F800GS Traxxion Fork Suspension Mods

[machinebuilder]

After taking a decent ride yesterday all I can say is WOO HOO




Where's my new shock.


For anyone who knows East TN, From Vonore I took 360 to Citico road, to the Cherohala Skyway, to Hooper bald, to N River road, to Whigg meadows back to N river rd to river road to 360 back to Vonore. its a good mix of good pavement, rough pavement, dirt, gravel, whoops, REALLY loose gravel etc.

with the stock forks 30mph on Citico road is brutal, very harsh, jaring thinking things are going to shake loose, with the AK-20's I looked down to see if the had graded the potholes out and saw "damn I'm in 4th gear going 45mph, I'd better slow down.

they soak up all the minor holes /rocks etc, and just roll over the bigger ones, I didn't air the tires down so some of the looser gravel was pretty interesting (marbles) but no surprises from the front end.

I did stop and turned the rear rebound adjuster about 1/4 turn harder, and that slowed down the eject feeling, the shock is just not working as well as the forks now.

I should have my Wilburs in 1-2 weeks

In short, the ak-20 is not cheap, but it is about $600 less than Ohlins USA, it is adjustable and rebuildable, compared to the other options it's your decision, I'm not unhappy with mine.

[Indy Unlimited]

The best money ever spent on this bike is suspension!
I rode the stock suspension for 600 miles and ripped them off and went Traxxion AK-20 and Hyperpro 3 way.
I got 36,000 miles now and I love to charge pot holed and cratered old back roads with her at 60 mph.
The aftermarket suspensions make the bike handle very very well!

[Endurodude]

Machinebuilder, have you had the Wilber fitted yet? If so, what's the verdict? I'm thinking of getting exactly the same setup on my F800, so I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'm not into hardcore off roading, I just want suspension that allows me to go wherever I choose, irrespective of surface. I also want my setup tp cope with my luggage (metal panniers, 38l each side, camping gear on top).

[machinebuilder]

Originally Posted by Endurodude

Machinebuilder, have you had the Wilber fitted yet? If so, what's the verdict? I'm thinking of getting exactly the same setup on my F800, so I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'm not into hardcore off roading, I just want suspension that allows me to go wherever I choose, irrespective of surface. I also want my setup tp cope with my luggage (metal panniers, 38l each side, camping gear on top).

Yes I got it back in August, I would not hesitate to go with the Wilburs Shock or the AK-20 Fork.

I did have a minor pogo sticking with the fork, I think I got past it by adjusting both dampers a little. I was going to call Traxxion about it but decided to try small tweaks.

Do to time and work most of the miles I have put on it are were paved roads, the difference is unreal, even with the "extreme offroad" setup I feel much more confident. Riding on forest service roads and 2 track it really shines, no jarring in the handle bars and I will willingly ride MUCH faster. ( I'm still slow compared to some people).


I went this direction because I thought for me and where I like to ride, I wanted the most improvement off road, I just didn't realize the difference it would make on road. I am sure the bike will go many more places than I am willing to take it. I really want to go back to Colorado now.

[Endurodude]

Excellent news; thanks for that! I, too, would probably go for the off road set up. It's great to hear that there's a noticeable improvement on road, too!

Just another quick question - what type of Wilber rear shock have you used? A site I'm looking at has many, many possibilities (unless I'm being thick and reading it wrong!).

Cheers.

[machinebuilder]

Originally Posted by Endurodude

Excellent news; thanks for that! I, too, would probably go for the off road set up. It's great to hear that there's a noticeable improvement on road, too!

Just another quick question - what type of Wilber rear shock have you used? A site I'm looking at has many, many possibilities (unless I'm being thick and reading it wrong!).

Cheers.

I bought it from a local shop here, I had to fill a form out with all the normal stuff (weight, load, riding style etc)
add that I wanted the Remote preload adjuster and the adjustable hi/lo speed compression damping adjustment. I figured I was spending alot of money so I may as well get all the bells and whistles.

The way I understand it to work with the US distributor is they do not keep "stock" units, but assemble them too order. It's kind of nice not having to learn all the details about suspension design to get something that works well.

Don't follow all the instructions in the Haynes manual, they have people stripping all of the plastic and muffler, but not loosening the chain.

[Endurodude]

Originally Posted by machinebuilder

. It's kind of nice not having to learn all the details about suspension design to get something that works well..

Tell me about it! There seem to be endless variations from which to choose! I agree about the 'bells and whistles' approach; I'll have a chat with my local BMW dealer. Thanks for the info.

[Angryrican]

So, was running Hyperpro springs front and back and I recently upgraded the rear shock to a Wilbers with the piggy back including rebound and compression adjustment. I left the front springs in and have the rear shock dialed in and the bike handles amazing, no matter what I'm riding over I just pick a line and the bike just goes where I want it very smotthly. I have a set of X-Challenge cartridges that will give me rebound and compression adjustments so I can add them and get a little more fine tuned but still really can't add preload. So my question is, considering the huge improvement the rear shock has been and how much nicer the bike handles all around, should I a)leave it alone, b) drop in the Xchallenge cartridges and play around until I get it dialed, or c) just jump in and get the Traxxion setup ?

Most of my of road riding is jeep trails with gravel to rutted out trails littered with baby heads plus the once every couple of week trek to the Pine Barrens to do a mix of the above with some nice deep sugar sand thrown in


My other option is drop in the x-challenge cartridges when I do a fork service next month then wait for the new Ohlins set up

[Loutre]

Originally Posted by Angryrican

So, was running Hyperpro springs front and back and I recently upgraded the rear shock to a Wilbers with the piggy back including rebound and compression adjustment. I left the front springs in and have the rear shock dialed in and the bike handles amazing, no matter what I'm riding over I just pick a line and the bike just goes where I want it very smotthly.

How are the Wilbers working offroad? I still hesitate between them and the Touratech Lv. 2 ones.

[machinebuilder]

Originally Posted by Angryrican

So, was running Hyperpro springs front and back and I recently upgraded the rear shock to a Wilbers with the piggy back including rebound and compression adjustment. I left the front springs in and have the rear shock dialed in and the bike handles amazing, no matter what I'm riding over I just pick a line and the bike just goes where I want it very smotthly. I have a set of X-Challenge cartridges that will give me rebound and compression adjustments so I can add them and get a little more fine tuned but still really can't add preload. So my question is, considering the huge improvement the rear shock has been and how much nicer the bike handles all around, should I a)leave it alone, b) drop in the Xchallenge cartridges and play around until I get it dialed, or c) just jump in and get the Traxxion setup ?

Most of my of road riding is jeep trails with gravel to rutted out trails littered with baby heads plus the once every couple of week trek to the Pine Barrens to do a mix of the above with some nice deep sugar sand thrown in


My other option is drop in the x-challenge cartridges when I do a fork service next month then wait for the new Ohlins set up

My experience was going from the stock suspension to the AK-20 and then the Wilburs shock.

I thought the forks were a MUCH bigger improvement than the shock. YMMV

the FS Roads here are mostly hard pack to loose gravel, there isn't much sand in East TN.

As far as Traxxion vs Ohlins, for me it came down to $$$$$$$, the Ohlins are so much more I can't see it. (that's the Ohlins USA setup)

Are the Xchallenge cartidges a drop in?
I thought Traxxion was very easy to deal with (and for me not that far away)

[Angryrican]

Originally Posted by Loutre

How are the Wilbers working offroad? I still hesitate between them and the Touratech Lv. 2 ones.

That is where it worked best, really planted and plush at the same time plus soaked up everything I threw at it with out ever bottoming out . I wanted the Touratech Extreme but when I inquired I never received a reply, noW it's on their website as available of course but so far pretty happy with the Wilber's. I had an extensive conversation with Ted at the Beemer shop on what I needed it for and can say he had it setup really well for me

[Loutre]

Originally Posted by Angryrican

That is where it worked best, really planted and plush at the same time plus soaked up everything I threw at it with out ever bottoming out . I wanted the Touratech Extreme but when I inquired I never received a reply, no it's on there website as available of course but so far pretty happy with the Wilber's. I had an extensive conversation with Ted at the Beemer shop on what i needed it for and can say he had it setup really well for me

Thanks for your reply! Now I'll have to set up my mind about those Wilber's Progressive springs up front. I wanted to go Hyperpro. And back it is to the pro and con list

[Angryrican]

Originally Posted by machinebuilder

My experience was going from the stock suspension to the AK-20 and then the Wilburs shock.

I thought the forks were a MUCH bigger improvement than the shock. YMMV

the FS Roads here are mostly hard pack to loose gravel, there isn't much sand in East TN.

As far as Traxxion vs Ohlins, for me it came down to $$$$$$$, the Ohlins are so much more I can't see it. (that's the Ohlins USA setup)

Are the Xchallenge cartidges a drop in?
I thought Traxxion was very easy to deal with (and for me not that far away)

The XChallenge cartridges are a drop in, the springs between both bikes is the same part # which is puzzling and explains some of the complaints of the springs being to soft since there is such a weight difference between both bikes. I haven't had both fork internals side by side yet to determine where the Xchallenge gets the extra 40mm of travel from so I'll update when I do since I've heard conflicting stories as to why.