From my experience of having Ohlins on my 80,000 mile R1150GS.
"You can spend a lot of money on suspension and that’s fine if that’s what you want. However the original setup is very good IMFO. More than 20 years old and with 45,000 miles it’s supple and comfortable and there’s no wallowing on fast bumpy corners. That’s with just me aboard, I haven’t travelled with luggage and a passenger."
True the original shocks are not terrible though with 45,000 miles on them unless you have always been on particularly smooth roads I would think that they'd benefit from a refresh. With regard to "fast bumpy corners" it depends on how fast and how bumpy. The standard rear shock even when new is OK up to a point and that point is when the significant unsprung weight of the shaft is no longer controled by the damping and it crashes about. This is particularly noticable on my bike when going round a slowish up hill left and corner where the tarmac has been rippled by vehicles making the turn. The bike bounces about on the standard shock but not with the Ohlins. Also the damping adjustment on the Ohlins actually changes the character of the shock the BM shock not so much.
"The 1150s are all pretty old now though so you may well need to do something. But think about it because it’s all subjective and once we’ve spent money we want to believe that it’s a worthwhile improvement. But unless you are a certain type of rider you probably can’t tell the difference."
Nope its not "all subjective" I've seen the standard rear shock and the Ohlins shock on a shock dyno (At PLR suspension mentioned above) and Clarence Bell the owner was able to show me the damping curves of both shocks and the effect on that curve of changes to damping adjustment.
"But unless you are a certain type of rider you probably can’t tell the difference."
I don't think thats true. I changed out my Ohlins shocks back to the 30,000 mile standard shocks recently (the front Ohlins had started to leak a bit) and I could tell the difference as soon as they were changed over. The ride was not bad but certainly less compliant and controlled than with the Ohlins. What did surprise me was how much more harsh the front telelever felt (it is often suggested that the biggest improvements from changing the shocks is changing the rear) over small stutter bumps particularly while braking compared to the Ohlins unit.
The Ohlins units allow for the same suspension travel as the standard units but raise the seat height by about an inch.
All that said Ohlins shocks are not without their issues.
The shock were bought used around 2006-7. Both were serviced after purchase and springs changed (I have the standard springs as well) to suit me luggage and a pillion. The rear shock needed a new piston shaft as it was marked. The rear shock has been serviced 3 times in 50,000 miles as recommended by Ohlins and in that time has had a new piston and body due to internal wear (its now like triggers broom
) The front has been serviced once and has recently sprung a small leak hence reverting to standard shocks. Design wise for bad weather the Ohlins shocks are less protected than the standard shocks as the piston shaft front and rear is exposed.
I'm just about to get the Ohlins serviced and lowered a bit. At 62 now (I was 42 when I bought the bike) I like the height of the bike with the standard shocks particularly as I've fitted Sargent seats which raise the seat height that bit more.
Would I go back to standard shocks? Absolutley not as despite their drawbacks the bike rides SO much better (all the time and at all speeds) with them serviced and fitted. That said if you've never had them you'd never know.
(Full disclosure I started with Ohlins and Ktech forks on a GSXR 600 which I tracked and a 2006 R1 which was also tracked. ) the shock performance on those bikes at the track was astonishing compared to the cheap tat fitted to those bikes (particularly the R1 shock which was a mushy mess
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