A shocking story

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Afternoon everyone,

I thought I would spend five minutes writing this little story, it beats watching the stock market index digging deeper and deeper.
My 1000 S is almost 15000 miles old, and I thought it would be good to give her a bit of TLC on the bouncy bits. Nothing major, just change the forks oil, and service the rear shock. I know, it might be a bit OTT to touch the suspension after what is still a moderate mileage, but the bike is my summer toy, and I think she deserves a lot of care.

Anyway, I found a very helpful company, MCTechnics in Stowmarket, who could do both for a reasonable price and on a ride in/ride out basis. They did warn me of one thing though: there are no spares available for Sachs shocks. Which means that if by chance anything as small as a seal needs replacing on my shock, I might be stuck.
Apparently this is Sachs' policy: shocks are made to OE specifications and delivered for fitting on bikes, but that's the end of the story. No spares are distributed to the market at large. I asked about this to the technical service of ZF-Sachs in Germany. To my surprise they actually replied to my email, and confirmed what I had ben told by MCT.
I even tried to cal Sachs Italy, where the shocks are manufactured, but I could not get anyone on the phone.
The guy at Oragne Cycle Team, a good dealer in Germany, said the same: no spares. But he can sell me a 2000-Km old shock for 350 Euros.

The bottom line of the whole story so far seems to be that you either buy a new rear shock, or do nothing to it. And pray that the one you have never leaks.
Alternatively, fit an aftermarket shock from a company that does provide spares. The obvious Swedish candidate does not list anything for the bike. Same story for WP, who do have stuff for MZs, but only the trailie ones.
I have sent an email to Wilbers, they might have something, but I am still waiting for a reply. The fact that my German is not even rudimentary surely won't help, but at least German companies seem good at answering emails, if only to tell you "sorry mate, no can do".
I'll see what develops from here. If anyone has suggestions, or wants to share the pain, feel free to add to this.

Ride Safe,

[tomtom]

try alf hagon shocks. I read an article recently in which they say they can make almost any shock if you supply the old one. It was in one of the mags and was quite a lengthy article and gave the impression of being a very good company. Seen them advertised for years in mcn.

[tuxracer]

I've been looking into ugrading the suspension on my SF and Wilbers do supply parts for our bikes. The UK importer can be found on this site http://www.everyaccessory.co.uk/wilbers.php I spoke to a guy called Pete and he was very helpfull and replys to e-mails promptly. Here is a copy of the prices and info he provided for the SF, not cheap but Wilbers kit is meant to be in the same league as Ohlins.

From: "Pete" <pete@everyaccessory.co.uk>
To: "'Ian Cleland'"
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 7:22 AM
Subject: RE: Wilbers suspension - MZ 1000SF


Hello Ian,

We sure can!
Wilbers do a fully adjustable shock (641) which has 22 click rebound
adjustment spring pre-load and High/Low speed compression damping which will
give you just about every adjustment manageable! These are built to order so
your weight riding style are all taken into account when assembling. Plus a
5 year warranty! This model is £490 inc VAT.
There is a cheaper model (640) without the high/Low adjustment but I would
recommend the 641 for your requirements.
The front we can supply uprated fork springs at £80 Inc Oil and VAT.
Hope this helps

Pete

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi Tuxracer,

>> These are built to order so your weight riding style are all taken into account when assembling. Plus a 5 year warranty! This model is £490 inc VAT.

thanks for this information, it's a very competitive price for what sounds like a good product.
The original Sachs is 520 euros (~400 quid) from MZ Faber in Germany, and you still need to add shipping. And they said they have a Wilbers, but it's even more expensive.

If I can find the money in my budget, I will certainly mail Pete and ask him a few questions.
For now, thanks a lot, I owe you a drink. Do you prefer grapefruit or cranberry ?

Ride Safe,

[tuxracer]

Always happy to share info, it just so happened I had heard of this outfit through the Fazer owners forum when I had the Yam. A few of the guys on there had upgraded to Wilbers stuff and reckoned it was top notch. I also know somebody that put there stuff on his beemer 1100s and he says it was worth every penny. I just about put an order in last week but decided to hang on to the cash for a bit as I'm not getting much chance to use the bike just now. I'll let you know if I take the plunge!

As for the drink............not sure about the juice options, a nice dram would be better

Cheers