F800GS Bitubo Fork Kit

[WildChildRider]

Whats the price looking like in the US

[itsatdm]

Just ordered one. $632.00. They are out at the moment, but have another order coming.

[LILGS]

Has anyone got any feedback on the Bitubo rear shocker, CYU 31 assembly? has to be a huge improvement over the OEM surely!

[jeffchri]

Well, I had a great test/shakedown for the Bitubos this weekend and I am very happy. Rode with a buddy for a 750 mile loop through the eastern Washington Cascades (Cle Elum to Chopaka) via as much dirt as we could wedge in. The pavement was twisty with very few exceptions, once we got some slabbing out of the way for the start, and the dirt ran the gamut from wide smooth forest roads to deep gravel, sand, embedded rocks, loose rocks, two-track, singletrack, whoops, steep up and downs, and washboard.

My summary is I really like the forks - they are the ones that should have been on the bike to begin with. I wish they were adjustable, but I'm not sure how much adjustment I would have done on the trip, they were generally spot on. I'm still diddling with the preload - I'm a heft 210 lbs so technically out of the range for the forks, but with the preload cranked to mid-point she still handles well, and only came close to bottoming once on some overly enthusiastic hucking on whoops.

I have one of the Ralle Sport (?) steering dampers as well (which I love as well, btw), so I turned it "off" fairly often to keep getting a feel for how much of the good effect was from forks vs. the damper, and it didn't change my mind about the forks. Certainly the dive was gone on braking, which helped soooooo much on corner entry both on pavement and off. Deflection off of rocks, ruts, etc. became much less common, the front end behaved well on washboard (though the rear sucked), and while I could feel bumps, I didn't fear them. As someone else here noted, my speeds went waaaay up - I now feel like I can commit to big speed on long dirt straights with reasonable confidence that as long as I can see that there's no huge washout or massive item, I can roll over anything else (assuming I'm standing, etc.).

Couple that with the damper, and the shocks that are coming, and the Great Basin bag, which was also new to the trip, and ... well, all-new bike. :)

[itsatdm]

Tell me about the steering damper. I have had 2 60mph near tank slappers in medium deep gravel that certainly shook my confidence. A damper is on my list, after suspension, a stronger front rim, seat, etc on my very expensive "kit bike"

[johngil]

Originally Posted by itsatdm

Tell me about the steering damper. I have had 2 60mph near tank slappers in medium deep gravel that certainly shook my confidence. A damper is on my list, after suspension, a stronger front rim, seat, etc on my very expensive "kit bike"

Some of that head shake may go away w/ the new forks. It sure did for me.

[Bucko]

Originally Posted by jeffchri

Well, I had a great test/shakedown for the Bitubos this weekend and I am very happy. Rode with a buddy for a 750 mile loop through the eastern Washington Cascades (Cle Elum to Chopaka) via as much dirt as we could wedge in. The pavement was twisty with very few exceptions, once we got some slabbing out of the way for the start, and the dirt ran the gamut from wide smooth forest roads to deep gravel, sand, embedded rocks, loose rocks, two-track, singletrack, whoops, steep up and downs, and washboard.

My summary is I really like the forks - they are the ones that should have been on the bike to begin with. I wish they were adjustable, but I'm not sure how much adjustment I would have done on the trip, they were generally spot on. I'm still diddling with the preload - I'm a heft 210 lbs so technically out of the range for the forks, but with the preload cranked to mid-point she still handles well, and only came close to bottoming once on some overly enthusiastic hucking on whoops.

I have one of the Ralle Sport (?) steering dampers as well (which I love as well, btw), so I turned it "off" fairly often to keep getting a feel for how much of the good effect was from forks vs. the damper, and it didn't change my mind about the forks. Certainly the dive was gone on braking, which helped soooooo much on corner entry both on pavement and off. Deflection off of rocks, ruts, etc. became much less common, the front end behaved well on washboard (though the rear sucked), and while I could feel bumps, I didn't fear them. As someone else here noted, my speeds went waaaay up - I now feel like I can commit to big speed on long dirt straights with reasonable confidence that as long as I can see that there's no huge washout or massive item, I can roll over anything else (assuming I'm standing, etc.).

Couple that with the damper, and the shocks that are coming, and the Great Basin bag, which was also new to the trip, and ... well, all-new bike. :)

I'm actually happier with the forks in the dirt than on the street, though they certainly need improvement in both arenas.

Does the Bitubo kit take away the harsh stock fork response to some pretty normal bumps in pavement?

I'm a lightweight, at 145 pounds, but with riding gear I'm well within the Bitubo performance envelope and hoping this is the cure. Price seems reasonable if there's a big improvement.

[DockingPilot]

Yes most definitly takes the harshnes out of those small hits. Significant improvement.

[Bucko]

Originally Posted by DockingPilot

Yes most definitly takes the harshnes out of those small hits. Significant improvement.

Thanks, DP. My fingers are twitching to make the call.

[The Griz]

I found the stock suspension to be OK for the 3,400 miles of my recent trip. It's definitely understandable how putting on $650 Bitubo cartridges and $900 Hyperpro rear shocks and $700 Ralle-Moto steering dampers would make it phenomenal. But for those of us who are on a budget and would rather spend that money to ride, I feel it's important to mention that these things are not absolutely necessary, as posts in this thread make it sound. My bike felt fine the whole trip, as in I wasn't constantly thinking, "oh, man this suspension sucks" the whole time. I was thinking, "man this is fun, and this bike is fun to ride". The bike dealt with all conditions encountered just fine. Not necessarily like a Dakar rally bike, but just fine. For those people who just bought and F800GS and are seeing these suspension threads, take it with a grain of salt. Your bike will ride just fine.

[lawe]

Originally Posted by The Griz

For those people who just bought and F800GS and are seeing these suspension threads, take it with a grain of salt. Your bike will ride just fine.

+1

[jeffchri]

Hey Griz, looks like you cross-thread posted, I guess (e.g. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...1#post10225061). Anyway, as I replied there - you're right, not necessary, but folks who did the upgrades (me, for instance) found that they had even more fun on the bike. Doesn't mean the bike wasn't a total kick beforehand.

[jeffchri]

Originally Posted by itsatdm

Tell me about the steering damper. I have had 2 60mph near tank slappers in medium deep gravel that certainly shook my confidence. A damper is on my list, after suspension, a stronger front rim, seat, etc on my very expensive "kit bike"

It's not impossible to still have slappers, particularly in deep stuff with, um, buried ruts (had a couple), but it seems way harder to initiate them, and easier to recover from. I mean, that's what dampers are pretty much made to stop ...

[The Griz]

Originally Posted by jeffchri

Hey Griz, looks like you cross-thread posted, I guess (e.g. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...1#post10225061). Anyway, as I replied there - you're right, not necessary, but folks who did the upgrades (me, for instance) found that they had even more fun on the bike. Doesn't mean the bike wasn't a total kick beforehand.

+1

P.S. Yes, I posted in those two threads because those two threads were pertaining to the same thing already. Hence why my posts were relevant to both threads.

[Singletrack_mind]

Originally Posted by jeffchri

It's not impossible to still have slappers, particularly in deep stuff with, um, buried ruts (had a couple), but it seems way harder to initiate them, and easier to recover from. I mean, that's what dampers are pretty much made to stop ...

I'm just guessing here, but since it's been noted that the bike rides higher in the fork travel with the Bitubos in, that would rake out the front a bit and lessen the tendancy for headshake to develop.

Now, know there was some heat around this topic earlier & I don't mean to pick at a scab, but in the end I am still puzzled: If these things are gas charged (are they realy?), how are they serviced? In my experience, suspension units which are gas charged must have a schrader valve on them somewhere if any sort of work is ever to be done on them. It is common for shops to install a valve on OEM shocks when they are serviced or re-valved (so the nitrogen charge can be restored after servicing), but on these fork units I don't see how that could be done.

If these things are charged, and not serviceable, they will have probably a shorter service life than a typical stock motorcycle rear shock due to the aparently small oil capacity. (The oil will break down, that will be the limiting factor). Unless these are somehow not the De Carbon design that is usually implied when people speak of "gas-charged shocks"? In that design, the suspension unit is filled with oil, then all air is driven out of the unit and the oil placed under pressure by filling an integral bladder or ccylinder & piston arangement with nitrogen. The whole suspension unit is sealed, pressurized. We are just beginnig to see this setup on superbike forks in the last two years or so, and there are large external reservoirs on the fork legs like those on shocks because the entire fork leg is pressurized. Are the Bitubos somehow different in a way that allows a gas charge somewhere just as a spring and conventional open oil flow within the fork? In that case, or if they are NOT gas charged at all, I assume there are orfices for fork oil to flow in and out, but I don't see them.

I haven't been able to find info on line to satisfy my mind on these questions; does anyone who has the Bitubos have answers?