Have you got a 1100gs with standard rear shock, if so...

Spoke with (or should I say tried to talk to) Gommie today at ABE, he obviously knows what he is talking about and has been around shock building and bikes for a long time now but he is the kind of bloke who doesn't like listening and will definitely never admit that he may have made a mistake!
It is possible that the after market spring (came already fitted & I have no idea what it is rated at) may be over sprung and too much for the available damping so I'll give them that one...but you can see on Marks video that his spring is standard and it has the same problem so that's likely to be a build issue.
I asked for a carriage refund and he started complaining that he had to take my shock apart again yesterday to examine it when there was nothing wrong with it, said that it cost him £35 in parts to fabricate a new re-gas point and then there was all his time.
As for the extra long original re-gas valve his reply was that it would fit on some GS's but not others...well why not return them all with the short valve to eliminate any doubt & then the customer won't have to go to the inconvenience and cost of returning the shock..he didn't like that.
It got a bit heated and I ended up saying to get it back to me as soon as possible, which is likely to be the middle of next week now. It's also going to be interesting to see if there's any difference seeing that he had to take it apart and rebuild it again..if it's still the same then I may try an original spring if I can get hold of one and would probably also send it to KAIS for a 2nd opinion (should have sent it there initially but they were pretty busy ).
If you are thinking of having a shock worked on use KAIS.

Thank's for the offer again Gordon but I can wait another week to see

A simple refurbishment and re-chromed rod has cost me over £220 so far with over £60 of that as carriage and it's only taken 11 weeks...twats!

Mike.

I know how you feel. My spend was just short of £200 including postage for a shock that lasted about 2 weeks before ending up as scrap thanks to ABE. I know I probably could have sent it back to them for the 4th time, but life’s too short.

I think a nice new Nitron or Wilbers will be on my Christmas list.

I'm happy with my Wilbers, and Revs seem to be good people to deal with come service time from what I've seen and heard.

<<Mark_C>> said:

I think a nice new Nitron or Wilbers will be on my Christmas list.

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MCTechnics are fitting new, specific weight Nitrons and setting up accordingly to my 1150GSA in a couple of weeks. They tell me the difference will be night and day compared to the OEM shocks. Can't remember the last time I got this excited over a bike mod.

ABE they are the outfit over in Greenwich right !! they messed up my shock sent it back to them they messed it up again, wife drove over in her car with a full explanation of what was wrong got it back still not right. Got fed up a bought a 2nd hand shock of ebay, still have the old refurbished shock on a table in the garage, lesson learned never again.

BMWMIKE said:

ABE they are the outfit over in Greenwich right !! they messed up my shock sent it back to them they messed it up again, wife drove over in her car with a full explanation of what was wrong got it back still not right. Got fed up a bought a 2nd hand shock of ebay, still have the old refurbished shock on a table in the garage, lesson learned never again.

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Was this recently Mike, and what was the problem? I know ABE used to be well regarded on here but something seems to have changed. Maybe the guy that used to do the BM shocks has left the company or something?

<<Mark_C>> said:

Was this recently Mike, and what was the problem? I know ABE used to be well regarded on here but something seems to have changed. Maybe the guy that used to do the BM shocks has left the company or something?

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They returned the shock re built but back to front so that the remote adjuster take of prevented the shock being fitted to the bike. I sent the shock back to them with a diagram and also made markings on the shock so that they could re assemble correctly but it was beyond them, a child could of understood what was required.
Had 3 goes at this including my wife taking the shock back to them in person, she left it with then. Had the shock returned by post in exactly the same condition as it was before, thats when I gave up, life is to short to waste time with numpties.

This was about 18 months ago pleased to say that the 2nd hand shock that I bought from ebay is still working ok. About 6 months ago I was having a conversation with a friend who has a Triumph and this topic came up,he told me that there was lots of negative comments about ABE on the Triumph forums all concerning problems with re built shocks.

BMWMIKE said:

They returned the shock re built but back to front so that the remote adjuster take of prevented the shock being fitted to the bike. I sent the shock back to them with a diagram and also made markings on the shock so that they could re assemble correctly but it was beyond them, a child could of understood what was required.
Had 3 goes at this including my wife taking the shock back to them in person, she left it with then. Had the shock returned by post in exactly the same condition as it was before, thats when I gave up, life is to short to waste time with numpties.

This was about 18 months ago pleased to say that the 2nd hand shock that I bought from ebay is still working ok. About 6 months ago I was having a conversation with a friend who has a Triumph and this topic came up,he told me that there was lots of negative comments about ABE on the Triumph forums all concerning problems with re built shocks.

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Just a thought, my shock was returned with the preload adjuster fitted 180 degrees out but you can just slacken the grub screw and turn it back through 180 again if you have a decent vice at hand?

Dave Walton (Gommie at ABE) has emailed me and has now also left a voicemail, he is going to try heavier grade oil and seems to be going out of his way to help now but it's such a shame that it has to get to an almost falling out stage to get something done!
Real pity if things are going wrong there though

Mike.

mspenz said:

Just a thought, my shock was returned with the preload adjuster fitted 180 degrees out but you can just slacken the grub screw and turn it back through 180 again if you have a decent vice at hand?

Dave Walton (Gommie at ABE) has emailed me and has now also left a voicemail, he is going to try heavier grade oil and seems to be going out of his way to help now but it's such a shame that it has to get to an almost falling out stage to get something done!
Real pity if things are going wrong there though

Mike.

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Hi I tried that with a vice but could not move it, I put a lot of force through it but it would not give.
I am over 60 and not as strong as I used to be so I asked my son to have a go but he could not move it either. I do not have a spring compressor that might have worked but by this time enough was enough as I say life is to short.
I would never go this route again and do not recommend it to people that I know.

Dave called me again today and is going out of his way to get things sorted, he's worked out that the current spring is around 180lbs stronger than an original so he is trying slightly heavier oil and has modded the damping valve so that it can completely seal off.
He even offered to refund my postage charges out of his own pocket so that it can get resolved so I can't ask for fairer than that

Mark, with my nice cup of tea and an Eccles cake to enjoy whilst reading all through this long and detailed post, prompts me to suggest to you:
Tell the forum members exactly who and where ABE are, and then find another dealer, if you don't / can't DIY.
Any workshop monkey who's "the kind of bloke who doesn't like listening" must be one to avoid, no matter how bike-servicing experienced.
There is a multitude of mendacious, robbing bar-stewards out there masquerading as motorcycle dealers. When you find a good 'un, stick with them :-
"Once you have found ( her ), never let ( her ) go..." Giorgio Tozzi - soundtrack of Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific".

I’m not sure I’ve ever written a bad review in my life, but my ordeal over this past months has left me with no option. I wish I had had spotted this thread beforehand as unfortunately I’ve had a similar experience to a number of you.

Sent my (working) rear shock off to ABE late November 2018 as it has 54k miles on and I’m planning a big trip soon so fancied saving a few quid and getting a refurb. Got the shock back just 2 weeks later (a few days lost to DPD for delivering the shock to a house 2 streets over and singing my name on it, but I digress). The shock was fitted with a standard Schrader valve as expected which was placed on the rearward face on the top of the strut. Everything mounted well however when I sat on the bike for the first time there was a crack, following by a very concerning hissing sound, lasting for about 5 seconds. The shock had zero damping no matter what I tried and would knock hard on rebound, exactly like xxx shows in his video. I didn’t have time to remove the shock until a few days later.

In the meantime I called ABE and explained what had happened and he told me that it’s impossible for the shock to hiss as there is a tiny amount of gas in there, and that there must be something else on my bike hissing. He also said that he didn’t understand what I meant when I explained that it “topped out on rebound”. I got the shock out that evening and saw what you can see in the below pictures 1 & 2. I emailed him these pictures and called him, again he seemed puzzled at the obvious clash and said that he’s never seen it before but would take my shock back and install a shortened valve.

Got the shock sent off again and it was returned just before Christmas. As I was away over Christmas I didn’t get to see the shock until 3rd Jan. As can be seen from photo 3, the same length valve was now installed on the front of the shock, facing forward. I was slightly dubious, but my fears were confirmed when I went to fit the shock. It simply will not fit inside the cup in the subframe with the valve protruding as much as it does. Picture 4 speaks 1000 works. I sent ABE the photos via email. The bike was up for MOT the week after

Yet another call to ABE (getting bored and frustrated at this point) I explained that yet again the shock won’t fit, citing the photos I’d sent him. I said I’m bored of this loop and can’t see a feasible solution so will most likely have to fork out on an aftermarket unit (probably for the best anyway). He offered to get some quotes on a Wilbers unit and sell them to me at cost, minus the £130 I’d spent on the refurb and postage etc. I wanted to think about it and do a bit of research and eventually settled on pursuing a Nitron unit instead. Phoned back the next day saying I wanted my refund of £130 but I would need some compensation for the shock that was previously working and is now useless. He said he would need it back to ensure it is scrapped and would offer me a grand total of £20 for it. I argued that the shock could have been sold on Ebay for closer to £100 but he wouldn’t budge, stating that this has never happened before, it must be something to do with my bike or the way I’m fitting it. I explained the photos (4) but he said he “couldn’t really see much from them, but this has never happened before”. Although I’m no mechanic, I have a good idea about spannering, but when I tried to explain my situation he said he wasn’t stupid and that this isn’t his fault. At this point, the blatant lies and/or ignorance was really pushing my buttons so I decided to cut my losses before I really lost my patience on this waster. I sent the shock back last week, and eventually got my £150 back a few days later.

1/10.

Glad to hear you got your money back. I should have tried for that when my supposedly refurbished shock failed after two weeks, but by then it had gone backwards and forwards to ABE so many times I was losing the will to live. I think my refurbished shock must have clocked up more miles on a parcelforce truck than it did fitted to the bike before failing again.

Anyway, I ended up getting a new pair of Wilbers in the end. Pricey but lovely.

Hi fella, I feel your pain mate. Ive been ripped off many a time with engine repairs , servicing etc . Its so frustrating , you just want to go there and have it out with them. But it only works two ways, either youre in prison for losing your rag or you walk away. As they say it takes a man to walk away but it bloody hurts. Ive started to do my own servicing now, at least I know everything is getting done. I was a bit worried at first doing it but with the help of the internet its a doddle. I see you are going to buy some Nitron rear suspension . I looked up a price at Brooks suspension with hydraulic preload that comes in at £615 . Where were you thinking of looking ? have you found anywhere cheaper ? All the best tony

It’s not just the company being quoted here,
I had a 1200 one rebuilt by Firefox,which once refitted had no damping(it was perfectly serviceable when I sent it ,just high miles)
I never bothered returning it,as I could just sense a load of hassle.
Nowadays I will not recommend this course of action to a customer,and deal pretty much solely with either REVs or the shock factory.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the Shock Factory. If anyone wants to talk suspension please get in touch and we can do a standard or custom built shock for your requirements, https://www.marksmotorcycleparts.co.uk/shock-absorbers