HCS Shocks

[RC20]

The CP will definitely improve things.

For off road for sure CP. On road, that can be a bit of a ????? as anything I drove in the States coming home was not awful with the Sachs so the NP would be a major bonus there.

A bad section of paved road like we have a lot of up here and no regrets at all spending the bit of extra for the CP shocks.

[Busy Bob 2019]

I purchased the shocks directly from Horst Ullrich, the designer and manufacturer, at http://www.hu-sidecars.de/s/unsere-mode ... empfer.php. The cost was $1,504, including shipping via DHL. Delivery time was 9 days from Germany to Colorado. Horst deducted the VAT from the list price, since I live outside of the EU, and I did not have to pay any American Import taxes.


I assume that is $1,504 US dollars? Prices have gone up, then, as I bought the same set last fall for $1,708 CAD ($1,255 US) including shipping.
They are worth every penny, though, as ride performance has increased noticably.

[Tomcatfixer]

After sampling HCS shocks on Lazyshizno's Gear-Up over washboard gravel surfaces and coming away impressed, I ordered a set for myself.

I installed the CP106 shocks on the Mobile Chernobyl last night and this morning's work commute was my first extended interaction with them.

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First off, the build quality is nice. They feel solid and have a nice aesthetic. Perhaps not as fancy as the Nitron competitor, but close, and far superior to the OEM Sachs they're replacing.

Installation was straightforward. Included were longer bolts, plus washers and Nyloc nuts, to accommodate the thicker lower mounting clevis. The Nylon insert in the upper shock eyelet made the rear and sidecar shocks a little easier to slide onto the bike and sidecar frames' upper mounting pegs. The small included spanner wrench for pre-load adjustment doesn't offer much leverage.

I like that the reservoirs can be swung around to basically any position with enough clearance. I purchased a thin 24mm wrench to loosen and tighten the nut that secures the upper mounting eyelet, thereby locking the reservoir into my selected position.

I didn't futz with the adjustments, since I wanted to experience what Horst felt would be good as a baseline.

As for this morning's ride, my initial impression was that the ride was noticably more plush. The harshness of the bumps that the original Sachs shocks transmitted to the bike was definitely muted. I considered that this could be a result of a lower initial pre-load setting on the HCS shocks than I kept the Sachs shocks, but even if that is the case, the bike didn't wallow in curves like it would with the Sachs' pre-load lowered.

The difference in the ride quality of my commute was noticably improved, but not as impressive as I was expecting, based upon my experience on the Gear-Up with the washboard surface. That said, it did pleasantly surprise me. I'm a somewhat aggressive rider with a twisty back road commute that sees little traffic. This route allows me to enjoy some "spirited" riding that can challenge me if I push it. Despite the softer feel of the new shocks, I was able to attack some of my favorite corners faster that usual without tire chattering or excessive chassis movement, which was a real treat. I imagine that this will only get better as I fine-tune and dial-in the settings.

I've only had one ride on these shocks, but already I feel that they were a worthy investment.

[jeffsaline]

Chad,

Nice review. Thanks for sharing.

Best,

Jeff

[Tomcatfixer]

Oh, shoot! I forgot to provide the "commute home" portion of the review!

The ride home was more enlightening than the morning commute. It was a clear, bright sunny day, I was no longer wearing my heavy cold weather gear to fight off the 5:30am chill of the morning ride, but lighter mesh gear, and I was alert, in good spirits, and focused on the ride home.

First, I was again struck by how plush the suspension now feels over road imperfections, in particular this set of bridge expansion joints early in the route home, off of which the bike would previously "ramp", only to slam down onto the adjacent pavement. Mind you, the height difference is probably only an inch or two, but when the Mobile Chernobyl dropped onto the pavement, I felt it in my spine. Today, I crossed the expansion joints and the bike floated down to the asphalt, made a gentle bob, and was immediately stable and composed. It reminded me of being in a big old Cadillac and made me chuckle a bit. VERY nice.

Next, while attacking an on-ramp with a very tight right-hand radius that I typically use to loft the hack as I merge into traffic (this usually causes cars to give me a wide berth), I found it surprisingly difficult to fly the chair. It caught me off-guard. I could take the on-ramp with considerably more speed without bringing the sidecar up than the Sachs shocks would allow.

Finally, this speed-enabling theme would continue as I exited town and was fortunate enough to have the majority of the rural portion of my commute car-free. I ran with the throttle WFO, attacking curves, backing into corners, cresting rises, and traveling the fastest I have ever gone on my route. It was exhilarating!
...and this is still without having made an adjustment to the shocks! The ride was smooth, composed, comfortable, and confidence inspiring. I have no complaints (but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna play with the settings to see what else the shocks can do).

These shocks have truly taken fast Ural rides to a whole new level. I am hooked! I highly recommend HCS shocks. Or, maybe ANY aftermarket shocks. But, in particular, these CP106 shocks. You will not be disappointed.

[RC20]

Good to see the Master join the Horst Side of the Force! I suspect Chad and Windmill have two of the widest and well reported /written Ural experience.
Just experience is not enough, you need to be able to convey it.

My days of aggression stacking pavement are over, regardless, the CP's were more than worth it to me. Probably the only other improvement on the Ural I have been tempted on is the Exhaust and I can't justify it, the shocks, yep.

From the reports, I can see the NP type being a good add to a cT, GU I am more biased for the CP's if I was making a recommendation. Being a cT driver that maybe sounds contradictory but I can explain.

When I bought them, the CP's had a great recommendation that was well (pardon the pun) supported by the details of Kalim. I wanted a sure thing and it was not worth a risk to me for anything less.

The other aspect is Alaska roads that can be brutal in stretches and that would have pushed me to the CP's. As noted previously, the only time I got the CP's out of sync was a nasty 150 ft stretch that I took at highway speed just to see. If I had slowed down like I normally would have no problem.

And keep in mind, advertise on the site and the Sachs will sell. I thought $100 a shock was a reasonable staring point and it was. They might go for a bit less but as a starting point, around that.

Shipping is not a big issue, I just put them in flat rate boxes (one larger with 3 and one mid sized with two) and it was more than reasonable (the USPS continues to impress me despite the handi caps they were inflicted with). They fit nicely though I did have to check it.

[phughes]

Next, while attacking an on-ramp with a very tight right-hand radius that I typically use to loft the hack as I merge into traffic (this usually causes cars to give me a wide berth),

I found it surprisingly difficult to fly the chair. \

Oh no! What will happen to the Chad we know?

[Tomcatfixer]

Oh no! What will happen to the Chad we know?

Screenshot_20230607_043111_DuckDuckGo.jpg

[Lokiboy]

Tomcatfixer… now that is a testimonial.

[Tomcatfixer]

Tomcatfixer… now that is a testimonial.

When I rode Lazyshizno's bike at C.R.A.P., I was impressed with the performance of the shocks. During my morning commute, the shocks were still impressive, but did not leave as much of an impression on me. On the commute home, however, they really showed me what they could do. I would agree with those that said improved shocks should be first on the upgrade list. I should've bought some years ago.

[windmill]

More jealous than ever that it's not an option for the M70. Kinda a shame there's not enough demand to rate the special shocks needed for the rear, especially since they already have better front-end suspension. I've been told that just changing the sidecar shock can make some difference, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

[Manscout]

Thank you for this review TCF. That is the type I was looking for to help me decide.
Added to "the list".

[harryball]

So... tomcatfixer. Thoughts on how to adapt and use those (or different model) shocks in the Retro/M70?

I am planning to upgrade my wife's cT at some point so your review is very helpful. But, my butt want's some comfort too!

[Tomcatfixer]

Thoughts on how to adapt and use those (or different model) shocks in the Retro/M70?

None. That's a real specialty application there.

[PetePeterson]

Some section of local road are serious washboard, and even at 30 MPH I'm on the pegs for minutes at a time. I weigh 170 pounds. My front shocks will depress an inch when I lay on the front fender but putting my full weight over my 2021 cT's pusher there's less than 1/4 inch of compression in the factory shocks. This is at full "soft" position. So spring rate (softer springs) is probably more important than damping. The HCS shocks seem to be doing the job for a lot of Urals but if they have springs as stiff as the factory shocks.....

Any thoughts on whether the HCS shocks will improve my ride? And if so, will the CP106 work better for me than the NP? Thanks in advance for your feedback.