Ohlins: OEM vs Aftermarket

[Devil]

I'm currently investigating the '07 Aprilia Tuono (R and Factory versions). I had heard a rumour a while ago that the OEM ohlins shocks were not as good as the aftermarket components.

Could this be because it is sprung/valved for average-target-market-joe and not specifically set up for the owner? or is it just all a rumour?

Should I bother with the Factory, or would I benefit more from getting an R and then purchasing the ohlins suspenders seperately?

[Cajun]

you are far better getting the R, with the ohlins, and wheels, and just the stock ohlins units respung if you such need,

in the long run if you work out costs of putting it on afterwards its much cheaper to buy it new like that

[Devil]

Nah, the R is running showa up front with a sachs rear...
Both have the same gold series brembo's though...

[Cajun]

Nah, the R is running showa up front with a sachs rear...
Both have the same gold series brembo's though...

yeah i would go the factory mate, no questions.

For the small amount $$ wise to go factory, its well worth it in bling factor alone

[Devil]

Yeah, $4k difference for the suspension, wheels and tasty carbon bits.

Original question still stands though. I'm not the only person who has heard somewhere or other that the OEM units are "not as good" as off the shelf units.

Mr Taylor?

[Cajun]

some people don't think the front ohlins is as good as getting a set of ohlins r&t forks from dealer, but saying that they are better quality then other brands, and all in all, its easy to get someone like Robert Taylor or simlar get you springs better suited for you, and work his magic, and you would come better off since the outside package is better than say your average run of mill showa outsides,


The rear shock i don't understand why be any different than one you would buy, spring might need changing to suit you.

i would suggust you go have a look @ http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/index.php and see what you can find by reading, i did a bunch of research before we brought the rsvr on there

[imdying]

I'm currently investigating the '07 Aprilia Tuono (R and Factory versions). I had heard a rumour a while ago that the OEM ohlins shocks on the Factory were not as good as the aftermarket components.From what RT said, I took it as the older Japanese (mid to late 90s) factory Ohlins gear is substandard compared to regular Ohlins gear, and the later stuff (like the R1SP) and the European fitments, were fine.

[Grahameeboy]

Out of interest, where is the best place to go for say for suspension upgrades, like different springs??

[Cajun]

Out of interest, where is the best place to go for say for suspension upgrades, like different springs??

for aprilia?

[Grahameeboy]

for aprilia?

No, my SV.....................

[Cajun]

No, my SV.....................

Robert Taylor, ther eis someone AKl based not to sure of his name tho, one of akl boys should know

[Robert Taylor]

I'm currently investigating the '07 Aprilia Tuono (R and Factory versions). I had heard a rumour a while ago that the OEM ohlins shocks were not as good as the aftermarket components.

Could this be because it is sprung/valved for average-target-market-joe and not specifically set up for the owner? or is it just all a rumour?

Should I bother with the Factory, or would I benefit more from getting an R and then purchasing the ohlins suspenders seperately?

This is oversimplifying it a little, there are two different Ohlins customers.

1 ) Aftermarket distributor, like myself

2) OEM bike ( and car ) manufacturers. The hardware is the same but the spec code is different. I cannot buy the built up shocks of the exact specification that Ohlins supply exclusively to say Aprilia. But I can access the spec codes and tech info pertaining to them via a password protected Ohlins distributor website. I can also purchase every single individual part that constitutes those shocks, as I said the hardware is the same.

Where the oem Aprilia Ohlins shocks largely vary from the aftermarket Ohlins ones that I can source is that they simply lack a hydraulic spring preload adjuster, instead substituted with manually adjustable lockrings. This is done purely for cost considerations. The performance of the suspension units is exactly the same. As with any suspension unit they are supposedly set up for the mythical average, but the performance levels are much better than the woeful Sachs options, etc. In fairness Sachs also can make excellent shocks, most impressively so in past seasons for Michael Schumachers Ferraris.

With respect to the Ohlins road and track forks I beleive these are a much better ''platform'' for several reasons, as follows;

1 ) Less friction

2 ) Much more precise tolerancing, the cartridge bushings are on exactly the same centreline as the cartridge tube themselves, which in turn are also on exactly the same centreline as the main fork tubes!!!! Yes, I am saying that the precision in the ( especially ) KYB offerings is ''off centre''

3) Much more rigidity and therefore less bind up under braking.

The internal settings can indeed be improved substanially to suit our higher percentage of ''choppy'' roads and race tracks. To date we would have revalved in excess of 100 sets, this spec works famously and we have all of those customers totally satisfied.

Whether its Ohlins or whatever NZ is a very insignificant percentage of the worlds population so we get what predominantly satisfies the worlds main markets. BUT, IMPORTANTLY, this is a product that is designed to be serviced and tunable. There is also a wealth of knowledge and experience / database of empirical knowledge that can be tapped into to optimise the product for every market circumstance.

Jamie Stauffer raced an 06 YZFR1SP ( Ohlins rear AND front end standard ) to win the 06 Aussie Superbike Championship. Again he raced the 06 model for the greatest part of the 07 Aussie champs ( retaining the title ) even though the 07 bike was available. There was a protracted development time to get the engine performance of the 07 as desired but also the 07 doesnt have an Ohlins front fork set, and a compelling reason for continuing to race the 06 was the performance of the Ohlins forks!

Note that there was an FGK cartridge inset upgrade kit also available to fit those 06 YZFR1SP forks. The basic forks themselves are great and as I have intimated the standard cartridges in them can be improved substanially in performance.

BUT, this is what people often lose sight of, IMPROVEMENT IS A TERM OF RELATIVITY AND THERE IS NO PERFECT SETTING. These forks can be improved yet again with FGK cartridge kits, which are a quickly accessible design able to be dismantled and the settings changed quickly, often from track to track. We do exactly that here in NZ and in searching for best performance why wouldnt you ( excepting indolence or indeed resigned ignorance ? )

Ducati 1098 with Ohlins front and rear...excellent hardware but what planet were the Italian test riders on? For an average weight rider the rear is oversprung and the compression valving in the front is too weak. Already we have a cure for that, because that is what we do. My point is ( and this is being totally candid and transparent ) you can have excellent hardware but the end result is still very dependent on the settings.

There are cost plateaus. The next step were it allowable would be $17k worth of Ohlins Superbike forks. But then thats a far cry from what the likes of Stoner, Rossi and Vermulien etc have available to them.

So, the higher spec Aprilias with the sexy Swedish suspenders do indeed give you a much better set of equipment to play with.

[Devil]

Awesome. Thanks for the response. :apint:

[Dazza]

Awesome. Thanks for the response. :apint:Well said Robert, go the factory avenue if you've got the extra coin, try pricing up the forks alone, that should make it an easy choice. Saying that a mate of mine bought an 06 Tuono R & has put a Ohlins on the rear which has transformed it, worth every penny he reckons.Several mates of mine have had Dr Taylor perform revalving/servicing mods to their Aprilia's Ohlins forks & are chuffed with the results,a mate just this Saturday picked up his Ohlins shock for his Aprilia that Robert has rebuilt & was more than impressed with the cost & Roberts service. So once again, big ups to Dr Taylor !:first:

[Cajun]

Just a bit of a follow up on this i found this bit of info on the aprilia site, not to sure how accurate it is

' The Aprilia Ohlins forks are different from regular R/T forks. They are of a lesser quality, use steel shafts as opposed to aluminum, and are assembled somewhere in asia. There are also a few other minor differences as well.'

[Robert Taylor]

Just a bit of a follow up on this i found this bit of info on the aprilia site, not to sure how accurate it is

' The Aprilia Ohlins forks are different from regular R/T forks. They are of a lesser quality, use steel shafts as opposed to aluminum, and are assembled somewhere in asia. There are also a few other minor differences as well.'

Okay, please refer back to my original post on this thread. As the exclusive and recognised Ohlins distributor to NZ I think I can speak with some authority on this subject. But following on;

The Aprilia Ohlins forks are very definitely not a lesser quality as they use EXACTLY the same generic components from the same component suppliers to Ohlins. The original first models of Ohlins R &T forks be they for oem supply or for aftermarket all used steel damping rod shafts. Later versions of these forks progressively adopted alloy shafts and many other detail improvements. Time doesnt stand still.

And yes it is true that up until now the forks have been manufactured in Japan but to a Swedish design. Ohlins AB is a Swedish company that is 90% owned by Yamaha Motor Co. YMC in turn have commercial interests in a Japanese shock and shock component manufacturer Soqi, who subcontracted in making many of the parts for this very successful line of forks.

But they have been due for an update. Having just last week attended the Ohlins distributor conference in Italy I can say that Ohlins have completey redesigned the road and track forks from the ground up. These are being progressively introduced, starting in 08 with models for 1000cc sportbikes. The new design is lighter weight with bottom castings that look much closer to their MotoGP forks and internal cartridges based on their highly successful line of 25mm aftermarket FGK cartridge kits. Given that they will perform very very well and lift the game even further, the new look of these forks alone is stunning. And component supply and manufacture has been moved to Sweden, closer to the engineers.

In answer to someone elses conjecture the oem supply Ohlins shocks on the Aprilias are little different to aftermarket Ohlins. EXACTLY the same components and nearly always the same settings. The biggest glaring difference is that the oem shocks have manual spring preload adjust collars, aftermarket have hydraulic preloaders. These preloaders can be purchased as an assembly to upgrade the oem shocks.

We also have upgrade valving specs for both Ohlins forks and oem supply shocks. The cold hard reality is that in NZ we have a higher ratio of bumpy roads that we regularly ride on. That means it affects Showa, KYB, WP, Sachs and Ohlins etc which are predominantly set for Euro and North American conditions. The higher quality suspension systems such as Ohlins are usually more ''amenable'' to bumpy roads because the tolerancing, precision and material choices result in a lot less friction. But the settings can always be improved and optimised to local conditions. A high quality unit gives you a MUCH better basis and responsive tool to work from.

[Cajun]

Cheers for that Robert, just something i read on another forum, i knew you would read this and clear it up for me.