Just had my rear shock absorber re-built by MCT suspension.  They are very old school, and like customers to call and discuss their requirements.  Called them prior to removal, and they advised set both damping and preload to full soft.  Mine had failed completely, with zero damping.  They confirmed they could do the ESA, and that with K1300 it was likely that the chrome had worn through on the piston rod and it would need grinding and re-chroming.  They didn't go into the removal process, so had to work this out for myself, and took the opportunity to clean and re-grease all the linkage bearings.  Packed it up and sent it off.  There is no booking process or forms online, so just included my contact detail.  It is all a bit old school.

I then received a phone call about 4 days later, confirming they had received, stripped, cleaned and inspected.  The piston rod did indeed need re-grinding / chroming, and the spring needed powder coating, otherwise no issues other than new seals / fluid etc.  Would be £345 + VAT.  About 7 further days, received the call to say was complete, paid, and received the shock back he next day.

It really did look like new, with only a tiny bit of fading to the plastics to give the game away.  Re-fitted to the bike, worked straight out of the box, in terms of damping and preload control.  The first ride was excellent, and the bike performed exactly as hoped.  I cannot comment on longevity, but suspect it should be good for many years.

While it is not cheap, it was quick and relatively easy, and the service was first class.  I always spoke to Darren, and he seems to genuinely care about what he does and is small enough that he remembers the things he has told you, so it feels a bit more personal.  I kind of hope I won't need to go back, but would not hesitate.

Jase

It's taken a while to post, but did my first track day on 11th August at Castle Combe.  I took the K1300S, as I was also riding up to the circuit, so arrived complete with Luggage.  I think the most nervous was lining up for noise testing, as I had heard that it was pretty strict at Combe, but passed no problem 102db at 8000 RPM, with a 105db limit. 

Was placed in the 6th group of 6, so seemed like a really long wait to the first session, but after that they came thick and fast.  First session was pretty steady, building up the pace in the later sessions, no major mishaps, although I had one "moment" in the second session, getting off line and late on the brakes heading into Quarry corner.  Stayed on track, but nowhere near where I should have been, got the bike slowed down, gather my thoughts and off we go again. 

Overtaking was interesting, but the K1300 was brilliant here.  I went with a couple of mates, and followed one on his Monster, trying to get past a Fireblade for a couple of laps.  He was quicker through the corners, but didn't have the speed down the straights.  Eventually managed to get past, and I followed through down the next straight.  175BHP is quite useful here.

Elsewhere the K felt all of it's 250kg, often feeling very fidgety over the bumps, and quite unstable through the fast kink at the end of the start finish straight.  I had one session with one of the instructors which was really useful, improved my lines and my body position, and encouraged me to get on the throttle harder, which also helped to settle the bike.  All in all, the K was not bad on the circuit, and was much better than my mates Monster on the 2hr ride home! 

Here are a couple of pics, not as spectacular as it felt.  It was a brilliant day, and I will definitely be going back.  If you've ever thought of doing a track day, I would heartily recommend it.  Castle Combe was excellent, although the track time is lower than other venues, only 12 bikes on circuit is brilliant for a beginner.