Ohlins for FXR

[White trash]

Lollies

[Arronduke]

excellent post ... still laughing

[Robert Taylor]

The $600 shock was built using the original spring and a number of the parts were old stock at lowish prices ( that are now exhausted ). It took nigh on three hours from go to wo. Analysis, parts collection, assembly. And then removal of the shock over and above that because inevitably our first valving spec was about 90% there and we wanted to refine it more. More time that was otherwise going to be on another chargeable job. I also recieved the bike at home on a Saturday ( or Sunday ) to give some flexibility to the owner. I have no problem with that if it helps in a world that is so busy.
Do the maths.............
We always insist on having the bike in such case's so we can set it up, that may lose some sales but better to send it away in an optimised state than be badmouthed by keyboard jockeys etc etc.
We in fact also do a lot of one offs for VMX ( vintage moto-x ) and we find in these cases that the owners tend to mix and match stuff such as swingarms and mounting points etc, all things that impact on the leverage and motion ratio applied to the suspension. Very often if you send something off ''sight unseen'' its not going to be as good as it can be.
Its a whole lot more than about just making the shock fit. I make no apologies about the price of Ohlins stuff and Im certainly not getting wealthy from it ( contrary to what some would like to believe )
Yes you can buy cheaper stuff but theres usually a reason for that and custom build by nature is expensive because its time consuming. It costs just about as much in time to build a shock for a bucket as it does a Superbike, the value of the shock is not indexed to the value of the bike.
Each to their own.

[Robert Taylor]

This sort of attitude could be the reason you have no friends James...

Jimmy has got lots of friends. I think like a lot of people he likes to know who people are and what their past is. And with a number of people the reality just might be a little different to all of the wild stories.
Id start asking questions about the validity of very fanciful claims.

[Buckets4Me]

The $600 shock was built using the original spring and a number of the parts were old stock at lowish prices ( that are now exhausted ). It took nigh on three hours from go to wo. Analysis, parts collection, assembly. And then removal of the shock over and above that because inevitably our first valving spec was about 90% there and we wanted to refine it more. More time that was otherwise going to be on another chargeable job. I also recieved the bike at home on a Saturday ( or Sunday ) to give some flexibility to the owner. I have no problem with that if it helps in a world that is so busy.
Do the maths.............
We always insist on having the bike in such case's so we can set it up, that may lose some sales but better to send it away in an optimised state than be badmouthed by keyboard jockeys etc etc.
We in fact also do a lot of one offs for VMX ( vintage moto-x ) and we find in these cases that the owners tend to mix and match stuff such as swingarms and mounting points etc, all things that impact on the leverage and motion ratio applied to the suspension. Very often if you send something off ''sight unseen'' its not going to be as good as it can be.
Its a whole lot more than about just making the shock fit. I make no apologies about the price of Ohlins stuff and Im certainly not getting wealthy from it ( contrary to what some would like to believe )
Yes you can buy cheaper stuff but theres usually a reason for that and custom build by nature is expensive because its time consuming. It costs just about as much in time to build a shock for a bucket as it does a Superbike, the value of the shock is not indexed to the value of the bike.
Each to their own.

you get what you pay for

it's easier to be a resonable rider on a good bike than ride is shitty bike resonably ???

[Yow Ling]

The $600 shock was built using the original spring and a number of the parts were old stock at lowish prices ( that are now exhausted ). It took nigh on three hours from go to wo. Analysis, parts collection, assembly. And then removal of the shock over and above that because inevitably our first valving spec was about 90% there and we wanted to refine it more. More time that was otherwise going to be on another chargeable job. I also recieved the bike at home on a Saturday ( or Sunday ) to give some flexibility to the owner. I have no problem with that if it helps in a world that is so busy.
Do the maths.............
We always insist on having the bike in such case's so we can set it up, that may lose some sales but better to send it away in an optimised state than be badmouthed by keyboard jockeys etc etc.
We in fact also do a lot of one offs for VMX ( vintage moto-x ) and we find in these cases that the owners tend to mix and match stuff such as swingarms and mounting points etc, all things that impact on the leverage and motion ratio applied to the suspension. Very often if you send something off ''sight unseen'' its not going to be as good as it can be.
Its a whole lot more than about just making the shock fit. I make no apologies about the price of Ohlins stuff and Im certainly not getting wealthy from it ( contrary to what some would like to believe )
Yes you can buy cheaper stuff but theres usually a reason for that and custom build by nature is expensive because its time consuming. It costs just about as much in time to build a shock for a bucket as it does a Superbike, the value of the shock is not indexed to the value of the bike.
Each to their own.

So seeing as FXR150 is far and away the most popular racebike in New Zealand, is it possible to come up with an out of the box shock? plenty are expiring with no good reliable source of replacment , wreckers dont have any, looks like people are going to want something. Choices Ohlins Ckt doesnt sound very enthusiastic, Yss have to deal overseas, or import a bunch of used shocks from Thailand.
if the research , parts selection bla bla was out of the equation could you come up with a good quality one shock fits all solution? Like Hagon do for many bikes

[timg]

So seeing as FXR150 is far and away the most popular racebike in New Zealand, is it possible to come up with an out of the box shock? plenty are expiring with no good reliable source of replacment , wreckers dont have any, looks like people are going to want something. Choices Ohlins Ckt doesnt sound very enthusiastic, Yss have to deal overseas, or import a bunch of used shocks from Thailand.
if the research , parts selection bla bla was out of the equation could you come up with a good quality one shock fits all solution? Like Hagon do for many bikes

That would be good. I queried sorting the FXR suspension with RT but it is the must have your bike thing that makes it difficult. I'm happy to spend my hard earned pocket money on good gear but getting my bucket from the SI to RT.... One would think it would not be impossible to get hold of a std FXR and work something out that would suit most. Seems that there are a number of interested FXR bucket racers.

[Buckets4Me]

That would be good. I queried sorting the FXR suspension with RT but it is the must have your bike thing that makes it difficult. I'm happy to spend my hard earned pocket money on good gear but getting my bucket from the SI to RT.... One would think it would not be impossible to get hold of a std FXR and work something out that would suit most. Seems that there are a number of interested FXR bucket racers.

offer pumba $1000 and you could have an ex demo one cheap

but who realy is going to come up with the cash
as enough of you say it's only Buckets not motoGP (I'd pay but I already have one $1600 last time I looked)
we have run YSS shocks but got it wrong (check out chambers backside)

[Robert Taylor]

If there are indeed numbers it makes it more feasible and that puts a ceiling on the price. But that price is variable if a spring is required for a lightweight rider.

If someone can get an FXR to me Im happy to do some development. Bryces one was very much a one off and I didnt expect to replicate it, it was also built from a mix of parts that was old stock and a lower price. Crunching the numbers the price should have been higher because of the time I spent on it. EVEN THEN...there has been no trackside development to optimise further and Im sure it could be a lot better yet. But who pays to get me to a track and spend a day? ( Its got to pay its way as there are real costs ) With all respect to Bryce I only have his feedback to go on.

The spec is basic ( no external adjusters save for spring preload ) but its whats on the inside that counts.

It would be possible to build a real bells and whistles one from MotoGP derived TTX technology with adjustable ride height and a hydraulic spring preload adjuster but I dont think anyone wants to spend over 2k to gain maybe 1/2 to 1 second per lap.But stranger things have happened. ( TTX suspension holds all the lap records on our regualr road race tracks )

Up-specing the rear must also be neccessarily matched with effective mods in the front end to both keep the bike balanced and to improve lap times. Sure people have said ''they are only buckets'' but why wouldnt anyone use the valuable resources ( and there are options ) to try and improve performance?

Bryce, heres a thought. Perhaps youd like to think of any incremental improvement that I can make to your shock to improve it even further. EG perhaps a little more rebound control, a little more ride height control etc. Ill do so FOC and then Ill have a spec that can be replicated.

If I get a minimum of 3 confirmed non cancellable orders and I dont have to use anything other than the stock spring then figure on $695 per shock gst incl. All it takes then is for people to put their money where their mouth is.

[Robert Taylor]

offer pumba $1000 and you could have an ex demo one cheap

but who realy is going to come up with the cash
as enough of you say it's only Buckets not motoGP (I'd pay but I already have one $1600 last time I looked)
we have run YSS shocks but got it wrong (check out chambers backside)

What was the issue with those Thai built shocks?

[speedpro]

$695???

That is a real bargain for this sort of gear.

[Kickaha]

If I get a minimum of 3 confirmed non cancellable orders and I dont have to use anything other than the stock spring then figure on $695 per shock gst incl. All it takes then is for people to put their money where their mouth is.

Buddha will need a heavier duty option

Good price, if I was effeminate enough to be riding an FXR I'd probably go for it

[jasonu]

So seeing as FXR150 is far and away the most popular racebike in New Zealand, is it possible to come up with an out of the box shock? plenty are expiring with no good reliable source of replacment , wreckers dont have any, looks like people are going to want something. Choices Ohlins Ckt doesnt sound very enthusiastic, Yss have to deal overseas, or import a bunch of used shocks from Thailand.
if the research , parts selection bla bla was out of the equation could you come up with a good quality one shock fits all solution? Like Hagon do for many bikes

There is another way, rebuild the worn shock. Chris Pickett of RMS Engineering ph 09 817 9500 can very successfully do this for a lot less $'s than buying a replacement and the result will be better than the stock unit and a whole shit load better than buying some used crap from overseas.

[richban]

What was the issue with those Thai built shocks?

I had mine built in Aussie at YSS and it has been great (original spring). I think I payed around $550 $600 including shipping my shock to them. Rebound and compression adjustable. They also do emulators and springs for the front. There is no issue with them as long as they are setup correct. They couldn't manage a ride height adjustable version something to do with the shock being so short.

[Buckets4Me]

What was the issue with those Thai built shocks?

they where to stiff and bounced a few riders off (not the shock but a setup problem. They where for off road use )
now chambers has a new frame FZR not the old gp125 suzuki ( you can throw money at something and still never get it anywhere near right)

these old guys will never go to the dark side and buy an FXR (if they did there would be 2 orders straight away)

$700 is half the cost of rebuilding a good engine and gives you more advantage ( it's not all about HP )


the old bike that scared people

how we see F4 racing