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Progressive Suspension shocks for Oilheads

T

TonysR100

Mongrel Owner
Hi, all.
My '02 R1150R needs new shocks after only 82,000 km.
I'm looking at options varying from having the stockers rebuilt to new aftermarket units. Ohlins are off the table, but I might just be able to squeak something else past the finance committee.
I've had Progressives on my Airhead and was quite satisfied, but I've never seen their name mentioned for Oilheads and they do now have a part number for the R-bikes at a price that doesn't bring on heartburn.
Anyone using them?
TIA
Tony
 
I think you are dyslexic, you said they were shot at 82K, they were really shot at 28K, whether you knew it or not.

That said suspension upgrades are the BEST $$ you will ever spend on the bike.

At 82K I would doubt that the stock are worth rebuilding, even if you found someone that could.

BEST advice, do NOT look at the price, you are just renting them. You get to use them and enjoy them for years and then sell them to another, or get a return on your $$ if you sell or trade the bike. I Had Ohlins/Fox set up on my bike, before selling it I reinstalled OEM shocks, all in all less than $500 for 9 years and 55K miles of great handling, comfort riding bliss.

Also look used, you can get a used set of Ohlins rebuilt for $100-$150 or less.
 
Accelerated Technologies is who I have in mind for rebuilding. They gave us a presentation at the Return to Trenton Rally this year and I was impressed with their spiel.
Still want to consider all alternatives, however.
Cheers,
Tony
 
I was considering Accelerated (not too far away) but decided to go with the Ohlins. I was somewhat skeptical of just how much difference the handling of the bike (top heavy R1100RT) with after market shocks would actually be. I am now converted. The Ohlins shocks gave me much more satisfaction than the Wilbers on my K.
 
I picked up some Yacugar shocks from Ted at the Beemershop. I'm quite pleased with them, but really, any quality shock will certainly improve your ride.
 
BC1100S said:
You live in Eastern Ontario? Get yourself over to Accelerated Technologies in Lakefield. He'll rebuild and re-valve your stock shocks for much less than it would cost to buy aftermarket and you'll likely be more pleased with the results.

http://www.acceltechracing.com/services.htm
Click to expand...

Do you have a means of getting them to respond to an email? I have tried twice to get someone to respond and so far no go. Makes me wonder if they want business from the southern cousins...:scratch
 
[QUOTE
then sell them to another, or get a return on your $$ if you sell or trade the bike. [/QUOTE]

Maybe. A set of Ohlins for this bike is around $1600 for two shocks, I would guess, plus labor to put them on. So, you decide to take them off before selling. Now the bike has old, worn out shocks on it when you try to sell it. Price comes down. Next you try to find someone on the flea market who has a 12 year old bike willing to put say, $800 into buying your old, used Ohlins from you, with them figuring they will need another $150 for the rebuild right off. Total:$950. Even if that happens, you're still out the loss of money on the bike sale itself, and the $800 from the original Ohlins purchase. Or.... keep them on the bike when selling it. Again, a 12 year old machine. It could be hard to get much of that $1600 back at that point.

It might work out. But then again, it might not.
 
PGlaves said:
705-657-9490
Click to expand...

Thank you, Paul. I haven't wanted to try to call, not knowing if calling Ontario would count as international. Hoping that they would respond to email since they have an email addy on their site.

I will give them a call next week when I'm home.
 
jconway607 said:
[QUOTE
Maybe. A set of Ohlins for this bike is around $1600 for two shocks, I would guess, plus labor to put them on. So, you decide to take them off before selling. Now the bike has old, worn out shocks on it when you try to sell it. Price comes down. Next you try to find someone on the flea market who has a 12 year old bike willing to put say, $800 into buying your old, used Ohlins from you, with them figuring they will need another $150 for the rebuild right off. Total:$950. Even if that happens, you're still out the loss of money on the bike sale itself, and the $800 from the original Ohlins purchase. Or.... keep them on the bike when selling it. Again, a 12 year old machine. It could be hard to get much of that $1600 back at that point.

It might work out. But then again, it might not.
Click to expand...

In '04 with 3K miles I removed the good OEM shocks an put Ohlins/Fox on the S. I could look up exact price but paid about 1300, I rebuild them once, and had the entire seal head replaced on the rear after I removed it, as the seal was weeping and I wanted them to be perfect when I sold them. Cost of all the service was about $250, sold them for $1K. So for 50K of great handling and ride, cost me $500ish.

Same with my '94 RS, took off OEM, installed used Ohlins I had rebuilt, Before departing with the bike I took them off and actually sold them for MORE than I had invested.

Good suspension is like buying a house, you spend a lot of $$, but get to enjoy it, then when done sell it an recoup most of your $$. And if you do it right even make $$$.

And as I said, high quality suspension is the BEST $$$ you will ever spend on a bike! It makes a world of difference.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

Much appreciated, but to get back to my original question, has anyone experience with the Progressive Suspension units?
Thanks
Tony
 
"In '04 with 3K miles I removed the good OEM shocks an put Ohlins/Fox on the S. I could look up exact price but paid about 1300, I rebuild them once, and had the entire seal head replaced on the rear after I removed it, as the seal was weeping and I wanted them to be perfect when I sold them. Cost of all the service was about $250, sold them for $1K. So for 50K of great handling and ride, cost me $500ish.

Same with my '94 RS, took off OEM, installed used Ohlins I had rebuilt, Before departing with the bike I took them off and actually sold them for MORE than I had invested.

Good suspension is like buying a house, you spend a lot of $$, but get to enjoy it, then when done sell it an recoup most of your $$. And if you do it right even make $$$.

And as I said, high quality suspension is the BEST $$$ you will ever spend on a bike! It makes a world of difference. "

Wow, this is like the world of Harleys, where people claim they sold their used bike for more than they paid for it new. In my experience, it's difficult to find people willing to pay $1000 for something well used, when they could buy the new one for just $300 more. Guess that's just me. As the original poster is saying, putting something close to $2000 in parts on a bike that cost about $4000 is a tough sell. He is, I believe, looking for a more reasonable alternative, which I hope there is. Are Ohlins catering mainly to the race crowd where money is no object? It's my only take on how a single shock absorber can cost $800. That would pay for about eight pretty nice ones on my car. And yes, they are doing the same job on the car as they are on the bike. They must be being made one at a time in Switzerland from pure gold and titanium.

As I have said before, if indeed." a high quaility suspension is the best $$$ you will ever spend on a bike", could someone inform the BMW bean counters and engineers in Germany of that fact. They apparently keep putting the cheapest thing they can find on their $20,000 machines, which, from what some say, fall apart internally at about 28,000 miles. Maybe buy up Ohlin. They should have the cash.
 
jconway607 said:
.......................Wow, this is like the world of Harleys, where people claim they sold their used bike for more than they paid for it new. In my experience, it's difficult to find people willing to pay $1000 for something well used, when they could buy the new one for just $300 more. ............
Click to expand...

Called inflation, and supply and demand, I will gladly show you the receipts. Yes I got a heck of a deal when I purchased them new, I am frugal like that, and the buyer of the freshly rebuilt used ones, got them at about 1/2 of today's market price. Look around at what the used stuff is going for, before you call BS.

jconway607 said:
.............. Are Ohlins catering mainly to the race crowd where money is no object? It's my only take on how a single shock absorber can cost $800. That would pay for about eight pretty nice ones on my car. And yes, they are doing the same job on the car as they are on the bike.
Click to expand...

Most racers I know are pretty frugal, but are smart too, so they know that suspension is very important. And $100 car shocks only last 25K too, good ones will cost you $200-$300+, and they are the throwaways, too. Want rebuild-able car shocks, like the premium aftermarket MC units expect to pay a lot for them too.

jconway607 said:
..............As I have said before, if indeed." a high quaility suspension is the best $$$ you will ever spend on a bike", could someone inform the BMW bean counters and engineers in Germany of that fact. They apparently keep putting the cheapest thing they can find on their $20,000 machines, which, from what some say, fall apart internally at about 28,000 miles. Maybe buy up Ohlin. They should have the cash
Click to expand...

The engineers know, that is why on they do put Ohlins and other premium suspension on some of their better models, just like several other manufacturers. But they also know people would complain about cost even more. Why not composite wheels and titanium everything, Carbon fiber in place of plastic. Heck they could probably lighten every make a bike 100 lbs lighter! It is a balancing act.

And I stand by my statement ." a high quality suspension is the best $$$ you will ever spend on a bike". I know several riders that install premium suspension as soon as they get a new bike. Ask any rider that upgraded and 95% will say they wish they did it sooner and would never own a bike again without upgrading. THAT is why they get $2000, DEMAND. Like the old adage, "build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." When that happens you get to command your price.

Maybe you are just a turn the key and go type, and stick to smooth, straight roads, but for those of us that are a little more demanding can appreciate the VALUE in good suspension.
 
Last edited:
Back to help the OP, here is some info.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?57450-93-K75S-Replacement-Shock-Options

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?14664-Opinions-on-after-market-shock-for-1985-K100RS

Seems like not a lot of good to say about Progressive over at ADVrider

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480920

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=446184

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=796033

One word of advice, what ever you buy, make sure it is set up for YOUR weight and riding habits (solo, 2 up, luggage etc)
 
Maybe you are just a turn the key and go type said:
My point exactly. I ride my bike, I don't race it. In all the discussions of how ratty the stock shocks are I have yet to see a definitive head to head test of them vs upgrades done by professional writers/riders. Pretty interesting reading. Never done of course. I also have not seen anywhere a simple on-the bike test people should do on their bikes that definitely tells them their shocks are still good, half shot, completely shot. I'm talking numbers, limits, etc, not just "feel", or "miles". In all these endless discussions, has anyone actually asked BMW how long THEY think their shocks are good for? They probably wouldn't say. Just the usual vague, " ...You just know by the feel........" Yeah, like I can tell by the "feel" exactly how much gas is in my tank, or the exact air pressure in my tires.

I would love to see a survey done of just exactly what percentage of the MOA readers have actually spent this kind of money on upgraded shocks. Like "input spline anxiety", I often get the feeling that only BMW riders obsess over their shock's performance for everyday riding. I'm betting a $36,000 Harley Ultra is wearing the same shocks when it gets sold to it's last owner as when it rolled off the factory floor. And I believe those are Japanese shocks.
Click to expand...
 
If you read the magazines and long term tests, suspension is one of the constants when it comes to improvements on the bike, and you will see words like "transformed" "smoother" "crisper" etc.

It is impossible to give the empirical data on the "life" or difference. Life depends greatly on the type of riding, in the NE where our interstates are rougher than the dirt roads of CA, they get used a lot more. Wear starts the first time they are moved and every time they are moved, the more bumps the less miles to change. Also the mechanical differences of mass production, make every unit different. I am sure there are thousands of graphs, made by the suspension companies that plot out the changes over cycles, heat, velocity of stroke etc. A good suspension guy CAN bounce on your bike and give you an evaluation of the suspension, or take your shocks and put then on a suspension dyno and give you hard readings.

But for me what counts IS my seat of the pants, I don't want to get bucked off the seat when I hit a bump, I want my bike to respond predictably and accurately to my inputs. I like twisty roads, so I want crisp handling, and a shock that doesn't overheat and loose damping over a section of rough road. I want to easily change the pre-load, when I leave the bags at the campground and ride "light" for the day.

BMW engineers ARE listening that is what the ESA is all about, and if you take a ride on a bike with it, there is a NOTABLE difference in the settings, and when I have ridden those bikes, find my self changing it a lot, for different roads. And if a twisty section shows up, after I softened it for a rough road, I can feel it in the bike, and readjust it. The wear issue is yet to be established with the newer bikes, but my feeling is they are getting better.

Yes there are a lot of OCD riders, they fret oil type and level, tire pressures, battery voltage, the correct light bulbs etc, I am not one of them. I would rather spend my $$ on good suspension, than my chiropractor, and feel confident that my bike responds to my inputs, and doesn't get tossed around like a pogo stick by road conditions.

As the old commercial said "Try it, You'll Like It!!!!!"
 
Thanks Pffog, that gives me something to chew on. It would seem that people on street bikes like me like 'em, but they don't live up off road.
As for some of the other replies, I don't think of the bike as being twelve years old or worth little money. I like it and, at 82k kms, I expect to get many more years of pleasure out of it. Spending some money on suspension is okay with me, but I'm a tightwad, so I'm trying to optimise the value.
After Christmas I'll give the guys at Accelerated Technologies a call and see what they have to say.
Cheers,
Tony
 
TonysR100 said:
Thanks Pffog, that gives me something to chew on. It would seem that people on street bikes like me like 'em, but they don't live up off road.
As for some of the other replies, I don't think of the bike as being twelve years old or worth little money. I like it and, at 82k kms, I expect to get many more years of pleasure out of it. Spending some money on suspension is okay with me, but I'm a tightwad, so I'm trying to optimise the value.

Tony
Click to expand...

By now I should know better than to get into these discussions. I must be the other "reply". Note that I did not say that the bike was twelve years old and worth little money. I am personally riding an eighteen year old machine, and I would hardly consider it "worth little money". An '02 would be a pretty new machine for me.

Tonysr100, I owe you an apology. You state in your original post that you want to rebuild the suspension for about as little as you can. And you say Ohlins are too much money. Okay, point taken. I think Pffog says in the next post that he doesn't think at 82,000 that rebuilding the originals would be worth it, but it is your bike. Might I suggest getting a set off Ebay, etc to send out. They go for practically nothing used.

I totally agree with Pffog. If you pay the money, you are going to get a great handling bike. No one doubts that, including me. $1600 in Ohlins will, as he says, probably be a world of difference. I wish I had a spare $1600 to drop on a set, but I don't at this point, so I must get along on a second rate suspension. I guess my point is, I don't think there is a cheap way to do a good suspension rebuild. And I don't get the feeling that Pffog thinks there is either. You get what you pay for. But good luck trying. A big problem is that just about everyone here would also like to do just that: get a steal of a deal on a used suspension. You have, I suppose heard the saying that "The cheapest thing on a BMW is the person riding it." We are all combing the flea market ads, Ebay, Craig's list, just hoping to hit the jackpot on a used set of Ohlins for a great price. I personally haven't seen it, since people selling them know the demand. As Pffog very correctly states, demand is high, supply is low, and the price reflects that. I wish, for my own sake as well as countless others out there, including apparently yourself, that is was different. But it appears that to get a top quality suspension to replace the rather quickly worn out stock one, you've got to be willing to part with some serious money up front. How many people are doing that, I don't know. I wish I did. I know that I get the feeling that if you don't do it, you're a fool. But some of us, in spite of riding BMWs, are not made of money.
 
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