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Trying to decide what shock to order


reboot

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As the subject states, I am trying to decide what shock I want to upgrade to. Currently looking at the K-Tech Razor,Matris KD or Wilbers and can't decide which one I should "spring" for.
 
I will be running a set of forks modded by Matt and I don't plan on track racing this bike. Moderate aggressive street riding with very limited passenger riding(Even then it's a short ride). 
 
I like the bling of a remote pre-load but not sure I need it.
 
Anyone have one or the other shocks on their FZ and can chime in? 

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I've run most of the shocks on the market at one time or another. Everything from 2 up touring, solo sport touring to racing and canyon crawling. I have found the biggest thing is to get one, in your price range, you can get serviced quickly at reasonable cost and preferably locally. An exotic shock that has to 'go away' or waiting 4 weeks for parts from Timbukto is a pain. Any of the top brands will offer something for your application. Others that may be worth a look are Penske, Ohlins and JRi. They offer uprated 'street' shocks that offer better damping and rider specific springs w/o all of the expensive bells and whistles that most people never utilize. I've noticed that even most racers will never fool with their shocks capabilities but instead install it as delivered and learn to ride it as is.  Don't waste your money on do dad's unless you are sure you need them, spend that cash on refreshing it every other year (or more if you flog your bike) A good shock is well worth the money and you'll love the way your bike handles and behaves. Sure (insert brand here)  has $2000 shocks but they also have a $600 unit that will blow your mind on the street.
 
.02
 
Cheers

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I have the jri 2 way and cartridges from Matt. The jri was the least expensive option that still had a remote reservoir and I've had a great experience with it. Had it tuned at the track and I don't have a single complaint.

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I've run most of the shocks on the market at one time or another. Everything from 2 up touring, solo sport touring to racing and canyon crawling. I have found the biggest thing is to get one, in your price range, you can get serviced quickly at reasonable cost and preferably locally. An exotic shock that has to 'go away' or waiting 4 weeks for parts from Timbukto is a pain. Any of the top brands will offer something for your application. Others that may be worth a look are Penske, Ohlins and JRi. They offer uprated 'street' shocks that offer better damping and rider specific springs w/o all of the expensive bells and whistles that most people never utilize. I've noticed that even most racers will never fool with their shocks capabilities but instead install it as delivered and learn to ride it as is.  Don't waste your money on do dad's unless you are sure you need them, spend that cash on refreshing it every other year (or more if you flog your bike) A good shock is well worth the money and you'll love the way your bike handles and behaves. Sure (insert brand here)  has $2000 shocks but they also have a $600 unit that will blow your mind on the street. 
.02
 
Cheers
Good call on rebuild/serviceability. That did not cross my mind.  
From what I have gathered almost any shock will be better than stock. Guess I will need to setup the forks once Matt does his magic and see what the bike feels like on the stock shock and go from there.  
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Check the Bitubo shocks @bellissimoto can get for us. Pretty sure he can help you out! 
http://fz07.org/thread/5803/bitubo-suspension-retail-pricing-reduced
 
- Pancho
Thanks for the shoutout Pancho! 
@reboot , I'd highly encourage you to take a look at our Bitubo offerings... linked above.  Remember, those prices are full retail, and current discount for forum members is 20% any Bitubo product.
 
:)
 
- Paul
 
 
BellissiMoto.com
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I like the bling of a remote pre-load but not sure I need it.
Unless you're constantly changing your load-out it's not worth the $200-250 incremental cost. Service and support of the Matris is very limited. The Hyperpro a little better. That said any proper suspension shop can work on them. But in the case of the Matris you'll have to pre-order the wear parts. I do have 3 shock maint kits in hand FWIW. 
You can't swing a dead cat and not hit an Ohlins or Penske service center. A JRI is almost indistinguishable from a Penske but the factory does a pretty fast job of service turn-around.
 
K-tech is growing and as of 2015 had centers in:
Mach Modified/Marco Costiglio 100 Allen Blvd Farmingdale, NY 11735 631/844-9691
Thermosman Suspensions/Mike Fitzgerald 193 Highlands Dr Woodstock, GA 30188 770/500-6445
TT Motorsports/Apex Race Services/Tim Hunt 750 East Sample Road Building 1; Suite 2 Pompano Beach, FL 33064 754/307-2192
Fluidology/Steve Breckenridge 731 Begonia St Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 904/881-0512
Velocity Calibrations/Eric Vallarta 25 Heatherwood Dr Collinsville, IL 62234 314/669-1849
Motorcycle Service Centers/Will Kenefick 4081 Calle Tesoro Suite D Camarillo, CA 93012 805/388-5659
Moto Station/Kory Cowan 231 West 4500 St Murray, UT 84107 801/268-0100
 
Plus there are a few more.
 
If you're just tooling around town and back roads at ~legal speeds, get a $500 class shock. If you have more sporting inclinations then go for the 700-900 class (K-Tech, Bitubo XXF11, Nitron NTR2, JRi Double, Penske double). If you're racing then consider the Bitubo for sure as well as the NTR3 and triple adjustable Penske and JRI offerings.
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Check the Bitubo shocks @bellissimoto can get for us. Pretty sure he can help you out! 
http://fz07.org/thread/5803/bitubo-suspension-retail-pricing-reduced
 
- Pancho
Thanks for the shoutout Pancho! 
@reboot , I'd highly encourage you to take a look at our Bitubo offerings... linked above.  Remember, those prices are full retail, and current discount for forum members is 20% any Bitubo product.
 
:)
 
- Paul
 
 
BellissiMoto.com
That I have, 20% off is also a nice incentive. Does Bitubo offer rebuild kits? 
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I like the bling of a remote pre-load but not sure I need it.
Unless you're constantly changing your load-out it's not worth the $200-250 incremental cost. Service and support of the Matris is very limited. The Hyperpro a little better. That said any proper suspension shop can work on them. But in the case of the Matris you'll have to pre-order the wear parts. I do have 3 shock maint kits in hand FWIW. 
You can't swing a dead cat and not hit an Ohlins or Penske service center. A JRI is almost indistinguishable from a Penske but the factory does a pretty fast job of service turn-around.
 
K-tech is growing and as of 2015 had centers in:
Mach Modified/Marco Costiglio 100 Allen Blvd Farmingdale, NY 11735 631/844-9691
 
Thermosman Suspensions/Mike Fitzgerald 193 Highlands Dr Woodstock, GA 30188 770/500-6445
 
TT Motorsports/Apex Race Services/Tim Hunt 750 East Sample Road Building 1; Suite 2 Pompano Beach, FL 33064 754/307-2192
 
Fluidology/Steve Breckenridge 731 Begonia St Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 904/881-0512
 
Velocity Calibrations/Eric Vallarta 25 Heatherwood Dr Collinsville, IL 62234 314/669-1849
 
Motorcycle Service Centers/Will Kenefick 4081 Calle Tesoro Suite D Camarillo, CA 93012 805/388-5659
 
Moto Station/Kory Cowan 231 West 4500 St Murray, UT 84107 801/268-0100
 
Plus there are a few more.
 
If you're just tooling around town and back roads at ~legal speeds, get a $500 class shock. If you have more sporting inclinations then go for the 700-900 class (K-Tech, Bitubo XXF11, Nitron NTR2, JRi Double, Penske double). If you're racing then consider the Bitubo for sure as well as the NTR3 and triple adjustable Penske and JRI offerings.
Thanks for that info Matt!  
I take the wife out for a spin maybe once or twice a year(I hate riding with a passenger.) So I really don't need the bling of remote preload. What you listed for shocks lines up to how I was looking at them. Even though I tend to ride a bit "spirited" I am not sure its aggressive enough to need anything more than the $500 class shocks. I get by ok on the stock one so it can only get better.
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Thanks for the shoutout Pancho! 
@reboot , I'd highly encourage you to take a look at our Bitubo offerings... linked above.  Remember, those prices are full retail, and current discount for forum members is 20% any Bitubo product.
 
:)
 
- Paul
 
 
BellissiMoto.com
That I have, 20% off is also a nice incentive. Does Bitubo offer rebuild kits? 
Bitubo does offer rebuild kits, but they advise utilizing a Bitubo Authorized service center (BellissiMoto) to maintain the factory warranty.   
:)
 
- Paul
 
 
BellissiMoto.com
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That I have, 20% off is also a nice incentive. Does Bitubo offer rebuild kits? 
Bitubo does offer rebuild kits, but they advise utilizing a Bitubo Authorized service center (BellissiMoto) to maintain the factory warranty.   
:)
 
- Paul
 
 
BellissiMoto.com
Good to know! Thanks for that info.
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  • 4 months later...
  • Premium Member
cornerslider
I've run most of the shocks on the market at one time or another. Everything from 2 up touring, solo sport touring to racing and canyon crawling. I have found the biggest thing is to get one, in your price range, you can get serviced quickly at reasonable cost and preferably locally. An exotic shock that has to 'go away' or waiting 4 weeks for parts from Timbukto is a pain. Any of the top brands will offer something for your application. Others that may be worth a look are Penske, Ohlins and JRi. They offer uprated 'street' shocks that offer better damping and rider specific springs w/o all of the expensive bells and whistles that most people never utilize. I've noticed that even most racers will never fool with their shocks capabilities but instead install it as delivered and learn to ride it as is.  Don't waste your money on do dad's unless you are sure you need them, spend that cash on refreshing it every other year (or more if you flog your bike) A good shock is well worth the money and you'll love the way your bike handles and behaves. Sure (insert brand here)  has $2000 shocks but they also have a $600 unit that will blow your mind on the street. 
.02
 
Cheers
You sir, are a brilliant man..... I've spent soooo much money on suspension, on so many many different bikes- that I seriously don't know how to tune/adjust..... When I tried to get the high-dollar "bells-and-whistles" shock set-up, there were so many different opinions that I just wanted to remove it, and start over...... Find what makes you "comfortable", and just go with it. Most of us (myself included) are NOT chasing championships (at least not on an FZ-07). ANYTHING you buy will probably be better than OEM- period.

""W.O.T. until you see god, then brake"

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  • 5 months later...

Anything is an improvemnt of stock, even if you simply get the springs changed to your weight and proper oil weight.  But suspenders has become a science going and there are basics.  Always Always start by charting what each adjustment is STOCK.  Create a spread sheet with Srpning rate, damping click compression clicks etc etc.  I digress, what is the best shock? the one that meets your needs and your budget

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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