Stock vs Bitubo vs Progressive

[Swinborg]

Hey Guys,

Thought I would Peña few words as I have had a bit of an adventure with shocks recently.  As you may know I am very new to the Valkyre world - a few months into my first Valkyre.  I do have a lot of experience in motorsport and feel I maybe able to offer an insight into a few shocks I have recently tried.  So here is the story,  my bike has 18k miles on it and it’s in good shape albeit was quite neglected, so I have put it back together and completed a mild restoration.  One of the last parts of my build was replacing the stock bits with shiny bits.  These include headlights etc.  For now I will mention the shocks as it’s been quite a journey! 

The OEM shocks were in good shape, but just looked a little tired - salted roads do that, and indeed really let the bike down.  So I have swooped them out for these shocks in this order:

OEM
Progressive 412
Bitubo WMBO 3
Bitubo WMTO 3

I ended up swooping all of the shocks out in the space of 2 weeks and all bolted up ok apart from the WMTO as they needed the shock rubber spacers very carefully grinding down as they where approx 2mm to wide.  Which was a real pain in the rear.

So why the swooping, well I originally ordered the WMTO from the web and because of BREXIT they have taken about 6 weeks to arrive.  I have a huge trip planned and thought I would get the 412’s as a back up plan.  As soon as I ordered the 412’s a set WMBO turned up on eBay from a local seller brand new at a stupid low price so I thought well, why not.  So as you can see I now have 4 sets of shocks for the bike and have tried all off them back to back over the last few weeks.  Here’s my thoughts!

Firstly OEMs - actually pretty decent nothing special, and very liveable in a day to day. Used travel well felt a little harsh on rapid succession bumps and fairly adjustable and responsive to preload.

Next the 412’s felt much less harsh and great on freeways.  HOWEVER - I did notice they blew through the travel very very quickly and under braking pitched the bike over front end. Not too much of a problem on straights, but very quickly got out of their depth on twisties especially bumpy roads when getting on and off the gas.  This could easily be ridden around - ie been super smooth with throttle and brakes.  Again I found them to be more than acceptable on straights.

WMBOs - similar to the 412’s in straight away performance in terms of comfort, but much better in braking and cornering - I would say it as there was more compression (low speed) dampening.  They did not blow through travel anywhere near as much, and felt way more supportive in corners and braking.  I did notice the rebound adjuster has a huge effect!  So much so that I could
Actually get the shocks to pack down (not recover into their stroke) with too much dampening applied.  However this was offset as I adjust preload for more weight on bike.

WMTOs - fitted them set rebound and compression to 60% and I thought I was going to be loosing teeth fillings! Felt horrendous!!! Really crashy and firm - similar to my ducatis setup.  I set preload to 25-30% and backed off compression to nothing and rebound to about 1/3 - now the ride felt in between the 412 and WMBOs. Since then I have progressively added more compression damping until I have a very good balance.  The bike is defo not as comfortable as 412 on straights but massively more stable in corners, braking and bumps. Weights transfer is hugely reduced and really shows short comings of front shock. 

So my thoughts are this.  412, good substitute for OWMs but not quite as supportive. WMBO are awesome - huge increase in performance over 412 and OEM.  Amazing response to andjustment and much much better support.  WMTO’s sacrifice comfort for performance and probably not worth the hassle in getting them to work well.  However if you have the roads that need you to transform your bike to a more responsive handling bike then I can say, these will make a quantum step change in handling and braking!  But with everything you will sacrifice comfort for that performance setup.
Thé WMTO’s can get the bike to be as comfortable as needed and have a huge bandwidth for an uplift in performance.

A couple of facts - I am 6’4” 115 kg (260lbs) with kit.  Test ride was completed with all shocks set on 25-30% preload, on a 100 mile loop of 10 mile urban, 60 mile 60 mph twisties with bumpy roads and 30 miles of motorways (freeways) at 70mph (honest officer) speed limits.

[Ken aka Oil Burner]

Thanks for the synopsis of different shock options. I'm also 6'4", and about 10 pounds lighter, so my experience would likely be very close to the same. Did you stay with stock 13" free length shocks with all of the replacements?

[Swinborg]

Yeah same length on all

[98valk]

what yr OEM shocks?  the '97-'98 are terrible. the later ones were re-valved like the I/S shocks and ride and work much better.

[sandy]

Look up WerxPerformance shocks. A bit pricey but they build to your weight with the right springs and valving.

[jim@98valkyrie.com]

Look up WerxPerformance shocks. A bit pricey but they build to your weight with the right springs and valving.

Second this. I’ve had Werx for over 15 years and really love how they ride. Fully adjustable for 1 up or 2 up.

[-mike-]

I have replaced the rear shocks on my Standard with OEM IS-Shocks.
I won't look further, I'm happy as a pig with this decision (115 kg geared up, too).

-mike-

[RonW]

Progressive springs for the 'front forks' eliminated a lot of dive and noticeably improved the performance on turns, for me. The tradeoff is a slightly stiffer ride. But something that I got use to in a week. Using the stock 10-weight oil though some recommend 15-weight. 

You might save these links for future reference:
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,70888.0.html
https://tech.bareasschoppers.com/suspension/fork-spring-replacement-vtx-1800/ (VTX 1800, but same as Valk forks)


The winding of Progressives is different than the stock springs.

[Knapdog]

I have replaced the rear shocks on my Standard with OEM IS-Shocks.
I won't look further, I'm happy as a pig with this decision (115 kg geared up, too).

-mike-

I did the same for my '98 Tourer. Very pleased. Big difference over the standard '98 shocks.

[Swinborg]

I have replaced the rear shocks on my Standard with OEM IS-Shocks.
I won't look further, I'm happy as a pig with this decision (115 kg geared up, too).

-mike-

I did the same for my '98 Tourer. Very pleased. Big difference over the standard '98 shocks.

Thanks for the posts!

May I ask who makes these?

Thanks

[98valk]

I have replaced the rear shocks on my Standard with OEM IS-Shocks.
I won't look further, I'm happy as a pig with this decision (115 kg geared up, too).

-mike-

I did the same for my '98 Tourer. Very pleased. Big difference over the standard '98 shocks.

Thanks for the posts!

May I ask who makes these?

Thanks

Honda Interstate (I/S) model shocks have much better valving and higher spring rating. '97-98 shocks have terrible valving, later models all have the better valving for a smoother ride.

[-mike-]

Thanks for the posts!

May I ask who makes these?

Thanks

Original Honda Valkyrie Interstate shocks.
Part No's: 52400-MBY-671 and 52500-MBY-671