Ohlins Rear Shock

[r3datom9]

Hey All,

 

Happiest of Holidays to you.

 

I just picked up an Ohlins rear shock off Ebay Italy, the price seemed ok at $600 with only 12k miles on it.  Didn't want to lose out on it as there are very few options for upgrades these days.

 

Doesn't seem like these come along too often, did I over pay?

 

Btw, what is the consensus on these, isn't the rear suspension known to be the weaker of the two?

 

 

[Scud]

Some of the original Sachs shocks break at the lower eye, so it's a good preventative measure to replace that. The Ohlins is far superior. That seems a fair price, assuming it doesn't need an rebuild soon. You could have bought an equivalent, or possibly better, new shock by Penske, Wilburs, Hyperpro (to name a few) for $1,000 or more. But the Ohlins has the name recognition and the cool yellow spring.

[Lucky Phil]

Hey All,

 

Happiest of Holidays to you.

 

I just picked up an Ohlins rear shock off Ebay Italy, the price seemed ok at $600 with only 12k miles on it.  Didn't want to lose out on it as there are very few options for upgrades these days.

 

Doesn't seem like these come along too often, did I over pay?

 

Btw, what is the consensus on these, isn't the rear suspension known to be the weaker of the two?

I think you paid a fairish price, my Wilbers rear shock custom built for me and my riding style with adjustable high and low speed damping and hyd preload adjuster cost me around $800USD about 4 years ago and is better quality than the "production" Ohlins. My GSXR1000 track bike is also fitted with a Wilbers.I've worked on the Wilbers, Ohlins ( production shock and forks and TTX/FGRT shock/forks) Penski, the std Jap and italian stuff Marzzocchi over the years and the std production Ohlins is pretty over rated. It was better than the std stuff on the V11 when it came out but its nothing to get excited about. Its the name as much as anything. My 1198 is fitted with the road and track Ohlins stuff (TTX shock and FGRT 8030 forks) and they are light years ahead of the road stuff.

The rear shock on a V11 has a real man sized job to do, just pull the rear wheel and bevel box and feel the weight of that combination. The poor shock has all that mass to try and control plus the road conditions and rider and pillion weight. The rear wheel and bevel box must weigh 25KG on their own. Its rear shock shocker:)

The forks on the V11 are pretty rubbish and the only option I found a few years ago was a place in the US that make bespoke internals for just about everything but the cost was going to be around $1200US plus shipping.I passed on that one....its on my win the lottery list:) The std production Ohlins would certainly be a better option here.

Personally For anyone out there with the dollars I'd go for a Wilbers again even if its not the all singing dancing version mine is. The quality is very nice and they work.

 

Ciao 

[r3datom9]

Thanks for the input Gents

 

I am ok with the price paid and I really like having the factory setup.  Also, I have added Ohlins to other bikes in the past with excellent results so I feel like I have a pretty good idea with what I might be getting.

 

The Wilbers do look nice though, and after checking I will need to respring the stock Ohlins as I am pushing 200 lbs.

 

Gonna start with the rear and maybe have the front forks rebuilt locally in the future if I feel they are lagging to much.  Might try a heavier weight fork oil to start as I am sure it could use a refresh after 15 years.

[docc]

A lighter fork might give you faster, more responsive, high speed damping. Getting the right springs will make the biggest difference, though.

[GuzziMoto]

I like Ohlins, even the factory "Street" Ohlins. They are better after they have been valved / sprung to your needs, though.

The early V11 Marzocchi forks have near zero compression dampening. And the adjuster does nothing except in the last inch or so of travel, kinda like a hydraulic bump stop. I modded the compression side fork (only one side does compression, the other side does rebound) to give it more compression dampening and make the adjuster relevant. I blocked off one of the two bypass holes and switched to lighter oil. That made a massive difference to the control of the front forks. If you take it apart, you can see what I mean. I took it apart and put it back together without the spring. I could then feel the dampening or lack there of. The valving doesn't do anything until the piston travels past the two bypass holes as those holes flow so much oil that it doesn't need to go through the valving in the piston. By closing off one of the two holes I reduced the amount of oil that could flow without going through the valving. That made the valving relevant and it also made the adjuster relevant as it was also being bypassed by the two holes.

Also, with the two holes, the dampening hit rather suddenly as the piston passed the holes. By blocking one hole and running lighter oil the transition as the piston passes the remaining hole is more subtle, allowing you to better use the full range of travel.

[nobleswood]

Guys,

 

Looking at the Ohlins USA website they list cartridges of various diameters. What would fit in the 43mm Marzocchi's ?

 

Lucky Phil, for someone who rides on the street with the occasional track day what would you consider a product to look at, not just limiting the choice to Ohlins. As Wilbers don't make forks as far as I can tell.

[Lucky Phil]

Guys,

 

Looking at the Ohlins USA website they list cartridges of various diameters. What would fit in the 43mm Marzocchi's ?

 

Lucky Phil, for someone who rides on the street with the occasional track day what would you consider a product to look at, not just limiting the choice to Ohlins. As Wilbers don't make forks as far as I can tell.

I think I recall guzzimoto's fork rework with pictures from a few years ago now, might be worth considering or a second hand set of Ohlins production forks would be a lot better than the std V11. Others have used USD forks off a GSXR750 I think it was and the swap wasnt that hard from memory. I have never seen any aftermarket gold valve kit or anything for the std early V11 fork and as I said in my earlier post there is a bespoke manufacturer in the states who's name escapes me at present that can completely replace the internals with their own adjustable cartridges.

 

Ciao

[nobleswood]

I had a long chat with the Ohlins guys at a trade show earlier this year & a comment he made about one of the difficulties with upgrading forks was that the fork lowers with the brake attachment castings were so often unique to each machine. That's why I was wondering about changing the internals & how simple or not that was.

 

I keep my eye out for the Ohlins from a Cafe Sport or Scura but by the time you've then had them re-valved the pennies start to add up.

 

With many of the Ducati Monsters & various Aprilia's models sporting Ohlins, even OEM grade, I would have thought someone with more of a machining ability & knowledge than myself would have grafted one onto a V11 Sport. But I haven't had much success finding any information.

[r3datom9]

I had a long chat with the Ohlins guys at a trade show earlier this year & a comment he made about one of the difficulties with upgrading forks was that the fork lowers with the brake attachment castings were so often unique to each machine. That's why I was wondering about changing the internals & how simple or not that was.

 

I keep my eye out for the Ohlins from a Cafe Sport or Scura but by the time you've then had them re-valved the pennies start to add up.

 

With many of the Ducati Monsters & various Aprilia's models sporting Ohlins, even OEM grade, I would have thought someone with more of a machining ability & knowledge than myself would have grafted one onto a V11 Sport. But I haven't had much success finding any information.

I have read most of your posts regarding this topic.  Thanks for sharing all of your research results.

 

Tracking my V11 is not going to happen, there are other bikes that are purpose built for this.  The rear shock is crap though and really could use the upgrade.  I am thinking that upgrading the rear and then getting everything sprung and dialed in for me it should be more than adequate for some spirited rides in the mountains and coastal roads.  

[r3datom9]

I like Ohlins, even the factory "Street" Ohlins. They are better after they have been valved / sprung to your needs, though.

The early V11 Marzocchi forks have near zero compression dampening. And the adjuster does nothing except in the last inch or so of travel, kinda like a hydraulic bump stop. I modded the compression side fork (only one side does compression, the other side does rebound) to give it more compression dampening and make the adjuster relevant. I blocked off one of the two bypass holes and switched to lighter oil. That made a massive difference to the control of the front forks. If you take it apart, you can see what I mean. I took it apart and put it back together without the spring. I could then feel the dampening or lack there of. The valving doesn't do anything until the piston travels past the two bypass holes as those holes flow so much oil that it doesn't need to go through the valving in the piston. By closing off one of the two holes I reduced the amount of oil that could flow without going through the valving. That made the valving relevant and it also made the adjuster relevant as it was also being bypassed by the two holes.

Also, with the two holes, the dampening hit rather suddenly as the piston passed the holes. By blocking one hole and running lighter oil the transition as the piston passes the remaining hole is more subtle, allowing you to better use the full range of travel.

Thanks for the descriptive post.  My newest V11 is one of those "odd" leftovers from 2002, but sold as an 03.  It has the black forks, but one is for compression and the other for rebound unlike the later Sport Nakeds.  Is there any internal difference between the early versions?  I know that there were some odd mixes of parts during different build times.  Does anyone know if the early shocks are better or worse and are mine just anodized/painted black and the same as the early units?

[nobleswood]

As a point of reference I found a used Ohlins shock from a Rsv4 for $320- & had Ohlins USA re condition it for $300. So total of $620- which is to go on my Griso as that shock is beaten to death.

 

Last night I looked up the Wilbers, as many seem to like them for their quality & performance over the Ohlins, the base price unit I saw was $811. With a remote reservoir. Which would definately make me consider that for my V11.

 

Still trying to get a sense of the options for the forks though.

[GuzziMoto]

For shocks, other than Ohlins we have a Penske shock on the wife's V11. It is great, zero complaints. She runs the original fork modified as mentioned. My Daytona (another spine frame Guzzi) runs the stock WP rear shock and a GSXR front fork that has been re-valved and sprung by the Ohlins guy in the east (Stig Peterson, PPS). I am not sure he is still in business.

But honestly, I think most rear shocks out there are better than the stock Sachs shock. Especially when you consider that the Sachs shock tended to crack / break at the eyelet. That is why we replaced ours, it was broken. Of course it was found right before a trip, but luckily I knew the guy at Penske in charge of the motorcycle shock dept at the time and he was able to build a shock for us quickly. I do prefer shocks that are built to spec and not off the shelf. 

As to the forks, even if you only upgrade to a GSXR fork, that fork tends to have a lot of upgrades available for it. They can easily put Ohlins internals in it, or adjust the valving, or whatever your budget allows. It also allows you to run a better, lighter, front wheel along with better brakes.

[LowRyter]

I think my Sport rides and handles pretty good as is.  I've considered upgrades.  I like the handling better than my Bandit with a Progressive rear shock and Racetek Gold Valves and springs.  

 

My only issue with the Sport was high speed weave (above 85 mph) with the fat HB loaded bags.  I've learned that lowering air pressure to 28-30 in the front tames it considerably with the downside of losing sharp handling in the twisties.  OTOH, I am not going full sport riding in the twisties with the bike loaded 

[vents]

Might try a heavier weight fork oil to start as I am sure it could use a refresh after 15 years.

 

Bingo .....  GuzziMoto is on it . Your fork won't build pressure because of the holes he's speaking of which effectively defeats the purpose of a cartridge fork . If you don't do anything else to improve the damping then the heavier oil will help.