OHLINS Or PENSKE out back???

Myself and some of my teammates are building new bikes for next season, And we're torn between the top model ohlins (46PRXLS) and the Penske tripple clicker.. They are the same cost for us. And we keep hearing different oppinions from many suspension shops.. I'm posting this up, because I want to hear what you, the racers at the club level have to say.. which shock do you, or would you run given the choice.. I wana hear from people who USE the product.. the shops all seem to wana sell you whatever they can make the most money on.. From ease of setup, to feel of the bike, to traction and overall ability of the shock. Pro's and Cons of both. I wana hear what the racers have to say! WHat's the cool shock to have? Thanks in advance for your valueble input! if you don't want to write an essay on it, a simple vote would help as well.

 

I'm a wrench but after having worked with both this season I would have to say that the Penske is the way to go. Spring changes are a breeze and the boys over at Traxxion can get you going in the right direction for setup.

 

Not to mention the ease of adjustment on the Penske. One click is all one needs to notice a difference in the feel of the bike. The triple adjust gives plenty of options for finding the right combination of steer, traction, etc. I vote Penske, plus their shop is an hour from me!

 

I have had the joy of both but perfer the penske over the ohlins the ohlins does not have ride height on the one I have played with on a gsxr 750

 

the ohlins model I quoted in the first post has adjustable ride height, remote preload adjustment, ect.

thanks for the opinions, keep them coming!

 

I should have looked for the model as the damping goes both work good just the penske has good service around here with Max at Traxxion ..He services at the tracks too sometimes Never seen the ohlins truck pulling in........

 

I know, I know, I already gave my vote. But Huff is right about the Ohlins truck. Unless you have Stig walking around your pits, the Penske seems like so much more the logical choice for a club racer. Sending an Ohlins unit to North Carolina, or Colorado seemed difficult to me. One could send the Penske to Penn. or let a Traxxion shop work on it. Since you have the same price for each, that just adds weight to the argument.

 

i basicly after, which is more club racer freindly? which performs better? I don't have a pit crew with suspension guru's on it, I need to do the tunning myself.. which shock puts out the performance, and is more used freindly at the same time? $$ isn't the factor, they cost the same to me. I need the best in all aspects. I'll be running it an r6 and gsxr's

 

I would go with the Penske. It offers the best adjustability out of the box. With the high and low speed comp you can usually always find a set-up. I have never had an Ohlins that worked out of the box. I have always had to get them revalved. Also the Ohlins is much harder to change springs on. We can change a Penske spring in less than 5 min.

Ken Hill

 

they both have knobs that turn and change the damping up and down. The triples are the way to go you may not feel the differance between the twin clicker and a triple but when you do get to the fine tuning you will love the triple way better. I would call max or mike or who ever you plan on using for your suspention and they can tell you more on the details. Max has a book for tuning your suspention that will help you understand and talk the same language as him or most tuners. The r6's that I tuned last year had the penskes on them I i loved them. always worked great will be buying two more penskes soon.

 

Until Ohlins makes major corporate philosophy changes here in the US, you will not get a lick of support or service from them. Your shocks will come from a giant warehouse of boxes, they will not be built to suit you in any way. If you have a failure or need warranty support, you will be without your shock for months.

We have a hard time buying seals and hoses from Ohlins, and I can assure you, our company spends more money at Ohlins than anyone on this list ever will. They are the opposite of Penske.

Also, you will need to invest in a $350 spring compressor if you buy an Ohlins Shock. You cannot change the spring without it or a suspension shop at the track, particularly when you use the remote collar (which doesn't work properly until bled by a suspension shop). Also, the Ohlins Shock isn't long enough for the GSXRs, unless you use a special shim kit.

There is not a single identifiable reason to use an Ohlins Shock in the US, unless someone gives it to you.

I scanned our results in the Suzuki Cup Finals, and the 80% fitment I claimed for Traxxion and Penske in our banner ads wasn't just on the box, it was representative of the whole field. Of the GSXR1000s in the Suzuki Cup Finals, of 17 bikes, like 14 were equipped with Traxxion and Penske. 80% of the best riders in the US didn't arrive at this combination by accident...

 

well i guess i could have been more blunt and said ohlnis sucks ass but....picture horn and someone blowing it Max is great and his shop kicks serious ass he has more stuff in stock then i bet penske has valves washers seals needles(the good kind) springs and did i say ti springs way cool stuff if you need a special valving he will have it done not in a month but that week. You do not like something call him and he willl make it right........

 

wow, I'm glad i posted this thread,,, I never realized the ohlins was that bad a shock... with such poor service.. well , you learn something every day.. thanks for the help guys! keep it coming.

 

I am surprised that ohlins are such crappy shocks, I have used them for a long time and never had any problems , have also sold quite a few with no complaints. As far as spring changes you make it sound like your taking yours on and off a whole bunch. i can't see club racers having a need for doing that much. Ask Larry Denning how the Ohlins works i'm sure he has passed a few of you guys at one time or another, and he is using 4 year old Ohlins on both his bikes that seemed to work right out of the box.Do you really need a service truck at the track for your shock , if you do buy a different shock , it should last a long time before needing any service for 90% of club racers. Hey they all have knobs and the more knobs the more most of the racers get confused with what to do for them. As far as the Suzuki shock being too short that is wrong as we also do Computrack and they fit correctly and all of them have been ride height adjustable the last couple of years and all new ones have high and low speed compression. I also sell and service penske shocks , great product. I get so tired of all this crap bashing on here by the same handfull of goofs. Go ahead and flame away i want to get 12 pages on this one! Oh yes I forgot Fox shocks are great now!

 

And broke a copule of track records in the proces this year

 

Larry Denning could probably do the same with a stock setup. That guy is just naturally fast. I've owned both Ohlins and Penske, and I echo what the others have said. The spring preload is MUCH easier on the Penske. The tool is a short round bar. The Ohlins takes a spanner wrench that is, well....difficult to use at best if the shock is in a tight location, as it was on my Hawk. Other than that, both shocks are awesome, but with Traxxion's support and contingency program, why wouldn't you go with Penske?

 

who also rides an R1, not the "big bad gixxer 1000".

 

Never had any problems with my Ohlins, in fact I've probably had problems with everything else on that damn bike but the Ohlins!

However, my next shock (for the new bike in pieces in the garage) will probably be one that Traxxion sells (Fox or Penske, probably Fox due to budget...). The reason is simply because they support our sport at our level. (Well, the budget thingy too...) but the support is the tie-breaker for me.

 

The support is a good reason to buy a certain product or service!The point i was trying to make is that at a club racer level you could probably use any tire,shock,pipe,etc,etc. use what fits your budget and makes you comfy with the decision. it just cracks me up that the 20 same people on here are always the expert on whatever product question that comes up.Opinions are great but they are just like ***holes everyone has one but just don't abuse someone if theirs are different! I am also a little dissapointed that this thread hasn't hit 12 pages yet!