Another rear shock question

Hi everyone,

First of all thanks to everyone posting here! I love all the info, tips etc here.

I should change my user name, as I have a beautifull orange GRiSO 1100! I love the bike.

I'm a 186 tall guy weighing in at around 90kg in my birthday suit. The ride is great for me, but when my tiny girlfriend joins me, we bottom out.

I thought changing the coil on the rear would improve thing on a reasonable budget. I have difficulty finding a good/confirmed spring replacement.

I've emailed hyperpro, but they are not helpful and say they don't sell a spring for the GRiSO. I thought it was weird, as there are a lot of sources stating they did have one.

Does anybody know if a good spring I could put on the stock shock?

Probably easiest to find a local supplier and whatever springs/brands they supply but I use Faulkner springs and buy in UK at Demon Tweeks (see pic from website). To fit the OEM Sachs unit you just need to choose 2.25 inch internal diameter and 180mm (7 inch, I think Stelvio shock uses almost same size spring). I'm assuming you have a spring compressor ! Note HyperPro usually offer progressive springs & the ones I'm pointing to are just linear

Here are details of std spring rates (apparently roughly 10kg/mm) so you can think how much stiffer to go....most people go to above at least 11kg/mm [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There are loads (and then some) of threads on spring rates and valving and other options
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iwantone wrote:

Hi everyone,

…I'm a 186 tall guy weighing in at around 90kg in my birthday suit. The ride is great for me, but when my tiny girlfriend joins me, we bottom out.

I thought changing the coil on the rear would improve thing on a reasonable budget. I have difficulty finding a good/confirmed spring replacement…

Does anybody know if a good spring I could put on the stock shock?

I had similar problems on my GRiSO even though the previous owner had put on a heavier RaceTech spring. With the factory setup it is really difficult to switch back and forth between solo and pillion riding as accessing the adjustment rings is a pain. I opted to spend the big bucks and put the hydraulically adjustable Matris R shock on the rear, with the spring rate calculated for 240 lbs (108kg) solo and 380 lbs (172kg) pillion combined. At that point things were good with no preload for solo and +5mm for pillion. However, we’ve both lost weight, 50 pounds (23kg) in my case, so I may need to order a different spring.

Thank you very much.

I don't have the tools, so I'm going to see a specialist for it. I'll report back if I change anything and what I've chosen to do.

I heard a spring change makes little to no difference, its always going to be a harsh ride as there's no travel unless your around 70 kilos max.
Tools who needs tools, two cut down ratchet straps off amazon for 10 euros it's as easy as.
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By the time you've paid a specialist to remove the shock off the bike,
re-spring  the thing, will prob come with a service of the shock, you'll be up to the price of a new one.
Link him in to the

paulbrice wrote:

Stelvio shock

thread dude

Has anyone had good results with getting the standard GRiSO rear Sachs shock rebuilt? My 1100 GRiSO has done about 40,000 klms now and my back is taking a pounding on our crappy roads. I'm looking at about $250 AUD to have a local motorcycle suspension shop rebuild it versus $849 AUD to buy a basic shock from Hyperpro.

My advice would be go with the Hyperpro. The Sachs unit is really pretty horrible.

Pete Roper wrote:

My advice would be go with the Hyperpro. The Sachs unit is really pretty horrible.

I don't see a Hyperpro spring available for the GRiSO on their website available in the US. Have you found it somewhere else?

Thanks

I deal directly with their agent in Oz. I haven't bought a spring separately, only whole shocks and I haven't measured the ID/OD of the springs exactly. Sorry.

paulbrice wrote:

Here are details of std spring rates (apparently roughly 10kg/mm) so you can think how much stiffer to go....most people go to above at least 11kg/mm [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

As far as I understand the spring of a Stelvio shock is 188 mm long.
I see from the link you give that Öhlins have two versions that could fit, one is 180mm (1095-) and the other 190mm (1096-).
Which one to go for, - and why?

It will make little difference as the GRiSO spring adjustment is continuous so you can fit the spring to any length you want.  If, for example, you adjusted the fitted spring to 180mm long the standard 9.6kg/mm spring would be preloaded 8mm that is 77Kg, the 180 mm spring would have no preload or the 190mm spring would have 96Kg of preload.

As the GRiSO has little suspension travel I would choose the longer one to give you more options.

Pete Roper wrote:

I deal directly with their agent in Oz. I haven't bought a spring separately, only whole shocks and I haven't measured the ID/OD of the springs exactly. Sorry.

Thanks Pete...will contact HyperPro directly and see if I they have an option here.

Walter may tell you to get in contact with me as we've been working closely on shock options for the GRiSO.

lcjohnny wrote:

It will make little difference as the GRiSO spring adjustment is continuous so you can fit the spring to any length you want.  If, for example, you adjusted the fitted spring to 180mm long the standard 9.6kg/mm spring would be preloaded 8mm that is 77Kg, the 180 mm spring would have no preload or the 190mm spring would have 96Kg of preload.

As the GRiSO has little suspension travel I would choose the longer one to give you more options.

Thanks again

Pete Roper wrote:

I deal directly with their agent in Oz. I haven't bought a spring separately, only whole shocks and I haven't measured the ID/OD of the springs exactly. Sorry.

Thanks again Pete.

Good news for US GRiSO owners. I spoke with EPM Performance Imports today, they are the importer for Hyperpro products here in the U.S.

If anyone wants to just replace the spring, not build a custom shock, then spring #1224 will work for the GRiSO. Although the website doesn't show it as an option on their drop down list, it is available now.

If anyone else wants to contact EPM, reach out as per below info I received today:

EPM Performance Imports
Email: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Phone/ Fax: 732-786-9777
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Alright, after some searching I though I liked the Stelvio Shock option.

Now that I've found one, I have more questions. The one I found is from a 2009 Stelvio. From the pictures it look almost new to my eyes.

I've read that the spring rate o earlier models is not much better when comparing to the GRiSO one.

How do I find out, before purchase and switch?

iwantone wrote:

Alright, after some searching I though I liked the Stelvio Shock option.

Now that I've found one, I have more questions. The one I found is from a 2009 Stelvio. From the pictures it look almost new to my eyes.

I've read that the spring rate o earlier models is not much better when comparing to the GRiSO one.

How do I find out, before purchase and switch?

Early one has red spring later one the NTX version has a yellow spring, early one is good for 9 - 12/13 stone 57kilos -76/82kilos. Yellow up to 15 stone 95kilos.
I fitted a black spring to my early version rated for 101 -114 kilos 16 - 17stone and beyond with spring preload.
Spring rate may not be better on early stelvio but it has a lot more travel to negotiate it.

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As far as i can tell the spring on the early stelvio is the same 9.7 Kg/mm that it is on the GRiS0.
For my 105Kgm in bike clothes i needed 13Kg/mm.

I found it impossible to measure the springs objectively as the spring does not move much.  With the whole of my weight balancing on the spring it is should move 7mm with the stiff spring or 10.5mm with the original. As the spring twists & bends slightly under load getting that level of accuracy is not easy .

The Sachs unit is not sophisticated but have pity on it as the GRiSO wheel travel is very limited.  Even with the Stelvio shock you will only get about 102mm wheel movement at the rear (but that is 12mm more than standard )

I didn't notice much difference between the '09 Stelvio shock and the later version but I am notoriously insensitive.

Hagon would be a brand I would consider as even used Stelvio units are up there in price these days.

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I think I'll need to get a better spring as well then...

Was hoping for a cheaper solution, but it's going to cost me around €400 I guess.

iwantone wrote:

I think I'll need to get a better spring as well then...

Was hoping for a cheaper solution, but it's going to cost me around €400 I guess.

I believe in the begining the stelvio shock was available quite cheap, around £60 but them times have changed significantly.
You might also need to factor in spring compressors or someone to swap the springs for you.
I used cheapo ratchet straps, worked well and the straps protect the spring and body.

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iwantone wrote:

I think I'll need to get a better spring as well then...

Was hoping for a cheaper solution, but it's going to cost me around €400 I guess.

That sounds expensive...
I bought a Stelvio shock in good condition on eBay Kleinanzeige for 77 Euros inclusive freight, and a new Öhlins spring for about the same. Around 150 Euros altogether.

I've been searching for a while now and can't find anything close to that amount.
Do you have any tips for me?

iwantone wrote:

I've been searching for a while now and can't find anything close to that amount.
Do you have any tips for me?

This about the cheapest, should be little probs with import duty as your already in the EU.
Lamberti

iwantone wrote:

I've been searching for a while now and can't find anything close to that amount.
Do you have any tips for me?

I don't see any Stelvio shocks there at the moment, but if you search for "guzzi stelvio federbein" at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ,you will eventually find one
The spring I found here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] .