Adjustable shox for Cafe Racers

[beachcomber]

To give you all an apple with apple comparison - a STEEL bodied equivalent fully adjustable Hagon is around £500 - £600 a pair and they don't have heim type mounts.
 
The Ikon price quoted is for ONE shock [ alloy bodied / adjustable ].
 
BTW - there are NO development costs amatized on these shox, as they were developed from the Cobra race shox and the BMW shocker we developed 2 years ago.
 
That said, one of the UK guys we are supplying with the RAM shox to does have a budget range of quality shox of his own - albeit steel bodied for around £150 [ $200?].
 
Sorry for any of you still in shock, but quality doesn't come cheap !!

[beachcomber]

Just to show you that Uncle Beachcomber's not on a "get rich before he dies" kick - here's the aforementioned Hagons [ the one's on the right are the "comparison" ].
 
Hagons - Current price as of 5 minutes ago is £596 pair.
 
Hagons are - Steel bodied [ obviously not anodised ] not Aircraft alloy - rubber/metal bushes - no Heim Joints - not sure about the plunger stem diameter? AND you don't get a 10% discount for being good ole boys.
 
I hope that puts the RAM shockers into some kind of perspective for you all. Now then if you want the price of Ohlins .........................
 

[xulf13]

Indeed, and I agree, Quality does NOT come cheap.
It's just that most people here can't afford them, or are too cheap.  LOL

No one here (at least not me) thinks you're trying to make money off these. I just brought the price issue up because I saw no response after the base price was given.

In any way, when these do become available it will be a plus for those on the market for some.

[beachcomber]

Xulf,
 
don't despair - I'm looking for a less expensive option for several of my projects which just don't warrant spending that kind of money.
 
Obviously something less than half the price is NOT going to have the same specs - but no reason why they can't be "as good as they can" for the money.

[bikeboy]

Just to show you that Uncle Beachcomber's not on a "get rich before he dies" kick - here's the aforementioned Hagons

I don't think anyone here doubts your intentions or integrity TJ. You bring with you an enormous amount of R&D knowledge, and a great deal of first-hand bike/race/sports car experience.

I thought at the start of this thread that these were going to be a quality piece of work given your background, and I think one of the first questions many of us asked was regarding price. It seemed (to me at least) that while these were going to be a great product, I suspected that they would be out of my price range and for that reason, I was reluctant to put my hand up because I didn't want to be 'that guy' that always pulls out at the last minute. (ooh vicar!)

I'm sure with your connections you'll find a market for these beauties, and re-coup your costs. Unfortunately, I'm a cheap bastard and troll ebay waiting for exotic pieces that no-one bids on. It's a lonely life.

cheers mate, and don't be discourage. You're a real asset to this community.
ian

[beachcomber]

Thanx for the encouragement Ian,
 
no probs at all - the shox have been selling for the past 2 years to the BMW fraternity and are slowly moving into "Specials" [ over 300 sold ].
 
I'm also the penny pinching [ Half Scottish och aye ] bastard who wants something for nothing.
 
All I can say is that whatever I develop will be the best quality for the lowest price I can get.
 
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet on a project. I HAVE to get a 4LS brake / hub for at least one of my projects. That alone will cost [ £400 ] more than I paid for the donor bikes! But - I want it to look the canines cajones when it's done.
 
I've scored a pair of used Marchozzi shox for one of my projects off e-bay - £40. The absolute other end of the scale to my RAM shox on the Honda Four!
 
I'm looking at an ad in Cafe Racer magazine for a pair of alloy bodied shox [ US made ] that are over $1000 a pair - wonder how they compare spec. wise with the RAM ? THAT'S the real World comparison.

[Swagger]

Da Dog's Bollocks!

I doubt not that they'll offer good bang for the buck vs. the Ohlins I've been wanting. I'll be saving my pennies to go to something brought to lite by one of our own. Thanks for championing this project Unc!

[beachcomber]

Ok guys,
I've been a little below par lately healthwise, so it's slowing everything down - haven't touched a spanner for 2 months.
 
However, re: the RAM Classic Gold shox.
 
I've had big words with my pal at Realm and we're really trying hard to get the price down on these puppies. The price IS already very competitive with like products, but I know what you guys are saying about getting costs as low as possible. Bear in mind that everything my pal does is basically a favour to me - their business is making cars !!
 
It really comes down to volume - even 40 or 50 sets means quite an investment for Realm. The REAL price breaks - like everything - come with volume. Start talking 100 sets and we have a much better price.
 
However, the good news is - the laboratory and road testing of the progressive fork springs for the BMW Kay series is now completed - 4 machines with a total of 45K miles of road testing in the past 12 months. I've got a set in my K100 Streetfighter with a 25mm shorter RAM rear shocker.
 
So why should we be interested [ BMW ]?? Well, a fork spring is a fork spring is a fork spring, and it won't take much to start looking at applications for "our" bikes. This time around the volume #'s are lower - even 40 springs gets us a reasonable price. The springs are Chrome Vanadium, properly progressive wound and shot peened. Alrady I'll be looking at Yamaha [ XS500 / XS650 ] and Suzuki LS650 and finally Honda CB550. I'll troll through the popular models and see what interchanges.
 
Anyone interested? Obviously the front springs have been designed with the RAM rear shox in mind and are totally compatible.

[Garage Rat]

In interested in the next six months to year for my project and another pai if I can convince the wife I can build a bike to flip.

[beachcomber]

Hi guys,
 
back from a short recharge the batteries break in Saxony and as posted elsewhere - a good prognosis from my recent tests.
 
Monday I'm off to the progressive fork spring mnufacturer to see the first of the pre-production springs.
 
By next week I hope to have the final Classic Gold shox in my hands.....not long now.

[Perdition]

I didn't read the whole thread but from what I understand you're thinking about offering a set of high quality adjustable rear shocks for Cafes based on previous development for BMWs?  When would these be available and what's a ball park price for 2 rear shocks?

[beachcomber]

Hi there Perdition,
 
that's about it in a nutshell.
 
The Twinshox have been developed from the Monoshock BMW [ K100 / K1100 ] RAM version which has now sold well over 300 units.
 
Things have been slowed up a bit my end, but back on the ball now and I hope to have the final pre-production versions in my hand within 2 weeks.
One of the holdups has been getting a suitable shade of Gold for the anodising!
 
The delay has given us time to put extra roadtesting on the shox and the progressive front fork springs which have been designed to be compatible with the shox.
 
The UK price will be around £450 [ Pounds Sterling ], but we are aiming to get a good a deal as possible for club members.
 
That said - these shox are far superior to others on offer at £550.
 
Here's a pic of the BMW Kay series shocker. All aircraft alloy body, fully adjustable dampening and variable pre-load platform and 16mm plunger rod.
The Classic Gold will have rod end mountings [ clevis / rod for some Hondas ], new fixing kit, C Spanner and a Red spring [ standard ].
 

[beachcomber]

Jeeeez, what happened to the last 6 months or so of my life 

OK, while we were distracted, the actual prototype shox have been road trialled by a couple of good friends - BMW R80 and Moto Guzzi Le Mans. Results have been excellent and the shox have passed all the tests 100%.

The hold up was caused by my insistence to have them Gold Anodised . You can't believe the aggro that caused. Because the body is a different grade of alloy to the CNC'd top and bottom mounts - the anodising colour was not consistent. We tried 4 so called experts, and none came up with a harmonious colour. Garage Rat suggested an alternate finish [ thanx mate ], but we were just greeted with blank looks when we asked about that.

So, after 6 wasted months I've given up and we're going with the polished alloy of the current shox !! [ See previous pix ]

Pix to follow shortly, but essentially they are aircraft quality bodies, with 16mm plunger rod. Fully adjustable spring platforms to set pre-load and a 12 position dampening adjustment. Shox have been designed for "upside down" fitment. Although the base unit is 12", we will be looking at other requirements.

Currently available in eye - eye [ loop - loop] fitments, we'll be working on eye / clevis for you Honda guys.

Price has been pegged at £445 [ pounds sterling ] initially for a kit which includes - 2 x Shocks, 2 x high quality springs, adjuster C wrench. 2 year warranty and the shox are fully rebuildable by a competent home mechanic - rebuild kits £25.

I've also just finalised trials on the Yamaha TR1 etc. monoshock - that one works out at £235.

NONE of the 250+ BMW RAM shox supplied to the US and Canada to date have attracted domestic tax. You do NOT pay our UK vat [ 20% ].

Further good news is that we have started negotiations for the RAM range to be available in the US.

Sorry about the delay ....... the first TR1 unit is now on my bike !!

[beachcomber]

Here are pix of the first batch of Classic Cafe RAM shox.

[BicycleBobe]

Definitely interested in a set for new project, let me know when I can purchase a set.