Scura Ohlins

[Jap In OZ]

Good morning,

 

Last weekend had a beatifull ride! my grilfriend on the multistrada trying to keep up ;-) in the lovely gold coast hinterland! a great variety of corners, tight technical stuff and nice long sweepers to keep the adrenaline flowing! it started out as a breakfast ride but ended up being a full day of riding. Had a great time parked the bike and had a last loving look over my shoulder wishing her goodnight thinking what a great bike it was just to see a slight puddle underneath her;

 

it seems that the remote reservoir from the Ohlins rearsuspension is leaking from the point were the hose is joining the actual unit covering the swingarm and most of the brakedisc with some nice oil!

 

* any experience with this particulair problem?

* Does anybody know a good workshop for OHlins in the Brisbane area

* Would it be alright for me to ride the bike to the shop or am i better of taking just the shock to the shop?

 

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Ciao

Jasper

[Guest ratchethack]

You paint a lovely picture, Jap (I must say that avatar helps) -- right up to the part where the shock sprung the leak. . .

 

Of course the question now is, "how much did it leak" -- and from the sound of things, it looks like it'd be well worth the effort refilling and "burping" to eliminate air. Now if this were me, I'd do it meself end to end. But if you want the experienced hand of a Pro on it, I reckon there's your answer.

 

This leaves the question about riding it in or taking the shock in. Now if this were me (Part II), and I'd taken a pass on Part I, I'd have it off and bring it in, not wanting to risk my Guzzi in the hands of an unknown entity with lots of tools behind closed doors -- particularly one unfamiliar with the Guzzi shaft and bevel drive, as there can be mistakes made by the uninitiated in dismantling. . .

 

As to your Q about riding it this way, IMHO, if the ride to the shop is several hours of hard track I wouldn't consider it, but 50 km of decent road would be unlikely to harm things IMHO, despite the lack of proper damping (and resulting poor ride) whilst underway. I'd be sure to tighten up the banjo or equivalent fitting at the offending joint before setting off, at the very least.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

 

Good luck!

 

BTW -- I'd be sure to pressure-wash off all that oil from the disk (spin it on a lift, it directing cleaner and rinse at the holes in the disk from different directions) and go over it with solvent afterward. If possible, I'd fit new brake pads and have the caliper cleaned out thoroughly and de-greased while y'er at it. If the disk was covered in oil the way it sounds, the pads are certainly contaminated and won't perform worth a whit.

[savagehenry]

Hey Jasper, If you do find someone to work on that rear shock, a simple spray down with brake clean will do. That Scura doesn't even need the assist of a rear when you can clamp down sufficiently with just that Ohlins front/Brembo brake set up. I find I only use the rear in EMERGENCY conditions anyway ... Keep yer shite wired tight, you'll be alright, carry on, S.H.

[Guest ratchethack]

Yes, well then again -- If you're comfortable riding without a reliable rear brake -- No doubt many would be equally as comfortable driving a car without rear brakes and/or emergency brake. In that case, vaya con Dios, mi compadre.

 

Speaking of emergency brakes. . .

 

Reminds me of a guy I struck up a conversation with in the parking lot of Mother's Kitchen, a popular local moto destination high atop Mt. Palomar, home of the Internationally famous Hale Observatory.

 

He was riding a vintage Kawabunga (something or other), which he had substantially re-worked into a cafe-style bike. As far as I could tell he'd accomplished this mostly with spray paint, and by bolting on high-bling "racing" gear. It looked very fast alright. I noticed that he had no rear brake and asked him about it. He said, "Yeah -- I took it off. Dropped unsprung weight on the swingarm by (XX) pounds. Makes it handle even "sweeter". Then he said, "I never used it anyway".

 

Hm. . . Then he got on WITH HIS GF/WIFE and took off to the lonesome sound of the distant (yet common as background music thereabouts) wail of sirens, as yet another rescue/paramedic team hauled away the remains of yet another rider that encountered (or was it, created?) "an emergency" by going over the side of one of the dozens of sheer granite cliffs that form the "backdrop" for rides there -- all the way up, and all the way down. . .

 

Now this is just me, but you couldn't get me to ride with a questionable rear brake ANYWHERE , let alone risk the life of SOMEONE ELSE along with me own hide. . .

 

Now I'm sure there are those who would consider no rear brake at all "unquestionable" -- as there's no doubt about its effectiveness -- wot's left to question? Nor are there any options, the front brakes being a "single point of failure". . .

 

Casting no aspersions, and as always,

 

TJM & YMMV

[Paul Minnaert]

http://www.stevecramerproducts.com.au looks to be the Ohlins importer. Ask them, or look on threir site for a dealer.

[Jap In OZ]

Thanks for all the replies..

 

I checked out steve cramer they mostly do bicycles! The shops they got listed on their website are not exactely close to where I am so I asked and called around yesterday and got a shop that seems reliable enough.. I'll drive the 15 km's over there tomorrow (good roads etc)

 

And now the big dangerous question: After reading all the posts on scura rearshocks with wrong springs should I take this oppurtunity to change the spring! I am about 80 kg (176 lbs) and never really spent much time sorting out the suspension (I know a waste of all that nice bling, but what can i say no issues with the ride!) So should I go for a heavier spring and improve the suspension a bit or just leave it alone and life happily ever after? I had all the settings pretty much standard which equatted to a pretty good ride if that helps the evaluation.

 

 

Any input is welcome!

 

Cheers Jasper

[Paul Minnaert]

Jasper, what I remember from the scura is that the forks have soft springs, but the back didn't feel to soft. If you have a real suspension shop, they can pretty easy advise you. Before you start messing with what feels good to you now.

[dlaing]

So should I go for a heavier spring and improve the suspension a bit or just leave it alone and life happily ever after? I had all the settings pretty much standard which equatted to a pretty good ride if that helps the evaluation.

Any input is welcome!

I think it is a 485# spring which probably is fine for your weight.

If it is that weight it should be marked with something like

1091 - 26/85

The 26 designates the spring rate of 485#

If you give us some accurate sag measurements we could help you determine if the spring is the right rate, although the right rate is subjective.

[Jap In OZ]

picked up the scura the other day! One of the washers of the remote reservoir started leaking which was the only problem. While she was there all the fluids were changed and we spend some time setting up the suspension. Turned out that the shop that I picked from the was an Ohlins dealer and the motorcycle suspension specialst for SE Queensland! The setup I had was pretty much right according to the expert. Changed static sag at the back to a mere 5mm which was roughly 2cm. If anything it turns in a bit quicker (does that make sense) but that could be due to all clean oil?

 

anyway it's all good again!

 

Cheers

 

jasper

[Baldini]

....Changed static sag at the back to a mere 5mm which was roughly 2cm. If anything it turns in a bit quicker (does that make sense)...

 

You jacked up the back = steeper steering angle = quicker turn in.

 

KB