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I haven't been on the forum much for a while, but I wanted to jump in with a report on my new Shock Therapy Dual Rate Springs. To start, I will say that I had Weller Racing revalve my shocks and replace the springs almost 3 years ago. I was never happy. It rode like an empty dump truck. There is more to the story, but I am trying to keep this brief. I can't believe I put up with this suspension for almost 3 years! My wife and I were just on a trip to northern AZ where we put about 900 miles on the Talon. I decided on this trip that I was finally going to do something about the terrible ride. We are 68 years old and tired of getting beat up in the Talon.
Long story short, I called ST and spoke with Mike. I explained what my situation was. We decided to try a set of the Dual Rate Springs. They were able to get me in just a few days later. I took my shocks in, and they were done in just a couple of hours. Very pleasant transaction at all points. This cost me about $700 with installation and tax. Mike suggested, but didn't pressure me, to consider the shock rebuild and revalve. That would have been another $900ish. I decided to start with just the springs. I figured I could always go back for the rebuild and revalve later. I live just over an hour from ST.
This morning I took the Talon out for a test drive. WOW, what a difference! It rides so great now. I am fortunate to have a variety of terrain right behind my house. Little bumps that would have been jolting with the WR suspension, were barely felt now. I started looking for bumps to hit! It was great! I soon realized that I was carrying more speed than I normally would, it was just effortless. We have a wash that is pretty choppy. With the WR springs it just hammered us. The ST springs just soak it up. Very smooth. We are so happy. I just want to go riding now! I checked the ride height after the test run and it is within 1/4", front and rear. They say the springs may settle in after 100 miles or so, so I will recheck then.
I have a AMRC sway bar disconnect on the Talon. With the WR springs I never even felt a need to connect the sway bar. To me, that is a sign that the springs are too stiff. With the ST springs, I definitely get some body roll, so I will be trying the sway bar again. Also, with the WR springs I kept lowering the tire pressure, just trying to find some comfort. I ended up on 5 PSI on that last trip. I started at 7 PSI this morning, and I will probably go a bit higher. That gives the benefit of easier steering.
So, with only a 10 mile test ride, I am very happy with my new ST springs. If that opinion changes, I will come back and update. I am not writing this to bash WR, necessarily. They just missed the mark with my setup. In hindsight, I should not have settled for what they provided. And Shock Therapy got it right.
Below is a short version of the back story, which I had previously posted in another thread.
Lil Steve offered to loan me his ST shocks, so that I could do a comparison between stock, ST, and Weller. It started out well. I ran a route on the stock shocks near my home, on all of the types of terrain that I commonly ride. That includes sandy trails, sand washes, rocky trails, gravel roads, and paved roads. Obviously, I knew what my stock set up felt like, but I wanted to do a back to back comparison with the ST. So after the initial run on the stock suspension, I installed the ST shocks, adjusted the ride height, and went out to do the same loop. About 1/4 mile into the ride, my wife and I looked at each other and smiled. It was a great improvement. Nice plush ride, which is what I was looking for. I went on to put about 1000 miles on the ST shocks and was very happy with them.
I had heard good things about Weller, so the plan was to get my shocks/springs redone by WR. There was a few weeks delay getting into their shop to do the job. Meanwhile it was HOT here, so I wasn't riding much. I took my machine into WR, not just the shocks, as I wanted them to set the ride height. (that was an extra $125 or $150) My contact with James at WR was entirely pleasant. They did the work in about 2 hours. He told me that they would revalve the shocks once "for free" if I had any issues. I got the machine home, and went for a ride. It was very harsh, back almost to stock ride. I was very disappointed, having spent $1800. I ride a fair amount of rocky trails, and that is where I really felt the harsh ride.
I called WR and told James what I was experiencing. He seemed surprised. We scheduled a return visit for them to rework the suspension. Again, I took the machine in. They revalved the shocks and adjusted the crossovers. James told me that my tires were the cause of my harsh ride. I had been running these same tires for 2700 miles, on stock, ST, and WR suspension, and this was explained to James. He kept bringing that up, which really pissed me off. When I got home I took it out for a test ride and it was definitely better. The problem is that with the elapsed time, and the harsh WR setup in between, it is hard for me to accurately evaluate it compared to the ST setup. I think the WR setup is not quite as plush as the ST setup, but it is very hard to quantify. I have decided to let it ride (ha!), at least for now.
Long story short, I called ST and spoke with Mike. I explained what my situation was. We decided to try a set of the Dual Rate Springs. They were able to get me in just a few days later. I took my shocks in, and they were done in just a couple of hours. Very pleasant transaction at all points. This cost me about $700 with installation and tax. Mike suggested, but didn't pressure me, to consider the shock rebuild and revalve. That would have been another $900ish. I decided to start with just the springs. I figured I could always go back for the rebuild and revalve later. I live just over an hour from ST.
This morning I took the Talon out for a test drive. WOW, what a difference! It rides so great now. I am fortunate to have a variety of terrain right behind my house. Little bumps that would have been jolting with the WR suspension, were barely felt now. I started looking for bumps to hit! It was great! I soon realized that I was carrying more speed than I normally would, it was just effortless. We have a wash that is pretty choppy. With the WR springs it just hammered us. The ST springs just soak it up. Very smooth. We are so happy. I just want to go riding now! I checked the ride height after the test run and it is within 1/4", front and rear. They say the springs may settle in after 100 miles or so, so I will recheck then.
I have a AMRC sway bar disconnect on the Talon. With the WR springs I never even felt a need to connect the sway bar. To me, that is a sign that the springs are too stiff. With the ST springs, I definitely get some body roll, so I will be trying the sway bar again. Also, with the WR springs I kept lowering the tire pressure, just trying to find some comfort. I ended up on 5 PSI on that last trip. I started at 7 PSI this morning, and I will probably go a bit higher. That gives the benefit of easier steering.
So, with only a 10 mile test ride, I am very happy with my new ST springs. If that opinion changes, I will come back and update. I am not writing this to bash WR, necessarily. They just missed the mark with my setup. In hindsight, I should not have settled for what they provided. And Shock Therapy got it right.
Below is a short version of the back story, which I had previously posted in another thread.
Lil Steve offered to loan me his ST shocks, so that I could do a comparison between stock, ST, and Weller. It started out well. I ran a route on the stock shocks near my home, on all of the types of terrain that I commonly ride. That includes sandy trails, sand washes, rocky trails, gravel roads, and paved roads. Obviously, I knew what my stock set up felt like, but I wanted to do a back to back comparison with the ST. So after the initial run on the stock suspension, I installed the ST shocks, adjusted the ride height, and went out to do the same loop. About 1/4 mile into the ride, my wife and I looked at each other and smiled. It was a great improvement. Nice plush ride, which is what I was looking for. I went on to put about 1000 miles on the ST shocks and was very happy with them.
I had heard good things about Weller, so the plan was to get my shocks/springs redone by WR. There was a few weeks delay getting into their shop to do the job. Meanwhile it was HOT here, so I wasn't riding much. I took my machine into WR, not just the shocks, as I wanted them to set the ride height. (that was an extra $125 or $150) My contact with James at WR was entirely pleasant. They did the work in about 2 hours. He told me that they would revalve the shocks once "for free" if I had any issues. I got the machine home, and went for a ride. It was very harsh, back almost to stock ride. I was very disappointed, having spent $1800. I ride a fair amount of rocky trails, and that is where I really felt the harsh ride.
I called WR and told James what I was experiencing. He seemed surprised. We scheduled a return visit for them to rework the suspension. Again, I took the machine in. They revalved the shocks and adjusted the crossovers. James told me that my tires were the cause of my harsh ride. I had been running these same tires for 2700 miles, on stock, ST, and WR suspension, and this was explained to James. He kept bringing that up, which really pissed me off. When I got home I took it out for a test ride and it was definitely better. The problem is that with the elapsed time, and the harsh WR setup in between, it is hard for me to accurately evaluate it compared to the ST setup. I think the WR setup is not quite as plush as the ST setup, but it is very hard to quantify. I have decided to let it ride (ha!), at least for now.
