For the last 6 months, ive been lucky enough to have a job which allows me to travel - a lot.

This means an average of 600 miles a week, and carrying a lot more luggage than i used to - see below



I've done 9,000 miles in 5 months. Now at just over 26,000 miles on a 2013 bike!


I changed my front fork springs for Hyperpro which was a great feeling, but since then I think my head bearings are going again, or my front tyre is a bit crap. New tyre in the post and I'm going to look at my bearings tomorrow.


It would seem something at the rear is on the way out.
My seat feels flat and horrible, the bike seems to see-saw a lot when loaded, I have 2 clicks to go for full pre-load and it still doesn't feel right.

So my current options are:
[*] Get the original Sachs shock serviced - �200
[*] Get a Hyperpro spring for the rear - �90
[*] Get a Touratech or Ohlins suspension kit - �900 + fitting
[*] Get a new seat - �300

What do I do? What's worth it?

Any suspension geeks I can come and talk to? Maybe try your bike out and see what I'm missing.

Anywhere in UK, I travel a lot!
Any feedback on your experiences would be appreciated.

Cheers, Steve.

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Bike: 2013 XT660Z, TKC70 tyres

Mods:
Barkbusters, Scottoiler, DIY Tail Mod, DNA Stage 3, Power Commander V & O2 Eliminator, Exan X-Black Stainless exhaust, Tool tube, Ohlins linear front fork springs, Nitron rear shock, JT front and Supersprox rear sprockets, D.I.D. VX 520 chain, Adventure Spec bashplate, DIY USB Outlet, DIY chain guide, Kev's Throttle mod

http://www.facebook.com/onemooseonemotorbike

I had a bad Tourance on the front some years back on another bike - thought the frame was cracked or something it was so bad - worth checking, you'll find out with new one I guess. What about slightly cheaper rear shock like Wilbers? They seem to be well reviewed.

Check suspension sag front and rear ,

Sort the tyre and check the head races first.

Now, I have to say I am definitely no suspension geek. I know what works for me and what doesn't. Suspension set up is rather like choosing tyres; what suits one person, may not suit another. All I can give is an opinion based on my own experience.

Anyway here's my 2p...

Just bear in mind that the damping on the Sachs shock is less than adequate even when brand new.

Will make a difference but you've got a 26K mile shock body with, quite probably, damping characteristics which are non-existent! Mine had started to deteriorate to the point where the ride and handling were going noticeably squiffy shortly after 10K miles!

If you get the shock rebuilt and fit a Hyperpro spring at the same time then you might be getting somewhere, but still the damping is going to be a weak area. Plus, at �290 for the spring and rebuild, your almost in the same territory as a new after-market shock which will be a much better proposition (and last a lot longer too).

Firstly, whatever you do, don't buy suspension from Touratech - you will pay massively over the odds. If you must buy Ohlins, then there are plenty of other suppliers who will charge not far off half as much.

There are plenty of other alternative shocks out there which are perfectly good enough for the Ten. Try Hyperpro, Yacugar, Nitron and Wilbers. Personally I went for a Yacugar ER-S (which is the same as the Hyperpro shock, just re-branded). It cost �379 and I'm chuffed to bits with it's performance - an infinate improvement over the OE shock (even new).

The Hyperpro and Yacugar are fitted with progressive springs, the Ohlins, Nitron and Wilbers are linear. If you ride solo and without luggage most of the time then I would err toward a linear spring. However, if like me (and you by the sound of it), you load up with luggage a fair bit and carry constantly varying weights, then the progressive option is probably going to be a better bet as it compensates for varying loads better - saves pi55ing about with preload adjustment all the time.

Whilst good (I have one), they really aren't worth �300+. Get to the root cause of the problem - fix the suspension! All that getting a new seat will do is disguise the symptoms - it won't improve the handling at all!

If it were my money - I'd be going the route of a new after-market shock. But it ain't my money!

BTW - Did you sort out your engine rattle?

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I would be checking the rear shock linkages and the swing arm bearings before spending on anything else.......just my thoughts

With all that gear on plus your weight..
I can tell yer your bike is way under sprung...

you could just put heavyer springs on the bike
but the standard shock battles to control the
standard spring strength... let along stronger springs..

The XTs have very budget suspension so theres not a
lot of gain by thowing $ at it...

Rear... Ohlins 46DR1
Front.... Race tech gold valves / new springs..

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Harley Davidson..
The easyest way to turn gasoline into noise with out the side efect of horse power...

I've just come back from a 1300km trip with a lot of off road and noticed that the first 10 to 15 minutes on-road felt very weird. I put it down to the rear shock over heating on the off road sections and losing its damping, which you then notice when you get back on smother roads.

Would that sound about right? Bike is a 2009 Z with 17,000km. For this trip I was carrying about 10kg in Enduristan throw over panniers.

I was thinking I'd treat it to a better rear shock and see what I could so with the fork internals, springs obviously for starters. So, the info in this thread has been very timely and helpful.

Well thank you again for a lengthy and detailed reply!

Already on the case.
Going to start keeping track of how many miles my tyres have done. I've noticed the front has cracking in the tread, and looks like the splitting is causing the tread to buckle.
Might be having a word with Continental about that.

I think however that the front has had at least 12,000 miles. It was new in March...


Also ordered a head bearing tool from >>>AJSutton<<< so I can do them myself. Haynes manual and bearing grease at the ready!


I'm going to speak to Yacugar today and see what they recommend. I realise that all suspension should be considered as a custom build, but this is my bike. My lovely bike which I love. It's going to stay with me until I throw it down the road so it's worth spending money on.

(Although, I have spend a considerable amount of money on it already...)


Here's a little email conversation I had with my dealer:

Hooray!

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Bike: 2013 XT660Z, TKC70 tyres

Mods:
Barkbusters, Scottoiler, DIY Tail Mod, DNA Stage 3, Power Commander V & O2 Eliminator, Exan X-Black Stainless exhaust, Tool tube, Ohlins linear front fork springs, Nitron rear shock, JT front and Supersprox rear sprockets, D.I.D. VX 520 chain, Adventure Spec bashplate, DIY USB Outlet, DIY chain guide, Kev's Throttle mod

http://www.facebook.com/onemooseonemotorbike