Rear Piggyback Shocks

[jadesystem]

Re: Honda CB Series Bikes

Welcome to the GS Forum. I was originally and still am, a huge Honda CB
fan. They are well engineered, and a proven motorcycle any proud owner
would enjoy and understand. They are a classic machine as well as the
GS series. Both have deep roots in Japanese motorycle history and racing.

Both series are bullet-proof, and a joy to own and collect. The styling is
out of this world. In 1980, the CB750F was the best handling motorcycle of its time. Just an awesome machine that I bought one. Unfortunately, a thief at the Santa Monica Pier thought so too, and I never saw my bike again.

The CB700 Nighthawk took this series into a new and different direction.
It was very successful from its short lifespan of 84-86. I had 3 of these
bikes, and I always retain one now due to its high reliability factor. It always runs, and never quits. Standard features back then are missing today. i.e. Hydralic valve tappets, anti-dive forks, 6-speed transmission, shaft drive, hydraulic clutch, adj handlebars, and awesome naked (bikini) styling.

The bigbore 900-1100 are rare, and great machines. You cannot go wrong with the older Hondas. Great engineering and fantastic machines. Like
the Suzukis, the older 80s bikes are very cheap to own, and insure. They
are also very reliable.

[Guyver]

Buying a Honda is like going to Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream and getting Vanilla.

[GSWeergin]

Yup...whats another year :roll:.

Tony.

Another year closer to kidney replacement from the crappy old shocks that are on there???:-({|=

I saved and saved enough for the Swedish models and my arse and spine feel pretty darn good....:mrgreen:

[n1elkyfan]

Bump. Still waiting

[Nessism]

I'm interested in these also but the lack of communication is a concern. Last post was early July which is pushing 10 weeks now. Does not instill confidence in the customer service.

[Regent]

This isn't even a product for sale yet - so I'm not sure communication about it or lack thereof is any indication of anything - except that having your face smashed in by a 2x4 and dealing with a concussion, will probably put a damper on anything but his immediate needs.

I'm sure when he'll post when he's able, which may be later than sooner.

Meanwhile, best wishes for a speedy, and complete recovery.

Geoff

[long_av8r]

You know I hate to bring this up but I have been watching this thread with some regularity - mostly because I know this guy from another site I am a member of - and I just gotta say something about all of this "where are the shocks you promised" stuff.

I really have to admire your long standing persistence, but I have to question why? I mean, there is no product yet, and the product he put out on the CB site has got mixed reviews at best. He promises Ohlins quality, but delivers a Chinese shock with bad springs - basically people paid for, and got, a $200 shock and that is fine as long as you understand that is what you are going to get.

Most of you know I sold a short run of left over Ohlins over here recently and honestly, with as many people chomping at the bit here, I expected them to sell out much faster than they did. For $450 (and yes, I know it's twice the price) you would have got the real thing, with real factory support, sold by real people, with real technicians that do this as a full time job. The shocks were literally half price - and no, they were not grey market, they were the real thing. Never mind that though, because they are gone now and due to the lack of demand (and some real snotty members here that thought speaking to my lady friend at Ohlins in a less than friendly way was a good idea - it wasn't) I'm not going to go through the trouble of getting more of them. Maybe he feels the same way.

The point is, (and even though it may not sound like it I'm actually sticking up for him) if you want $200 shocks, and $200 service, with $200 support, and $200 answers, you are getting what you paid for - in fact haven't even paid for yet. If you wanted to ride, you had the opportunity to buy top shelf stuff for half price but most of you said "no thank you." That was your choice and that's fine, no skin off my back, but because of that there is no need to ride this guy for not putting out anything. You see, this is not what he does for a living, in fact right now he's doing it off his own dime, his own time, and with his own mind. I do understand your aggravation, I really do, but if it were me in his shoes I would put family and personal life before this as well because honestly there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of money in it - and when you do it just as a hobby, things take time, and sometimes (you don't want to hear this) you lose interest.

Unfortunately, I have no more shocks to sell so I can't help you. But, if you are riding on bad shocks waiting for something to happen here, you might want to consider taking your money elsewhere before those bad shocks make you regret it.

[80gs1100]

You go girl!!!!

[Nessism]

You know I hate to bring this up but I have been watching this thread with some regularity - mostly because I know this guy from another site I am a member of - and I just gotta say something about all of this "where are the shocks you promised" stuff.

I really have to admire your long standing persistence, but I have to question why? I mean, there is no product yet, and the product he put out on the CB site has got mixed reviews at best. He promises Ohlins quality, but delivers a Chinese shock with bad springs - basically people paid for, and got, a $200 shock and that is fine as long as you understand that is what you are going to get.

Most of you know I sold a short run of left over Ohlins over here recently and honestly, with as many people chomping at the bit here, I expected them to sell out much faster than they did. For $450 (and yes, I know it's twice the price) you would have got the real thing, with real factory support, sold by real people, with real technicians that do this as a full time job. The shocks were literally half price - and no, they were not grey market, they were the real thing. Never mind that though, because they are gone now and due to the lack of demand (and some real snotty members here that thought speaking to my lady friend at Ohlins in a less than friendly way was a good idea - it wasn't) I'm not going to go through the trouble of getting more of them. Maybe he feels the same way.

The point is, (and even though it may not sound like it I'm actually sticking up for him) if you want $200 shocks, and $200 service, with $200 support, and $200 answers, you are getting what you paid for - in fact haven't even paid for yet. If you wanted to ride, you had the opportunity to buy top shelf stuff for half price but most of you said "no thank you." That was your choice and that's fine, no skin off my back, but because of that there is no need to ride this guy for not putting out anything. You see, this is not what he does for a living, in fact right now he's doing it off his own dime, his own time, and with his own mind. I do understand your aggravation, I really do, but if it were me in his shoes I would put family and personal life before this as well because honestly there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of money in it - and when you do it just as a hobby, things take time, and sometimes (you don't want to hear this) you lose interest.

Unfortunately, I have no more shocks to sell so I can't help you. But, if you are riding on bad shocks waiting for something to happen here, you might want to consider taking your money elsewhere before those bad shocks make you regret it.

Interesting post. Not sure if you are trying to caution us regarding our expectations, support the Vipex guy as someone trying to do us a favor by working a side job, or admonish us for not stampeding to buy Ohlins at $450 a pop.

Regarding the last point, even though $450 may be a deep discount it’s still a LOT of money for shocks. Particularly when you consider that nice running GS1000’s typically sell for $2k or less. Most of us simply don’t have resources for shocks like these.

Regarding the Vipex guy, my opinion is that he should not have come to GSR and primed the pump if he didn’t have time and/or resource to come through with product. I get it that he was hurt, and I truly hope he is all right. Periodic updates, such as once per month, would go a long way toward instilling confidence in the product and company. As it is, there are clear warning signs that even if he comes through with product, product support is going to be minimal.

Just my $0.02.

[tconroy]

I could not wait and paid 150 for brand new progressive shocks and Im glad I did.

[long_av8r]

I'm not really ranting and I'm not trying to say "you should have bought the Ohlins," what I am saying is that Brian came here to see what the market would be like and he DID have a product for the CB guys which took a lot less time to make. The problem is that his product got less than stellar reviews and I think that he wants to get it right with them first before diving into another project. Be that as it may, communication should be better and that is where I say you guys have a right to be angry - I'm agreeing with you.

On the other hand I am also agreeing with him because it is a side thing and there are problems with the other shocks - would you jump into something else if you still had you customers that already paid asking for new springs that you don't have yet? Not me.

Don't think that I am saying I told you so and that you should have bought the Ohlins - I had a limited number and they all sold not that it mattered that much to me. I think in all there were 5 or 6 sets total. At half price there wasn't much in there in terms of profit for Ohlins, and I get my stuff at cost now no matter what happens - my point is, there was really nothing in it for me other than helping a friend out over there and helping some out over here.

Grand, I too fly (obviously) and understand your point about not having merit in paying more for parts and service (I am also an avionics tech), and while we are talking twice the price, we are still under the $500 threshold of pain that many of us can and do tolerate. For me it makes sense, for others it may not and that brings me to my other point which is if you decide to wait - then wait. For me time is money. If I save $20 a week I make up the difference in 3 months. How painful is that? How long have you waited? What is your time worth? In an airplane, about $100 an hour depending on the type. So $20 a week is nothing.

There are other shocks out there - and since these don't exist yet I can say that they are probably better - for more money than the Vipex, but less than the Ohlins, though some are more if you choose. Availabilty is not zero, and if you are riding on bad shocks you might want to consider what your body is worth should you go down resulting from a bad bounce or weave, and yes, it can and does happen.

The bottom line of my post was really all I had to say about it. If you are on bad shocks, replace them don't wait. Your body is probably more important to you than $200-$300. I know mine is. My post did come off sounding like an arrogant self righteous jerk in a few ways, but I was agreeing and supporting both sides of the argument in spite of that. Furthermore, there is no point in my chastising anyone for not buying the Ohlins and that's not what it's about - it's about why you are waiting on an unknown if you need it now, and some have posted exactly that in this thread. Besides, what happens when they finally are available and the first run isn't what you expected? Are you prepared for that? I'm sure he will make them right but there is going to be more time involved and that is exactly what the CB guys are finding out right now. See what I mean?

Also, just for the record, I never called anyone names. It's not my style. I'm trying to help people make the right decision and riding on bad shocks ain't it.

[Nessism]

There are other shocks out there - and since these don't exist yet I can say that they are probably better - for more money than the Vipex, but less than the Ohlins, though some are more if you choose. Availabilty is not zero, and if you are riding on bad shocks you might want to consider what your body is worth should you go down resulting from a bad bounce or weave, and yes, it can and does happen.

The bottom line of my post was really all I had to say about it. If you are on bad shocks, replace them don't wait. Your body is probably more important to you than $200-$300. I know mine is.

Good post. Thanks for taking the time to succinctly make a point.

Question now, what shocks do you recommend, for a GS550, that cost less than $300? I've got heartburn over paying $200 for some Progressives since I worked at S&W when I was in college (a good many years ago) and came to learn shocks in that segment are nothing more than made in Mexico Gabriel's that cost about $10 each. At any rate, please share your wealth of knowledge.

[long_av8r]

Ness,

Fair enough question and I will point out that you are absolutely right about the Progressives. I've had personal experience with them and they are crap. Unfortunately, there isn't much under $300 to choose from but there are a few. You won't get a piggyback, but in most cases you will get a rebuildable shock. A few to look into are the Hagon (UK), Ikon (Koni copy and actually a decent shock), and Works Performance. Works does not have an application listed for your bike, but I know they have them - don't believe everything you read. the problem is, getting somebody to admit to it over there can be challenging. Talk to the tech people (never sales) and see if they can come up with it.

When I posted that your body is probably worth more than $200-$300 I was talking about the price difference, not the full price. The are a few more options as the price goes up - Hyperformance being one of them, and I think Elka may be another - but something to remember is that there is strength in numbers. If you talk to the right people (dealer sales, wink, wink, nudge, nudge) you'd be surpirised what they will give up for a group sale - how's 50% sound? Yes, it's possible - I did it. So, for example, lets start with a top of the line Hagon - Stainless Steel Nitro - which is about $600. Get 10 people together and run it by them, you never know. These guys like to get thier name out in markets they are not really in yet, and people with clout on message boards is one way to do it. If you aren't afraid of a little effort (very little) you could end up with a set of shocks for nothing, yes nothing. I could not afford to spend $900 on a set of Ohlins either (I only paid $400 for my CB900F!!!), so I organized a group buy and we all made out. If the $450 for Ohlins was too much, maybe you could talk to Works Performance about a group of 10 of thier low end shocks - just an idea.

You see, I am here to help, but all this typing is killing me. If you are really serious and would like to organize a buy yourself I'd be happy to talk to you on the phone about it and tell you what I did if you want to - or since you don't live far from me you can swing by and we'll talk about that and bikes too. Either way, the benefit of the organizer is that for his effort he takes a cut but, let everybody know about it up front so nobody is mad about it on the other end. You deserve something for the effort - how about a free pair of shocks? Get a big enough group together and that's what you'll get. On the other hand, if you just want to pay retail for something, your options are somewhat limited to the low end of Hagon, Ikon, and Works Performance but even that is better than a pogo stick and a cup of hope.

[GSWeergin]

I'm from the government....

You see, I am here to help,

:mrgreen::mrgreen:

Boy, you head off for a while and the shock wars really take off!!

[long_av8r]

Sorry man, I just wanted to bring a little spring into your lives. \\/