Penske vs Ohlins shock

I'm wondering if it's going to make a huge difference whether I go for the more expensive shock or not.

I'm looking at the 8987 Double-clicker Penske shock versus the Ohlins TTX. There's a difference of $300. This is for an 08 750. Already have a 20mm Ohlins kit in the front with forkcap extenders.

I'm not a racer yet, just a track day junkie and street rider. Is it worth the $300 extra to go for the Ohlins?

 

^^ y not the triple-clicker penske? have you asked hardracing.com about the TTX? recently they were having a blow-out sale where they were letting 'em go for dirt cheap. check it out if you haven't.

 

I would look at the big picture and do the research before you make a decision. You will want to consider wheather you want progressive valving, or digressive valving as that is a characteristic of each shock. Some guys like the digressive, and some like the progressive. You will also want to consider what you will do with the front of the bike too as you probably want to have a balanced setup. If you go Ohlins in the rear, you probably wouldnt want to run Ak 20's in the forks for example. I'm sure plenty of people do with good results, my point though is that you need to consider the entire suspension for the bike when making your decision, not just half of it. Just as important is considering who and how you will support it. If you want a top suspension guy, you may want to go with the brand they support, etc..

 

Already checked, their price in US dollars works out to roughly the same as the price I can get it at. ($1000CAD for Penske, $1300CAD for Ohlins).

Service on either brand can be done by the same suspension shop.

The Penske triple clicker will be the same price as the Ohlins, but I don't know if I'll even take advantage of its features.

$300 could definitely be invested elsewhere. Anyone else running a similar setup on their 06-09 600/750?

 

Why wouldn't he want to run the Ohlins 25mm with a penske rear? The only reason I can think of is that he wouldn't be able to compare notes with the next guy who has ohlins all the way around. If he doesn't care about getting set up tips from somebody I see no reason why he couldn't run the Ohlins forks with a penske rear.

If you don't think your sophisticated enough for a triple clicker style rear shock you might as well go with a double clicker Penske. Once you feel like you maxed out the capabilities of the penkse sell it off and pick up a better rear shock. In the mean time use the extra money for a quick shifter or a trackday to try out your new suspension.

*Ohlins is known as the best rear shock of a reason.

 

I went from an Ohlins (#SU647) to a Penske 8987 on my GSXR after the entire compression valving system came out of the Ohlins while turning in to Clubhouse Corner at Miller.

First of all, Ohlins USA is difficult to deal with. They will only sell shims in quantity, so replacing my failed parts was prohibitively expensive. Of course warranty replacement was out of the question.

An advantage of the Penske with the remote reservoir is Penske can swap parts and rebuild it for a whole 'nother different bike.

On the bike, I'm riding with a stiffer spring on the Penske and that's the only noticeable difference.

 

This is good info. Being in Victoria BC (aka Vancouver Island) unfortunately we don't even have a local suspension shop, closest I can go to is RMR Suspensions in Vancouver.

I'll try shop around for a better price on the triple clicker Penske.

 

Ohlins are gold and Penskes aren't. You decide.

 

Superbikestore.....can you define progressive vs digressive?

 

http://autopitstop.net/car-improvements/progressive-dampers-vs-digressive-dampers/

Looks like it's a fancy word for a separate high-speed damping circuit.

 

ohlins only

 

Penske Triple FTW

 

RMR is good people, did the Ohlins school with him this Winter.

Why don't you call him and discuss your questions with him? He's a pro suspension guy and can lead you in the right direction. You could buy a shock from him set up for your weight and riding ability.

 

I have not ridden on an Ohlins... However, I really like my Penske double... Much better than my Elka triple...

Luis

 

Thanks.


Maybe I'm better off with a Penske double and spend $250 on an Ohlins damper from Hard Racing

 

Oh, the steering dampers have to be sent back to Ohlins to be rebuilt in a vacuum chamber or something.

 

if you don't have a damper- i'd put that ahead of a shock for sure. if saving money on the penske instead of the ohlins allows you to budget for a damper- go that route because the overall package you'll get out of your $$ will be better.

 

I just submerge my damper in a container of my favorite fluid and cycle it back and forth, seems to work good for me.

 

I have a stock damper....it's okay. The 08/09 electronic damper is definitely better than the 06/07 (my previous bike). Would still like to go aftermarket for a damper though. What is the popular choice for damper for gixxer owners?

 

I did a lot of research in this area and decided against it. The reason being is that the dapming works differently between the two different brands. For the optimal setup you would want the suspension to be perfectly balanced and the damping to work using the same principles and act the same way front and rear so that the bike isn't pitching etc.. There is also the issue of support. You going to have an Ohlins guy do the work and setup on the front, and a penkse guy do the setup on the rear? Sure, i know a lot of top guys will work on either but they have a preference and will tell you that they prefer to go with xx.. and thats what they will know the best and tune the best. I personally can't think of a valid reason why not to do a matching suspension. I would think that Thermosman isn't out there doing tuning and testing trying to get AMA race bikes working using Penske rears and Ohlins forks. All the development and setup information is coming from a matching setup. You benefit from all of that data.