Ohlins...?

charlie batty

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Had my Ohlins on for a while now and can't honestly say they feel a great inprovement...

...in fact they don't seem much better at all.

I think it's my lack of understanding as to how to set the blasted things up....

On a long bend it feels like its 'bowing' in the middle ....wallows... if you know what i mean..

Some assistance/advice would be most wecome:D


........very Ta

......Charlie:driving
 
Where did you get them from?

Normally the suppliers of these units should give you some idea of what to expect and what adjustments are needed. Things like your weight and style of riding should have been taken into consideration when selecting the right spring for the front and the rear. From that point on the knowledgeable suspension dealer would have been able to give a base line set-up to start off with (if not give THE set-up that was perfect from the word go).

Sounds like the rear is too soft....thats either the spring is too weak for your weight/bike or the pre-load needs to be wound up some.

Do static sag first, BACK OFF the damper compression and rebound screws then with that done jump on suited and booted with helmet on as well, complete next check for sag with you on board...aim for no more than 25-30mm sag at each end.

Sag set you next need to arrive at a compression and rebound damping setting. DO EVERYTHING ONE CLICK AT A TIME FROM HERE ON.

Start by concentrating on the front compression, ride along a straight quiet road and gently apply the front brake a few times and notice how quick the front dives....make a click adjustment to the compression damping screw and repeat until you are relatively happy with a nice controlled and gentle progressive dip in the front suspension. The wat the forks rebound ...return will be checked by the rebound setting which you can repeat as for the compression set-up.

Now that the front is part way there you must now turn to the rear unit. You want to throw weight onto the front to improve cornering and stability, this will be affected by your riding style position. Repeat the same steps as for the front but now you really need to find a road with some bumps in it (not too big just enough to get the suspension earning its keep. Carry on and adjust ONE CLICK AT A TIME and experiment with compression first then move to rebound.

You wil have to try and get to grips with an unsettled ride whilst doing this but eventually it will all make sense and your bike should handle much better.

The whole point about upgraded suspension is in the case of Ohlins that the internals are more accurately made and mated/fininshed with a greater range of adjustments finer control over the units action with the spring and the rest of the bike.

If all else fails try contacting Ohlins they have a very good web site...Google and then Olhins should find it for you.

Have fun, good luck and I hope this little piece has helped you, theres nothing better than getting it right for your self :)
 
charlie batty said:
Had my Ohlins on for a while now and can't honestly say they feel a great inprovement...
...in fact they don't seem much better at all.

Go back to the Originals.........you'll be fine then.......... ;)

There's nowt wrong with them, I've yet to find their limit, the bike hangs together well with the standard kit.......... :)

CC

:cool:
 
Charlie
You on them TKC80 things ?
I tried a set and though the grip was surprisingly good
they did tend to wallow on faster bends.
After a couple of punctures have now
gone back to tourance and everythings tickety boo :)

Gates

Gone
Fishing :P
 
Re: Re: Ohlins...?

coolcarbon said:
Go back to the Originals.........you'll be fine then.......... ;)

There's nowt wrong with them, I've yet to find their limit, the bike hangs together well with the standard kit.......... :)

CC

:cool:

Good idea . And I suppose you can give me your ohlins..........
................. just because I like yellow springs of course
 
Charlie - my sympathies when I first got mine they were awful two up until I realised that I had to reduce the rebound damping not increase it when adding pillion and pre-load. It is worth perservering with, cause set up, they are fantastic.

Dont know if this is any use to you, but the settings Harris recommended as a starting point on my 1150 GS (note not an Adventure) are as follows:

Preload: Front 6 from Max, Rear 12 Clicks from Max
Rebound Damping: Front 18 from Max, Rear 11 from Max.
 
Charlie,

I got mine set up by Harris - really helpful guys and it cost 30ish quid. They are in Hertfordshire - not using my own computer at the moment so I haven't got a link for you, but Google will provide the details if you decide to go this way...

Mike:)

ps I don't think Ohlins made a huge difference to my bike & CC has a point. Most people, IMO,feel that Ohlins make a major difference to their handling because they are replacing knackered old shocks with new ones.
I bought Ohlins because they are 'serviceable', rather than the original Showas, which are designed to be replaced when worn out - and are more expensive than Ohlins :eek:
 
Re: Re: Re: Ohlins...?

Den said:
Good idea . And I suppose you can give me your ohlins..........
................. just because I like yellow springs of course

I dunae hae Ohlins Den.........Bog Standard me, just like the rest of the Bike..............;)

CC

:cool:
 


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