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When I was racing ATVs (hare scrambles through the woods) I had $1500 worth of Stadium Shocks with ressies, compression/rebound adjustments and triple rate springs that were rebuilt/re-valved by Jet Suspension to my weight and riding style (dual rate spring picture below before I went to triple). I never once had to worry the threads being messed up or not turning and the quad was caked with mud after each race. When done with a race I'd simply hose it down and if the collars were a little hard to turn I'd hit them with WD-40.
All this talk of making sure the threads are totally clean and using some type of special type of blow gun before turning adjustment is crazy talk to me. My quad saw more dirt in 1 race than 100 bikes will in a lifetime. I adjust the Fox remote ressies on my snowmobile all the time as well and don't worry about the crap on the threads and they've been turning just fine for nearly 10 years.
For my Street Glide I put on the Monroe air shocks and Viair pump and it rides 10x better than stock. I can also adjust on the fly and for 2 up riding all for $200. Not a better value out there than that, in my opinion.
Howard, good on you for helping the OP out when you didn't have to. I didn't get the impression that he was bagging on you at all in his post and simple said he didn't blame you for not helping because he didn't buy them from you. Good customer service even though he wasn't your customer.
I agree. I've used Ohlins and Fox on sport bikes and quads, and never had a threaded-collar issue. The stuck threaded collars is manufacturing defect and should be addressed by Ohlins. I happen to think they make the best suspension in the world, but everyone has a bad egg once in a while.
I use it for a lot of aluminum on aluminum contact points because the waxiness provides a great barrier between the two surfaces. For fasteners like this that I don't want to move I use the blue loctite in stick form. Again, it's very waxy. In this case it wouldn't really do anything to "glue" the ring in place because it's designed for small bolts, not big lock rings.
I don't use fine lubricants on aluminum because it attracts dirt and almost acts like a cutting oil in my experience. For something like this application I wouldn't use anti seize because it will attract dirt and it's a mess.
We all have our little tricks to make stuff work. They may not be for everyone. In this case, my default is to simply do whatever Howard says to maintain the shocks.
All that said, I haven't done anything to my shock threads other than keep them clean. When I adjust I back it off a quarter turn to make sure the ring is seated properly before tightening. Even having a lot of experience with this kind of stuff (aluminum and stainless fasteners) as a hobby as well as professionally, if the ring got notchy and didn't turn smoothly, I would get on the phone to Howard and get his advice on how to proceed.
I think the problem is that Howard offered you a solid and we didn't see a thank you in return. Howard has a strong following here. And for good reason - he's the best. I wouldn't buy shocks from anyone else. Firstly, because I know I'll get the right shock. Secondly, I know I'll get the best deal. Lastly, I know he'll take care of me if something goes wrong. Had this happened to shocks that you purchased from him, my guess is they would be fixed at no charge. Yeah, you would probably get a ration of **** for doing something stupid. Maybe not. But you would definitely get good advice on how to avoid that mistake in the future.
Regardless, your thread has not gone unappreciated. It's been a very useful cautionary tale for the rest of us. Hopefully your situation gets resolved quickly and as inexpensively as possible.
To me the theme of this thread is - never force anything. Walk away from the bike and think about it.
Well said Nevada. I was thinking along the same lines after reading all the negative comments.
I'm genuinely impressed how well this turned out , I have to say again , I would buy from Howard in a heartbeat , if for nothing else he offers great support and cares about the product and the customer .
when I got mine I followed the directions for adjustment and break-in. Thought I cleaned the threads pretty well...not like those of you who have replied to this thread though. Used a tooth brush and some gun cleaner lube to clean them. Mine were always extremely difficult to turn from the get go and I assumed it was because of the spring pressure. On the shock that got the stripped thread the coating on top of the spring was actually all worn off from the nut spinning on it. (I have only adjusted it twice per directions) I wonder if that coating was the culprit in what got into the threads. It was kind of peeling up in one area.
It was mentioned in this thread that only a guy with no mechanical skill would be able to strip it without knowing they are stripping. I haven't worked with these shocks much at all but I can assure you I have the feel for turning a wrench and yes, I know when mine became stripped. But I will say it was almost just as difficult to spin the nuts from the get go as it was when it became stripped. I damaged more teeth on the nut the first time I tried adjustment than I did when the thread stripped. So yes I did the damage and take ownership for that but I would say when it happened I kinda wondered if it was being stripped but I also knew the nut was super hard to turn as is new. If all that makes sense. I only say that because I don't think it's fair to just say only an unskilled dumb ace would strip it without knowing it.
The other shock I have was super hard to turn at first and now spins super easy. I think a good take away is to make sure the springs are good and broke in before try to adjust.
i will say Howard is a straight up dude and he takes care of his people. Ohlins is fortunate to have him around! I am glad this thread is here even if it started off pretty negative because it has been a great learning tool for how I need to be working with my shocks. Howard replied several times with great info and tips. When I first new I had a stepped thread first thing I did was call him because it's drilled into my head. Every time I talk to him or read a thread on the forum it's repeated over and over "CALL ME" so that's what I did in my desperate moment. And my ace was saved with a one week turn around. And props to the boys at Ohlins for working my shocks when they really didn't have to per written warrenty.
Last edited by SnoRider; Sep 28, 2016 at 11:07 PM.
Old thread...I know. But this is EXACTLY what I was referring to in my videos. The Ohlin collar design for adjusting spring preload is EXTREMELY likely to gall the threads. I pointed out the reasons and hope they (Ohlins) consider a re-design as the shocks really are good otherwise.
Even if you keep the shock body’s clean, the lack of hard anodizing and the full form thread lead to this happening. If it’s hard to turn by hand (as in it won’t budge) taking the pin tool to the collar is almost a certainty for disaster. I would ask for a warranty exchange if this happened to me.
Old thread...I know. But this is EXACTLY what I was referring to in my videos. The Ohlin collar design for adjusting spring preload is EXTREMELY likely to gall the threads. I pointed out the reasons and hope they (Ohlins) consider a re-design as the shocks really are good otherwise.
Even if you keep the shock bodys clean, the lack of hard anodizing and the full form thread lead to this happening. If its hard to turn by hand (as in it wont budge) taking the pin tool to the collar is almost a certainty for disaster. I would ask for a warranty exchange if this happened to me.
I would have no problem taking an Ohlins shock, a $1,000 for betting down to my Metallurgist with your $1,000 and have it analyzed, winner takes the $1,000 & the $200 report bill. We can put this report on the internet in all posts. My statement is that they are silver hard anodized. Color has no part in the shock being Hard Anodized. Bring money and mouth or be gone. Always count on the HDF to have these so called experts. I will meet you at Q.C. Metallurgical Inc, 2870 Stirling Road, Door 3, Hollywood, Florida 33020. So anyone wishes to know about this service I use on all of my projects, Q.C. Metallurgical Inc is an approved testing laboratory accredited by Lloyds of London, Pratt & Whitney, U.S. Coast Guard, Lockheed Martin, Miami-Dade County, Bombardier, Aero Thrust Holdings and more. Please be there there Lane.
I would have no problem taking an Ohlins shock, a $1,000 for betting down to my Metallurgist with your $1,000 and have it analyzed, winner takes the $1,000 & the $200 report bill. We can put this report on the internet in all posts. My statement is that they are silver hard anodized. Color has no part in the shock being Hard Anodized. Bring money and mouth or be gone. Always count on the HDF to have these so called experts. I will meet you at Q.C. Metallurgical Inc, 2870 Stirling Road, Door 3, Hollywood, Florida 33020. So anyone wishes to know about this service I use on all of my projects, Q.C. Metallurgical Inc is an approved testing laboratory accredited by Lloyds of London, Pratt & Whitney, U.S. Coast Guard, Lockheed Martin, Miami-Dade County, Bombardier, Aero Thrust Holdings and more. Please be there there Lane.
Howard Messner ...you already owe me money on your previous bet with me. You still have not paid. Make good on that bet before you want to throw down another.
The ohlin is a good to great shock for our bikes, just like almost everything else out there, some things could be improved. Would the design of the adjusting collar stop me from buying an Ohlin...not really. But I would exercise caution when trying to adjust them. This thread shows that issue, another thread shows why this happens.
If he owes you money then he owes you but he called it out and stated In his post the color doesnt matter and its silver hard anodized. Maybe poor collar design doesnt help but yeah
It’s not hard anodized, that’s one of the problems..it would be colored or dark grey if it was. Also, I’ve tested the body for hardness, it’s 97 brinell as tested with a 10mm ball.
“How Does Hard Coat Anodizing Affect the Appearance of Aluminum?
If the aluminum to be hard coat anodized is not dyed (Class I), the color of the aluminum will change. The color of the aluminum after being hard coat anodized depends on the alloy and the thickness of the coating. On some alloys, the color of the aluminum after hardcoat anodizing will be gray/bronze; on other it will be gray-black. If the aluminum is dyed (Class II), black is the most commonly used color. Other colors may be available depending on the alloy and the coating thickness. Sampling is required if a color other than black is needed.”
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