Ohlins Suspension

[Lordr]

Dear All,

Does anyone have experience of using Ohlins replacement's shocks on a 1150GSA on dirt road?

Im sure that there will make the bike handle better on road, but its the suspensions ability to cope with corrugation (ripio) that is my biggest concern. I have done two long journeys on my GS, but the last one through South America was a real pain in the everything over this kind of surface. Huge amounts of chatter on the front end especially. Im not trying to turn the bike in to a moto crosser, I just want any constructive experiences with these shocks.

I dont want to lash out £1500 for something that is going to be little better that the stock units in the specific use. Im off to Africa next year and would like to find a solution to this issue.

Any advise greatly appreciated.

LordR

 

[Packer]

I'm not sure that anything will make a huge difference on washboard.

I have Wilbers on my 1150GS and they have far more adjustment than the standard items. If I back them right off I have virtually no damping so the bike uses a lot more of the available travel off road. This helps to smooth out the lumps but tends to bottom out too easily as speed increases. Wind them right up and they are really stiff and allow the bike to take much bigger "hits" without bottoming out. I'm sure that Ohlins will do the same. Somewhere in between soft and stiff you will find the optimum.

Walter "Colebatch" of this site reckons that Hyperpro are better, they have a thicker damper rod which will take more abuse than either Wilbers or Ohlins. His experience long distance off road and on really bad roads is extensive.

Whatever you use take a spare bottom fixing bolt for the back end as a lot of abuse can cause it to fail. Have a look at Timolgra's road report of his trip through Mongolia, the Pamirs and the 'stans.

 

[ducatiparts.110mb]

Personally I'm very sceptical about spending loads on premium shocks.

When I had my VTR1000 I bought a WP shock and was disappointed. I've also had Ohlins on several Ducatis. Every single time I thought they were very overrated.

I'm sure others will disagree....

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

Personally I'm very sceptical about spending loads on premium shocks.

When I had my VTR1000 I bought a WP shock and was disappointed. I've also had Ohlins on several Ducatis. Every single time I thought they were very overrated.

I'm sure others will disagree....

I don't. I've had Ohlins and was sick and tired of having them serviced every year: Seals in the forks and gas and seals in the shock.

However, I do fancy a set of Hyperpro's, as tested by Tsiklonaut.

 

[Vern]

Margus (Tsiklonaut) smashed his pretty ohlins to bits on his RTW trip,and I don't mean the seal leaked a bit, I mean fooked, broken in half, donald ducked.

Why do people keep buying all this stuff that they don't need, that just keeps on sucking money out of their wallet.

I put a Fournales unit on mine (because I'm slowly building a special, and I want to see if they last well enough. 180k+ miles and it's never had anything done to it and it's had such a pasting) But no one buys them becasue they haven't got a spring to paint yellow.

Stick with the stock one until you break it, then buy another and it'll still be cheaper than an ohlins

 

[nick.ct]

Margus (Tsiklonaut) smashed his pretty ohlins to bits on his RTW trip,and I don't mean the seal leaked a bit, I mean fooked, broken in half, donald ducked.

Why do people keep buying all this stuff that they don't need, that just keeps on sucking money out of their wallet.

I put a Fournales unit on mine (because I'm slowly building a special, and I want to see if they last well enough. 180k+ miles and it's never had anything done to it and it's had such a pasting) But no one buys them becasue they haven't got a spring to paint yellow.

Stick with the stock one until you break it, then buy another and it'll still be cheaper than an ohlins

Words of wisdom

 

[stonehenge]

AFAIK - Didn't E&C have bad Ohlins failures on their (well er BMW) 1200GSA's on their Long Way Down trip, yet had no failures of stock shocks on the 1150GSA's on the Long Way Round job?

 

[Pauly S]

i'm at present checking out 1150 rear shocks

I think the wilbers are out £800 for a rear shock ,i cant seem to find any prices on the WP range,the Ohlins ive poo poo'd on account of several bad reviews on horizons and adv rider.and personal experience.
That leaves hyperpro for around £560 here.
They are made to suit you, your pillion and luggage.According to reviews they arrive with the preload set to zero and you just bolt on,this is set up immediately for solo use, giving tons of extra adjustment for pillions and luggage.
Ive looked on adv rider and horizons unlimited.
Just spent an evening googling ie "hyperpro review"
Now all to do is find a retailer who give us tossers a discount for a pair.
ive also discounted the fournales unit because of the special pump which is needed to change the air pressure,summat else to carry,and a mixed bag of neg/pos reviews
atb Paul

 

[Vern]

You only need the pump with the fournales if it's going down. Blow it up and forget it. The more weight you put on it, the more pressure in it. Simple but effective I find.

Never touched mine apart from when I had the gearbox out. I phoned the man up, and asked if it needed a service or rebuild. He said if it's not leaking, put it back where it came from.

My kind of service intervals. 7 years and nothing to do

Got one on the front as well

 

[MattW]

I think the wilbers are out £800 for a rear shock ,i cant seem to find any prices on the WP range,the Ohlins ive poo poo'd on account of several bad reviews on horizons and adv rider.and personal experience.
That leaves hyperpro for around £560 here.
They are made to suit you, your pillion and luggage.According to reviews they arrive with the preload set to zero and you just bolt on,this is set up immediately for solo use, giving tons of extra adjustment for pillions and luggage.
Ive looked on adv rider and horizons unlimited.
Just spent an evening googling ie "hyperpro review"
Now all to do is find a retailer who give us tossers a discount for a pair.
ive also discounted the fournales unit because of the special pump which is needed to change the air pressure,summat else to carry,and a mixed bag of neg/pos reviews
atb Paul

Interesting - I'm also in the market for new suspension (at least a rear).

I know bugger all about shocks (apart from the fact they are flippin' expensive)
What's the difference between the 'emulsion' and non-emulsion varieties (options 2 and 5 on the website you quote)? I'm guessing that the non-emulsion variety is gas charged like the other expensive shocks (Ohlins / Wilbers) which puts them right up in their price range when you compare like for like?

You only need the pump with the fournales if it's going down. Blow it up and forget it. The more weight you put on it, the more pressure in it. Simple but effective I find.

Never touched mine apart from when I had the gearbox out. I phoned the man up, and asked if it needed a service or rebuild. He said if it's not leaking, put it back where it came from.

My kind of service intervals. 7 years and nothing to do

Got one on the front as well

I've thought about Fournales but you don't seem to read much about them - I like the idea of them being an air shock but I'm not sure how much faff changing the preload is? (I'd have to have a pump because my riding varies from solo 'just me out for a blast' or 'two up fully loaded with my panniers full of stuff').

I've also no idea what the damping on them is like and how they ride compared to a 'conventional' shock.

I guess if they do 'burst' then you're in the poo because you've lost all springing?

 

[Pauly S]

you are in the same boat as me

one minute your solo, next minute everything inc the kitchen sink plus co-pilot.
The only down side i can see with the hyperpro is there doesnt seem to be a uk service centre,theres quite a bit on advrider about them.
There was also a post on horizons about the fournales,one fella blew a rear, but he managed to limp it around 2000 miles like it.He reckons there was a rubber bump stop inside,just in case.
As regards the fancy spring syndrome, im not bothered, i was gonna order black anyways.
The fournales does get a glowing report from young Vern though,I'll keep fishing for a while, the jury is still out, along with ohlins.
I seem to remember something from the long way there and back and again,and they got through several rear shocks,but i'm buggered if i can recall which ones they were,i may watch it again to find out.
There is another option of a standard shock rebuild from ABE, and fit a hyperpro custom progressive shock spring at the same time,all in i calcualate around £220.choices choices.at least it wont be 10mm too long. atb ttfn paul

 

[MattW]

one minute your solo, next minute everything inc the kitchen sink plus co-pilot.
The only down side i can see with the hyperpro is there doesnt seem to be a uk service centre,theres quite a bit on advrider about them.
There was also a post on horizons about the fournales,one fella blew a rear, but he managed to limp it around 2000 miles like it.He reckons there was a rubber bump stop inside,just in case.
As regards the fancy spring syndrome, im not bothered, i was gonna order black anyways.
The fournales does get a glowing report from young Vern though,I'll keep fishing for a while, the jury is still out, along with ohlins.
I seem to remember something from the long way there and back and again,and they got through several rear shocks,but i'm buggered if i can recall which ones they were,i may watch it again to find out.
There is another option of a standard shock rebuild from ABE, and fit a hyperpro custom progressive shock spring at the same time,all in i calcualate around £220.choices choices.at least it wont be 10mm too long. atb ttfn paul

I recall the same thing about E&C's Ohlins problems - apparently they used the 'wrong' Ohlins (probably the off the shelf ones that you or I would buy) - they should have used the super-expensive 'competition' versions (or something along those lines).

Another thing I've just thought about the Fournales is that I doubt I could just change the back and wait to do the front - I'd guess the completely different springing characteristics would feel very odd...

 

[Lordr]

Thanks for all the banter guys, I have use WP on the rear before and there was very little difference's apart from the ride height adjuster. My main issue is the front as when used on hard dirt road such as I have encountered both in South America and Asia, it just cant cope.

Next year will be an even harder test of the bike and its time to look for something that is better than the standard. The Ohlins that they used in the LWD , so I have heard, was not the spec that Ohlins advised, it was too soft for the amount of weight they were carrying, hence the issues that they encountered.

Ill check out some of the members that you have discussed.

Thanks Stu

 

[Steptoe]

one minute your solo, next minute everything inc the kitchen sink plus co-pilot.
l

I usually forget to adjust my shocks when i'm loaded up, and when i get back i always remind myself " i must adjust them next time, like everyone is always telling us to do ".
I used to adjust them but then forgot and never noticed when riding so i don't bother anymore.

 

[tully]

Ohlins on an 1150GSA

I have Ohlins on my 1150GSA

I have done some off-roading since I fitted them and I have also done a 2-up + everything inc. the kitchen sink trip around France. This included dirt tracks, beaches, camp sites and all types of road.

The Ohlins are definitely better in most areas – one thing that is worth mentioning is that I have a 180 spring in the back one, which is heavier/stronger than the 140 that comes fitted as standard (IIRC)– I think there is an added cost for this.

I ride on broken concrete tracks each day on my journey to work (office based on a farm) and I did not notice much difference once the Ohlins were fitted in the front, the back is better though, much more good feedback.

The type of “corrugated” surface you mention is, as you say a pain in the arse and not much fun to ride, compared to the front of the 650 Dakar I used to have the 1150GSA’s front end doesn’t feedback anything like what an off-road bike does.

Perhaps a good compromise would be to try the HyperPro spring kits that convert your OEM shocks in to Hybrids

 

[Pauly S]

shockd

I usually forget to adjust my shocks when i'm loaded up, and when i get back i always remind myself " i must adjust them next time, like everyone is always telling us to do ".
I used to adjust them but then forgot and never noticed when riding so i don't bother anymore.

i normally have it set up for solo, but when you sling the wife and the sink on the back, the bike is on the floor, so you have to dial in some rear height.
Then i forget and get on it solo and it's like riding a lighthouse.

 

[Pauly S]

woo hoo air shock news

Ive just managed to get a deal from fournales here.15% off,splendid.And some trick stuff too.
Also i'm still working on hyperpro for a deal too.keep you posted on that one.
atb Paul

 

[MattW]

Ive just managed to get a deal from fournales here.15% off,splendid.And some trick stuff too.
Also i'm still working on hyperpro for a deal too.keep you posted on that one.
atb Paul

Excellent - well done Paul

I assume they don't all have to be the same (mines an 1100, so different to the 1150 shock)...

 

[Vern]

I've got the trick thingy for mine, and it's been sat in the drawer for years, as you just don't need it really and it needs a longer hose on it as well.

 

[Pauly S]

I would have thought

Excellent - well done Paul

I assume they don't all have to be the same (mines an 1100, so different to the 1150 shock)...

I would have thought they would be the same price. Give steve a ring and mention ukgser.and ask for the 15 percent-also you will need a pump .a foot pump is no good. You also have to put the bike on the stand to adjust the preload-atb
Paul