Ohlins Conversion

[Guest Apexlocator]

Somewhere I read a thread about converting to Ohlins. I have an '03 LeMans and wish I held out for the '04 with Ohlins. 2 grand more, but can I accomplish the same thing on my '03?

 

If I budget 2 Grand, can I simply have the bike fitted with the same suspension on my Black and Gray bike instead of trading in for the Nero Corsa? I like the black bikes.

[Paul Minnaert]

The rear damper can be ordered with number mg127 at any ohlins dealer. You then get a spring preload dail with it, that you else have to buy seperate.

The forks id more complicated. Ohlins doesn't sell the forks for the v11 to anyone but MG. 2 ways to go here, Or you buy another ohlins item, and adjust the bike that it fits, which requires thechnical skills and tools. Or you track down forks as mounted in the corsa/scura/cafe sport. Couple of people here have forks this way, from italy. If all can be done with 2000$ , I don't know, Al can tell you.

[al_roethlisberger]

Heya Apex,

 

Yep, several good threads on this, including the grand-daddy of them all:

 

Hollow Front Axle Thread

 

 

 

A general search for "ohlins" in the title returned some of the following:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...=2416&hl=ohlins

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...=2238&hl=ohlins

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...=1464&hl=ohlins

 

But the Ohlins didn't just show up in '04. You could have gotten them all the way back in '02 on a Scura, or starting in '03 with the Rosso Corsa. Obviously though, if you were waiting on a factory black bike, then yes the '04 Nero Corsa would have to be your choice

 

Bottom line, you can convert your bike to Ohlins front and rear for about $1500-2000 "net" after you resell your old suspenders, best case. The up-front cost is probably closer to $2500 to $3500 depending on the cost and source of the parts(new versus used, etc).

 

Check out the threads above, and I think you'll be pleasantly suprised.

 

One thing you should be lucky regarding though.... AFAIK, your '03 should already have the hollow axle, and therefore correct spacer. So in theory, this should save you the hassle of making a new wheel spacer, and finding new bearings.

 

Good luck! The gold toned suspension will look great with black

 

al