Honda ST1300 - Works Performance shock upgrade review
john.s...@gmail.com
comfort and it's ability to play in the curves. However, one of the
weak points in the ST seems to be suspension, especially for those
carrying another passenger or perhaps those packing lots of cargo for
your Alaska Trip or around the US travels. By many accounts, the ST's
shocks are under sprung and often by 25,000 miles, the rear mono-shock
are in need of replacement.
The stock Honda spring is essentially a single rate spring rated at
900 lbs (for those requiring details, at 1/2 inch compression 450 lbs,
at 1.0 inch compression 922 lbs on one try and 931 lbs on another, at
1.5 inches compression 1427 lbs, and 2.0 inches compression 1964 lbs.
compression). However, what was quite interesting on the stock shock
was the fact that the shock is ONLY allowed maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch
stroke before encountering a bottoming bumper. This is another reason
to move up to a larger aftermarket spring like 1100 or 1300 pound
spring rate!
I settled on an aftermarket replacement company called Works
Performance located in Canoga Park California that have been in the
business for thirty years. They came recommend by several motorcycle
magazines and bikes who needed a custom shock system for their cycle.
The mistake I made is I should have checked actual online bulletin
board systems such as ST-Owners or Sport Touring Associations web site
to see what others have done. Had I done so, I would have read several
postings by people whose opinion are highly regarded that Works shock
results in an improved ride but have quality control issues including
leaking seal that persist.
Anyway, I placed my order with the sales-person at Works. I told them
my riding profile, weight, and bike type, and coil color preference.
The sales person said it would take two weeks for the shocks to reach
my door once they had received payment. A few days after my check was
cashed, the sales person at Works told me that the coil with my
configuration was not available in black but only blue. My hunch is
that the sales person only said black in order to get the deal. I came
to find out later found out they never offered the black color in my
configuration. One strike against Works Performance.
About four weeks later I received the shocks. I had my local mechanic
install them. Before I left the dealers bay on the ST, I had to make
the sure the sag was correct. When the mechanic and I measured the
preset sag, the bike sagged almost four inches with all top boxes
removed an almost half-empty gas tank! I was surprised, because I was
told by Works that each shock is customized exactly to the riders
weight. The sales person told me the unit would only require a few
turns of the pre-load collar to set the final sag. Two strikes against
Works Performance.
After cranking the "hard" preload collar to almost 90 percent of it's
full use the bike was able to sag about 1.25 inches, which suited my
ST very well. The shock does also have a "soft" preload that is
similar to the dampening screw on the OEM unit. The "soft" preload
required a total of ten turns to achieve the correct setting.
What about the ride? The improvement over the OEM rear unit is
dramatic. Any hint of weave at high speeds with the top-case is
eliminated. Buffeting on a busy highway is reduced to a minimum. The
overall pliancy was superb and made me feel I could never go back to
the stock unit! Then the disappointment set in....
After only a few weeks of mild riding, I started to notice a loud pop
when going over any bump on the rear shock. I dismissed it at first at
the tension of the new spring. A week later, I took a flashlight and
looked behind the rear Works Performance shock. The entire back
portion and the near the wheel well was totally soaked in the oil from
the shock. Apparently the rear unit seal had broken. I had been riding
basically on rear spring tension only. All rebound compression was
just about gone. The ST was no longer nimble. Every time I would go
over a bump, it would act like a pogo.
Frustrated, I called Works Performance expecting to get a replacement
as promised by their warranty mentioned on their web page at:
http://www.worksperformance.com/html/warranty.html
I was met with skepticism during my initial call in that somehow I had
neglected the shock. I spent days going between various voice mail
systems, sending many e-mail in which a few were answered in a vague
fashion. I even faxed my e-mails to their office. Finally after much
delay, the company's accountant/comptroller contacted me. She had
promised they would pay for the labor charge of removing the shock and
installing the new one. In addition they would totally rebuild the
faulty unit.
The next day after having heard these "promises" by WP, I went to the
dealer and had the rear unit replaced with the former OEM shock. I
then tried to contact WP about UPS pickup of the unit. Then my
telephone calls were not returned despite calling several times during
the day to arrange a UPS pickup of the faulty shock. One week after
Works Performance promised to pickup the faulty shocks at the Honda
dealer the shocks were stilling sitting in a box ready to be picked up
by UPS!
I decided at this point to take matter in my own hands and mail the
shocks back to California. I was told by the Honda dealer that UPS did
attempt to pick up the shocks but due to some reason they left without
the shipment and never returned again. With the easy to use web
tracking via the UPS web site, there is no reason why the shocks
should have waited at the dealers garage for one week after removing
it from my ST....$20.00 dollar later and the box was shipped from a UPS
store by me...now it came time to wait to see how long the replacement
shocks would take. Three strikes against Works Performance for their
lackadaisical effort to help a fellow customer with a newly shock
covered by the warranty.
Update: I did receive the replacement shocks from WP after about three
weeks of waiting. The ride is smooth, pliant and in general much
better. The original WP shock was a 1,000 lb. spring, however, the
replacement unit was 1,200 spring rate which has helped the rear sag
and improved the riding feedback. If I did more sustained two-up
touring, I would probably go with a 1,300 or better yet a 1,400 sprung
pound spring.
John
ott...@hotmail.com
Very Interesting, thanks for the report, and any future up dates if
necessary.
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