I'm going to put an Ohlins suspension on the bike - what do I need to know?

[The Mountain]

I've decided to pull the trigger on an Ohlins suspension for the bike, while I can still get one. I weigh around 230lb without gear, and expect to lose 15-20lb (maybe more) so I'm going to go slightly lighter on spring rates than I might normally consider. According to the Ohlins site, I should get 9N/mm front springs, and from posts on this site, it looks like I should be mounting a 170kg/nm 220mm spring on the rear shock. Do my numbers sound right? What else should I be aware of?

 

[bimota]

ibought the rear as standard was no good for 2 up and luggage, the ohlins comes with a 130 spring as standard if this is no good you,ll have to buy it with a different spring, i worked out eventually i need it with a 170 spring especailly 2 up with luggage and its just in for solo riding to so i have loads of preload for the wife then the luggage as well
i,m 120 kg kitted up wife is 78 kg kitted up plus the 3 panniers on holiday, if i,m solo i take all preload off if she is on the back i wind preload 7 clicks plus then luggage another 7-8 clicks all good.

 

[flatgrind]

I've decided to pull the trigger on an Ohlins suspension for the bike, while I can still get one. I weigh around 230lb without gear, and expect to lose 15-20lb (maybe more) so I'm going to go slightly lighter on spring rates than I might normally consider. According to the Ohlins site, I should get 9N/mm front springs, and from posts on this site, it looks like I should be mounting a 170kg/nm 220mm spring on the rear shock. Do my numbers sound right? What else should I be aware of?

My weight fluctuates between 215 -230. I just had my suspension rebuilt with a Racetech shop. 192 spring on the back (19.6 kg/mm). Stock shock was rebuilt and revalved .95kg spring rate up front, also revalved. Just got the bike back and went on one test ride. So far it feels fantastic.

EDIT: FWIW bike is 2012

 

[flatgrind]

Not that you can tell how it feels from this, but I shot some video of the front fork action while riding on a gravel road:

 

[jrusell]

I am a 220lb rider and I ran a 170N rear and 0.95kg/mm fork springs.
There was enough adjustment available to run 0.90 springs but I think 0.95 was the best choice.
I ran a 160N spring for a while and then went up to the 170N. Much better with the stiffer spring, and in fact I considered going up to a 180 at one point.

Don't go less than a 170N rear, 0.90 or 0.95 front will work well.

Personally I would prefer a Penske from Stoltec Moto over an Ohlins shock.

 

[thughes317]

The only advice I can offer is to default to the heavier of 2 spring rates: "plans" to lose weight never seem to pan out (at least that has been my experience).

 

[The Mountain]

Well, I found a local shop with an Ohlins tech, who is also an Ohlins dealer, and we walked through the setup I'll be putting on. Since I'm close to 250lb with all my gear on, and I'm intending to ride with full luggage, I'm going with a 180kg rear spring, and 0.95kg/mm front springs. I do hope eventually to get to the point where I'm comfortable demounting the forks, stripping them down and rebuilding them, but for now I'm going to have to "Wallet-Warrior" it, and let them do it. After all, as a famous mechanic once remarked about motorcycle forks:

"They're mothers to work with"

 

[The Mountain]

Update: working with the dealer to get the order put together. Ohlins is refusing to install that 01099-170 spring, and says it has to be special-ordered from Sweden. They say the shock comes with a 150kg spring which they think will be fine. They're charging me $178 for the spring and I have to have it installed on my own dime.

Does this sound right?

 

[bimota]

Update: working with the dealer to get the order put together. Ohlins is refusing to install that 01099-170 spring, and says it has to be special-ordered from Sweden. They say the shock comes with a 150kg spring which they think will be fine. They're charging me $178 for the spring and I have to have it installed on my own dime.

Does this sound right?

when i bought mine 2 years ago the ohlins dealer told me the shock comes from Sweden standard with a 130 spring if i needed a different spring i would have to buy the shock and a extra spring, the shop in the UK ordered the shock from Sweden plus a 170 spring but gave me a real good price on the 170 spring and said when the shock got to them before they shipped it to me they would put the 170 spring on it and put the 130 in the box and send out to me

rob

 

[The Mountain]

when i bought mine 2 years ago the ohlins dealer told me the shock comes from Sweden standard with a 130 spring if i needed a different spring i would have to buy the shock and a extra spring, the shop in the UK ordered the shock from Sweden plus a 170 spring but gave me a real good price on the 170 spring and said when the shock got to them before they shipped it to me they would put the 170 spring on it and put the 130 in the box and send out to me

rob

Ok, sounds like what i'm ending up with as well, then. Ohlins is making me buy the 170 spring separately, and the shop that's doing the install is going to have to swap the spring themselves. I just wanted a sanity check on the situation since I'm spending so much.

 

[jrusell]

That is the reason to stay away from Ohlins.
You are paying good money for a shock and they are unwilling to put the proper rate spring on it. 150N is not not fine for someone your weight. Them trying to convince you otherwise is BS.
Charging you extra for something that should be included is just plain wrong.
It is also common practice to revalve the shock when making a significant spring change. Compression will be fine, but rebound should be changed. So now you will have a shock valved for a 130N spring while running a 170N spring.

They make a good product for sure, but there are better out there and they don't screw customers over like this.

 

[thughes317]

This^

 

[The Mountain]

I understand, and I agree that not offering a choice on spring rate for the rear is annoying. There aren't many other options though. All I could find were Penske, Racetech (which is just a revalve for the front), and Touratech (like I have that kind of money!) Any details you can offer on the revalving so I can pass that on to the shop would be most helpful. If they can do the revalve without me having to ship the shock off to some third party would be preferred.


ETA: I will be talking to Ohlins tomorrow morning. I have my doubts about the sales guy that the shop and I have been dealing with. For one thing, he is claiming that the SuperTen rear shock does not have a reservoir.

 

[escapefjrtist]

This^

X2 and...FWIW, a good reason to go with Penske.

~G

 

[The Mountain]

Looks like I will probably go with a different rear shock. Apparently Ohlins isn't going to get any more 170kg/nm springs. They have 10 left in Sweden, and that's it. I will probably still go with their forks because nobody else does the fork cartridge.

 

[jrusell]

Good to hear.
Both the double and triple adjustable are quality pieces. I my opinion a double adjustable will be more than adequate for your bike. The only reason to go for a triple adjustable IMO is if I was buying a shock for a race bike. For a bike like the S10 save a few bucks and just get the double adjustable.

Some shy away from the Penske because it doesn't have a remote hydraulic preload adjuster. Personally I think this is one of it's best features. Fact is it takes a few minutes to adjust the preload ring, it is fool proof and it will not fail.
All shocks need to be serviced periodically and a hydraulic adjuster needs the same maintenance. This means extra cost for the service of new oil and seals and you will be hoping your service shop can get the parts. Some will say they never touched their shock and never had an issue. Well if that's the case you just got lucky or don't believe in maintaining your ride.

I had an aftermarket shock with a hydraulic preload adjuster. Shock and remote preload adjuster serviced every 2 years. It started to weep oil and the adjuster started to retract because of the loss of oil. I converted it back to threaded adjuster and never looked back.
If you have 5-10mm of preload dialled into your hydraulic adjuster and it fails while out on a trip there is nothing you can do. You are stuck riding around with a bike sagging terribly in the rear until you can get home and send your shock away to get serviced.
Threaded adjusters never fail. You will not be out of service because of a simple threaded adjuster.

I am 220lbs and ran a 170N spring. When I would get loaded up for a trip with boxes and luggage I only had to add 1 turn of preload to the shock to get the sag back to normal because of the extra weight. Took maybe 2 minutes.

You will be surprised how much better the bike is with properly rated springs and a quality shock like Penske.
Lots have had good results with Stoltec Moto.
Let us know how you make out with it.

 

[The Mountain]

Good to hear.
Both the double and triple adjustable are quality pieces. I my opinion a double adjustable will be more than adequate for your bike. The only reason to go for a triple adjustable IMO is if I was buying a shock for a race bike. For a bike like the S10 save a few bucks and just get the double adjustable.

Some shy away from the Penske because it doesn't have a remote hydraulic preload adjuster. Personally I think this is one of it's best features. Fact is it takes a few minutes to adjust the preload ring, it is fool proof and it will not fail.
All shocks need to be serviced periodically and a hydraulic adjuster needs the same maintenance. This means extra cost for the service of new oil and seals and you will be hoping your service shop can get the parts. Some will say they never touched their shock and never had an issue. Well if that's the case you just got lucky or don't believe in maintaining your ride.

I had an aftermarket shock with a hydraulic preload adjuster. Shock and remote preload adjuster serviced every 2 years. It started to weep oil and the adjuster started to retract because of the loss of oil. I converted it back to threaded adjuster and never looked back.
If you have 5-10mm of preload dialled into your hydraulic adjuster and it fails while out on a trip there is nothing you can do. You are stuck riding around with a bike sagging terribly in the rear until you can get home and send your shock away to get serviced.
Threaded adjusters never fail. You will not be out of service because of a simple threaded adjuster.

I am 220lbs and ran a 170N spring. When I would get loaded up for a trip with boxes and luggage I only had to add 1 turn of preload to the shock to get the sag back to normal because of the extra weight. Took maybe 2 minutes.

You will be surprised how much better the bike is with properly rated springs and a quality shock like Penske.
Lots have had good results with Stoltec Moto.
Let us know how you make out with it.

But ..but...farkles!


LOL. I get what you are saying about the preload and I will definitely keep that in mind.

 

[gv550]

I have Hyperpro shock on my Tenere, ordered with the proper spring and has remote preload, adjustable rebound damping and hose attached reservoir with high and low speed compression damping.
I then ordered front springs from Sonic and installed them with KYB oil.
This combo works great at significantly less cost and aggravation than Ohlins.
I've just bought the same combination for my Harley Sport Glide and hoping for similar results.

 

[The Mountain]

I'm probably going to catch a lot of crap for this, but I think I'm going to bite the bullet and spend the extra to get the Touratech shock. The Penske looks very good, and the Hyperpro and Racetech seem to be solid as well. What made the difference is that Touratech has a better dealer network, including having one in the country I am expecting to do the majority of my riding in, that being India. Even Ohlins didn't have a center there, though they had the closest, in Dubai. Penske only had centers in the UK, Japan and Australia.

I'm not thrilled about the higher cost, but the peace of mind is important too. I dislike the impression that is associated with Touratech, that it's overpriced toys aimed at rich posers, and expect to receive a ration of crap from riders who recognize the shock, so I hope the thing is at least a good unit.

 

[flatgrind]

I'm probably going to catch a lot of crap for this, but I think I'm going to bite the bullet and spend the extra to get the Touratech shock. The Penske looks very good, and the Hyperpro and Racetech seem to be solid as well. What made the difference is that Touratech has a better dealer network, including having one in the country I am expecting to do the majority of my riding in, that being India. Even Ohlins didn't have a center there, though they had the closest, in Dubai. Penske only had centers in the UK, Japan and Australia.

I'm not thrilled about the higher cost, but the peace of mind is important too. I dislike the impression that is associated with Touratech, that it's overpriced toys aimed at rich posers, and expect to receive a ration of crap from riders who recognize the shock, so I hope the thing is at least a good unit.

Have you looked at Tractiv? I believe they manufacture of the Touratech shocks, but I don’t know what their dealer network is like. Might be worth exploring. As for getting crap from others, I wouldn’t worry about it. You should do whatever you want and tell anyone that disagrees to piss off!