Since my name was brought into this conversation and there is some blatantly false information provided here, I thought I'd chime in to set the record straight.
My profession over the last 32 years has been in the technical side of BMW motorcycles, as a factory trained certified technician, then 15 years of dealership service management at respected dealerships on both sides of the country, and as a motorcycle service/suspension shop business owner. I have mentored many young technicians and attended every technical training course offered by BMW over many years. I’ve also been through the technical training at Ohlins and Wilbers, and I’ll be in Europe again this fall for more suspension training. I’ve earned every scar and the grease under my fingernails, and I’ve been dealing with motorcycle suspension matters longer than most people in this industry. Furthermore in most cases I am familiar with the all the systems on the bike and how they interact, not just the shocks.
Secondly let me say that in my opinion Don is doing a disservice to the readership here with his biased advertising for EPM, and by spreading false information without first doing some homework. If Don had contacted Hyperpro (or perhaps me to make his post more fair and balanced) prior to posting these statements, some of which were misleading at best and completely false at worst, he would have likely done some editing or perhaps not posted at all. Here are the facts, anyone can fact check me by contacting Hyperpro in the Netherlands.
Fact 1: Yacugar is having their shocks manufactured by Hyperpro. The reason this should not raise any eyebrows and is of little concern is explained in fact #2.
Fact 2: Hyperpro was initially a spring company and was originally having their shocks made by Wilbers! This manufacturing under another label is not unusual and does not compromise the validity of the product. Was Klauss telling people that the Hyperpro shocks he was selling before 2008 were NOT the “real thing” because they were being made by Wilbers? I doubt it.
Fact 3: Yacugar has the same 5 year warranty as Hyperpro, there is no downgrade on the warranty or anything else when you buy a Yacugar.
Fact 4: Yacugar shocks are NOT "off the shelf shocks" as falsely stated in Don's post. The Yacugar shock is completely custom built exactly the same as Hyperpro. The lead time is the same with Yacugar as it is with Hyperpro because they are both custom built to the rider’s weight and riding style using the same processes. Feel free to fact check me with the good people in Holland whom I had a nice conversation with this morning when I confirmed this fact.
Fact 5: it is not only unethical and unprofessional to imply that I take the Yacugar springs off and install other branded springs, it is also patently false and libelous. I have never done this and have no need to do this. The statement “regardless what Ted Porter tells his customers” was really over the line. As I read it this implies that I am either lying to my customers or I’m misinformed, both of which are patently false.
I wonder if anyone realizes that these false statements fly in the face of good business risk management practices since laws exist in the USA to protect a company's reputation from libel. It’s risky enough to make false statements verbally (which have gotten back to me) but it’s crazy to put them in print which would make a nice exhibit, especially when a customer states in the same post that he might change his mind about patronizing a business because of a false statement made here about that business. I’m not a lawyer but that seems to show the potential for harm by these false statements. I would suggest that Don does a disservice to himself and EPM by putting that in print here or anywhere else, but I digress.
Fact 6: The Yacugar shocks are available with a linear spring or a progressive spring, same as Hyperpro.
Fact 7: The statement that only EPM is doing ESA conversions for the R1200R is also completely false. If it’s true that EPM has only recently started doing them then he’s late to the party. Perhaps Don should have looked in the Wilbers catalog before posting that factually wrong statement.
Fact 8: Hyperpro is not better than Yacugar, they are both quality products custom built in the same factory using the same materials and processes. Unless you think purple is better than black.
Fact 9: Klauss seems upset that Yacugar is now being brought into the USA, I made that observation when he visited my booth in Sedalia. I can understand that, that’s the way business goes sometimes. However I’d like to think that if the roles were reversed, perhaps I would be more careful to not defame another vendor with false statements and would stay more ethical and professional. Hint hint.
Fact 10: There is enough suspension business to go around without all the politics and backstabbing, and in my opinion Don's post just fuels the fire. Frankly it is better for the consumer for Hyperpro/Yacugar to have 2 distributors, one in the east and one in the west, it’s a big country. More choices for the customer, this is a good thing.
Regarding spring choices; based on our years of experience with real world situations, in most cases we prefer a linear spring, in some cases we request a progressive spring, it depends on many factors in the customer’s riding environment. We don't follow a cookie cutter approach and we have the training and experience to know the difference. We also have a different opinion about how the hydraulic preload adjuster should be positioned on the body. This is based on our extensive experience installing and setting up shocks for riders who carry a wide variety of loads. We have learned over the years what works best in which environments. Yacugar/Hyperpro has been supportive of our ideas as they bring us into their family of importer/distributors. They are open to making changes for us which makes the product even better for our customers. Sometimes the devil is in the details. I bring my experience to bear on this process and I have countless testimonials from our very happy customers.
There are many quality suspension products on the market today. We carry or have carried them all. We’ve installed and rebuilt them over the years, we know them inside and out. We have narrowed the field to the ones that we believe suit our customers best. With my extensive history working with BMW motorcycles, my goal is not to just promote one shock brand which suits only my interests, but instead to bring in a variety of products to best suit our customers’ interests. That's what I've been doing for over 3 decades; I’ve built my reputation on it.
If anyone is interested in fact checking any of my statements, grab a headset, download Skype and give the nice folks at Hyperpro.com a call. You can also contact me at the BeemerShop, I'm happy to answer any of your technical questions, honestly and without bias. If anyone knows of other similar posts elsewhere where my name is mentioned, I’d love to be part of the conversation.
Thank you for your time.
Ted Porter
[email protected]
Cell: 831-420-7776
http://www.BeemerShop.com
http://www.GS911USA.com
I never said those comments were yours, so that point is moot. However you brought those comments into this forum. Your post put ME at the risk of harm not yourself. Don't worry, I am not asking you for an apology, I'm not into posturing. 