Shocks-does it have to be this hard

As I hold my fingers between the bridge of my nose after hours and hours of research (part of the fun right), blurred vision and my arse hurts, I'm not any closer to a decision, did I just waste 6 hours of my life? Never a waste of time on the ADV site.

Simple question, I have a great 2011 R1200gs non ESA with factory lowered suspension and I'm just looking for a good dependable shock without to much sticker shock. Talked to the guy at TT and Ted's, of course they want to sell you their shocks, Wunderlich same thing, the best info is from all the inmates but even that gets a little overwhelming.

I want to keep the factory lowered height, don't or can't go even a hair above, well maybe a hair but not a rasta hair. I ride a little off road, 5'8" 145 so a light rider mostly solo, love the twisties and ride a lot, long distance. I just want a good dependable shock that's all, nothing fancy just want something better than oem. If any of you could offer up some assistance that would be helpful. Just tell me which one to buy and I promise I won't look back. As it sits now the TT Explore looks good but am I grabbing my ankles or is this what a good shock is going to cost me and is this a good choice?

Suggestions appreciated

Get the standard low version of the Ohlin's shocks, no fancy gizmo's like remote reservoir or compression damping. Front and rear both low shocks cost me approx. $1300 total for my '10 GS 4 years ago (I did the installation). Probably more $ today. Call Ohlins to confirm the short shock #'s for your bike. 1-800-336-9029 Nice folks, very helpful. Ask for Gary Christopher. You can buy directly from them.

Edit: The ride height may go up just a tad with the new low shocks since the old springs have started sagging some, so you will notice the slightly extra height, but they will settle back in after a few thousand miles. Be sure you give them your weight for spring selection, and whether you have hard cases installed, as you are on the low end of the spectrum.

As we all know, the cheapest thing on a BMW is the rider.

That said, do what Bobby sez: Low Ohlins and be done with it. They're easy to change out and will transform the bike. The Wilbers and all the others are fine too but my experience with Ohlins has made the others a non-starter. Probably 1400 clam and after you ride it, the cost won't matter.

Thanks so much, just ordered the lowered rear for now, I'll keep the stock front until I can spring for that.

You guys are great, thanks...

Great! And in 20,000 miles when its starting to feel kinda "bouncy", send it back to Ohlins and in a week they'll have it as good as new--for approx. $150.

Mine new to me 2008 GSA came with Elka shocks front and rear with the remote reservoir. Where do these stack up? As it sits now, way too much adjustment ability for me and I don't even know where to begin. Also for OP's sake, where do they fall as far as price?

I had a set of Elkas and they are great. They come in about $1500/1800 for the pair depending on the shock. Made in Canada.

They are quite good quality shocks with a little less pedigree than Ohlins but much more ajustability. For a baseline - most times it is safe to set them up in the middle positions. However you could call Elka and have them send settings based on your riding and weight. Also to get value out of any good shock you should set your sag. Making sure the spring is right for you - I suspect so unless you are either a giant or quick small in stature.

The ELKAs are way better shocks than the Ohlins..IMHO..had them on my 2005..Have Hyper Pro's on my 08 GSA..again..more highly regarded than Ohlins..and Klause can school ANYONE on the why and how of shock building..

The Ohlins are great road shocks..but the seals don't seem to last with the off road guys...that's judging from this site and my good friends personal experience..who, sold his Ohlins at a helluva loss to put put Hyper Pros on..he rides his bike as a profession..as do I..

YMMV...My $.02, worth every dime you paid for it..

Wasn't hard for me. I considered Ohlins, Wilbers and Yacugar in my decision. Lucky for me I'm less than an hour drive from Beemershop and Dan Kyle Racing so research and information gathering was a snap. I wound up buying the Yacugar after lots of discussion and it boiled down to this: rebuild frequency. Ohlins makes a great race shock (and I used them racing and have them on my Ducati) but that's not the application. The Yacugar has a larger diameter shaft and there's less pressure on the seal as well so they are less prone to blow out. This causes more stiction on the shock but that's the mechanical sacrifice you make if longevity is the consideration. Another factor was the Ohlins really didn't have a product that seemed to deal with varied loads (one up, two up, baggage, etc..) and the Yacugar and Wilbers did. Once again it boiled down to purpose. I'm not on a racebike or dirt bike that is the same load all the time I'm "adventure touring".

There aren't lots of settings to fiddle with. There's sag, rebound and (on the rear only) preload. Pretty sure Ohlins is the same without rear preload. That rear preload is my best friend on that bike. Girl jumping on the back? Crank it in a little. Going fast with the girl on the back? Little more. Going camping two up? All the way in it goes that's how I had it made. Works great.

Whatever you get I suggest the rear remote preload that thing is awesome. As for "too many settings to fiddle with" then don't get the shock with them! All these products are custom now. Your spending the money get what you want!

FWIW all the products were similar in price except maybe Ohlins where I felt I got less features and a brand name for the same cost. Better performance probably but like I said it's not a track bike.

Really??? Its called "Preload" and of course Ohlins has it. Mine has remote preload adjuster, spin the little wheel and its done.

Then the folks at Ohlins lost a sale for not letting me know they offered it. That's okay I'm sure they have plenty of customers and I'm pretty happy with what I got.

FWIW I just picked up a 2009 F800GS and started selecting suspension. It came with an Ohlins rear shock. That will be coming off and being replaced by a different vendor. They also make a cartridge kit for the front and I selected a different manufacturer based once again on longevity and self service of the components. Ohlins made a great name for themselves at the track and have great racing technology. Face it though: the market has changed a lot since then. Want the brand name go with them. Do some research and chances are you won't.

Then share your research. I am all ears.

Better you talk to the guys yourself if your going to drop the coin. I certainly wanted the information from the "horses mouth". Basically for me it boiled down to service interval. When asked the Ohlins folks basically admitted that their shock is designed to be rebuilt annually and the other folks indicated every two or three years. The other design consideration for me was the smaller seal used on the Ohlins product versus the shocks I purchased (Yacugar aka Hyperpro same thing). The smaller seal is designed around performance it has less stiction so the shock will settle less under fast changing conditions. This is great except for the fact that the pressure is now distributed across a smaller area and the seal is prone to blow easier than a larger design. So the larger shaft design will have more stiction but the pressure on the seal is across a greater area and it's less prone to leave you broken/busted/oily/etc.. Make sense? Like I said talk to the guys. All the folks in this business are pretty damn cool and share information without any smoke and mirror tactics (at least the guys I talked to). If I were at the track, or on my Ducati S2R1k (which is really a track toy with a plate), I think Ohlins makes a great product. For my adventure style bike to go camping through the Sierras? Not so much. Just my experience.

This experience has me getting the high end Yacugar for the 2009 F800GS with remote preload, rebound and both high and low sped compression. Now THAT shock may in fact have too many knobs and settings BUT that's MY adventure bike versus OUR adventure bike and I plan to be more.... adventurous. The front will get Traxxion AK-20. Reason for that is partly price, partly phone research with the vendors, partly feedback from inmates here. It's a comparable kit to the Ohlins (couple hundred bucks cheaper maybe) BUT once again the service interval and the DIY aspect. The Ohlins guys were dodgy on the answer about their kit doing the service myself. Maybe the guy didn't know what he was talking about, maybe they are like others with gas charged cells that need to go to the shop. Either way Traxxion assured me no special stuff will ever be required if I'm used to doing my own fork oil changes. So there you go.

There is no question that Ohlins are a world class product. And, in some spaces the best.

However they have always been slow with the feature set and high in the price. The philosophy was they built a shock that was very good for the GS and did not think WE needed all the other features. It was a bit arrogant for them to do that and given that a semi featureless shock cost much more than the available options - it was easy for me to choose the Elkas.

However saying the Elkas are supremely better than the Ohlins (especially the new full featured Ohlins for the GS) is a bit short sighted.

Saying that you can get more and/or the same for significantly less money I think is more accurate.

I agree with most everything you guys have said, the way all these shocks perform on the bike is gonna be very close and difficult to "feel" any difference--they are all excellent choices.

But I don't understand the part about Ohlins not having the "feature-set" that the others do, at least for the R12GS. I 'could' have opted for a remote reservoir with compression damping from Ohlins also. Is it a DEALER telling you these features aren't available or someone at Ohlins?

And the part about Ohlins needs to be rebuilt every year?? Who said that? Does that apply to everybody regardless of how much you ride? This sounds like a statement from a dealer who doesn't sell Ohlins, lol. With the advent of some of the newer competitors coming into the market (which is aways good for the consumer) it seems that its become fashionable to bash Ohlins and sell something new/different.I have a feeling you could take any shock offered from Yacugar or Wilbers and find an Ohlins with the same feature set, for close to the same price. I'm not "defending" Ohlins as they can handle that themselves, it just seems like folks are spreading a lot of mis-information lately.

Up until only last year when they introduced their new GS shocks the Ohlins only came with 1 speed compression dampening and rebound and optional hydraulic preload on the rear and ONLY one dampening on the front - whereas the Elkas and some others have had high and low speed compression, rebound, length adjustment, hydraulic preload on the rear and high and low speed compression and rebound on the front with remote reservoir on the front - and those TWO Elkas cost the same as one of the Ohlins.

That has changed recently with the introduction of the Ohlins TTX36/39.

Currently the Elkas cost $1400 for the two
Ohlins - $3000 for the two

As far as rebuilding - most custom shocks SAY they need to be rebuilt every 20,000k or so - which is what I put on in a year - but I went for over 60k on mine without any noticeable change - but once they go they go enough for most average riders to figure it out - ie. less and less dampening.

Features also dont tell the whole story as Ohlins has some proprietary tech inside the shock that has nothing to do with feature set - and some others have some tech that Ohlins does not - I just bought the new Touratech Extremes for my GS and have yet to use them and they have the most features and build design that I have ever seen - but remain to ride them! - that said they are also more expensive than even the Ohlins so if you have some swamp land for me to buy.....

Disco, thanks for posting that, very informative. I'll have to take a look at Elka's when my WC shocks wear out. Of course, I have to GET a WC and ride it a while first. Next fall.

Looking at the Elka site, I am coming up with $1700 for both shocks--wonder if thats in CA dollars? Any issues finding a place to mount the front reservoir?

Hell, I don't even see a US distributor.....?

First I think they ship and with your dollar the way it is right now you get another 20%!!!! off!!!

They have extensive assembly on where to set up the front reservoir. The line fits under the tank (without taking the tank off) and runs down the left side of the frame just over the carb - I removed the fuel line/injector and slid it under there - back to the seat tube - over that and under right behind the battery, Then it mounts almost the same way as the rear one on the right. So you have if needed the adjustment on the left side and the rear on the right side/along with the preload for the rear. So you can adjust and I have - while seated both front and back. And even though once I had the front set up I did not change it much at all. It is nice during set up and testing that you can just stop the bike reach down and click then go again. It is a fairly nice set up. I however really like the piggy back versions like the Touratech and the new Ohlins - but have really enjoyed my Elkas. I sold them to one of the inmates here in Colorado - he should be getting them just about now.

I can take some pics of my setup. It's an '08 so it might be different. Each reservoir is just behind where you sit on each side.