Suspension Upgrade?

Hello, All

It's a new year and time for some new suspension for my 2011 RT. I have right at 60K miles and it seems my stockers are getting a bit warn. I recently rode a newer low mile 2014 RT and the suspension is night and day better compared to mine. I know the 2014 and 2011 are different, but the ride quality difference was amazing. I was able to compare my bike on the same 20 mile stretch of road with the low mile 2014.

So in conclusion I want new/better suspension now, plus I'd like to have it lowered 1/2". I have been looking around and found 2 company's EPM performance and TED Porters Suspension. EMP (Klaus) said he can rebuild the factory suspension and make some changes for my weight, plus lower my bike 1/2" for around $640.00 for the set. I did not buy my bike new in 2011, so I do not know how the factory suspension felt when it was new.( Bought it a few years ago with 40K) This is the cheapest method and should provide some better than what I have now results.

I have talked to Ted Porter and he is pushing me to go with Tractive suspension (He said it's the best out there for the money) and if I don't want to spend $1700 on those I should consider Wilburs at the least, because they are really good for the money also. $1350.00 (I have the long detailed email where he explains all the differences)

So here I am looking for advice. Money isn't that big of an issue, but If I can save a bit of money I can buy other things I want for my bike and still keep within some kinda budget for the year.
It's one of those life struggles, should I go all out and buy the best right off or buy something better than I have and hope I'm happy. Or save a ton of money and get the stockers rebuilt?

I have been reading forum after forum and it seems like the Wilburs are a good all around shock. Ted just said the Tractive shocks are a little better and come with more newer better parts plus offer a bit more adjust-ability.

If anyone has anything to say, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

i have a S1000R with Tractive and a 13RT with Ted's Wilbers WESA...i can say BOTH are outstanding upgrades...the RT was transformed with the Wilbers and i HIGHLY recommend them...the Tractive were not available when i upgraded the RT so i cannot compare...

go with the Wilbers, you will NOT be disappointed...

wyman

That's good to hear the Wilburs made a big difference for you. Do you know how many miles your bike had when replaced?

My biggest issue I have right now with my shocks is that all bumps make the bike jump all around and doesn't feel planted on the road.

fallguy said:

That's good to hear the Wilburs made a big difference for you. Do you know how many miles your bike had when replaced?

My biggest issue I have right now with my shocks is that all bumps make the bike jump all around and doesn't feel planted on the road.

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i replace the OEM suspension at 13650miles....i hated the OEM suspension for that same reasons you are considering....

i repeat that the bike's handling was transformed...

wyman

fallguy said:

Ted just said the Tractive shocks are a little better and come with more newer better parts plus offer a bit more adjust-ability.

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Almost exactly one year ago I had the same conversation with Ted due to OEM rear strut shock leaking at 20,350 miles on a 2010 RT. His response was the same he gave you so I replaced front and rear struts with Tractive at his recommendation to keep the ESA II "progressive" elastomer portion in the mix.

Having never ridden on Wilbers I can say the Tractive are night and day to OEM. In "comfort" setting, which I now use almost exclusively now, the suspension is much more stable and smooth, if you will, than before and switching between the dampening settings there is a much more pronounced difference than with the OEM shock. It is more supple (to find a word) in "comfort" than before and "sport", of course, you the can feel the road sensation much more pronounced. But in "comfort" there is no wallowing/instability feeling in the corners either. I do not know how much of the change was due to having the rear strut set for weight carried, probably some.

My impressions. Good luck.

GD

That's one of the big things on my bike, there is no difference between the settings. It all feels the same. I like the price of Wilbur's, but I like that the Tractive's use the same factory spring setup.. I know Wilbur's uses a progressive.

My daughter and wife ride with me sometimes (10%) and I'm not sure what the difference would be. Maybe I'll shoot Ted another email and ask about passengers.. and the rear difference if there is any.

It seems either shock would work perfect for me.. It just comes down to price.

Thanks for all the information!!

fallguy said:

That's one of the big things on my bike, there is no difference between the settings. It all feels the same. I like the price of Wilbur's, but I like that the Tractive's use the same factory spring setup.. I know Wilbur's uses a progressive.

My daughter and wife ride with me sometimes (10%) and I'm not sure what the difference would be. Maybe I'll shoot Ted another email and ask about passengers.. and the rear difference if there is any.

It seems either shock would work perfect for me.. It just comes down to price.

Thanks for all the information!!

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The helmet, luggage and two helmet make a large difference in felt preload/rebound when one up riding. I use helmet with the Tractive where I used luggage with the OEM, but the Tractive are setup for carried weight numbers supplied to Ted.

As I recall he said the elastomer was not (re)used on the Wilbers so that was one of the reasons he suggested Tractive. He will explain the difference I am sure. Talking to him on the phone works well and he does call you back.

GD

fallguy said:

Maybe I'll shoot Ted another email and ask about passengers.. and the rear difference if there is any.

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That is the beauty of ESA. Go to two helmets with a passenger and you can go to a higher dampening, normal/sport, to help with rebound dampening with the now "heavier" spring. What ever you like...........

GD

I have a R1200R, that I have Ohlin's on. A big improvement. The rear spring was alittle too stiff for me. Ohlin's sent me a lighter spring N/C.

Update:

Well I went ahead and bought the Tractive suspension. My thoughts were that if I bought the Wilbur's and the ride was not 100% what I wanted, I would have pondered if the Tractive was better in some way. I guess it's all comes down to money and how much my kids will inherit some day. I don't feel they will miss the slight difference in cost of the Wilbur's over the Tractive.. Haha

I will post an update once I have installed them and ride a bit. Overall removing the factory shocks was not that bad. I think it took me about 1 1/2 hours to take them off. I think it took longer to get the wires unhooked than anything else. I could not find any tips or tricks to remove them either.

Thanks for everyone's input.

fallguy said:

...Overall removing the factory shocks was not that bad. I think it took me about 1 1/2 hours to take them off. I think it took longer to get the wires unhooked than anything else. I could not find any tips or tricks to remove them either.

Thanks for everyone's input.

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It was very difficult to access the plugs for my 2006 rear ESA wiring - the release tabs seem to be on the wrong half of the connectors. Solution was to remove the two small screws holding the mounting bracket and cut the cable ties on the wires. That provided enough slack to turn the bracket (and connectors) upside down, and then I could just barely depress the tabs.

I have a R12R And have installed Ohlins units on it. The spring on the rear shock was way too stiff but Ohlins was happy to send me a lighter spring. The front damper spring was ok. Once I got the ride height set and damper settings set they are quite a improvement over the OE shocks.

+1 on the Wilbers from Ted Porter's shop. I ran the OEMs on my 09 RT well beyond the point I should have swapped them out (over 60k) and went with the Wilbers to preserve the factory ESA package. I'm very pleased with them as the Tractive option was outside my budget comfort zone. As another noted, even in the 'comfort' setting, the Wilbers provide great feedback and no wallowing as I often felt with the OEMs.