Shaman97 Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 So, I got a set of new-to-me Ohlins, and had them re-sprung, inspected and setup (off-bike) by a local Ohlins approved dealer. Installation was a snap, so I went for a 20 mile ride on familiar roads. While the ride was smoother than with the 60,000+ mile OEM's, I'm not feeling anything that I would consider earth-moving in performance improvement. Do the shocks also need to be setup on the bike as well? What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Have your people call my people, we'll do lunch! OR go to A&S next Saturday (not tomorrow, Jan. 10) and have them professionally set up for you, on the bike, for $20. They absolutely require on bike set up. Without this, you will never realize their worth. Link to comment
ianboydsnr Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 depends also on how much inspecting took place, ohlins as with origonal shocks lose performance over the miles, but it will need setting up to fit you and your bike. Link to comment
swfraley Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I have come to suspect that the Ohlins emperor may be underdressed. Maybe I'm wrong and your RT will become a MotoGP bike after a $20 adjustment. If so, I'll get me some 'o them! Link to comment
John in VA Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? Hit a sweeping curve on really crappy broken pavement and marvel at how well the bike tracks instead of doing the herky-jerky side-step. Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Have your people call my people, we'll do lunch! OR go to A&S next Saturday (not tomorrow, Jan. 10) and have them professionally set up for you, on the bike, for $20. They absolutely require on bike set up. Without this, you will never realize their worth. Twenty bucks? That's a pricepoint I can do. I'm there. Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? Hit a sweeping curve on really crappy broken pavement and marvel at how well the bike tracks instead of doing the herky-jerky side-step. Hmmm. I try to avoid those roads altogether. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? Hit a sweeping curve on really crappy broken pavement and marvel at how well the bike tracks instead of doing the herky-jerky side-step. Hmmm. I try to avoid those roads altogether. So we won't be seeing you in PA anytime soon? Link to comment
Selden Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 So we won't be seeing you in PA anytime soon? I rode through SE PA at the end of September, and was surprised that the roads seem to have improved. 20 years ago, when visiting relatives near Harrisburg, you could be asleep in the back of the car and know when I-81 entered Pennsylvania. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Twenty bucks? That's a pricepoint I can do. I'm there. Yep! $20. Phil Douglass from Aftershock Suspension service is going to be there. He is offering a reduced rate as A&S is bringing him in as an added attraction to their Ducati Open House on that day. Should be fun! Get there early!!! If his previous times there are any indication he will be busy!!!! Yes, Ducati!!!!!!!!!!! They're not just for BMW anymore. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 So, I got a set of new-to-me Ohlins, and had them re-sprung, inspected and setup (off-bike) by a local Ohlins approved dealer. Installation was a snap, so I went for a 20 mile ride on familiar roads. While the ride was smoother than with the 60,000+ mile OEM's, I'm not feeling anything that I would consider earth-moving in performance improvement. Do the shocks also need to be setup on the bike as well? What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? The shocks need to be setup FOR YOU. Not just "on the bike". (some people think that they can leave the bike with the dealership and have them "install and setup" the shocks. It doesn't work that way.) $20 to get your shocks setup by a professional is a great deal. But...use it as a learning experience. Ask questions...what does that knob do? Why are you tightening this? What impact does this setting have on what I feel? I worked with Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning (He was Chaz Davies suspension guy two years ago in AMA Supersport and Forumla Extreme.) at the track setting up the suspension on my CBR. Guys like that are magicians, and I learned a bunch just listening to him and asking questions about what he was doing and why. (and it's really cool seeing "my suspension guy" fueling a bike during a pit stop of the Daytona 200. ) Link to comment
moshe_levy Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I just tested Ohlins vs. Hyperpro vs. my stock (54k) shocks for MCN - I found the magic is in the tuning, not in the hardware. There is a good deal of hyperbole on the "night and day" differences you're supposed to feel, but I didn't feel it either until everything was fine tuned. See http://www.mklsportster.com/Articles/mcnsuspension.pdf for my piece. -MKL Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 So, I got a set of new-to-me Ohlins, and had them re-sprung, inspected and setup (off-bike) by a local Ohlins approved dealer. Installation was a snap, so I went for a 20 mile ride on familiar roads. While the ride was smoother than with the 60,000+ mile OEM's, I'm not feeling anything that I would consider earth-moving in performance improvement. Do the shocks also need to be setup on the bike as well? What's a good test for performance to see if they're doing all they can be doing? The shocks need to be setup FOR YOU. Not just "on the bike". (some people think that they can leave the bike with the dealership and have them "install and setup" the shocks. It doesn't work that way.) $20 to get your shocks setup by a professional is a great deal. But...use it as a learning experience. Ask questions...what does that knob do? Why are you tightening this? What impact does this setting have on what I feel? I worked with Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning (He was Chaz Davies suspension guy two years ago in AMA Supersport and Forumla Extreme.) at the track setting up the suspension on my CBR. Guys like that are magicians, and I learned a bunch just listening to him and asking questions about what he was doing and why. (and it's really cool seeing "my suspension guy" fueling a bike during a pit stop of the Daytona 200. ) Great info - thanks. I was hoping this was the case, since all by itself, they're not 'floating my boat' as I would have expected. Link to comment
Deadboy Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Great article....I am awaiting delivery of my new Ohlins front shock (R1150RT, rear was installed a few months ago) as well as my newly re-built (and re-sprung) Wilbers rear shock (for the K75)....I will keep your article handy as I set em up.... Phil helped me put at the Benicia tech daze and I totally agree with him that getting the initial settings (sag in particular) is critical and then the fine-tuning can begin....Thanks Phil!! Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 I just tested Ohlins vs. Hyperpro vs. my stock (54k) shocks for MCN - I found the magic is in the tuning, not in the hardware. There is a good deal of hyperbole on the "night and day" differences you're supposed to feel, but I didn't feel it either until everything was fine tuned. See http://www.mklsportster.com/Articles/mcnsuspension.pdf for my piece. -MKL Excellent article; well written. Looks like the fine tuning will be the difference maker. Can't wait. Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 Twenty bucks? That's a pricepoint I can do. I'm there. Yep! $20. Phil Douglass from Aftershock Suspension service is going to be there. He is offering a reduced rate as A&S is bringing him in as an added attraction to their Ducati Open House on that day. Should be fun! Get there early!!! If his previous times there are any indication he will be busy!!!! Yes, Ducati!!!!!!!!!!! They're not just for BMW anymore. Very nice that A&S would do this; I know they didn't have to. Randy's been an awesome owner and asset to the local community. Thanks, Randy!! Link to comment
keithb Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 New Ohlins - when does the Nirvana kick in? Nirvana kicks in when you do a corner at 60 mph and then get your shocks setup correctly and do the same corner at 70-80 mph the following ride. See nirvana!!!! Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I just tested Ohlins vs. Hyperpro vs. my stock (54k) shocks for MCN - I found the magic is in the tuning, not in the hardware. There is a good deal of hyperbole on the "night and day" differences you're supposed to feel, but I didn't feel it either until everything was fine tuned. See http://www.mklsportster.com/Articles/mcnsuspension.pdf for my piece. -MKL Yes. Any good quality aftermarket shock, setup correctly will be night and day better than stock. Not properly setup, it doesn't matter what you've got, it's going to suck. Link to comment
Mister Tee Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I can also vouch that the highest quality aftermarket suspensions are a useless upgrade without proper setup. Also, even stock suspensions, set up with the correct sag, rebound and compression for the rider will be night and day over stock suspensions at factory settings. In the racing world, Penske suspension components seem to be the general choice over Ohlins, not necessarily because they are better but they seem to be more widely supported at most tracks and replacement parts are easier to get. The next major upgrade to my track bike will be Penske shocks. I don't find the suspension on my RT to be lacking, but I might just try to locate the above mentioned dealership for some suspension tuning ($20 is a good price for that.) The only thing though - my bike does have ESA. Are those adjustable? Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 In the racing world, Penske suspension components seem to be the general choice over Ohlins, not necessarily because they are better but they seem to be more widely supported at most tracks and replacement parts are easier to get. The next major upgrade to my track bike will be Penske shocks. I've got a triple-clicker Penske rear shock on my Tuono (Ohlins bits up front), and a twin-clicker Penske rear on my CBR600RR track bike (GP Suspension bits up front). I've been VERY pleased with both. If you can afford the triple-clicker so you get both high and low speed compression damping, that's worthwhile. I don't find the suspension on my RT to be lacking, but I might just try to locate the above mentioned dealership for some suspension tuning ($20 is a good price for that.) The only thing though - my bike does have ESA. Are those adjustable? Nope. Link to comment
Mister Tee Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 That Penske is 'xactly what I'm looking at. Bummer on the ESA though. Thanks. Link to comment
Shaman97 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 OK. So now I get it. Just had the shocks setup by someone who knows the difference (I didn't). After having the expectations of how the shocks should work in conjunction with the bike, I went for a ride in the general vicinity of the dealer. I put the bike into any minor road imperfection I could, and the bike performed flawlessly. Following that, found a twisty road with a few bad stretches where I knew the old suspension would allow the tires to skip traction; none of that this time. Here's a link for the guy that did the tuning. If you're in the Norcal area, look him up - you'll be glad you did. Aftershocks Suspension And thanks to A&S for putting this on...along with the free lunch. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Sweet!!!! Another convert who understands not just the value of aftermarket shocks but the importance of set up! And it prolly didn't take too long to get it "in the ball park" either. All for $20 less the cost of the lunch times the value of teh lesson divided by the surrounding of like minded people = PRICELESS! Link to comment
cali_beemer Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Yeah, I saw the line of bike to have them adjust suspension today. Lots of Ducatis. I considered having them do my RT but there is only preload and rebound on the back to adjust. I'll save my money until I have a real suspension for them to adjust. Plus since I lost my job I am watching my cash. I did partake in a free cheeseburger today. Mmmmm, tasty. Looking at the new Ducati monster was pretty cool. It was a good size turnout, the weather was great as it felt like it was close to 60 degrees and sunny. Link to comment
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