What's a revalved OEM Vmax shock worth?

[TheFleshRocket]

I had my Vmax's shock revalved by Traxxion a few years ago. I've since lost about 30 pounds, and the high-speed compression damping now feels too harsh--when I hit a bump, it's pretty jarring, even with the compression damping backed off all the way. I'm debating between spending ~$280 (including shipping) to have Traxxion revalve it again, or buying a Wilbers shock, which is around $800. (Best price I've been able to find is Exactrep, which is $770 before shipping to the US. http://exactrep.com/acatalog/Wilbers-Shocks-641----46-mm-381H.html#SID=6) Basically a $500 price swing between a revalve and buying a brand new fancy-pants shock.

What's a revalved OEM Vmax shock worth? Would it make sense for me to try to sell it to offset some of the cost of the Wilbers, or should I just have it revalved as-is?

 

[Traumahawk]

Were you happy with the revalve from Traxxion? I'm looking at getting some front springs from Wilbur, because ever backed all the way off, I can still only get 20 mm of preload out of the front suspension.

If you dont mind me asking, what are the rear shocks set up for, and were you happy with them before?

 

[TheFleshRocket]

Mine's a Gen2, so just one shock, not two. Yes, I was happy with the revalve by Traxxion. Originally, my Vmax's shock was sorely lacking in rebound damping--even with rebound set to full stiff, the bike would wallow in turns. After the revalve, it was much better--controlled and confidence-inspiring. (I also replaced the work oil with 10wt, which was a welcome upgrade.) But since I'm now noticeably lighter, the high-speed compression damping, which was good before, is now too harsh.

You must be really light if you can only get 20mm of sag with the fork preload adjusters backed off all the way.

 

[Traumahawk]

You must be really light if you can only get 20mm of sag with the fork preload adjusters backed off all the way.

I'm 215 without gear. With just me on the bike, I have a dynamic sag of 20.....and 23 with the GF on it for the front. Static sag is 11. On the rear I'm at 20 sag, and 32 with the GF. static is 12. I can loosen up the preload on the rear.....but that would increase the static sag as well. LOL, I am no where near the recommended 35 mm. For me....its the front that is an issue. With the service manual, if the springs are out of spec 4 mm....its time to replace them. I wonder if they are, because I'm at 43K miles.

This is what I use to get the measurements. Its a great tool.
https://www.amazon.com/Motool-Slacker-Digital-Suspension-Tuner/dp/B07XKQH8YR

 

[Allen Zielinski]

I have that Wilbers shock. I did not know about Traxxion when I purchased my Wilbers Shock & now I'm second guessing myself if it was worth it. I purchased mine from EMP Wilber.

https://www.wilbers-shop.de/en/Moto...ber-type-641-Competition.html?cur=3&year=2009

When you order the shock you specify your weight and riding preference. I too complained about rebound & let them know I was looking for a softer more comfortable ride. First shock arrived with a 190 pound spring & was way too stiff a ride for me. Sent the shock back letting them know it was too stiff. They sent the shock back with a 225 pound spring that made things worse. Sent the shock back a second time. They revalued it and installed a 165 pound spring. I am 280 pounds.

The Wilbers shock is now better than stock, but not that much better & for the price i'm not sure that Traxxion would not have provided a better riding shock for less money.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

I'm 215 without gear. With just me on the bike, I have a dynamic sag of 20.....and 23 with the GF on it for the front. Static sag is 11. On the rear I'm at 20 sag, and 32 with the GF. static is 12. I can loosen up the preload on the rear.....but that would increase the static sag as well. LOL, I am no where near the recommended 35 mm. For me....its the front that is an issue. With the service manual, if the springs are out of spec 4 mm....its time to replace them. I wonder if they are, because I'm at 43K miles.
This is what I use to get the measurements. Its a great tool.
https://www.amazon.com/Motool-Slacker-Digital-Suspension-Tuner/dp/B07XKQH8YR

I am of the opinion that setting sag is mostly pointless--as long as the suspension is not near the extreme (close to topped out or bottomed out) when the bike is loaded, then sag doesn't matter. (I know suspension gurus will likely chew my ass, but this has been my experience.) I have the shock preload maxxed to give a little more cornering clearance, as I have no problem easily dragging pegs.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

I have that Wilbers shock. I did not know about Traxxion when I purchased my Wilbers Shock & now I'm second guessing myself if it was worth it. I purchased mine from EMP Wilber.

https://www.wilbers-shop.de/en/Moto...ber-type-641-Competition.html?cur=3&year=2009

When you order the shock you specify your weight and riding preference. I too complained about rebound & let them know I was looking for a softer more comfortable ride. First shock arrived with a 190 pound spring & was way too stiff a ride for me. Sent the shock back letting them know it was too stiff. They sent the shock back with a 225 pound spring that made things worse. Sent the shock back a second time. They revalued it and installed a 165 pound spring. I am 280 pounds.

The Wilbers shock is now better than stock, but not that much better & for the price i'm not sure that Traxxion would not have provided a better riding shock for less money.

Thanks for posting this--I'm glad I read it before ordering. You mention that the shock was revalved before it was returned to you with a 165lb spring. I wonder if the revalve didn't have more to do with the improvement in comfort than the different spring did. Did you try tinkering with the shock damping settings? (I assume yes, but figured I ought to ask.) High-speed compression damping has the biggest effect on ride quality--it's what controls how fast the shock compresses when the wheel hits a bump.

I'm more surprised that you went through the trouble of R&Ring the shock several times and the downtime and expense of shipping it.. I assume you had to ship it to Germany?

I'm not sure what the lb/in rating is on the stock shock spring, but it seems adequate for me--if I got a Wilbers, I'd request the same stiffness of spring.

Edit - Ordering through Wilbers is a lot more expensive than through Exactrep - $935 compared to $770, based off of the prices both have on their website stores.

 

[Allen Zielinski]

I did try several adjustments as the Wilers Shock has the high speed, low speed, & sag adjustments. I even tied a zip tie to the shaft measuring to try to get that perfect ride. Wilbers initially recommended the 195 LBS spring for my weight. I just wanted a softer ride due to back issues. Ride quality is subjectionable just like exhaust systems. Some like loader than others. For me I like a softer ride at the sacrifice of handling. The shipping was not that bad as I purchased & returned it to EMP Performance in New Jersey. They then in turn shipped it to Germany. Also each try was over the winter during down time although it did get a little expensive. But as I said I wanted a certain ride quality.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

The shipping was not that bad as I purchased & returned it to EMP Performance in New Jersey. They then in turn shipped it to Germany. Also each try was over the winter during down time although it did get a little expensive. But as I said I wanted a certain ride quality.

Do you have the contact info for EMP Performance? What I found on Google was a shop in the UK, and a second shop somewhere on the east coast, but that looks like it does car stuff.

Exactrep wants $764 for the shock, and then another $78 to ship to the US, so I'm trying to find a US vendor to avoid the exchange rate and overseas shipping stuff.

 

[Allen Zielinski]

Here is my suggestion as since I originally purchased the shock I put so much time in research. For me it was a learning experience.

I purchased my shock from EMP Wilber. They are the east coast distributor.
Here is their contact information:
Klaus Huenecke – Owner
Phone 732-786-9777
Website:
https://www.wilbers-shop.de/en/Moto...ber-type-641-Competition.html?cur=3&year=2009
As I stated at first I received the shock with a 195 LBS spring based on my weight and the soft ride I requested. After I complained and sent the shock back the first time they returned it to me with a 225 pound spring . Now I thought it would make it worse but speaking with Klaus Huenecke ,at EMP Wilber, he assured me it was his option that for my weight he felt the shock was bottoming out giving me the harsh ride & the 225 pound spring would correct it. I explained that I put a tie rap on the shock shaft with the 195 LBS spring & did not experience it bottoming out. Again I was assured the 225 Lbs spring would make it better so i had it installed. Sure enough going from a 195 LBS to a 225 LBS spring made the ride stiff as a brick.

I then started my research & found several shock videos on You Tube by Ted Porter. Ted Porter owns the Beemer Shop. They are the west coast distributor for Wilber shocks.
Here is their contact information:
Ted Porter – Owner
Phone 831-438-1100
Website:
https://www.beemershop.com/category/wilbers-suspension.html
I spoke to Ted Porter & he informed me that his experience was that Wilbers always over springs their shocks. He said if I were to have purchased the shock from him when he received the shock from Wilber he would have installed the 165 LBS & set it up in his shop as they have an in house shock dyno. Upon Ted Porters recommendations I then changed to the 165 LBS spring - but through EMP Wilber because that is were I originally purchased the shock. All is good now.

I would never have thought that something like a simple shock could have become suck an ordeal.

I gave you this information so you may want to contact each distributor to get each of there recommendations before you purchase. It sure would be nice if you get it right the first time.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

Thanks for the super-detailed response! I've reached out to BeemerShop for a shock quote.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

So, Beemershop wants $959 for the shock, not including shipping. Which makes the $842 from Exactrep seem like a comparative bargain. I really do like the idea of buying from a US vendor so I don't have to worry about overseas shipping if I need to send it back, but man, $959 feels like it's getting into Ohlins territory. Which, as far as I can tell, Ohlins doesn't make a shock for the Gen2 Vmax.. so apparently it's Wilbers or having the stocker revalved, again.

I did send quote requests out to the other three US vendors that I found here.. maybe one of them will be less proud of this thing. Wilbers Products GmbH - Händler

 

[Allen Zielinski]

It has been several year since I ordered my shock and I don't remember if it was a Thanksgiving Black Friday sale or a Christmas sale but EMP Wilber was offering, I think it was a 10% off sale. I remember I was mad because I missed it. I'm not saying they or anyone will offer that sale again this year. I'm in Cleveland, Ohio and I see you are in Illinois so we have similar weather that, I hate to say, will be getting crappy in not the so distant future. Thanksgiving and Christmas is not that far off. You might want to wait and keep checking the vendors websites to see if any of them offer any sales this year. If I remember correctly the sale was only posted on their website for a few days and you had to order in that time frame, so you would have to keep you eyes out for it.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

It has been several year since I ordered my shock and I don't remember if it was a Thanksgiving Black Friday sale or a Christmas sale but EMP Wilber was offering, I think it was a 10% off sale. I remember I was mad because I missed it.

A sale would be nice.

I got a reply from EMP Wilber, and they quoted the same $959 as Beemershop. I am guessing that the other shops that I emailed will also come back with quotes of $959--probably some price-fixing agreement from Wilbers.

 

[Allen Zielinski]

I looked up my invoice. Back in 2017 here was the beak down,

641 Rear Shock .............................................................................................. $741.00
625 External Hydraulic Preload Adjuster 625-0046-00 .................. $211.00
Shipping .............................................................................................................. $30.00
---------
TOTAL I Paid .................................................................................................... $982.00

I do not know if your quote covers the external preload adjuster or shipping. You may want to question that.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

I would be totally fine with $771 shipped.. I would skip the preload adjuster. $959 is my price WITHOUT the remote preload adjuster--that is now a $275 option.

I wonder if this is because current exchange rates are less than favorable for the USD.

I am strongly considering just sending my stock shock off to be revalved again--the Traxxion guys said they're confident they can dial back the high-speed compression damping while keeping the low-speed compression damping and the rebound damping where they are now.