Handling issues

[spudchucka]

Buy Ohlins.

They'd cost more than the bike.

[Robert Taylor]

They'd cost more than the bike.

Thats an interesting perception, all too common and I suspect there are those who deliberately propagate the mindset that Ohlins is expensive. I get it all the time ''hey thats quite a good price, Id been told that they were that much'' ( higher price ) People have a habit of believing what they want to believe.............

[Hitcher]

They'd cost more than the bike.

Depends on the bike. And they're worth every cent. The difference between an FJR1300 on stock suspenders versus one on Ohlins is simply huge. And you'll probably recover the cost in increased tyre wear/life. I have no doubt the same transformation can be achieved on any bike with under-specced Japanese or Korean suspension.

[CookMySock]

Weak low speed compression damping in the front forks, poor rebound control and a rear shock with a huge rear spring rate allied to almost no bump damping. Sorry, the reality is they are built very cheap.

hrm I am trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, I know. I admit to having known this to start with.. shrug. oh well.

Ok so what are my options spending money on this, starting at the lower-price end ?

Or just adjusting it ? I tried the front suspension on the softest possible settings, and its still very very firm.


TIA,
Steve

[Robert Taylor]

hrm I am trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, I know. I admit to having known this to start with.. shrug. oh well.

Ok so what are my options spending money on this, starting at the lower-price end ?

Or just adjusting it ? I tried the front suspension on the softest possible settings, and its still very very firm.


TIA,
Steve

Frankly the adjusters on those legs may as well be there for decoration as they will not alter the fundamental character internally. There is no cheap solution that will fix it properly. We have successfully custom built a number of Ohlins shocks for these ( Ohlins Sweden have not made any ) Around $1600, front end upgrade around $950. The price is always because of the time it takes to build the stuff and what the components are worth, and not proportional to the value of the bike!

[CookMySock]

[...] We have successfully custom built a number of Ohlins shocks for these

yeah too steep.

What if I just boof an after-market shock in this ? (not a high-end Ohlins etc) I don't want or need top-quality race gear - just something that is actually in the ball park.

thanks,
DB

[spudchucka]

People have a habit of believing what they want to believe.............

Sure and salesmen have a way of making people believe they need stuff that they don't.

[spudchucka]

Depends on the bike. And they're worth every cent. The difference between an FJR1300 on stock suspenders versus one on Ohlins is simply huge. And you'll probably recover the cost in increased tyre wear/life. I have no doubt the same transformation can be achieved on any bike with under-specced Japanese or Korean suspension.

I've no doubt that they would make a huge difference, in fact I had Ohlins on my old TL. My current bike has Showa suspenders, which are pretty nice too.

It just seems to me that the investment would be somewhat on the side of over capitalising in relation to the value of the bike he would be fitting them to. To my mind he would be better served by putting the money he would spend on expensive after market suspension towards purchasing a bike that fulfils his needs and already has quality suspension.

For instance a 2004 Ducati Monster Sie 1000cc with fully adjustable Showa suspension for say about $11,000, bargain!!!

[cowboyz]

Thats an interesting perception, all too common and I suspect there are those who deliberately propagate the mindset that Ohlins is expensive. I get it all the time ''hey thats quite a good price, Id been told that they were that much'' ( higher price ) People have a habit of believing what they want to believe.............

There is no cheap solution that will fix it properly. We have successfully custom built a number of Ohlins shocks for these ( Ohlins Sweden have not made any ) Around $1600, front end upgrade around $950.

Interesting. On one hand you are saying Ohlins are not expensive and on the other you are saying there is no cheap solution?

So are Ohlins cheap or not? Are you promoting them as a quality specialised product or a cheap solution for every bike?

Now I realise that you are the god of all things suspension and appreciate the you have the skills to back up what your reputation perceives you as but this thread is bordering on predatory. Not a good look.

[Pwalo]

Have a look on the web. There is a US site called 'Koriders' I think which seems to have a lot of information.

There was a thread about a chap who raced one in the twins series in the States. Gave a description of the changes he made to his GT650R.

Might be worth having a look.

[emaN]

Gurus,

My GT650R has always been rather jittery during fast cornering, so I'm trying to get to the bottom of it.

I set my suspension on a range of settings, and the change wasn't particularly noticeable.
Steve

I'm picking rebound.
If it's on the way out of a corner, as you wind on the gas, it sounds like the front's lifting too much, taking grip off the tyre, making the bike feel 'taller' at the front & giving you that vague feeling.

Try playing with the rebound; wind it in all the way, go for a ride, notice the difference.
Wind it all the way out & repeat.
Try to find a compromise.

[CookMySock]

Try playing with the rebound; wind it in all the way, go for a ride, notice the difference.

thx dood. Yeah I will screw with that today and see whats up.

It seems there is a whole middle-of-the-range set of after-market shocks available that might do better than what I have got.

How can I lower the pre-load on the front shocks ?


DB

[Robert Taylor]

Interesting. On one hand you are saying Ohlins are not expensive and on the other you are saying there is no cheap solution?

So are Ohlins cheap or not? Are you promoting them as a quality specialised product or a cheap solution for every bike?

Now I realise that you are the god of all things suspension and appreciate the you have the skills to back up what your reputation perceives you as but this thread is bordering on predatory. Not a good look.

I think you are splitting hairs here... There are people out there saying that Ohlins shocks are a lot more expensive than what they actually are for many models, to serve their own ends. Now THAT ( in effect ) is PREDATORY.
The fact is I have custom built Ohlins shocks for these for on track and on road and had an original shock to model it off. When I had it I measured the spring rate and also dyno'd its damping character. I was shocked ( forgive the pun ) that a shock so abysmally bad could be built for a 650cc road bike. What may be uncomfortable to a number of readers is that I have cut right to the chase, the cheap and mid price offerings are not going to provide a significant improvement because they are built with the same mentality.
In the end event its the customers choice and ''improvement is a term of relativity.
We have for example also improved the suspension on a number of Ducati Monsters and in fact on many R1s, etc etc. In the end event its a choice between ( sorry ) ''wallowing in mediocity'' or making it as best as can be. I understand fully that it comes down to money and that it is not so readily available in this banana republic. You get as much as what you pay for.

[Robert Taylor]

I'm picking rebound.
If it's on the way out of a corner, as you wind on the gas, it sounds like the front's lifting too much, taking grip off the tyre, making the bike feel 'taller' at the front & giving you that vague feeling.

Try playing with the rebound; wind it in all the way, go for a ride, notice the difference.
Wind it all the way out & repeat.
Try to find a compromise.

Winding the rebound all the way in has on many bikes caused the rider to crash.

[jim.cox]

as it only has 6,000kms on the clock. It had better NOT have worn and loose shit on it.

Steve

What state is the front tyre?

Is it still the original?

Could it be worn out?

Some bikes will eat a set of tyres in 6000km

I've had bikes where the front gets very vague when the tyre was worn. It Looked ok to the eye, but definately felt wrong. Easy fix was to replace the tyre.