Wilbers shock

[Scrogs10]

I recently bought a used Wilbers rear shock.
The original owner specified rider at 17stone. Passenger 13 stone plus luggage.
I weigh around 17 stone so I thought the shock would be a good fit.
The shock was serviced a year ago and has the remote hydraulic preload and adjustable rebound.
I set the sag to 60mm and the rebound to 6 clicks in. It feels much firmer than original shock but not in a bad way.
Jumping up and down on the bike everything feels ok. Out on the road the bike feels fine until I hit a bump or drain cover. I get a fairly harsh shock up through the seat. Even dropping off a curb at walking pace it feels harsh.

I have tried adjusting everything to either end of the adjustments but it still feels harsh at any setting.

I'm out of ideas as what's happening. Any ideas ?

 

[jack d]

Sounds like the high speed compression damping is too restrictive. Sorry to say that it needs to be revalved to change that.

 

[foosyerdoos]

Don’t know if this will help or confuse you further .....
I had a Wilber shock fitted by MCT in Stowmarket. They also reworked the forks while I was there.
It was set up for 15 stone, no pillion and minimal luggage (I don’t like panniers)
My shock doesn’t have remote preload adjustment
Standard Wilmer’s factory settings were -
Spring 150 -185
Rebound damping 13 clicks out. I added a further 4 clicks out so now stands at 17 out
Preload 14mm. Don’t know what that means.
Static sag 20mm.

Static sag on the front forks is 60mm and I know the shock should be the same but it works fine at 20mm. That was how MCT set it up and it works for me. Super smooth ride and certainly no jarring over bumps.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Nikolajsen]

I guess thatit is either the spring that is to hard, or as jack d writes, the compression.
And it is designed for more load, than you have on it,

 

[Scrogs10]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I thought it might be a valving issue but I don't know enough about it to know for sure.
I had intended to go and see a local ish suspension expert but the weather is a lot worse than normal. Sub zero temperature and snow are both a rare sight around here.

I had a thought about the oil temp in the shock. It was cold when I fitted it and set it up and also no more than 5* - windchill when we went out for a ride. I would assume it would affect the viscosity of the oil ?

 

[Nikolajsen]

Hmmm, never heard about change in the rear shock, when cold.
But, there must be a difference, I just don't think it can be noticed.
And some shock are filled with other kind of fluid, that dont change.

Actually, I think that if there is a difference that can be noticed, it must be in the front fork.

 

[greg the pole]

I recently bought a used Wilbers rear shock.
The original owner specified rider at 17stone. Passenger 13 stone plus luggage.
I weigh around 17 stone so I thought the shock would be a good fit.
The shock was serviced a year ago and has the remote hydraulic preload and adjustable rebound.
I set the sag to 60mm and the rebound to 6 clicks in. It feels much firmer than original shock but not in a bad way.
Jumping up and down on the bike everything feels ok. Out on the road the bike feels fine until I hit a bump or drain cover. I get a fairly harsh shock up through the seat. Even dropping off a curb at walking pace it feels harsh.

I have tried adjusting everything to either end of the adjustments but it still feels harsh at any setting.

I'm out of ideas as what's happening. Any ideas ?

If the spring is in range of your riding weight (all gear etc),
and when serviced, they used the right oil,
then I'd play with the adjusters. It costs nothing. If it's two way compression start with low speed, and repeat the scenarios that give you issues.
You might be able to tune out the harshness

 

[Thrasherg]

The temperature should NOT have any effect on the damping, otherwise as you go over bumps and the oils gets warm you would start to lose damping. Shocks use a stack of metal disks with holes in, the disks bend and allow oil to flow through (they are called a shim stack) and this allows the damping to stay constant regardless of the oil viscosity (within some limits). You should not be noticing any significant difference wether the shock is hot or cold.

Gary