75kg myself (165 pounds), and the stock rear suspension doesn't work well for me at all. I find it very harsh, even with the damping backed way off. Really keen to see what you think of it, and where you got it/who you contacted.

Thanks,
Brent

Squinternotto Posts : 6 Join date : 2023-05-22

waterbottle wrote:: Well, thanks to Pete Roper and his best boy Izzy, a new Wilbers has arrived, with a windy bit to adjust the spring pre-load. The box, daughters bitch Molly and Pepperjack, always Christmas at Ron's place

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The Shock

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How’s it working out water bottle? I’m about to upgrade mine on a 2010 GRiSO 1200.