Laverdalothar said:
could you highlight a bit why you think they are?
Firstly I *perceive* that the quality is not always perfect because out of the few people I know who have tried them, two have leaked oil. Thomas had a set which leaked oil while still in the box, and one of the shocks on Crispin's Spaceframe would leak oil if you backed the compression clicker all the way out - either a stop was missing or not functioning, or some machining error in the needle valve assembly. Just two examples, but two out of less than 10 people I know who have them, so enough to make me wonder.
Secondly ignoring any question over quality, they are mass produced. The same damper internals are (as I understand it) used for every application of a certain shock, the only thing that tailors the shock to Laverda is the length, spring weight and end-eye sizes. Hence the requirement for so many clicks as they have to allow for a large range of adjustment to suit very different bikes. A custom made damping system only needs to allow say 10-15% range either side of a calculated ideal based on bike data, so 10 clicks on one shock might give you a lot more control than 40 clicks on another.
Thirdly is simply an emotional thing, I look at YSS and they are all very nice and pretty, but you can tell they are made in large volumes. To me a Maxton shock is infinitely more satisfying, because I know they were made in a little factory containing a dozen people at most, and it is obvious to look at them that they are made in (comparatively) small volumes. When I want to know something I pick up the phone (timezone dependant) and simply talk to the guy who runs the whole company - and he's not some shark of a financial wheeler and dealer, or some dickhead middle manager or inept local distributor - he's a guy who's been building racing motorcycle suspension for decades and has built a small niche company out of it. This is especially meaningful to me, being a person who makes things out of metal for a living. I see someone making a good business with a superb quality product at a very reasonable price, not succumbing to the greedy allure of manufacturing offshore, happy to keep it small and high quality. I love that. It's a karma thing.
I alluded to all this in my earlier post, there is a lot more to this subject than just the quantifiable. The topic is skewed by various different factors, the last being the pricing in each different market. In Australia both the non-reservoir and piggyback YSS are MORE EXPENSIVE than Maxton. Hence, while they are generally a very good product (and for most users could not be told apart from other more expensive products in a blind test!), I find them "overpriced for what they are".
As I also said in my post - YMMV!!!!
Cheers
Steve B
The Wilburs I have have black springs and look fab to my eyes at least.. I think they are too good for me and the bike really...am thinking of junking them and getting back to funtimes with the nice Stradas Wolfgang reconditioned for me, wondering if I will make it round the next bumpy corner (why these track tyes are so fussy is beyond me, nice smooth suurfaces, total predictability compared to the roads..that'll get 'em going? >
, but only single shocks for Zanes :-X. In fact, looks like all their motorbike shocks are for single shock bikes only :
