Re: Ohlins shocks ... nightmare!

[Bob Hadden <kbhadden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Doug,  The rear Ohlins preload can be adjusted without mashing things.  
My brother did it on his, and I did it on mine.  You do have the pin to 
get out of the way.  As I recall, I compressed the spring to get it out 
of the way and then made the adjustment.  Will check with my bro on a 
proper procedure and get back to the list.

Changing the preload three turns is a drastic change.  I would say that 
one turn on the thread is a big enough adjustment for a trial.  By the 
way, the rebuild requirement on these shocks has nothing to do with the 
spring.  It is for the hydraulics inside.  If, after a year of use, you 
are thinking the preload needs changing it is likely that you are just 
needing a fine tuning rather than a major change.  On my front shock, I 
ended up adding about a half turn on preload to get what I wanted.  It 
is possible for the spring to get weak with age, but in one year, I 
would call that a defective spring.

You can compensate for the wearing of the hydraulics by dialing up a 
bit more rebound damping.  I think you should get four or five seasons 
before really needing to rebuild.  If you are racing, you may need it 
more often.

Bob Hadden '98RS


On Apr 18, 2004, at 12:50 AM, <ABSDoug2@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>       I bought these Ohlins a year and 2 months ago, 10K miles so far. 
> Spent
> $1K for both. All the measurements worked out when new. I paid the 
> money I
> was damn sure gunna dial these suckers in. Take measurement with 
> wheels off
> ground (center stand). Then you measure with the bike of stand sans 
> rider,
> then with the rider. The remote external hydraulic adjustment was 
> perfect,
> at the beginning of its adjustment.
>       Ohlins claims 20K between rebuilds. Ok, I knew that going in. 
> Let me
> also point out that Ive been trying, in vain to tell myself there was
> nothing off about the bikes handling. Lately I had started to notice 
> the
> back was not right. Let me also say in no way do I mean to offend 
> anyone;
> perhaps Im just a sucker. The experts say that ALL shocks, stock 
> shocks
> included, are shot by 20K. If this is true then most people just 
> pretend
> that isnt true. So I buy into this and interestingly enough, I 
> actually
> noticed something wasnt right at 10K. Could I be so in tune that this
> disturbance in the Force was real? Sure enough the numbers didnt add 
> up! No
> adjustment was left on the remote adjustment.
> I figure its time to get out the spanner that came with the shocks. 
> What
> fun this will be <sigh>. You give the collar a few turns, put 
> everything
> back and hope you got it close enough so the remote adjustment could 
> come
> into play, if not take it all back apart again and try again <sigh>. 
> At this
> point, Im starting to wish I hadnt noticed anything. But at least I 
> can
> say Im in tune with my bike and I did pay the money to have precise
> ADJUSTABLE shocks. What the hell, I like wrenching and Ive got no 
> plans
> today, so with a change in attitude I jump in gleefully.
> So here is the catch. The main collar doesnt adjust! There was a pin 
> and I
> got that out. Took the hydraulic hose off, clearance issue. Put the 
> sucker
> in a vice and got my spanner ready. Here was that moment where the
> adjustability pays off, but no. That damn spanner didnt do shit! I 
> mean not
> a bit. Ive never attempted/needed to do the front, but I damn sure 
> remember
> the directions saying you could. Ohlins shipped these shocks with a 
> spanner,
> so WTF? Since I thought of the directions, I started paging through 
> them
> again.
> On shock absorbers that have mechanical type adjustment the position 
> of the
> adjusting/preload rings can be adjusted. On a shock absorber that has
> hydraulic setting the BASIC position can be adjusted. Such changes 
> should be
> attended to by an Ohlins authorized service workshop.
> The bold is mine. The above isnt even written right as it sounds like 
> you
> need an Ohlins guy to watch you adjust the remote. What I think the 
> author
> is tying to say is, if you want to make a major adjustment to the 
> shock with
> a MECHANICAL adjustment, have at it. If you have the remote, you can 
> only
> make BASIC changes. PLEASE correct me if Im wrong and you read this
> different.
> Now that part about having to send it to a authorized workshop!!! Not 
> so
> fast there you fuckers. You should have made these adjustable and damn 
> it I
> m gunna adjust it!
> I got out a punch and a hammer <shiver>. Hey, why not, at this point 
> Im
> either fixing it, or I have to send it out to be fixed. I got the 
> collar
> to spin three times. There isnt enough material to bang on the collar
> anymore. Other then the collar, nothing else was brutally assaulted. 
> In fact
> I didnt even put a scratch on it. Everything else, is ok and I doubt 
> they
> need rebuilding. I figure if Im sending it in, theyll giggle a bit 
> and
> put a new collar, adjusted the right way.
> Now the questions. How close did I get it? Ill need so help with that 
> one.
> Next question, where do I send them if they arent right. Last 
> question: do
> I feel like going riding in the morning? Time check, 12:45 AM and I 
> havent
> showered yet. <sigh> Why cant I just be one of those church going 
> folk?

------------------------------