Beyond pissed about my ohlins!
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,999
Likes: 55
From: Bay Area
Shock is on the way back to ohlins, they didn't seem very surprised that this happened and said they have had a few of these problems. Should be a turn around of 3 to 4 days. Got me thinking, I did not abuse these shocks whatsoever (other than trashing them trying to force the collar), and I clean my bike, including the shocks, every few rides at the most. I always wipe down the threads every few rides, and they never get dirty. Howard states my incident is customer abuse, but i didn't think I needed to floss every thread on the shock body every 50 miles. Am I supposed to remove saddle bags every pit stop to "clean my shocks"? Just venting a bit bc I took great care of them, will obviously clean the threads more often, but if this happens again I will be going a different route for shocks
Former Sponsor
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,360
Likes: 453
From: Davie, FL
Cleaning
I use a plastic container and after washing my bike with soap and water than hose it down, let it drip dry, than put 50/50% water & mineral spirits and mist the bike completely as a wash. I than let it drip dry than blow it off with air. Polish all with wax and you are good to go. Your bike will never rust if you clean after getting it wet via rain or just general cleaning/maintenance. When I first starting hanging motorcycle shops the old black guys who cleaned the bikes showed me this trick. Mineral spirits are cheap and the EPA was not around. Without a waste water retrieval system or using a tarp with 2"x4" as side walls providing an enclosed shallow "pool" for waste water not to leach into the ground water, I would not do this in the driveway. In FLA the water and mineral spirits evaporate quickly. You are only going to use maybe 1/2 gallon or less total of the mix which is generous.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 44,908
Likes: 29,887
From: PNW
Wow, is it me or does this whole scenario sound stupid. We're gonna sell you a product that can't function properly unless you buy an air compressor and other equipment before adjusting anything. And God help you if a small piece of debris gets in the threads, even if it was from manufacturing. Cause you the customer are an idiot and abused it doing a routine adjustment, even though we're gonna sell you this product knowing at some point something is going to fail and we're not going to try to make it more user friendly.
Yea I'm sold, sign me up for a pair.
Yea I'm sold, sign me up for a pair.
But not for the reasons you make it out to be. Anyone with a modicum of mechanical ability will not have this happen to them. Those that lack mechanical ability, but possess some common sense will know their limitations and have Howard fix it, as one person on this thread did.
The rest will force it to the point of ruining it, and then come here and bitch, scaring guys like you off. Which is a shame because it does a disservice to you as well as the manufacturer.
Ohlin is the industry standard. They don't put out sh*t.
Club Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,694
Likes: 462
I was thinking maybe some silicon lube. It won't attract dirt so easily.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 286
Likes: 24
From: West Louisiana
Yes....it does sound stupid.
But not for the reasons you make it out to be. Anyone with a modicum of mechanical ability will not have this happen to them. Those that lack mechanical ability, but possess some common sense will know their limitations and have Howard fix it, as one person on this thread did.
The rest will force it to the point of ruining it, and then come here and bitch, scaring guys like you off. Which is a shame because it does a disservice to you as well as the manufacturer.
Ohlin is the industry standard. They don't put out sh*t.
But not for the reasons you make it out to be. Anyone with a modicum of mechanical ability will not have this happen to them. Those that lack mechanical ability, but possess some common sense will know their limitations and have Howard fix it, as one person on this thread did.
The rest will force it to the point of ruining it, and then come here and bitch, scaring guys like you off. Which is a shame because it does a disservice to you as well as the manufacturer.
Ohlin is the industry standard. They don't put out sh*t.
After reading all the post, it doesn't seem to be an isolated incident. And after reading all the positive post over the years, I agree they're a quality shock, but it seems they need to address this issue.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 179
Likes: 10
From: Switzerland
Interesting idea. I got some white one for my Honda chain and might just try that. Since the saddlebags cover the springs anyway I don't care about a little why residue. I shall refrain from using my silicone spray lube but might use the graphite "lube" I have. Good advice here.
Would never actually have occurred to me that these threads could use some tlc since I will not be turning them, really. Always 2-up and that's what they are set for. But occasionally turning them a bit might actually be a smart thing to do. It's metal on metal after all.
Would never actually have occurred to me that these threads could use some tlc since I will not be turning them, really. Always 2-up and that's what they are set for. But occasionally turning them a bit might actually be a smart thing to do. It's metal on metal after all.
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 597
Likes: 20
From: ohio
Got off on the wrong foot here. For those of u that think I posted this to bitch about ohlins having an inferior product or bash howard/ohlins, this is not the case. I take 100% responsibility for me ruining the shock body and blame no one but myself. Just did not realise how soft the aluminum is and how much care needs to be taken for the threads. I do clean them often, but think my biggest mistake was I haven't been inspecting the threads when I adjust the preload collar for solo and 2 up riding. Will keep a much closer eye on them from now on, trust me
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 179
Likes: 10
From: Switzerland
Exactly. Makes perfect sense to me. The only problem I have is that mine is a spray and I would either spray something like half of the bike with it when applying... (yeah, rag, I know) and also have no way of applying it to the back side of the shocks (side facing the frame/bike) without taking them off which I'm not going to do for simply putting that stuff on. Gotta come up with a clever way there.