This is my first manual damper. What setting are you guys using? It's on a zx6r at intermediate pace if that helps in the decision making. Thanks Rich
No experience on that bike or Ohlins but I liked mine only as tight as it needed to be. That may change with track as well. It comes down to your comfort and what the bike is doing. The more damping it has can slow down your direction changes. Just try different one from session to session but if your finding you have to be max damping and bike is weird or just a lot of front end movement you may need to change some geometry.
Dampers are definitely rider preference. Some racers like them cranked up, some turned way down. I have found that racers that come from MX tend to like them stiff, maybe a coincidence, just something I've noticed. I always try to get them to turn it down and get more feel.
I push my bars left to right a few times real fast. Once I get it adjusted until I can Barley feel it, back it off another click. The last thing you want it to feel it going into a corner.
Keep in mind that Ohlins will sometimes build these with two different needles, so overall oil flow can vary. The OEM dampers will likely have the less aggressive needle while off the shelf units will have the standard needle. Withe the standard needle at the max setting it's very very difficult to move the damper rod (off the bike) with your hands. On a couple of occasions I've seen off the shelf units come from Ohlins with the wrong needle, but it's rare.
Mine is at 8 out of 18. Off the shelf unit, front-mount on an R6. I've tried it at 6, 8, & 10. Feeling on track and laptimes were not affected for all 3 settings. So it stayed at 8. The leverage ratio of the mount will probably affect the ideal setting. A side, front, or top mount all probably have different leverage ratios. Also, your feeling from the damper in the pits may not matter much. You don't turn the bars fast or far on track. And there are other large forces turning the bars for you on track. So don't "test" this setting in the pits - test it on track.
keep in mind that Ohlins wants fresh oil in their suspension parts (including a damper) every 10 hours of use. so when my setting feels light and i need to go a click harder, it's time for a refresh. it should be in the $100 ballpark to refresh your damper.
10 hours for steering damper oil replacement!? Did Ducati make them? Reminds me back when we were riding YZF450's in Glamis. After about 10 seasons, went in for a re-fresh and saw "10 hours for a piston... ". Oops Still looked good though.
yea i dont do mine every 10 hours. i wait till it starts to get soft at my setting. 10 hours is about 4 races a weekend, 7 weekends. so if you refresh your forks and shock yearly, it's about the same.
which type are you talking... the piston type or rotary? 10hrs seems excessive for servicing. GPR recomends once per year but it actually works out to twice...lol
from what i was told from Ohlins and a few suspension shops, 10 hours for any Ohlins suspension components. i have a linear, but i would assume it doesnt matter if it's an Ohlins linear or Scotts rotary. that being said, i also dont change my linear oil every 10 hours. maybe every 2 seasons when my click setting gets a bit soft.
