Ohlins stripped threads
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,399
Likes: 1,040
From: Seabrook, NH
I always wash my shocks with hot soapy water then let dry overnight. Then use a few drops of 3 in 1 oil. Then I jack the bike up to take as much spring pressure off of the shock body. I'm not saying this is right but its always worked for me with my motocross, snowmobiles and now the ohlins on my harley.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,690
Likes: 246
From: Lakeville, MN
The very next trip, probably another 1000 miles on them, cleaned the sh*t out of them before attempting to adjust them. Same thing. Locked. Not the same one...opposite side. Sent it back again to be rebuilt. Gary Christopher is the customer service guy there and he's rock solid but it'll take 10 days off your season each time you send them in so before you send them in, make sure you have a spare set of shocks on hand if you wanna keep riding.
I was told that it seems they got a bad batch of aluminum and this was not a surprise although, lucky me, it was the first time it happened twice. All in all, it got fixed, not the end of the world. No issues since BOTH shock bodies have been replaced but I'm very careful to clean it before moving them. Unfortunately I have yet to find a suspension that compares to Ohlin so I'm not trashing them whatsoever. Problems happen, it's all about how they're handled when they do and I have no problem with how Ohlins handled the situation. Call Gary, it will get taken care of.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Had mine about 8 years now and haven't had any problems, however I will be taking greater care of them in future! Thanks for the tips.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 597
Likes: 20
From: ohio
Yup, I pretty much completely trashed one of my ohlins hd159 shocks a month or so ago. Pre load collar locked up and wouldn't budge, so me being a dumbass decided to force the collar hoping it would break free, couldn't be more wrong! Completely trashed the collar and shock body. Luckily for me, ohlins repaired the shock free of charge and had it back to me in less than a week. Learned my lesson, keep the shocks clean and make sure there is no dirt/debris on the threaded body before adjisting, and if the preload collar seizes up, stop and do not force it.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 597
Likes: 20
From: ohio
Interesting that ohlins said they had a bad batch of aluminum. The shock collar on my newly rebuilt shock spins like butter, nice and smooth, but the collar on my other shock feels a bit rough turning, even after cleaning the threads good. Hopefully it doesn't do the same and seize up soon