Ohlins suspension for V11 Ballabio

[GuzziMoto]

The OEM Ohlins shock is better than the OEM Sachs shock. But an aftermarket Ohlins shock is dramatically better than the OEM Ohlins. And that set up that Phil has blows all three away. 

There are plenty of options to have a shock made for you and your Guzzi. That should always be better than buying something off the shelf, even if it is an Ohlins. The one nice thing about an off the shelf OEM Ohlins is any decent suspension guy should be able to adjust the valving to match you and how you ride.

 

Nice ride, Bill.

[Lucky Phil]

3 hours ago, Bill Hagan said:

I meant to chime in a few days ago, but have been in Erie and thus outlaws (of the in-laws sort ) kept me from responding sooner.  

Just as well as GuzziMoto "answered the mail" about the piggyback v. remote-reservoir distinction with more clarity than I would have provided. .

The latter, an Ohlins, came OEM in the Cafe Sport and the Scura, the Ballabio's snooty cousins.   

Someone in Atlanta had the then-dealer -- Atlanta Triumph Ducati (and in silenzio, Moto Guzzi ); long gone, of course -- install something even fancier on their Scura.  I got that (and the Scura's ECU) transferred to my Ballabio.  See pic.

I am hardly a suspension guru -- with the exception of sag, a topic that, at my age and fighting weight I am an expert, at least in providing lots of data points  -- but my obviously unsophisticated buttometer thought that the Ohlins was noticeably superior to the stock (Sachs WP, I think) one.

Bill

 

Yes thats true, but it's a pretty low bar. The Ohlins design for the V11 Sport/Le mans has been around for 35 years, since the mid 1980's. I had one on my old 851 Ducati. You buy a new shock now and you get maybe not the latest technology but a hell of a lot later then that. The Wilbers on mine was built to suit my needs hence I needed to wait about 6 weeks to get it. There are other options out there now though. Penske make a nice shock as well.

Ciao  

[pete roper]

It really depends on how far you want to go and why.

For some people simply having Ohlins means something because of the 'Cachet' they perceive as coming with that. For others it's about having the best 'Period correct' equipment. I'm sure there are other reasons too.

For me the reason I'm willing to spend what many might consider disproportionately large money on suspension is because, quite frankly, it's the best 'Bang for your buck' money you can part with.

If you look at my Griso it has a Matris shock on the back, not the absolute top of the range but pretty close. It wasn't cheap, and then it had to be re-sprung and re-valved because unfortunately, although it is a very nice unit, it was built all wrong by the factory!

The front end is even more involved. Although the Showas are a lovely and very easily tuneable fork they seem to have incredibly shitty chrome on the legs. With a view to tackling that I originally decided I'd adapt some Ohlins off another machine and in fact went to all the bother of buying a new bottom yoke and having it bored and getting shims made for the legs to fit them into the top yoke. Thing is Ohlins are murder on both fork seals and fork oil, (No idea why?) and are consequently very labour and time intensive so I sold that front end to someone willing to pay the upkeep and deal with the hassle.

Which brought me to where I am today. The fork legs are Sachs off an RSV4. Once again I had to bore and shim the yokes to get them to fit but the chrome is excellent and seal life also better than average. I run Matris cartridges and springs but once again these had to be re-valved to suit. The end result though is that the big green whale actually handles well while at the same time being very comfortable. The Sachs also have the benefit of having the gold paint wank factor and being off an RSV4 I could get a carbon fibre front guard as well to prove to anyone that didn't already know it that I'm a complete tosser! CF on a Guzzi is like shaving an elephant to make it lighter!

My Mana was originally one of the worst suspended *Modern* bike's I've ridden. Horrible, non adjustable 'No Name' forks and a rear shock with completely inadequate damping and only rebound adjustability. It was awful! It used to crab and wallow any time it was pushed. That had to be fixed and fast! The answer was a fully adjustable Hyperpro on the back, similar to Phil's Wilburs with both high and low speed adjustment and the front end got a transplant from a Gen 2 Tuono. Yes, they're Showas so I have to keep a good eye on the chrome and they are currently not valves completely right as the HS damping is still slightly harsh but I'll address that when they next get re-sealed. An added benefit was that they take 100mm brakes rather than the 80mm radial calipers used on the original forks.

While this may all sound a trifle extreme the fact is that to me it is money well spent. A well suspended machine is not only safer, it is immeasurably more enjoyable to ride and reduces fatigue. I always find it amazing that people will spend sometimes quite serious coin on dubious 'Tuning' and 'Performance' parts for their engines which at best will increase said 'Performance' incrementally whilst completely ignoring the stuff that actually keeps the wheels in contact with the road!

Certainly in respect of the bloke who wants to improve his Ballabio if the aim is really good suspension rather than just craving Ohlins I'm sure that even at this remove from manufacture there will be cartridges available that are fully tunable and there is a list of shock manufacturers from the budget to the exotic who can provide any level of sophistication that will be better than the original Sachs shock.

 

[docc]

Nineteen posts since the OP lasted visited. Pretty much all right on topic. You guys rock!

[GuzziMoto]

Yeah, and while I value Phil's knowledge and expertise, Pete has such a way with words when he is telling you things you need to know.

"CF on a Guzzi is like shaving an elephant to make it lighter!"

Classic. (sorry, this post is wandering off topic)

[Bill Hagan]

19 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

Yes thats true, but it's a pretty low bar. The Ohlins design for the V11 Sport/Le mans has been around for 35 years, since the mid 1980's. I had one on my old 851 Ducati. You buy a new shock now and you get maybe not the latest technology but a hell of a lot later then that. The Wilbers on mine was built to suit my needs hence I needed to wait about 6 weeks to get it. There are other options out there now though. Penske make a nice shock as well.

Ciao  

My highest standard in most things is probably a pretty low bar.  

In this instance, it was a pretty cheap bar, too, as ATD swapped those gratis and only charged me labor.  

Again, the improvement was noticeable, but I understand and appreciate the suspension wisdom from you and others as I am in this and many other moto-things clueless.  

Bill

[andy york]

21 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

Yes thats true, but it's a pretty low bar. The Ohlins design for the V11 Sport/Le mans has been around for 35 years, since the mid 1980's. I had one on my old 851 Ducati. You buy a new shock now and you get maybe not the latest technology but a hell of a lot later then that. The Wilbers on mine was built to suit my needs hence I needed to wait about 6 weeks to get it. There are other options out there now though. Penske make a nice shock as well.

Ciao  

Penske did make a rear shock for the V11. First one I had was wrong...don't remember if it was to short or to long. It would work but it did not work ....one of those weird situations. I sent them my stock shock and they built/fixed the first one. Just saying all this so one will do "do diligence " if one goes for a Penske.

Andy

[GuzziMoto]

2 hours ago, andy york said:

Penske did make a rear shock for the V11. First one I had was wrong...don't remember if it was to short or to long. It would work but it did not work ....one of those weird situations. I sent them my stock shock and they built/fixed the first one. Just saying all this so one will do "do diligence " if one goes for a Penske.

Andy

Many years ago we had Penske build us a shock for the wife's V11. I can't remember if we gave them her shock or simply gave them the measurements along with weight and riding style. What I do remember is we were tight for time and they came through for us and we had the new shock in time for our motorcycle trip. The original Sachs shock had done what they do, the lower eye had cracked. And as such the shop doing the new clutch would not put it back together with a broken shock. So we needed a shock quick, and Michael Himmelsbach at Penske came through for us. It has been a great shock as well, but back then nice shocks usually didn't have as many adjuster knobs as Phil's sweet shock.