GS-Riders International

.
White Power front and Wilbers rear

Wilbers 642 rear shock

My wife wanted a Prada hand bag, but I bought her a shock absorber . The Wilbers 642 costs the same as one of these plastic bags with a famous imprint, such as Prada.



Wilbers 642 Classic line, hydraulic pre-load adjuster, I specified 20 mm lower. Ordered on 15-Nov-06 at WilbersUsa. It arrived at my place in Singapore on 12-Dec-06. No issues, no questions, no trouble. What else can one expect?

She will thank me for the rest of her life, because sitting on the Prada bag will never be as comfortable.


One more item for the suspension connoisseur:

White Power front shock 4014 Emulsion

I paid S$ 900 / US$ 590 / Euro 450, with height adjuster. I ordered it 20 mm lower. The company is not as fast as Wilbers, I waited close to 2 months.



I was quite surprised how light the WP is. In comparison the Wilbers shock feels and looks like Mr. Benny Wilbers personally has carved the shock from a massive block of aircraft aluminium. Two different philosophies.

Test results from German magazine PS, edition 08/2006:

Suspension Adjustements






Wilbers:
Preload: 4 turns
Rebound: open 15 clicks from close
Low speed compression: close 3 clicks from open
High speed compression: close 3 clicks from open

White Power:
Preload: I moved the preload ring one turn up
Rebound: open 9 clicks from close

Note: Settings for a rider of 80 kg, with 3 piece luggage mounted but empty.


Conclusion

I found the adjustments perfect for a comfortable-firm solo set-up, and acceptable two up.

The sensitivity of this dampening system is much better than stock. The filtering capabilities are simply stunning. It is an entire different world to the factory suspension. The steering has lost any trace of imprecision that was present with the OEM (Show) shock. It reacts crisp and with much improved feedback. There are no harsh or unpleasant beatings onto the wrists, not even from bigger road bumps. The rear does not sink anymore a couple of meters direction 'downwards' when mounting the bike, which seems like a miracle because it still is very comfortable. To my opinion it is even more comfortable than the soft sprung stocker. The GS does not move around anymore like a drunken camel - I mean most of the extensive (factory) bike movement is simply not present anymore. It is truly amazing how this machine hovers over the roads, there is no way to describe the experience about what is possible nowadays on the suspension side. I had never ever anything like that under my butt.

Minus

Unfortunately I got used to it in a matter of days. Any other bike I try seems to be unbearable now. Be warned.

What really no static sag? While I am not a too big fan of all these rules (you must have 30 % and such), I still believe there should be static sag.