I have an ohlins shock on my gsxr 600 and it has the remote preload and all, but for some reason, even though I have the preload cranked all the way soft, when I sit on the bike, it doesn't go down any, I'm talking like not one inch, the dampening is about 4 clicks out and the rebound is god knows where, what else would be causing my shock to be so darn stiff?
Has it been crashed recently? The shock linkage or even the swingarm pivot may be jammed.... Take the shock off and see if all the joints in the linkage and the swingarm are smooth. If thats not it, put a stamp on yer shock and mail it to Max.
I had the same problem with the Ohlins on my RC51. I had to put on a lighter spring. How much do you weigh?
He said it doesn't move any, as in doesn't budge. Even if he's a flyweight and the spring is an 1000# it would still sag a little...
He rode at Loudon so it had to move some. At a standstill, no, it doesn't have to have any sag under it's own weight. My F4 did the same thing. Spring was way too stiff for my narrow ass.
The greatest disservice Ohlins did to themselves is to have PU distribute them. I have yet to see the proper spring on one of those from PU. ALSO, you have to measure sag, PULL the shock, then move the preload adjuster so that the spring is in the right "range" (I have yet to see those set right either). This is all WAG measuring/moving going on, so it may take a few tries. The goal is to have your ideal sag in the middle of the adjusters' range so that you can have an effective range of changes. NOTE: The preload adjuster is a pain in the ass to move as you have to remove a 3mm pin that someone used 1000lbs of force to put in! Good Luck
I weight about 150, and no i don't think it's jammed, I mean if i jump up and down on it, it will move about an inch, but I was going to set the "static sag" per some webpage I found on the internet, but when I sat on it, the rear end didn't go down any... I guess like tony said, I ran at loudon and it worked fine, so I'll just fidget with it to the best of my ability till it throws me, then I'll pursue more aggresive means...
I'm not totally convinced it's the spring, the guy I bought it from weighs less than I do and he won a couple championships and set some track records with it.... I took the forks to traxxion to have a seal replaced and they said that my set up was all wrong so i paid them to change it and when i called this guy up and asked him why the forks were so screwed I got this "well I won so and so and so with the bike, so it the suspension is crap I must be a great rider" so i'm, as you would say, putting my money on the bike being set up good as is, and until i'm proved wrong I really don't want to fudge with it too much, especially something as drastic as changing the shock spring...
I put the same shock on my gsxr750, with the same result, the bike just does not move when I sit on it, yet acts great on the track. I weigh 150lbs. The bike was new when I installed it so I know its not a linkage problem. But i would like to know if anybody knows the hot setup as far as preload, comp dampning and rebound damping goes for the 01 750 with this shock. Thanks.
Renaissance Man is right. All Ohlins Shocks with a remote preload adjuster come with 20mm of preload on the spring. 15mm is the MAXIMUM amount of preload that should ever be on a shock spring. The preload collars are improperly installed. However, you are not supposed to pull the pin and dink with the collars as RM suggests. They reason he is having such a hard time with it, is it isn't supposed to come apart. You need to send those shocks to a suspension shop where they have a spring compressor, and have them reset the collar. Me personally, I just make people take the stupid collars off altogether and put a good old fashioned spanner type preload collar on. The hydraulic ones get ripped apart when you crash, and then they collapse to minimum preload. Then you can't really ride anymore that day. Besides that, they are SUPPOSED to give you 15mm of preload adjustment, but they rarely give you more than 5mm, until again, you send them to a suspension shop and have them bled to work right. After that you need to set the preload collar up to put about 5-8mm of preload on the spring in the minimum position, and then it will give you a range of preload that goes from about 8mm to 15mm. And they do only come with the spring that is in the box, regardless of what you weigh. And they are always too soft for anybody really. The GSXR in question will have too soft of a spring for sure. All in all, this is a story I hear everyday of my life here at my company. This is why I don't sell Ohlins. A lot of guys can't resist buying them since they can get them for cost from their local dealer. But in the end, it always costs A LOT more by the time they buy the right spring, have it revalved to where it will damp worth a darn, and have the preload collar bled (replaced).... I guess you get the point....
Spring $100 ( we reset the hydraulic collar and install it for free, you just have to get it to us...) Replacement Ohlins Spanner-type preload collar $30(crash-proof) Bleed Hydraulic Collar $25 Revalve Ohlins Shock $125 In the end, we can make it work about 90% as good as a standard Penske and about 80% as good as a Triple Adjuster.
I remember PU used to tell you to contact Stig to get your Ohlins setup correctly (This was like about 4 or 5 years ago). Yeah, that was really going to get it done. Stig did not work on Joe Q. retail customers stuff. Anyway, my advice to everyone, save your money (like Max said) and buy a Penske (or the generally used product in any category) so that you can get a consistent level of service and knowledge applicable to your product.
Max, if the spring that came on the ohlins is too soft then how come it doesnt budge when I sit on it? But feels fine when I ride it. Could it be because I only weigh 150 lbs? Do you think it is stiff enough for a 150 lbs rider?
It has too much preload on it. It shouldn't be that way. The bike, at an absolute minimum, should sag when you sit on it. There is no one on Earth who will argue this point. No matter how soft any spring is, you can "set the rider sag". But you will get no free sag. I am sure your bike mechanically makes a "donk" sound when it hits top-out. A stiffer spring requires less preload and will then be softer on top. It will also be firmer in the bottom of the stroke to support the bike. The spring you have is the opposite of good. It is stiff on top (overpreloaded), and soft in the bottom (which lets the bike squat and not act balanced when loaded in a turn). What are the numbers on your shock spring?
HEY MAX, seeing as i just bought a used Ohlins for my Gsxr750. i am a little disapointed by your comments, and that i didn't see them a week ago. guess thats what i get for not askin eh? well i have it and it needs a new spring for my weight, and i noticed the 100.00 gets the spring installed and the preload set correctly. am i correct, all i have to do is ship it to you? let me know so i can asap. my email is [email protected]. Thanks, kent. i guess second hand penske's are hard to find for a reason,lol
