SEBSPEED Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 A few months ago, I pulled the Ohlins out of my Vtec and swapped in a 5th gen Wilbers. I was looking for the high and low compression damping, and the Wilbers kinda fell in my lap a few years ago. Unfortunately, the spring it came with (59/59-160-160) was horribly soft. Baileyrock to the rescue with a 1250# Hyperco spring... :) Gotta tell ya, you haven't lived till you've precariously squeezed a big spring in a vice! I have a Race Tech spring compressor, but it doesn't work with short springs like this. Cue up the danger... lol. One side of the spring in the vice, car coil compressor on the other side, and a ratchet strap to keep it anchored in the vice. Worked out well, and thankfully the new spring was shorter, so it needed minimal compression to slip the retainer back in. Total time from start to finish, 2hrs 10min including spring change and tool cleanup... test ride was GREAT. Looking forward to a longer ride in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted July 19, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2016 Awesome job with the vise! Hopefully it is a Wilbers that has adequate damping and not one from the group buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 It was not from a group buy. Damping feels pretty good right now but I still need to put some miles on my favorite local roads and fiddle with the knobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phantom Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Nice work mate. I pay someone else to do stuff like that! I don't like messing with big springs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 19, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2016 Aye captain, that is a dangerous endavour! So what specs are the other spring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 It's a 1250# spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 19, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2016 Ah... The wilbers was a 60, this a 125? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 I'm not sure how the numbers on the Wilbers break down. I do know it was ridiculously soft. The Hyperco spring is marked 1250-1262#/in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted July 19, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2016 The Wilbers from the group buy were all over the board. None that I am aware of had the rear spring rate that was spec'ed during the group buy (all were as soft or softer than stock VFR) and none of the valving was up to par for the stock spring rate. I don't recall how to decipher their numbers now. I just tossed the shock across the yard and then handed it to Traxxion a couple years later to correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 This is my second Wilbers. I have one in my streetfighter as well. Both are nicely made, work well when set up properly, and I bought both at used prices, so a bargain to boot. My CB and the turbo gixxer have Ohlins shocks, and they are very nice, but lack the compression damping I wanted to try. One of these days the TTX shocks will drop in price a bit (I hope!), would like to set one of those up in a project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer HighSideNZ Posted February 16, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted February 16, 2017 Yes I pulled the Ohlins out of mine and replaced it with a Nitron to get High/Low Speed Compression adjustment as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.