DL650 VStrom rear suspension upgrade for RTW
 

Hi all!

My DL650 K9 has a standard suspension. I'm concerned that it won't be able to cope with the terrain and the extensive load on the bike. We're going 2 up and the anticipated load overall would be:

DL650 Dry - 190kgs
Fluids (Oil, petrol, water, additional petrol in jerry cans) - 45kgs
ME - 100kgs
HER - 50kgs
Gear - 50kgs

Overall: 435kgs

Problematic areas when it comes to the terrain in my opinion would be: South Amerca, Central America, South East Asia and Central Asia.

We'll cover 80k miles.

Should the suspension be upgraded? If so do you know any good manufacturers that would do it on the cheap? :)

All comments appreciated!
Andy

depends what kind of person (people) you are. bits of your bike will probably fail, if you see that as part of the adventure then why waste money replacing stuff before it's failed ? some of the memorable parts of a trip like this are the times when you deal with adversity or a challenge.

expensive/upgraded shocks also fail. ride according to your weight and the terrain, ie slow down when it gets rough.

cheers

Good call! I do want to see dealing with these things a very important part of the trip. It's boring when everything goes well and there are no problems on the road - no real experience :)

I've just phoned a shock manufacturer called Hagon Shocks and they can build a custom shock for the DL650 provided I give them the exact loads on the bike (£345). They did say though that they are a road shock manufacturer not OFF Road and they won't give me a proper warranty for it. I think you might be right.

I have a K7 DL650,I am going to upgrade my shocks later in the year (when I have saved enough pennies up!) however it will be a road shock as 95% of my riding is paved,main reason I am having the upgrade is because I often have a pillion & the standard suspension struggles a little 2up with luggage.
If you want some more info contact this lot,he does off road too,very helpful.

Reactive Suspension Motorcycle Suspension Specialists

By the way best things i have done to the Strom are a Fork Brace,handles so much better,feels much lighter at the front. Also Barkbuster handguards,since these have replaced the standard ones I no longer get shoulder buffeting no matter what the speed.

All the best,Andy

Could you tell me how many pennies are we talking if you don't mind? I don't want to kill the trip budget :)

thanks Andy

Maybe go for an Ohlins but get the heaviest spring fitted if you're going 2 up with luggage. I started on the standard spring but after bottoming out on crap roads, had to get the spring replaced with a heavier one. And that was solo, albeit on a heavy GS with too much luggage. I also blew the seals but the Ohlins can be serviced.

Ohlins tend to be really expensive and outwith our pricerange I think. The Hagon Shock ones seem to be ok. They said that they could build a custom one for us for 345 quid so it's not too bad. They said that that would be without any adjuster as that costs an additional 120. I don't think we'd be needing adjustment as we'll be carrying the same stuff all the time and the load won't change - or at least won't get any bigger. They obviously said that the suspension is going to be silly stiff when riding solo and with no luggage but that isn't going to happen so maybe it's a posibility?

Andy

Yeah the ohlins aren't cheap. I got mine in ebay but you need to watch for that import tax....

Could you just get a stiffer spring fitted to your stock shock if its still working ok? That would be the cheapest option.

Regardless of the fact if you stay on pavement, you will need a good rear shock. The Topes and potholes down below the US border throughout central and south America are a shocker, with the stock shock you will have big problems. I would not go forking out big bucks, I did and I think it was a waste of money in hindsight.

I would definately get a larger stiffer shock and have it designed for the 450kg you expect, but it will need to be revalved as well or you will have riding issues, this is hard to do on the stock shock. Another option is if you visit the states, go and see Suspensions by Sasquatch, he will modify the original shock for your weight with a stiffer spring, plus add different valves and it will be modified so the shock can be serviced by anyone afterwards.

I went that route just recently before I returned to Oz and the bike has performed extremely well on the highways and through the desert and corrugations, carrying around the same weight, including extra water and fuel. It still uses the original remote preload and damping controls.

Cheers
TS

Apologies for the ingnorance - revalved? What do you mean? Do you think a custom build one from Hagon Shocks for 345£ sound like a good deal? I don't think forking out additional 125£ just for the adjustment posibility is worth it. Or maybe it is?

I still will get in touch with that reactive suspension lot to find out how much it would cost.

Thanks a lot!
Andy

It does sound like a good idea - this is what I though of doing initially but figured it would cost just as much or a little less and won't do the job. I'll do some digging on this and try to find out.

Thanks for the idea!
Andy

Spend the money now if your going to C. and S. America, otherwise it will cost you even more when it breaks down on you while on the road. I've ridden these roads, and they will HAMMER your suspension big time. Especially 2-up with luggage. The most common failure i read about is shock failure. Check with a pro to make sure it's sprung right. Make sure it's re-buildable and bring a kit with you if you can, as anybody with some enginuity can get the nitrogen re-filled in any large city. Most importantly is keep it clean, as i believe this is the #1 reason of failure. Get a Dirt Skin or a Shock Sock (google) or at least hang a piece of a rubber tube over the spring to keep out dirt and grit. Remember, you get what you pay for :nono:.

Don't go spending your money just yet...

80,000K !! It's unlikely your shock will last through that but no shock will. Ohlins are great but they don't seem to last any longer although they are servicable.

Get on ebay and buy 1 or 2 two spares. You'l probably pay £50 each of you're patient.

Keep them boxed up with a blank address label on and in the hands of someone who will have it posted to it if need be.

Putting a stiffer spring on may extend the life a little by reducing the damping wear. You will have to do this anyway with 2 up and luggage.

Springs don't really wear enough to notice, its the damping you need to worry about. The bike won't collapse without damping but it wont be a pleasant ride. If you're damping fails, crank up the pre-load and watch those pot holes.

Don't think you can't get your shock serviced in the 3rd world. Those countries are well up on keeping things going WAY past their service lives.

Do your research on good places to do these kind of repairs and you will know where you need to visit if things go wrong.

DakarMotos in Buenos Aires should be on your list. There are plenty more listed on the hubb in that section.

saltire should be able to source and fit you a new spring, without too much expense. If that's the route you choose.

but, obviously, once you've stiffened the rear then the front will feel like jelly.. thankfully you can get the forks re-worked too.... ;-)

I had a DL650 for a long weekend, with pillion and mountains of her luggage. It actually felt better than my DL1000 with the same setup.

I think the first stretch that I would like the suspension to survive is all the way to the states where I think we'd have to reservice/rebuild it. Bear in mind that we're starting with South America - Central America into US.

So it seems that we've got 4 options here:

1. Leave the stock suspension and worry about it constantly
2. Upgrade the spring on the rear shock making it a half way option - the bike is pretty new (only 3.500 miles on the clock) so wouldn't it be a waste to throw out an almost new shock with Option 3 or 4?
3. Go to Hagon Shocks and get the rear shock custom made for 345 quid + optional 120 for the adjustment - bear in mind they wont warrant it as they do "ROAD" shocks not OffROAD...
4. Go to Reactive Suspension and get the OFF Road custom made Shock for 495 quid?

I phoned up Cupar Suzuki as that's where I bought the bike. They reckon the stock suspension is not going to survive even with the beefed up spring.

I bought the bike at cupars beacuse the price of my DL650 K9 with all the bits on (givi panniers, rack, topcase, 12v socket, heated grips etc.) was 6900 at saltire suzuki in edinburgh - same exact bike at Cupars (50 miles away) - 6000.

Another thing that Doug mentioned is the front suspension. Won't this need some work as well since the back is going to be built for the load?

I feel that the weestrom is a nice ride but mind that I've never taken it offroad so what do I know :) It seems I'll have to fork out some pennies for that suspension upgrade after all. ARGH...We'll end up with half the budget for the trip - sure we'll have a good bike ready to tackle everything but we won't have wnough money to actually do it :)

P.S. Just found this video on youtube: YouTube - Lovely Day in the Congo

Lovin' it! At the end of the day as Doug mentioned both custom made and suposedly great shock aborbers cock up the same way :)

If you're going to spend that money on a new shock, I'd spend a little more and get the Ohlins. The Hagon doesn't like off road and I had a friend who spent weeks in Bolivia waiting on a replacement. It was night and day when I changed my stock one for the ohlins which I got on ebay for about £400. As I said, I got the standard spring initially and ended up blowing the seals as it bottomed out, plus the bottom bolt sheared due to the abuse..After putting on a stiffer spring, i had no problems.

So get the strongest spring and it'll be fine. Have you taken yours out fully loaded, 2 up and tried it over a badly pot-holed road yet?

What I mean is, just putting a new spring on will not do the job, all it will do is make it a bit stiffer but by adding new valves inside, the damping will match the extra load, it is all a big balancing act. I am not a shock expert by any means, but I have spoken to a few in the know and just adding a spring will not be the best option for the load you are carrying. Talk to someone in a local shop and see what type of answer you get. I know of two occasions where rear shocks died and the riders and pillions pogoed there way down to Ushuaia until they could get it sorted.

The choice is yours, I had a very expensive Elka on mine and it did the job in the Americas, but then again, the stock shock done by Sasquatch also did the job down here with half the cost involved, the main point being it can be reserviced if need be.

Cheers
TS

ayayay!!!

Back to square one! :)

Don't know what to do guys! I've read of people who made it on stock shocks all the way down to Australia or all the way through Kazakhstan/Mongolia/Siberia and had no problems really. On the other hand the shock was one of my main concerns to start with because of the huge load. I'm not that concerned how the bike is going to feel when riding it - what I want is for it to survive the trip - I'm not a big Off Road rider and to be honest don't think my wife will appreciate us going off road too often :) Another thing is that I hate throwing away something that's working to begin with i.e. my existing shock has done 3.500 miles on tarmac so is pretty much brand new. The video I've attached of Geoff talking about his fancy touratech panniers and Hagon shock puts it in a little different perspective for me. It's a little too much about the GEAR and too little about the experience I think. You can spend thousands for supposedly best gear and on the other hand you can still make it on what you have. It's like the biggest question : "what bike to choose for RTW?" - my answer always was - doesn't matter - take the one you like and you're comfortable with and you'll make it! People do it on R1s through Congo, on Harleys through 193 countries so it doesn't really matter what you take - some bikes will require more maintenance some less but at the end of the day every bike will give in eventually.

What I'm thinking of doing is: putting a stiffer spring on my stock shock and leave on the trip without upgrading it. At the same time give all of my loading details to somebody like Reactiv Suspension and get the shock ready to be built. If I do need it all it takes is phone them up get the shock custom built in a week's time and get it posted out to me by my family to a specified address - which we'll probably have to pogo to :) At the end of the day that's the stuff you remember from the trip isn't it? Imagine you came back from a RTW trip and everything went great! Bike was fantastic - no problems whatsoever - you give a presentation: "this is me in front of ... this is me here.... this is me here... Everything went fine and we had a lovely holiday..." - I give myself 20 minutes and I'd be bored sh*tless!

Please tell me if my way of thinking is way off and I should reconsider?

Thanks!
Andy

First of all, there is a big world out there and there are things you can do which is cheaper and more interesting then waiting on a shock 500 km from the nearest "city".
I have blown several shocks and I didn't find it fascinating at all. IMHO it's better to use your time and money to explore exotic places then to wait for parts.

For that type of load I would have used a custom-made Øhlins. Other makes might also be good, what matters are tolerances, cooling and that the right materials are used (bushings, sealings, o-rings etc). See if you can find a decent shock-workshop close to where you live and see what they can offer.

It is a fair point but I'm not willing to fork out a thousand quid for an ohlins shock. There's no way that I'm doing that! I'll do some digging around the place and try to find a decent shock-workshop - that's a good shout - thanks!

Andy

Have to say- I always hope for that.

Fixing flats and pushing broken bikes at 100* F or in a cold, hard rain makes a good story but it's usually not a lot of fun at the time.

On the other hand, if it happens it helps to keep a good attitude about it.

.............shu

dr 650 suspension
 

After doing a 6500km trip in Australia 2 up with gear we decided that the main thing the bike needed was a suspension upgrade. I looked and talked to lots of people and I cam to the conclusion that the original suspension with the upgrades would suit us best. I then got a suspension specialist in melbourne to do his magic, (put a bigger spring and re-valve rear suspension and bit of work on the front) We did a final shakedown 5000 km + trip across to southern WA and Perth and the difference with the bike was amazing. At slow speeds we dont scrape the bash plate everywhere and in cornering the bike handles great (for a bike with all the crap we carry), I am really pleased we spent the money, I am glad we kept the original shock, and I feel heaps better about doing our next trip from Uk to Asia starting 4th may.

Thanks for the info! That's exactly what I intend to do! Get the existing suspension upgraded and if it fails we'll deal with that there and then I guess. Or if we have some left over money maybe we'll just buy a new custom made shock and take it with us. We'll see. It all comes down to comfort level. Everyone has a different one!

Thanks,
Andy

Thats the beauty of this site,lots of opinions most with experience to back it up :thumbup1:
I am a few years away from my Big trip so am going to upgrade both front & rear shock,not cheap but the overtime is paying for it & I have the time to save up the cash & reactive can do it for the same price as an Ohlins rear,plus they use Hypercoil springs.
I plan to get the bike sorted before my planned road trips next year, then I can tell if any more mods are needed but only a proper shake down will give me this info.
It is as always a case of trial & error even with all the help from the HUBB.
All the best,Andy

Exactly!

Experience is the key! I'll talk to some garages about suspension upgrade and if there's no joy I'll maybe just get it done by reactiv suspension. We've got 3 months left and I'm not willing to postpone the trip any further by saving more money and getting a nicer suspension or anything like that!

Stay safe!
Andy

Shock Upgrade
 

I can tell you from experience, you know the test comes first then the lesson, that you don't want to go out 2 up on your Strom especially the 650 without a spring upgrade.

I have talked with Klaus at Wilbur and we reviewed my usage ( I have a DL1000). 2 up, without the weight you are carrying he recommended the Hyperpro progressive rear spring.

Uploaded it has the same value as the stock shock, but as soon as you start to load more stuff on it the spring preloads with the extra resistance keeping the ride in balance.

Since changing the spring, I have really enjoyed the improvement in handling and control.

Forget the idea of 'oooow, wouldn't it be nice to invite some adversity,' because you will get plenty uninvited adversity travelling the distances you are. Adversity should look like an unavoidable flat tire, no room in town, no money, etc. Not broken down on the side of the road with Costa RIcan gangs standing by.

IMHO

I think we're gonna listen to your experiences guys! I need to give Reactiv Suspension a phone and get the suspension beefed up - I'm not going with Ohlins as it's just too bloody expensive - about 750£ just for the rear shock. Reactiv Suspensio will do a custom made one for 495£ this in comparison leaves enough money to do the front forks as well. All in all I think it will be about 700£ altogether front and back using reactiv...

We'll go for it I think!

Unless you've got aome other garages in UK that could sort us out at a lower price?

Thanks a lot for the info guys!

Much appreciated!
Andy

Hia

If you can stretch to it, I would also ask Reactive to possibly re valve the front suspension and put in some lighter oil. Having done a fair bit of travelling on my DL 650 I often found the harshness of the front forks a biger issue than any weakness in the rear shock.

rear shock
 

recently returned from a trip round Ireland on the wee strom with the stock shock,some of the roads we travelled on were a little bumpy to put it mildly & I found that the rear suspension started to struggle after about 4 days,was two up with not a huge amount of gear & by the time we reached dingle I could only get the side stand down on a completely flat surface,any camber & it was a no go as the shock had compressed so much,it did recover after a few hours not being ridden.
I am still getting the money together for the replacement shocks from Reactive Suspension,am going to get 2 springs so I can set it up for general use for me & a touring spring set for weight with pillion & luggage.
Andy

P.S. Just found this video on youtube: YouTube - Lovely Day in the Congo

Lovin' it! At the end of the day as Doug mentioned both custom made and suposedly great shock aborbers cock up the same way :)[/QUOTE]


Ha Ha Ha........ That was me in the 'Lovely Day in the Congo' and I'd wasn't having the best of days! The Hagon shock ended up being a piece of junk and a waste of money. As they didn't tell me that it was only good for the roads although they informed me the distances to be covered invalidated the warranty, I should have looked elsewhere but hey, experience sometimes is expensive!
They sold me a custom shock for a weight of 275kgs (Bike/me/luggage) and it couldn't handle the job so I binned the whole unit and had my original sent out to me which did for the rest of Africa.

My advice..... FWIW just fit a stronger spring to the weight of your needs as 80k is a long way and every shock probably will fail at some time during that. Tried 'HyperPro'...? I got my tenere heavy duty rear spring and front progressives from these guys, bike rides awesome fully loaded.

p.s.... on the video about Touratechs Alu panniers..... Never again! Lesson learnt and soft panniers next time for me thanks!