Sproingggg!

The new suspension I ordered for the Beemer arrived last Wednesday. Much simpler of an install than I expected and what a difference in the ride, even with the settings from the factory. (The factory is in Germany, so they must be right, right?)

Here's a little pictorial of the installation.







I'm not sure if they were able to go up the extra inch I requested as Ted said that the GSA suspension was already maxed out at stock height. I guess I'll see when I get the old ones off.

So, first thing I had to do was get the battery back in the Buell in case the install went long. I don't drive the truck unless I absolutely have to anymore.





Done. And fired right up after sitting for several months. I still do like that bike. Now onto the GS.

I figured the rear shock would be the right place to start as it seemed easier to access.

The stocker:



Showing the location of the evaporative emissions recovery canister:





Top view:



Bottom view showing first interference and the reason the bike can't go any taller with stock exhaust:



Interference cleared!



It was at this point that I had to do the guy thing and find out what a boxer sounds like without a can. Two words: Stu-pid. These things are supposed to be well muffled.

Anyhoo, with the testosterone generation out of the way, I carried on.

A couple of bolts, a little persuasion with a pry bar and voila:



Canister removed and:



Preload adjuster mounting:



Canisterectomy completed:



Only one picture from the front as it is pretty tight and with the Stebel taking up all the room under the beak, there's not much to see.

Loosening the top nut of the stocker:



It was shortly after this point that I realized I had to remove the tank guard cross brace so the front would drop enough to let the shock come out.

I did that and it still wasn't giving me enough room. Luckily, I inspected it carefully before applying excessive force as I had forgotten to unhook the front brake line from the frame connector and that was now what was suspending the nose. On bit of quick work with a jack and one torx screw later and I was back in business.

The new unit went in with no drama and the rest of the tank covers and panels went back on pretty easily.

Truly a do-it yourself installation.

First impressions. So far it is exactly what I was looking for. My main issue with the stock shocks was the lack of damping adjustment on the front. The nose rise & dive when shifting up through the gears, no matter how I set the preload was about driving me nuts.

This setup has all but eliminated it already and I haven't started tweaking it.

It feels much more sure-footed over rough roads (good thing around here) and I will describe it as firmer, but softer, than stock, if that makes any sense. There doesn't seem to be as much suspension movement, but it is not harsh at all in doing that.

For the money, I wouldn't call this a cost effective farkle, but if it's going to just get better as I tune them, so far, so good.