New Suspension

[swamper]

Pretty rare to see new stuff for the 1150R Bikes. Most of use don't feel like putting big dollars into the old bikes that really aren't worth a whole lot except to us in the know. We decided these bikes are going to be in our inventory for awhile (lifetime) so we don't mind spending the cash for the long term dividend. I know everyone will ask, they are TFX from Ted Porters Beemer House, Santa Cruz, custom orders take about three weeks. Going to be taking the 2004 R on a 6-7,000 mile summer ride starting in a couple of weeks, July 22, along with another 2002 1150R. Plan to do a little off road Dirty stuff so will be putting on a set of Shinko 705's for the Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado passes we have planned for the ride. We'll be posting some pictures here and on the ADV. Rider 11?? forum. The only other notable mod is putting on the GS skid plate system on both 1150R's being taken on this ride.

[Buckster]

Nice looking hardware. I have never heard that brand. I love my Wilburs upgrade from Ted Porters.

[riceburner]

Nice!

I may have to invest in some soon - but at the moment my (I believe) original Showas are behaving very nicely indeed. I'd forgotten how compliant and cosseting the Rockster can be. Not sure what it's set at tbh - the only thing I've done since buying it is reduce the pre-load slightly - it was at full.

[dark_knight87]

Oooh Shiny!

I have a replacement Hagon shock on my R80ST and that made a huge difference to the old girl (66k miles) - still on the original Showa's on my R1150R but she has only done 40k miles and there is plenty of life left at the moment.

Regards,
Russ

[swamper]

After riding a R1150R with well performing suspension it was very obvious that our 2004's suspension was not working up to spec. It was hard to know as the bike ages and you get use to them not working all that well. So talking with Ted he suggested this brand (TFX) for the type of riding we do. I originally was looking at the Wilburs, always have heard good things about them. Pricing was all about the same for the different brands on the market.

[swamper]

Just finish the install and headed out for a ride up to Ozzie's BMW to pick up some other parts. Install took about two hours, one hour each front and rear. Bike sits a little taller, bike is at a larger angle on the side stand and the leg reach to the ground is noticeably longer.

[swamper]

Took the long way home on the new shocks. 275 miles and they feel a lot better than the old OEM shocks. No noticeable nose dive under braking and when accelerating it doesn't squat in the rear. Handlebar input and road feel is significantly better especially entering a curve. We ordered a set of Ohlin's (Ohlin USA) for Karl's R1150R while up at Ozzie's BMW today, should be here a week from Friday. Will have a comparison of the two brands (TFX vs Ohlin) while were out on our two week ride/adventure starting the 22nd. I'm pretty excited about our upcoming ride as we bought these two R1150R over ten years ago to take on our longer rides but never have taken them for anything longer than 2,000 miles for reasons I can't remember. The last two summer rides have been on our S1000XR's mostly because they were new and under warranty, they now have 25,000 miles on them each. Before that we took V-stroms for a couple of years up into the Yukon and Alaska figuring better mileage to the tank and they didn't have any soul like the BMW to worry about if we dumped them/tore them up on the bad roads and construction zones.

[sweatmark]

Pretty rare to see new stuff for the 1150R Bikes. Most of use don't feel like putting big dollars into the old bikes that really aren't worth a whole lot except to us in the know. We decided these bikes are going to be in our inventory for awhile (lifetime) so we don't mind spending the cash for the long term dividend. I know everyone will ask, they are TFX from Ted Porters Beemer House, Santa Cruz, custom orders take about three weeks. Going to be taking the 2004 R on a 6-7,000 mile summer ride starting in a couple of weeks, July 22, along with another 2002 1150R. Plan to do a little off road Dirty stuff so will be putting on a set of Shinko 705's for the Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado passes we have planned for the ride. We'll be posting some pictures here and on the ADV. Rider 11?? forum. The only other notable mod is putting on the GS skid plate system on both 1150R's being taken on this ride.

Good timing for your post. Just shipped newly purchased Wilbers shock set (slightly used) to Klaus for rebuilds and modification. Like you say, the R1150R is a keeper and worthy of upgrades and careful feeding despite bike age.

Let me know when you will be in Oregon.

Which topic thread in ADV? I usually watch the R****R thread https://advrider.com/f/threads/bmw-r-r-thread.844612/

[swamper]

We will be in Oregon July 23,24 & 25 but not sure where. So Far thinking these routes look good to us. Going to ride the 23rd from Happy Camp area up to Gold Beach then ride the Agness-Bear Camp-Galice-Merlin Rd. over to Grants Pass area. 24th will head north on 62-230-138 west and pick up some Forest Roads to Oakridge or Springfield. Looks like Canton Creek Rd. 25-1-31, Brice Creek Rd. 22, South Bank Rd. 2102 if we go to Oakridge. 25th head out on Aufderheide Memorial DR. to 126 north to 22 north to Detroit. Pick up Forest rd. 46 and 58 to hwy's 26 and 35 to Hood River. 26th out towards Baker City want to ride the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway out of Heppner and connect to the Elkhorn Dr. Scenic Byway, missed it last year. Then we'll be headed east on 86 to 39 north up to Joseph and beyond to Idaho. Still trying to work out mileage for the days so haven't gotten to where will be getting hotels yet. Usually we do about 350 but with some dirt I'm thinking a bit lower.
Yes the R****R advrider thread is where I usually post.

[SteveK]

Ted Porter set me up with TFX shocks a few years ago for my 2013 R1200R. I was a bit skeptical but he was spot on. Love them.