TL1000 Ohlins rear

[Robert Taylor]

No doubt mate,thing is you probably dont offer a replacement for the TLs old pogo stick (and why would ya.),plenty on the TL site have replaced damper with Ohlins,Wilber,Hagon etc and used the unit Bitubo make without the inbuilt damper unit to replace the pogo stick when its buggered.

Its good to know that Bitubo make a new ''guide'' for the seperate spring unit, especially as the Suzuki one is an obscene price.

I have in the past deliberated about combining the Ohlins damper with a coil over spring but I need a donor bike ( and time ) to see if there are any clearance issues and to test spring rates. As the motion ratio and leverage imparted to it will be different to the side unit a starting point would have to be established. But likely the spring rate would have to be reasonably stiff due to the direct actuation. That means a somewhat ''fat'' spring and theres not a lot of space without some re-engineering.

[Yankee Doodle Dandy]

A friend of mine had a TLR that had a lot of work done to it. I did a bunch of work, including the suspension.

I installed an Ohlins shock in the rear and Gold Valves and springs in his forks and had the tubes TiN coated at the same time. He said it was well worth the money.

If you are on a budget I would suggest finding a used Ohlins rear on either the TL forum or ebay. I see them popping up all the time. I would then bring it to Mr Taylor to have it serviced and modified if needed.

You can buy the Ohlins from IndySuperbikes in the US for less, but all they are is a re-seller. You are not going to get any serious level of support from them. From what I have read on here about Mr Taylor on this forum it would seem that going above and beyond for his customer is a daily occurrence.

[PeeJay]

Is your employment / means of living affected by faceless internet traders offshore? Would you like me to target your trade and say ''buy offshore'' ?

And whats this about being ''stung'' by gst? All commercial operations have to pay clearance charges, gst on those charges and gst on the true value of the goods ( no underwritten invoices ) Why should it be any different for private one off imports? And are these faceless parasites subsidising the advertising we do in NZ to promote the product?
Ohlins suspension units have a 5 year warranty, its quite expensive to send it back to the US if there is an issue.
We stand behind what we sell, we employ New Zealand citizens and we put money back into the local economy.

I see it like this, you import ohlins add value (service, backup) and then onsell. Someone imports their own ohlins they get it cheaper because thay are not paying up front for added value, ie service and backup. If they need service or backup they either pay you or deal with wherever they purchased from.
You could always offer shocks at a similar price as overseas, BUT if it needs modifying tweaking sevicing etc thats extra.
A fair amount of the money you get from the sale of an ohlins shock must dissappear overseas as well, so its not like all the money stays in the NZ economy.
I dont see it as taking jobs etc. If it were they should ban shock imports altogether and build a shock factory here, employ designers, engineers, mechanics, it staff, consultants, tea ladies, accountants, etc etc etc, they would all have to be NZers, all the materials sourced locally, etc etc etc.
Its no different from somone shopping around within NZ, eg get a price from Auck, Welly and Chch and then deciding where to buy.
I am involved in a business which imports "stuff" we turn it into something else and export it. The "stuff" we import has a local agent, but we dont use because we get a better deal offshore. This enables us to be more competitive on the export side. If we used the NZ agent I would probably have to sell my bike just so he can keep his Jag in gas. I would rather keep my bike and he can sell his Jag. Rather than take a small cut in profit, he would rather have no sale because "everyone would want it cheap" And quite frankly, given the choice of supporting his business at the expense of mine, or keeping our business going by not supporting his, its an easy decision.
And we get the same thing at the export end, local jobs, manufacturing etc. We counter that with service and quality.
Everything works two ways, swings and roundabouts and all that.
You arent going to stop individuals from importing their own gear, so rather than whinge and moan about it, figure out a way to get their business, make it so its advantageous to them to buy from you.
You sell a great product and service, and from your point of view the price you charge is fair.
You have to look at it from the consumers point of view. All your consumers, not just the ones who are willing to spend 1000's because they can afford to and they want the best whatever the price
regards

[Robert Taylor]

I see it like this, you import ohlins add value (service, backup) and then onsell. Someone imports their own ohlins they get it cheaper because thay are not paying up front for added value, ie service and backup. If they need service or backup they either pay you or deal with wherever they purchased from.
You could always offer shocks at a similar price as overseas, BUT if it needs modifying tweaking sevicing etc thats extra.
A fair amount of the money you get from the sale of an ohlins shock must dissappear overseas as well, so its not like all the money stays in the NZ economy.
I dont see it as taking jobs etc. If it were they should ban shock imports altogether and build a shock factory here, employ designers, engineers, mechanics, it staff, consultants, tea ladies, accountants, etc etc etc, they would all have to be NZers, all the materials sourced locally, etc etc etc.
Its no different from somone shopping around within NZ, eg get a price from Auck, Welly and Chch and then deciding where to buy.
I am involved in a business which imports "stuff" we turn it into something else and export it. The "stuff" we import has a local agent, but we dont use because we get a better deal offshore. This enables us to be more competitive on the export side. If we used the NZ agent I would probably have to sell my bike just so he can keep his Jag in gas. I would rather keep my bike and he can sell his Jag. Rather than take a small cut in profit, he would rather have no sale because "everyone would want it cheap" And quite frankly, given the choice of supporting his business at the expense of mine, or keeping our business going by not supporting his, its an easy decision.
And we get the same thing at the export end, local jobs, manufacturing etc. We counter that with service and quality.
Everything works two ways, swings and roundabouts and all that.
You arent going to stop individuals from importing their own gear, so rather than whinge and moan about it, figure out a way to get their business, make it so its advantageous to them to buy from you.
You sell a great product and service, and from your point of view the price you charge is fair.
You have to look at it from the consumers point of view. All your consumers, not just the ones who are willing to spend 1000's because they can afford to and they want the best whatever the price
regards

Yes, we create a lot of ''added value'' and backup etc. But what is inequitable is that like a lot of products the Yanks often get a better buying price. Small economies cannot compete with that. The other inequitable thing that I made mention of is that private imports often attract no clearance charges and gst. If Ive missed anything ( in my haste ) I will comment further tonight.

[lankyman]

No doubt mate,thing is you probably dont offer a replacement for the TLs old pogo stick (and why would ya.),plenty on the TL site have replaced damper with Ohlins,Wilber,Hagon etc and used the unit Bitubo make without the inbuilt damper unit to replace the pogo stick when its buggered.

I didn't intend to under-cut or offend anybody. It is my right as a consumer to search around for the best deal possible.

[White trash]

I didn't intend to under-cut or offend anybody. It is my right as a consumer to search around for the best deal possible. And I do feel for importers with the way the dollar is at the moment.

Why? You should be worried about the exporters, they're the ones getting fucked.

[lankyman]

Why? You should be worried about the exporters, they're the ones getting fucked.

Sorry. My error there

[lankyman]

There are dampers ( space fillers as Martin pointed out ) and then there are dampers that actually work. The cheapies are knocked out with a very rudimentary damping system and they are built cheap and look cheap. A high quality aftermarket shock uses the best materials, has precise tolerancing and low friction. The damping force is individually and exhaustively tested for each individual make and model.
It is only because of the current exchange rate and a purchasing anomoly that currently sourcing out of the US looks attractive. That wont last.
As you are in NP maybe you should call in and see us so we can run through some options and whys and wherefores....

Yea. Like I said over the phone I am only investigating possibilities at this stage. I'm not the wealthiest man in the world (not to say that safety and good quality gear is worth putting a price on), but a $2000 purchase does take some planning for. I have heard nothing but good things about the people and service at CKT, and would always prefer to support the local guy over the off-shore supplier at any given chance. I apologise if you feel that this thread has given your company any bad exposure in any way.

[imdying]

It's all very simple. You need to decide if it's worth $500 for:
- Installing the correct spring for your weight etc
- Changing that spring if it's not quite what you thought would be best
- Having the shock valved to suit your riding and road conditions
- Having the valving fine tuned should you not find it to be exactly what you want
- Being able to return it for servicing for free under warranty to somewhere in NZ should it develop a fault

That's either worth the extra $500 to you or it's not. It's what, 2-3 days wages? Might save a little/lot of heartache should there be a problem, might give you a better end user experience.

Total price would be about:
$1233
+ $12.33 currency conversion costs (assuming 1% or whatever your credit card company charges you, might be more)
+ $50 freight
+ GST (which is charged on both product and freight) $161
+ Import Entry Transaction Fee $28.75
+ Biosecurity screening risk fee $4
Which is about $1489.

So the items at the top are costing you about $411. Only you can decide whether that offers good value for money or not. For what it's worth, CKT customers seem to be an exceptionally satisfied lot, might be something in that.

[Squiggles]

So the items at the top are costing you about $411. Only you can decide whether that offers good value for money or not. For what it's worth, CKT customers seem to be an exceptionally satisfied lot, might be something in that.

You forgot the paypal transaction rate differences / credit card fees

[pritch]

I didn't intend to under-cut or offend anybody. It is my right as a consumer to search around for the best deal possible.

Depends what you mean by best? Go and see Robert, - ring first.

Things must be looking up on the exchange rate, I thought 1900 odd looked good. Keep the old shock and you can put it back when you sell the bike. That'll make your next Ohlins cheaper... (I hope :-)

[Robert Taylor]

Depends what you mean by best? Go and see Robert, - ring first.

Things must be looking up on the exchange rate, I thought 1900 odd looked good. Keep the old shock and you can put it back when you sell the bike. That'll make your next Ohlins cheaper... (I hope :-)

Good point Pritch, we trade used Ohlins for new, providing of course we sold it in the first instance.

[98tls]

Its good to know that Bitubo make a new ''guide'' for the seperate spring unit, especially as the Suzuki one is an obscene price.

I have in the past deliberated about combining the Ohlins damper with a coil over spring but I need a donor bike ( and time ) to see if there are any clearance issues and to test spring rates. As the motion ratio and leverage imparted to it will be different to the side unit a starting point would have to be established. But likely the spring rate would have to be reasonably stiff due to the direct actuation. That means a somewhat ''fat'' spring and theres not a lot of space without some re-engineering.

Remember you saying about that awhile back,how long would you need the TL for? would a winter be enough time?Am sure you have way more important things to do than come up with something for a 11 year old bike but if your keen i see no reason why i couldnt get mine up to you for a winter or so.With the $ i believe that if it worked it would be an attractive option for many overseas and from my years on the TL site theres plenty of them out there still being raced,modified,rebuilt etc,there a fairly devoted bunch and the money spent on many of them is unbelievable.,interestingly enough it seems as the years go buy theres more and more owners appearing on the site spending it seems more and more money on the old things.

[Robert Taylor]

I didn't intend to under-cut or offend anybody. It is my right as a consumer to search around for the best deal possible.

No not at all, it highlights very real problems that especially small businesses ( and by implication the job security of their employees ) face in NZ.
By defining the best deal it is not only about price.
Like many authorised and exclusive distributors of goods we are still as much as possible trying to do the right thing by having a wholesale margin that we sell to a dealer at and then a recommended retail price. Worldwide that long accepted business etiquette is under ever increasing threat.
We are however flexible on price and the whole package if we are given the chance to do so.
After sales service and knowledge completes the package. We are VERY serious about this and in NZ there are only a handful of technicians that have actually been ( very recently )trained by a Swedish factory engineer. And a very select few that have ongoing access to Ohlins distributor / service centre database. We do withold information if the person enquiring is not deemed to be proficient , is untrustworthy or is disloyal to historic knowledge imparted and buys goods elsewhere offshore. If someone is not accredited / formally trained says ''I can do it, its easy and I can get the info'' its being somewhat economical with the truth.

[Robert Taylor]

Why? You should be worried about the exporters, they're the ones getting fucked.

I agree 100% Of course this has come about primarily because of the weakness of the $US. Ultimately I believe the exchange rate ideally sits at $US 50 to 55 cents per 1 NZ dollar.
We should be earning more through exports ( which bring about more jobs ) and EVERYTHING that is imported should attract clearance and gst charges.