Matthew Miller Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 A friend of my brother's used to have a BMW R1150GS along with numbers of other bikes at the same time. He told me he may still have a set of Ohlin shocks that he purchased for the GS but never used. Will these shocks fit on my 2001 BMW R1100RL, if they will and he still has them he is going to just give them to me. I thought about Ohlin's for my bike but can't justify over 2,000 dollars for shocks. I find it hard to believe that they could make that big of a difference, but for free that is a totally different story. Thanks for your input. Link to comment
John Ranalletta Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Looks like a crap shoot since the Ohlins fitment guide does not list the RL. http://www.ohlinsusa.com/fitment Email Dan Kyle . It's been a while but I didn't pay anything like $2k for my '02 GS Ohlins. Link to comment
Scud Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Kyle Racing are good people and knowledgeable about Ohlins. One of my Moto Guzzis has Ohlins (the Scura) - the other (LeMans) has Marzocchi up front and aftermarket in back to replace the Sachs shock. They are basically the same bike, but the Ohlins DOES make a difference. Once I got it dialed in correctly, it was like all my favorite roads had been repaved. I hope it fits. Free is a GREAT deal. Link to comment
Michaelr11 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Quick answer is NO they won't fit. The rear shock has a different mount. The front shock has the same mount but the GS shock is probably longer/taller than the 1100R shock and it would alter the bike's geometry. Link to comment
Matthew Miller Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 yea now that I look at the Ohlin site the GS and 1100R have different part numbers. To bad Guess I will not know if they are really that much better than my stock shocks. Truthfully I don't like a bike that is to smooth anyways. My Brothers K1200RS is to smooth for me. Lacks character. Link to comment
John Ranalletta Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 If you can get them free, sell them and use the $ to upgrade the stock shocks. Link to comment
Scud Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Truthfully I don't like a bike that is to smooth anyways. My Brothers K1200RS is to smooth for me. Lacks character. Do you mean too smooth or too soft? A bike can be firm, yet smooth. The suspension's job is to keep the tires in contact with the road. A sporting suspension can be firm, yet still allow quick, short, movement over little imperfections - hence my previous comment regarding the Ohlins making it seem like the road was re-paved. Once you have your sag set correctly by getting the right springs and setting preload - then the multiple adjustments on a high end suspension pay off. If you have too-soft springs, then no amount of adjusting compression or rebound will help you. The Guzzi has plenty of "character" without needing the suspension to complicate it's personality. You don't want "character" in your suspension - you want safety. Link to comment
Matthew Miller Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 What I mean about my brother's K1200RS being to smooth for me is I don't feel the road at all, it has Ohlin's on it. It just floats over the road with no effort at all. I guess that must mean that I like to feel the bumps in the road, it lets me know that I am on a motorcycle instead of a floating cloud. I already love the way my R1100RL handles and I love the way the K1200RS handles but I like my R bike better. Link to comment
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