ohlins suspension woes

jezer · Jun 28, 2009

Ok so I set up the bike 02 rsvr to factory settings
static sag on the front was 30mm no rider sag as yet (nobody to help me yet)
went out for a spirited ride this morn and nearly lost the front a couple of times so came back to investigate.
Now I put a cable tie on the fork legs like I always do to see what the forks are doing and I am only getting half travel and they lock up still 2" left to go
So to my Q do you think somebody has messed with the air gap on these forks and could they have got it that wrong to make it only work to half travel

:dunno:dunno:dunno

Vince · Jun 28, 2009

Me & Griff were bottoming out our ohlins,while making a few spirited stop's down in Cornwall this week,your problem seems like air gap,I think Spoonz said it should be 85mm but he ran & recommended 95mm for his weight,thats measured with forks compressed,no spring & damping rod extended

oli · Jun 28, 2009

had the same problem with mine after a shop fitted new top seals, filled it by volume not airgap..:jack

jezer · Jun 28, 2009

thanks for the replies
I think I will strip them down this week and change the oil and reset air gap
(ohlins website say's to measure with springs in ??)
can I use other fork oil or does it have to be only ohlins
also any suggestions on how to hold the front up while taking the forks out
I have an abba stand for the rear

A303 · Jun 28, 2009

Griff just did my Showas by volume and they're 'kin brilliant (and after two days round Cadwell I would have noticed any problems).

spoonz · Jun 28, 2009

85mm air gap with spring in damper rod extended. 100mm ish with spring out.

You can do it by volume 500ml each leg but you have to be 100% sure you have purged the old oil that way otherwise you end up with too much.

If anything i would say 30mm static sag might be bordering on too much (probably equates to 40mm rider) so it's not a springing issue.

The oil level really only has a major affect on the last inch of travel unless it's wildly overfilled. Maybe some muppit filled them to the top, I've seen it done on a bike before.

captradish · Jun 28, 2009

had my ohlins set up by mct technics with 20mm sag and standered air gap on front f**king brill

jezer · Jun 29, 2009

Ok just got in from the garage and its all back together
forks had 80ml too much oil in
when I opened them up the oil was only about 20mm from the top
as the oil looked new I just sucked some out to 90mm air gap and go from there
as its a piece of p**s to strip them down so I will get it spot on and then put new oil in
I fixed up my telemitry(spelling) the old cable tie on the fork leg and did the old tried and tested run with the bike and slam the front brake on to see how much it dives
well it seems all ok only about 1" left travel to go with this method so will take it out and set it up properly in the week :doug

watch this space

last person to mess with the forks must have been a right numpty:jack

Badger · Jun 30, 2009

For the road you want closer to 100mm air gap, dont use the fill method as it is unreliable, measure the air gap, also use 5wt oil, about 10-12mm of travel left is what you want to aim for below the tie, once you get the air gap right you can set sag and your damping to suit, aim for about 26to 28mm of static on front and 10mm rear static sag:thumbup

LEGS · Jun 30, 2009

Jerry, i have exactly the same problem as you in that i cannot get any more than half travel on the front forks.

Jerry, Badger, Spoonz, Any chance of a quick step by step quide as to how the check the oil level in the Ohlins front forks?

jezer · Jun 30, 2009

LEGS I've pm'd you

Search

Search

ohlins suspension woes

jezer

Vince

oli

jezer

A303

spoonz

captradish

jezer

Badger

LEGS

jezer

Similar threads

New Posts