Although I told myself I was not going to pour lots of money into a shock and pipe on the GRiSO like all my other bikes, well you know how that goes. I have bought both Ohlins and Wilbers in the past, I went with the Wilbers for several reasons.
The shock looks beautiful with rebound and both high and low speed compression damping [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Next to the stock piece [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Seems a shame to have a nice upgrade hidden under the bike [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
For those wanting to teach themselves about suspension tuning the book Wilbers puts out is highly recommended. A lot packed into one small book. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Why I went with Wilbers rather than Ohlins I recently bought an Ohlins for my Versys and when I called the importer to find out what spring they would be installing based on rider weight I was told that nearly everyone gets the same spring as it comes from the factory unless the rider is very heavy or very light. The tech support guy named the range of weights which I don't remember but was a very wide range, at least 100 lbs. So the Ohlins is a mass produced piece (nothing wrong with that) and the Wilbers is made to order with, according to the importer, a wider selection of springs. When shock came it was screwed up.
Not that hard to see something is wrong. I sent pictures and explanations but was told repeatedly (through the retailer from the importer) that nothing was wrong. Thankfully the retailer, SoloMoto exchanged it for me. I know that Ohlins is a quality shock and this was an anomaly but to be told several times not to believe my lying eyes pushed me to the Wilbers for the GRiSO.
Still dialing it in but so far am happy, the shock is more compliant yet controlled over bumpy roads. I would rate this an expensive ($1000 USD) but worth while upgrade.
But nothing has been as big an improvement to the bike as Mark's map. Can't let the opportunity pass to publicly thank him for his efforts for us.
cheers, Tod
beetle and lcjohnny like this post
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: Wilberized Wed May 18, 2016 1:21 am
Tod, congrats on the purchase. Took me six months to get my head around how Hi & Lo speed work in conjunction with each other. Read the book, and ask lots of questions. Once you make sense of it all and find the sweet spot there will be no turning back.
Downside is you'll never settle for stock suspension ever again.
fishbulb Tanabuso
Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19
Subject: Re: Wilberized Wed May 18, 2016 12:24 pm
ghezzi wrote:
Tod, congrats on the purchase. Took me six months to get my head around how Hi & Lo speed work in conjunction with each other. Read the book, and ask lots of questions. Once you make sense of it all and find the sweet spot there will be no turning back.
Downside is you'll never settle for stock suspension ever again.
Agreed. I must have read that book a dozen times over the years. Lots of sources for suspension information but I like this book the best although it is getting a little long in the tooth.
CPB Grignapoco
Posts : 144 Join date : 2014-09-25
Subject: Re: Wilberized Tue May 24, 2016 1:16 pm
looks great! My main (probably only) dislike of the GRiSO is the stock suspension. Will certainly consider an aftermarket suspension in the future.
Steak Godfather
Posts : 3154 Join date : 2013-05-28 Age : 59
Subject: Re: Wilberized Tue May 24, 2016 11:35 pm
Fantastic! Now to find $1000...
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2012 MOTO GUZZI GRiSO 1200SE
2013 MOTO GUZZI STELVIO 1200NTX - Orange Blossom Special
beetle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 10070 Join date : 2013-09-30
Subject: Re: Wilberized Tue May 24, 2016 11:51 pm
RIP Wilbur - Alan Young 1919-2016
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, unless the horse is Mister Ed.
. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . In GRiSO we trust! .
whitmire GRiSO Capo
Posts : 29 Join date : 2014-09-22 Age : 72
Subject: Re: Wilberized Sat Jul 16, 2016 2:57 am
So who would be the preferred Wilbers/GRiSO distributor?
fishbulb Tanabuso
Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19
Subject: Re: Wilberized Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:03 pm
whitmire wrote:
So who would be the preferred Wilbers/GRiSO distributor?
Ted Porter from the Beemer Shop in California is the US importer and very knowledgeable. The are built to order in Germany so it takes some weeks to get one. Cheers, tod
PJPR01 likes this post
waterbottle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 63
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:49 am
Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that ) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.
Lemppari Grignapoco
Posts : 127 Join date : 2015-09-04 Age : 67
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:36 am
waterbottle wrote:
Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that ) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.
Pictures in high demand when you get the shock . I ride with pillion every weekend and have thought about the same shock absorber. The difference in price over the 'basic' model is not that big .
fishbulb Tanabuso
Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:25 pm
waterbottle wrote:
Hey FishBulb ( how the ffff did you come up with that ) just ordered the same wilbers shock, with a hydraulic preload adjuster, they sure are pretty. I like the idea of the hi and Low speed compression damping.
I kind of wish I had gotten the one with remote preload as changing it for a passenger is too much trouble to bother with. Don't expect night and day differences to the stock right off the bat. I found the as delivered preload used up half the shock stroke with my weight on the bike and I am light (150lb) so follow all the usual advice on setup starting with sag. The high and low speed adjustment is nice once you understand what they do. And, as you say, they sure are pretty. We kid ourselves sometimes by saying all we care about is function but when the upgrade looks nice as well it just encourages popping a beer and just looking at it sitting in the garage. BTW, what spring did they supply with yours (and what is your weight). Fishbulb is a Simpsons reference, from one of my favorite episodes. Please let us know how it goes. cheers, tod
waterbottle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 63
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:22 pm
Tod: It will be a couple of weeks before I see it, I ordered it to cater for my dressed riding weight of around 92 kg/ 203 lb., so it's coming with a 600 in lb spring, and I can wind it up a bit when touring with baggage. GRiSO standard spring is supposed to be around the 543 in lb rating, Your 150lb ? did you have a leg taken off Cheers
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:24 pm
Ron, its not wise to refer to Jan as ........."baggage".
waterbottle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 63
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:37 pm
ghezzi wrote:
Ron, its not wise to refer to Jan as ........."baggage".
Ohhh Maaa, I'm telling
fishbulb Tanabuso
Posts : 51 Join date : 2014-03-19
Subject: Re: Wilberized Sun Jul 24, 2016 1:28 am
waterbottle wrote:
Tod: It will be a couple of weeks before I see it, I ordered it to cater for my dressed riding weight of around 92 kg/ 203 lb., so it's coming with a 600 in lb spring, and I can wind it up a bit when touring with baggage. GRiSO standard spring is supposed to be around the 543 in lb rating, Your 150lb ? did you have a leg taken off Cheers
"did you have a leg taken off" My wife and I laughed our asses off over that. Thanks for a laugh.
The spring on my Wilbers is progressive (which is different from Ohlins which uses straight wound springs) and is 100 to 150 N/mm. Force per unit length. I don't understand in lb as your spring rate. Please help me convert.
tod
waterbottle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 63
Subject: Re: Wilberized Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:51 pm
Tod, Mine is coming with a 105 N/mm or 10.71 Kg/mm Boing
waterbottle GRiSO Capo
Posts : 1785 Join date : 2015-02-03 Age : 63
Subject: Re: Wilberized Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:54 am
Well, thanks to Pete Roper and his best boy Izzy, a new Wilbers has arrived, with a windy bit to adjust the spring pre-load. The box, daughters bitch Molly and Pepperjack, always Christmas at Ron's place
. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . In GRiSO we trust! .
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: Wilberized Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:29 am
Nice tits, bits. Damn that predictive text.
Charlie J Sfregiato
Posts : 477 Join date : 2014-10-22 Age : 64
Subject: Re: Wilberized Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:58 am
Big.
Lemppari Grignapoco
Posts : 127 Join date : 2015-09-04 Age : 67
Subject: Re: Wilberized Thu Aug 11, 2016 1:27 pm
I'm sold
wardest Grignapoco
Posts : 193 Join date : 2014-04-30 Age : 55
Subject: Re: Wilberized Fri Aug 12, 2016 7:05 am
Noice.
Brent S Biondino
Posts : 268 Join date : 2015-10-20 Age : 51
Subject: Re: Wilberized Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:00 am
Waterbottle, please post a few updates as you go with this. It's a magnificent looking piece of kit!
I'm about 75kg myself (165 pounds), and the stock rear suspension doesn't work well for me at all. I find it very harsh, even with the damping backed way off. Really keen to see what you think of it, and where you got it/who you contacted.
Thanks, Brent
Tricksteur Squinternotto
Posts : 6 Join date : 2023-05-22
Subject: Re: Wilberized Wed Sep 27, 2023 5:12 am
waterbottle wrote:
Well, thanks to Pete Roper and his best boy Izzy, a new Wilbers has arrived, with a windy bit to adjust the spring pre-load. The box, daughters bitch Molly and Pepperjack, always Christmas at Ron's place