Ohlins Shock users i have a question
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
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From: ohio
Ohlins Shock users i have a question
got my shocks in today, called howard up.
he was pretty busy but still helped me out.
i didnt really get a clear answer on one thing though.
as he stated i have to get the shock straight using the supplied spacers, and if need be get more shims. he said the swing arm gets so out of whack you have to space the top or the bottom of the shock out or in.
i asked him how to measure that they are straight and he said measure them lol.
so what i did was get the bike completely level, then use a digital degree level.
i found 90 degree on the shock (basically put my level on the outside of the shock and tilted the top in or out, or bottom in or out till the angle was as close to or at 90 degree i could get.
how did you guys do it?
i got mine to basically the right side shock is 2 of his supplied spacers on the bottom and one on the top
left side is just the opposite, 2 on top and 1 on the bottom
got them within .1 to .2 degree from 90 degree
he was pretty busy but still helped me out.
i didnt really get a clear answer on one thing though.
as he stated i have to get the shock straight using the supplied spacers, and if need be get more shims. he said the swing arm gets so out of whack you have to space the top or the bottom of the shock out or in.
i asked him how to measure that they are straight and he said measure them lol.
so what i did was get the bike completely level, then use a digital degree level.
i found 90 degree on the shock (basically put my level on the outside of the shock and tilted the top in or out, or bottom in or out till the angle was as close to or at 90 degree i could get.
how did you guys do it?
i got mine to basically the right side shock is 2 of his supplied spacers on the bottom and one on the top
left side is just the opposite, 2 on top and 1 on the bottom
got them within .1 to .2 degree from 90 degree
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 579
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From: ohio
also with jsut my self and no preload adjustment at all on the shock im only getting about 10mm of sag
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
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Bolt the bottom on first, snug it up, look at the top bolt, whatever the distance between the shock and the frame where the bolt goes in is the size of shim you need. Mine was very little so I didn't worry about it, just pushed it to the frame and bolted it down.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,439
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From: 'Noke, VA
No spacers on mine.
Howard doesn't set the sag before he sends you the shocks, you have to do that yourself. You want about 24mm of sag (which will end up around 26mm once you put the bags back on). Then set the sag again with your wife on the back. The difference for mine was 10 turns of the adjuster.
Howard doesn't set the sag before he sends you the shocks, you have to do that yourself. You want about 24mm of sag (which will end up around 26mm once you put the bags back on). Then set the sag again with your wife on the back. The difference for mine was 10 turns of the adjuster.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,727
Likes: 6
also with jsut my self and no preload adjustment at all on the shock im only getting about 10mm of sag
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
Your wife might bring the spring preload to 26mm, that is a big maybe, but you need more than that. Depending on your preference you might want 30mm. I had springs that were to stiff (thanks to Ohlin changing what Howard put on) I started out with 10mm of sag and that was with the nut turned up so high one thread was hanging in the air, and after about 1500 miles of break in I still only had 23mm of sag, . Howard sent some new springs (softer) now I have 26mm (solo) with about 1/4" left for adjustment. If the springs are too stiff you will never get 26mm of sag for when you want to ride the bike solo. I would make sure I could get 26mm solo riding, you can always tighten the nut to make them more stiff, but you can only back them off until they top out. Do some breaking in and talk to Howard about it.
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
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From: ohio
ill try that
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From: ohio
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: 'Noke, VA
also with jsut my self and no preload adjustment at all on the shock im only getting about 10mm of sag
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
when i ordered the shocks i told him i do 2 up about 70% of the time.. hopefully with the wife on the back it will give me the correct 26mm of sag i need.
i know they need broke in for 500 miles, but i would think you should be able to get the correct sag before they are broken in and then re adjust the sag again.
Your wife might bring the spring preload to 26mm, that is a big maybe, but you need more than that. Depending on your preference you might want 30mm. I had springs that were to stiff (thanks to Ohlin changing what Howard put on) I started out with 10mm of sag and that was with the nut turned up so high one thread was hanging in the air, and after about 1500 miles of break in I still only had 23mm of sag, . Howard sent some new springs (softer) now I have 26mm (solo) with about 1/4" left for adjustment. If the springs are too stiff you will never get 26mm of sag for when you want to ride the bike solo. I would make sure I could get 26mm solo riding, you can always tighten the nut to make them more stiff, but you can only back them off until they top out. Do some breaking in and talk to Howard about it.
You say, "with no preload", does that mean the adjuster is topped out, or that you haven't adjusted it yet? If your adjuster is topped out, call Howard. You really want to be in the 24-26mm range solo sag as well as 2-up sag.