OHlins and Boxer boost

  • Thread starter Thread starter Leeman
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Leeman

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2 questions from a newbie:

Is it worth getting Ohlins for my GSA1150? I ride on road only - will it make a noticable difference?

Has anyone bought a 'boxer boost' cam shaft? what does it do and is it worth buying?

Bit by bit, Im trying to get the best outta me bike.

Leeman
 
I've got a set of Wilbers on mine - best thing I have done to the bike. It firmed up the ride and improved the handling dramatically. I went for Wilbers as they are about 2/3 of the price of Ohlins and easily as good. You can have them fully customised for your weight and use. You will find a lot of posts here debating the virtues of both. Never used a replacement cam so can't comment here, but I have always found the original to be perfectly adequate.
 
I guess one question is, are you better than the bike?

If you are then upgrading the suspension will be of use. If not then in reality it's a lot of bling.

Not that bling is all bad, helps keep my bank manager busy :augie
 
John Armstrong said:
I guess one question is, are you better than the bike?

If you are then upgrading the suspension will be of use. If not then in reality it's a lot of bling.

Not that bling is all bad, helps keep my bank manager busy :augie
Click to expand...

I think your right as long as you're using the 'pushing to the limits' equation as in a sports bike for example but with the GS it's different. The Ohlins allows the bike to be more composed, especially when loaded and it handles irregular road surfaces better, especially stuff like stutter bumps, the kind of sstuff you get on frost damaged mountain passes etc.
I find the bike less fatiguing to ride as you don't get jolted around as much.
All my bikes have got or have had Ohlins, White Power or Solva and are always set-up by K-Tech. That in itself makes a big difference, even to the top spec units.
 
Spikehammer said:
I find the bike less fatiguing to ride as you don't get jolted around as much.
Click to expand...

I wonder how much of the improvement is physiological?

And that then asks the question, if it is only physiological, could anything be done for a similar effect at lower cost? Like putting on a shiny cover on the spring.
 
I can only speak from my personal experiance but my R1, which had a standard engine at the time, was markedly better than a friends R1 race bike that had been road legalised and my brothers ZX750RR. His R1 had just won the EMRA Championship and had Maxton suspension fitted, my brothers bike was the standard Kwaka set-up for the RR, a bike that has a reputation for having a great handling front end.

The difference were clearly demonstrated in the Ardeche where down a specific road my bike could be held at a much higher speed and remain composed whilst the other R1 was hammering his teeth together so much he had to back off and the Kwaka was bouncing Jon out of his seat.
When we changed bikes and ran the road again the same result occured, the rider on my Ohlins shod R1 was always the quickest. To me that was a real world test.

My R1 was also always more composed when carrying a wheelie or landing one...:)


I know what you mean about the psycological element though, I would never do a tackday on the R1 unless I had a specific make and model of tyre on the bike, even though there were major tyre advances in the interim.
 
John Armstrong said:
I wonder how much of the improvement is physiological?

And that then asks the question, if it is only physiological, could anything be done for a similar effect at lower cost? Like putting on a shiny cover on the spring.
Click to expand...


I think your suggesting that i could flog my old suspension to a motogp works team with an ohlin sticker plastered on it, and they wouldnt notice the difference? :augie
 
i don't think you have to be a budding rossi to get the benefit.

if you like the standard suspension, then i definitely would not spend, what is a chunk of money though.
 
If i was gonna spend a chunk id have those tasty wp esa jobbies...oohh yeeaahh baby! But i could buy a second gs for the cost of the buggers.
 
as i rarely need to adjust my shocks (no more than a quick dob of extra preload and perhaps a soupcon of rebound when holidaying), i'd say ESA is a complete waste of money and an increase in dead weight and pointless complexity. for me anyway, others may well have the need to adjust the suspension every 5 miles.
 
very true.. i just think they look damn sexy .. i would be quite tempted to lick them. :P
 
Just put Wilbers on mine. Not a lot of difference but then my std shocks were in good nick.

A few years back when I was racing, the difference between std shocks and Ohlins, around brands was less than .5 sec. Off road might be different but not a lot unless you're very good.

The Wilbers do look good :O)
 
Wow thats quite a collection of replies - thank you.

so nobody knows anything about that 'boxer boost' thingy then?
 
they are just the wunderlich cams arent they?

Power up top usually results in power lost low down. The gs is no sports bike so seemed a waste of ... alot... of money. - £350 or so isnt it?
 
Ohlins = less tiring, smoother, more planted good for long distances without being bouncy, rebuildable and come with a choice of springs to suit you.

Wilbers = bit cheaper, harder, can be a pain to fit, comes with a choice of springs.

Used both. Thats why i've got Ohlins fitted. :D
 
John Armstrong said:
I wonder how much of the improvement is physiological?

And that then asks the question, if it is only physiological, could anything be done for a similar effect at lower cost? Like putting on a shiny cover on the spring.
Click to expand...


I was like you, thought what a waste of money, it dont help that I am tight as a fish's backside, but I bought a front wilbers and rear ohlins secondhand, figuring if they were the same as the standard ones, then I could resell on, it transformed the ride, when I first rode the bike, I thought that the suspension would be real hard, took it along a local road, a rough road, with surface damage and bumps, that used to have the gs bouncing all over the place, with the new shocks, i could hear the bad surface, I just could not feel it, being only short, I ordered a new set of Wilbers that are lowered, the rear one was sent with to weak a spring, even though it was specified, now its very good, but if I was pushed, I would say the rear ohlins is worth the extra, its a meatier shock, with a thicker shaft.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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