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Question My suspension failed after only 46k miles- best path forward?

Janus

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My bike wasn't even three years old. Had the wife on the back and we both noticed the rear was bouncing like an old Cadillac. Talk about wallowing!

Upon examining the shock, I discover fluid, freshly coating the old dust. Research indicates I couldn't rebuild the stock shock, even if I wanted to. I don't.

I found the stock setup to be mostly adequate until it got loaded with gear and a pillion. Blech.

I am considering the Ohlins STX 46. I see that a few folks have it or a modified one. Am I trying to buy more performance than the NC can use? I like that it's rebuildable. I don't want another cheap suspension- I plan on running my Honda for another 250k before I feel I've gotten enough miles out of the old girl. I won't be complaining if I buy too much comfort. Buy once cry once, hopefully.

I have seen that some of y'all have gotten a different spring. How much should I be concerned with discovering the 'optimal' spring rate for my body weight? If you did get a different spring than stock, what did you get? I'm probably 170 with all my kit on. I'd like a stiffer spring, but I'm not sure how much is enough, and how much would only be good for the occasional extravagant use.

I don't plan on throwing knobbies and ADVenturing where I take my DRZ. I do touring and commuting on my NC. Mostly solo but in the Beforetimes, the wife and I rode down the PCH to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare festival every year. Is it safe to assume I would want a remote preload adjustor?

I plan on doing the work, so labor costs aren't a factor.

Have I asked enough questions yet? Thank you!
 
When you talk to a suspension vendor they will ask you how much you weigh and what kind of riding you do, solo or two up and that determines the spring your new shock will come with. If you ride two up often then a remote preload adjustment will come in handy. If not, you might can get by without it as you won't be messing with preload very often. I believe the NC benefits greatly from an aftermarket shock and it was about $600-$700 well spent.
 
When you talk to a suspension vendor they will ask you how much you weigh and what kind of riding you do, solo or two up and that determines the spring your new shock will come with. If you ride two up often then a remote preload adjustment will come in handy. If not, you might can get by without it as you won't be messing with preload very often. I believe the NC benefits greatly from an aftermarket shock and it was about $600-$700 well spent.
Who did you go through? The only vendors I see in my local area are racers or a retrogrouch outfit.

I was hoping to be able to shop around for the lowest price but it doesn't look anywhere near as easy as I hoped
 
I doubt very much if You will get 46,000 miles out of an Ohlins without rebuilding at least twice. I think the service intervals are about 18,000 miles, so You got reasonably good value from the OEM.

Personally I believe Ohlins is too much shock for a bike with the performance of an NC. On top of that, such a shock would severely show up the shortcomings of the front end also with a requirement to deal with that too. At replacement time I will be going for a YSS or something similarly priced. I have one on my CRF250L and it hasn't had an easy life albeit it has been trouble free over at least 18,000Kms.
 
Griff, respectfully I couldn't disagree more. Suspension upgrades are common even on higher spec and higher cost motorcycles. Just because the NC is an inexpensive bike to begin with doesn't mean it doesn't deserve better suspension if the owner is so inclined. And because the bike's suspension is built to a low price point to begin with, a modest investment in suspension returns a larger relative benefit than that of a higher spec bike.

The NC with the Ohlins 46-based Cogent shock and cartridge fork emulators handled wonderfully and was really fun in the twisty stuff. I could use every one of it's 46 rear wheel hp without fear of overwhelming me, the tires, or the suspension. I never regretted the $1000 or so to do it. Cogent suggested servicing the shock at 15,000 miles IIRC but I had slightly more than twice that on the shock with no noticeable degradation in ride or damping when I sold the bike.

I am looking a suspension upgrades to the RT right now and I only wish it was $1000.
 
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Griff, respectfully I couldn't disagree more. Suspension upgrades are common even on higher spec and higher cost motorcycles. Just because the NC is an inexpensive bike to begin with doesn't mean it doesn't deserve better suspension if the owner is so inclined. And because the bike's suspension is built to a low price point to begin with, a modest investment in suspension returns a larger relative benefit than that of a higher spec bike.

The NC with the Ohlins 46-based Cogent shock and cartridge emulators handled wonderfully and was really fun in the twisty stuff. I could use every one of it's 46 rear wheel hp without fear of overwhelming me, the tires, or the suspension. I never regretted the $1000 or so to do it. Cogent suggested servicing the shock at 15,000 miles IIRC but I had slightly more than twice that on the shock with no noticeable degradation in ride or damping when I sold the bike.

I am looking a suspension upgrades to the RT right now and I only wish it was $1000.

Ok.
 
I went with a Wilbers with adjustable rebound and remote adjustable preload. They had a very detailed questionnaire detailing rider weight with gear, pillion weight with gear, luggage weight, % time riding with each. It's easily the best mod I've made to this bike. I highly recommend getting remote preload if it is available for whatever shock you decide on, especially if you ride with a pillion and luggage often. I can reach down and change it without even getting off the bike.
 
I went with a Wilbers with adjustable rebound and remote adjustable preload. They had a very detailed questionnaire detailing rider weight with gear, pillion weight with gear, luggage weight, % time riding with each. It's easily the best mod I've made to this bike. I highly recommend getting remote preload if it is available for whatever shock you decide on, especially if you ride with a pillion and luggage often. I can reach down and change it without even getting off the bike.
If you don't mind my asking, how much did the Wilbers road set you back?
 
Wasn't cheap. 748.95 EUR. But definitely worth it. It's a different bike with this shock. I ordered it direct from Wilbers in Germany. It took two weeks to build the shock for my specs. Had to send a bank draft. It was 2016 so that may well have changed.
 
I used Wilbers on my former Triumph 1200 Explorer. Excellent shock on that bike.
 
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