Splain sumpthin to me Lucy.....

[lonelobo]

Ok, I am appealing to the mercy of the assembled court for guidance. I am in the process of restoring life to a 79 R100T that needs rear shocks. So I go to that auction site and find that parted out 70's bikes abound and that there is a thriving market for original Boge shocks at about the $75-100 mark. My limited understanding is that the Boge shocks are not rebuildable...am I wrong?

So what can people possibly be doing with shocks that if not worn out are at least compromised from age and wear. I have read that 30-50K is what you should expect to get out of a pair of rear shocks...and none of the auctioned shocks come with a guarantee of being lightly used.

I can't imagine buying original tires to complete a restoration that can't be ridden and this is to me the same situation as putting shocks on a restoration that are worn out.

I shall wait to be shamed and embarrassed by your collective wisdom.

 

[mikeb921]

Shocks

You are correct. 25 year old shocks will more than likely be well worn. Get out your latest issue on ON and look at the reproductions that are available. You'll be much happier with a pair of those.

Ride Safe
Rideoften

 

[sumran]

Ebay behavior is remarkably similar to lemming behavior in some cases. I have seen many used items that sell for more than a brand new one. If an item establishes a track record at a certain price, it will continue to sell at that price, even in the absence of reason.

 

[pglaves]

It is just like ten or twelve 8th graders cheating on the test - copying from Joe who they think is smart. So Harry copies Joe's wrong answer and Bart copies Harry's, and Roxie copies Bart, and Clyde copies Roxie, etc, until everybody gets it wrong.

Folks on eBay don't often really do their homework.

 

[NEALART]

Item number: 280161915366

 

[BUBBAZANETTI]

i'm a cheapo about nearly everything aftermarket and farkle related, i build my own mounts for things, wire my own stuff, think 1200 bucks for a shock is insane, etc, etc...

that said, when i had my airhead, the 375 bucks i spent on a pair of works performance shocks were some of the best aftermarket money i ever spent. they weren't the cheapest one's available, but by no means where they the most expensive. worked great and made an old bike feel new again.

FWIW

 

[lonelobo]

While I'm at it....

It seems to me that I can buy a shock marketed to the Harley guys....wait a minute, I'm a Harley guy too...that is 13.5" eye to eye and save a pile of money. The HD shock will probably be set up for a heavier bike but then I'm a very BIG GUY. Think 6'4" and close to 300lbs. so it might work for me.

 

[47512]

Check out bobsbmw.com, He sells replacement shocks that look like the OE units that were on /5,/6,/7, BMW's

Ken G.

 

[shire2000]

As with all things, the cheapest is not necessarily the answer. I would not go with those shocks marketed as MDI. They are built so cheaply, the first good bump and they leak like a sieve.

Spend a few bucks more and at least go for Progressives. They work well, are designed for the bike and Progressive stands behind them 100%.

Or go for Works shocks that can be custom built to your needs. You tell them what bike, weight to be used on the bike (total of passenger, rider and assorted loaded luggage), and your style of riding. Then they custom build to your needs.

You will be surprised how much a good set of shocks will alter the handling of a bike.

Dave

 

[barryg]

Lonelobo, there is no good explanation of how a BMW rider's mind works when it comes to wore out useless parts. Some thought processes are beyond comprehension.