Can anyone give a comparison of the Bitubo vs. the progressive 440's???
As far as bounce and stability in the turns. The progressives are great on the road but
bound a little in the turns when one up...two up they seem to be much smoother...
Barry
Barry,
I replaced my 440's with the Bitubos on the red bike. Granted, the 440's were starting to leak, but the difference is very noticeable.
Sag and bike attitude:
I was running the std. height 440's with the HD spring. 2-up, fully loaded, with the preload collar screwed all the way down, the bike still ran a bit low in the tail. I like the bike to be level. With the Bitubos, there is more pre-load adjustment, so I can jack the pre-load up and keep it level, even with a full load. (This is really important with the HID light)
Bottoming:
The difference between the stock and 440's has been well documented, but I still had bottoming issues with the 440's, and they bottom pretty hard. The Bitubos have a softer bump stop, so when it does bottom, it isn't as harsh. You can crank down the damping to prevent bottoming on all but the worst of bumps, but there is a trade-off in ride softness.
Summary:
The Bitubos give you more ways to set the bike up to your preferences and configuration. You can also find a middle-of-the-road setting and "set it and forget it". I definitely think they are a worthy upgrade to the bike. Hands down, worth it if you have the stock shocks. The difference isn't as great if you already have 440's, but there is still a definite difference. It's like the Good - Better - Best comparison. It all depends on what you want, or will settle for.
My 440's are currently enroute to Progressive for a rebulid. When they come back, I'll probably run them to see how I feel about them after I've gotten used to the Bitubos. I'll probably like the Bitubos more, once I put the Progressives back on.
Author
Topic: Bitubo Shock Upgrade (Read 96666 times)