Ohlin Front Fork Conversion

[Retroman]

He Guys,

 

Anyne out there taken the Marzocchis off a V11 Le Mans and fitted Ohlin forks.

If so which donor bike did yo get them from?

Aprillia RSV (2002+) spares are abundant here in the UK and the forks look very similar to the Ohlins fitted to the Ross Corsa and Scura etc.

In view of Aprillia's involvement with Guzzi at this time did they use one and the same parts bin??

Any advice much appreciated in trying to improve the front end on my bike, which is pretty soft despite setting it up on max settings.

 

Best wishes,

 

Nigel.

[Steve S]

Nigel the V11 has 54mm forks at the clamps, Marzocchi and Ohlins, I am pretty sure the Ohlins from an Aprilia are smaller diameter, I have not yet found any 54mm Ohlins forks from another bike but I could be proved wrong 

[stewgnu]

Hey up dude, I've been wonderin about these Marzocchi's myself as I've been bouncin about on Sheffield roads...

I fitted some Hagon progressive springs on my previous bike which was a noticable improvement.

Some on this forum mention fitting a Gixxer front on the v11 which I spose would be vastly better and, if i was inclined to spend much cash, would prob be the way to go?

[Welshguzzi]

Apparently Maxton can do a superb job of re-valving/springing for around £600. Maybe worth considering? I'd do it if I had the cash probably

[docc]

Seems a hundred (US) dollars +/- for correct spring weights and fresh (well selected) fork oil go a long way . . .

 

as long as the rear spring and pre-load is also set-up . . .

[Retroman]

Thanks for the quick response guys.

 

Yep may go the Maxton cartridge route as have heard good reports about the improvement.

 

I have just had the suspension set up as best as it can be and although the rear now feels much more planted it has been lifted some 10mm and I would n't have believed how much the Ohlin rear shock shows up the deficiencies in compression and rebound on the forks.

 

Maybe Guzzi did n't make them for 14 stone riders.

 

Still much better than it was but on being quoted £400 just for a re valve thought I would explore other options.

 

Bugger about the Aprilia option. Nothing is ever simple!!

 

I will let you know whiuch way I go and if it was worth the hassle.

[earemike]

You might get a deal on some old stock Guzzi Ohlins (I've a set but I'm to far away from you).

 

Another option is to shim the Aprilia Ohlins in the Guzzi triples. I know they are usually narrower in the top yoke but think both Aprilia & Ducati external diameters can be found smaller or same as Guzzi.

 

ie your Guzzi 54/54 would take an earlier Duc fork from a 916/996/Monster ect 54/50?

 

Of course there are arguments both ways for shiming but it's an option.

[Baldini]

Guzzrider of this parish had Marzocchis sorted by Maxton & as I recall he was well-pleased with the result. Pretty sure he also had a V11S with Ohlins forks so may be worth a pm to him, he is a rare visitor here these days. KB

[chamberlin]

He Guys,

 

Anyne out there taken the Marzocchis off a V11 Le Mans and fitted Ohlin forks.

If so which donor bike did yo get them from?

Aprillia RSV (2002+) spares are abundant here in the UK and the forks look very similar to the Ohlins fitted to the Ross Corsa and Scura etc.

In view of Aprillia's involvement with Guzzi at this time did they use one and the same parts bin??

Any advice much appreciated in trying to improve the front end on my bike, which is pretty soft despite setting it up on max settings.

 

Best wishes,

 

Nigel.

 

I managed to get a used set from TLM in Netherlands. They were from a parted Le Mans Rosso Corsa. Had to pay about $2400 USD to get them, but that's including shipping as well as the rear Ohlins shock too.

Here's my build thread if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18247

 

I also have a 2003 Aprilia RSV Tuono that I just restored, and converted to a psuedo naked Mille-R. The fork diameter (top) on the Aprilia Ohlins are 51mm. I have a spare set left over from the build too! It looks like the axial brake mount stanchions are the same between Guzzi and Aprilia; too bad the tube diameters are not.

[PDoz]

ie your Guzzi 54/54 would take an earlier Duc fork from a 916/996/Monster ect 54/50?

 

I looked into this last year , from memory the ducati forks were all shorter stroke, and you were still looking at new springs to suit the guzzis weight.

 

The stock post 03 marzochis came with a very soft spring, getting this upgraded to suit your weight makes an amazing difference. Unfortunately it's a tapered spring, so it'll take a bit of negotiating to find the right one. My wilburs guru got it spot on with a much shorter spring, but he died before he was able to tell me the details.

 

The dampening cartridge is effectively sealed, so if you remain unhappy after respringing it's time to look into a new cartridge. To be honest, if you're this fussy it's probably time to consider better forks. The marzochis themselves are a bit primitive - eg only one set of bushes , no compression dampening adjustment, etc. But they look good in black and with decent springs and fresh oil they're at least better than that crappy sachs rear shock will ever be.

[GuzziMoto]

There are likely a few used sets of Ohlins around from Ohlins equipped Guzzi's, but I reckon they are few and far between. There are other bikes with Ohlins as O.E., but they may take a bit of customizing or fab work to make them fit. There are also plenty of other options for fork swaps, the GSXR fork swap has been pretty well covered already (and I am very happy with mine). Almost any fork you might switch to needs to be sprung and valved for its new application. Or even just having your forks set up/re-sprung by a good suspension tuner can make a big difference. In the end it comes down to what you can afford and how good you would like it to work.

[slowkitty]

When I wanted replacement Ohlins for my Scura, I approached my local Ohlins agent who checked and told me that these were specially made for Guzzi.