Maxton's - UK alternative to Ohlins

[Martyn]

For some time I have been considering replacing the front & rear
units on my R1150RT, the OE units being Showa, & in most considered
opinions, not Showa's finest effort. The considered opinion again was that
Ohlins are the "mutts nuts" & the way to go, but I have always looked
favourably on home produced products when they are good quality, so I got in touch with Maxton's in Cheshire. Their reputation on the racetrack, & in particular in preparing machines for the Isle of Man TT course, is second to none, so I was happy that they could sell me the right units, both front & rear.

My initial e-mail contact was followed up by a phone call from Richard
Adams, the man in charge of production. After a cordial chat he got down to
facts, & wanted to know the following:
a) Machine model & year.
b) My weight, fully kitted up in bike gear (Classified! )
c) Whether I used the machine solo or with a pillion, (rarely)
d) Favoured tyres - Avon Azaro's &
e) Riding style - we settled for "brisk"

If most of the mileage was done 2-up, as happens with some tourers, then the unit could have been provided manufactured to that spec. There is also the option of a built in pre-load adjuster, but we decided that I didn't need that.
The units are made to order, & Richard took my credit card details with the
promise that they would take the money only when the units were ready to despatch, a promise they kept, & with a likely delivery time of 3 weeks,
although in the end it was 4, not that it was an issue for me.

Due to me being on Leave, the summer holiday's reducing staff in my local
dealers workshop, & then me being a shift worker, I could only get the units fitted today. In the meantime they sat on my dining room table, & as I passed I would gaze on them like a medieval pilgrim looking at a Holy relic; they looked far too good to fit to a bike, & get them dirty. Rather like a Swiss watch, Omega, Breitling etc, or a fine English gun, like a Holland & Holland, the quality of the machining stood out, & I was looking forward to trying them out.

Now I freely admit that after 18,000 brisk miles, even replacing the units
with another set of the same would undoubtedly have made a noticeable
difference, & there is also the very human trait of wanting to justify the
expense when you have spent a fair sum of money BUT - what a difference.

For those that know it, I left BVM in Stroud along the A419 towards
Cirencester, a 40 mph road that over the last 10 years has suffered from
water main renewal, gas main renewal, other utility works - in fact the only thing that hasn't been renewed is the road surface. In other words,a typical UK rutted road surface.
In the first 100 yards I noticed that the whole bike felt more "planted".
After about 4 miles the A419 rises up out of the valley & becomes national
speed limit, but still rather a patchwork road surface. The quicker I went,
the better it felt. Until today I had sympathy with those who said that the
OE units were good enough for most riders, & only a really quick riding god would feel the difference; no longer.
I'm sold, to the extent that when my bank balance allows I want a pair for my R1150R, which although it has only done 12,000 miles, feels far looser over the rougher roads.
The cost? GB £940 for the pair, which is not cheap, but quality rarely is, &
it's firmly in Ohlins territory. If instead of a BMW I had a Pan, VFR, big Yamaha or whatever, & the bike was feeling vague under pressure, or perhaps I habitually took a pillion & luggage, then I would seriously consider a replacement made to measure unit from Maxtons.