I think its time to upgrade the tired, almost 10 year old rear shock on my 05 Sprint. I would loooooooooooove an Ohlins, but at over $1000 for a brand new Sprint-specific one, I'm trying to find something used.
Since used Ohlins Sprint shocks are pretty rare, I'd like to know if there are any other Ohlins models that fit the Sprint. It's a lot easier to find a used, say, SV650 shock that one for the Sprint. I mean, how hard can it be.....aren't all shocks the same in general, it's just basically the length (and location of reservoir) that are different?
There must be some other Ohlins shock that is near the dimensions of the one for the Sprint, no?
You can probably have an Öhlins dealer convert a shock from another bike to fit the Sprint, but I don't know what that would cost. I'm not aware of any other bike's shock fitting the Sprint, but that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't one.
I've been very happy with my Penske 8983, but those are going for $925 now.
TMod was rebuilding the stockers into very nice units, but he has a 'real' job now. If you have a shop locally that does shocks, they can do the job for you.
I think Wilbers makes one that'll fit. Penske does. Works Performance did. None are cheap.
Nitron do top quality kit in the UK without asking big barnd name prices. Might be worth a look but don't know how it translates if you have to import your own
Here's what I found as replacement alternatives in Europe. From UK both Maxton and Nitron provide high quality aftermarket shocks for our 2005 - Sprint ST.
Their reply to my enquiry for my 08 ST was "The fork conversion is a 20mm piston conversion using GP20 parts and replacement Maxton fork springs. It is not a complete replacement of the internal cartridges but a replacement of the key parts of the cartridge to keep the cost down.
Regards the rear the shock quoted at the price of £580.00 + V.A.T is our RT10 monoshock and the shock quoted at £415.00 + V.A.T is our NON-remote reservoir RT10 mono shock."
or if the link doesn't work, try the Nitron site in the "store" category, under bikes you will find Triumph and for the Sprint there are 2 categories of shocks - the one that says Sprint ST 1050 is the correct one even if they mistakenly use the picture of a Tiger for it.
Penske and Hagon make them also I thought. Haven't put much time into finding out myself but might be worth a look. I thought those options might cost $400-700 maybe if I remember right.
Pretty sure Penskes are north of $700, though still south of a grand. Hagon is not in the same league. I run a Penske myself. Just had to spend a couple weeks on the stocker again while it was being rebuilt; I was very happy to get it back!
Speed Triples use a different linkage and presumably a different length.
I couldn't wait to change the suspension on my 2010 R3T, it was awful. I find the stock setup on my 02 Sprint pretty good. I'm sure it could be improved, but I have no specific complaints.
I happen to have sent the rear shock of my '07 Sprint to RaceTech for a rebuild with new valves and new springs. When I get it back in a few weeks, I'll write a review of how it rides. Even with powder coat & shipping, it should cost around $400.
RaceTech has finished my shock rebuild. The did a complete rebuild, from spring & valves, to dust seals, oil & N2 gas. The final cost to me was $527, which included a $40 powercoat to match my Tornado Red Sprint. So without the powercoat, your looking at $490.
Here are a couple pics of the shock after the rebuild. The silver allen bolt is where they drilled the shock to refill the N2 gas. View attachment 142066
Me too, my friend. And since I ride 2-Up with my wife often, it was simply overloading the stock spring on my ST1050. With the preload maxed out, it would still settle flat with touring gear all loaded.
I'm super excited to see how the bike handles now. I'm nearly done with my Winter maintenance, hopefully will get a few short test rides in tomorrow.
Thank you for this thread! Not ready to spend the dough yet, but glad to know of the alternatives. Rebuild sounds good, racetech springs and redo on the forks with my expert stepdad's advise was well worth the effort! Able to push Pepe pretty hard and wish my rear preload was as convenient as a GT so hope to improve someday, Ohlins is the fantasy I hope for, but glad to know other paths have satisfied.
So I finished the reassemply yesterday and took her out for a short test ride (10 miles). Right off the bat I can see the improvement in the rebuild rear suspention. The ride is both smoother and the handling more firm. Riding over bridge expansion joints is very smooth and when I roll hard on the throttle, the bike doesn't "sit down" any more. On speed bumps the new firmness makes for a sharp upward thrust. In general, the rear suspension is so good now that I found myself forgetting about it; and for the first time noticing how rough the front suspension is.
So my first impression is the $527 (USD) investment was well worth it. I'll come back and post a full review after I get a 1,000 miles on it.
Wayneolson, I only did the rear shock. After today's ride, I am thinking I will want to do the front forks next winter.
There is a guy in the Seattle Washington USA area selling a brand new, never used Race Tech GS3 Piggy Back reservoir rear shock on craigslist for $750 US. Race Tech sells this shock for $1050. It is sprung and valved for a 190 pound rider. Here is the link. It isn't me. I just ran across the ad and thought about this thread. I hope this isn't breaking any forum rules. I have no interest as I am going to stick with my Hyperpro Remote Reservoir rear shock.
Dang that IS a good deal, thanks alot.... Wish I could afford it! right now.. Thanks for the post... someone should grab this if they can.
Gonna dream about that in my sleep tonight.
Just FYI, it's breaking forum rules to post outside the classifieds about something you or your employer are selling. If it's just a deal you want to share, it's okay.
For my '08 1050, I was intending to deal with HR Suspension(TMod) before he moved to Racetech, but ended up following him and had Racetech rebuild/revalve and respring the rear shock. I'm 170 lbs (w/o gear) and ended up going with a stiffer rear spring. But, I also usually ride with the rear bags on and loaded. I also put stiffer springs and Gold Valve kit into the front forks. It's a fussy job, and you need some decent skills and the proper tools to complete the job, but the results turned out really good. A noticeable improvement, front and rear.
If your looking to revalve the existing shock, you might want to PM TMod and discuss. I'm not sure he is still with Racetech and he had some great mods that he did as HR that Racetech didn't offer.
Either way, a revalve is a viable option on the existing stock shock. Setup for your weight and needs and it keeps the stock hydraulic preload adjustment.
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