Quick hopefully straightforward shock question

[flatlander]

Were all the blue ones the same or did they "improve" them?
Basically the newer 04 one I am getting has a blue one and I have one to replace it with just double checking before possibly wasting any time :)
Thanks
Geoff

[Falco9]

Pretty sure (about 99.9%) they were all the same.

OK its not the best shock in the world but not as horrible as many make out. I refitted my Blue shock for a few weeks recently whilst I sorted out some linkages for my Yellow Spring shock and it was OK to be fair.

IMHO the yellow spring Sachs is a definate improvement but not a huge leap over the std shock

F9

[Aladinsaneuk]

I think it depends on the life of the shock - mine had a blue spring on when i bought it - at 17000 miles - it was ok - BUT i noticed a hell of a change when I changed things over

I suspect a low mileage well maintained blue spring may well be not too bad - but I would suggest that any shock with >20k miles on it needs a refurb anyway - and the blue spring shocks, effectively, cannot be refurbed - hence why so many of us change them.....

I still think that a refurbed white spring mille shock correctly set up is ideal for the vast majority of us

[D-Rider]

I have heard it suggested that they were improved but if that is the case I would hate to have an early one.

My bike was bought new - built 2004 first registered 2005 - so if there is any difference I had a late one.

Fitting the Mille Ohlins transformed the bike - night & day.
There have been a couple of times I have refitted the blue one since and each time I have been sharply reminded of just how poor it is. I could tell between leaving my garage and reaching the road at the end of my drive that the blue spring shock was on there (and, no, I don't live in a country mansion with a 1 mile driveway). Any attempt at a bit of spirited riding down the lanes would have it pogoing all over the place. Probably no worse than many budget bikes but nothing like the Falco can be with a decent shock on there.
I would be able to tell riding blindfold - even before I rode into something I couldn't see.

I suspect a low mileage well maintained blue spring may well be not too bad

I would disagree .... really

[Aladinsaneuk]

Fair enough lol!

[flatlander]

Just hope the white one arrives sooner rather than later or it will have to be the yellow one choices choices

[hornetrider]

I could not agree more with Mr D.

I bought my 54 plate about 4 years ago with 5.5k on the clock. Blue spring was SO harsh and pogo-y it was unbelievable. Worse than my Hornet suspension. I then lived on Ebay looking for an Ohlins, was lucky enough to pick one up and from then on it was basically a completely different bike. The Ohlins actually has plush, well controlled (damped) suspension - lovely.

In my view there's three proper game changing mods for this bike - Ohlins rear, lightweight OZs, and fuelling (be that PCIII, Gabro, AN Other). All of these mods significally improve the ride of the standard bike in such a way that even a muppet like me can tell the difference in two seconds flat.

[randomsquid]

Mine has 20k and change on it and it isn't great. Manages to be squishy most of the time but over ripples it's like a visit to Mrs. Spanky. I had to pull over once to see if my spine had actually come out of my nose or if it just felt like it.

[flatlander]

Mine has 20k and change on it and it isn't great. Manages to be squishy most of the time but over ripples it's like a visit to Mrs. Spanky. I had to pull over once to see if my spine had actually come out of my nose or if it just felt like it.