Suspension upgrades???

Evening all!!

Some suspension advice needed. I'm nearing the end of the mods on my 2000 RSV (just waiting on new screen arriving-Cheers Dan!, Carbon ears- Cheers Russ!!, and Acculign rearsets- Cheers Cheesy!!! The last thing i NEED is ASV's to finish the cosmetics!!).

The bike's handling fine as the forks and shock were serviced approx 3 years ago so haven't been totally neglected!!

I know the obvious choice is Ohlins but can anyone recommend any other company's who's stuff is right up there in quality at a slightly more mortal reaching price!!

Cheers guys...................:thumbup

It all depends how good you are in riding , stock suspension is oke for 90% of people and defenetly good enought for the street. If you do track days than its worth the change. The back shock is the weakest link in mille suspension.

For the back, the best/cheapest option is to get a used ohlins damper, there are quite some for sale, so its no problem to get one. (i got it for 150eur ). And then if the spring isnt for your weight you can still get a new one that fits you. Other alternative is Penske.

For the front, stock showa forks are quite good. But if you still want to change them, then the best/cheapest option is to revalve, or these and resprung them for your weight. (even better valves are 25mm)

And also change the steering damper, the one on "ours" 2000, well sux .

More important than to change it is to have it set for your riding stile and weight and in good shape, with correct tire presure.

I would (and have changed on mine) the rear shock and steering damper, would leave the front forks. (im not that bad *** )

Personally I think the standard Mille suspension is very good, and like the above post states, unless you're a hardened track loony, then save your money.

Sounds good enough to me guys....cheers. Changed the damper to a Hyperpro, multi adjustable and a big difference. Think i'll try get an ohlins rear somewhere 2nd hand and get it sorted for my weight, style etc..... and get the forks serviced.

Cheers guys...........:thumbup

Dolenc said:

It all depends how good you are in riding , stock suspension is oke for 90% of people and defenetly good enought for the street. If you do track days than its worth the change. The back shock is the weakest link in mille suspension.

For the back, the best/cheapest option is to get a used ohlins damper, there are quite some for sale, so its no problem to get one. (i got it for 150eur ). And then if the spring isnt for your weight you can still get a new one that fits you.

I would (and have changed on mine) the rear shock and steering damper, would leave the front forks. (im not that bad *** )

Click to expand...

As stated on other posts, the rear shock is well worth replacing as much as anything else that after time the routing of the exhaust subjects the reservoir to a lot of heat, reducing viscosity of the damping oil, and therefore less damping, in addition to a number of miles on the clock.

The 98-00.5 Ohlins shocks do not come up as frequently as the later one, but you will need the later linkage with a later shock.

I disagree with danf that the standard suspension is o.k., after having mine put back to the standard settings, fork oil changed in the standard Showas units, and the Ohlins (rebuilt) rear shock, the change in handling was marked - the bike seemed to float over small bumps and ripples, and generally did what I wanted when cornering hard, rather than wallowing. irate

I suspect it is possible to have the standard Sachs unit rebuilt?

When I was looking for an Ohlins Unit, they were going for around £210 on Ebay - may be cheaper after Christmas.

There is also the Ohlins model with the remote adjuster which bolts on to the subframe, which tend to go for more.

Cheers Dan.....definately going to try get a new/2nd hand ohlins-penske-WP etc.... and get the forks revalved with new oil etc....

I'll try find a suspension guru in Scotland to get it all set up properly before the "Ring" trip next year!!......:thumbup

My Ohlins rear shock cost me £160 to have it fully serviced and rebuilt by an official Ohlins agent.

I do have a spare RSVR Ohlins rear shock, but 'tis the one above which did less than 200 miles before the bike was written off, and unless I see that back + purchase price, it will be going in my new RSVR because I know its provenance.

Note to anyone who values their fork tops on the Showa Units - get the correct (22?) sized socket, otherwise they will slip and look messy.