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Ohlins rear shock "oogie" when cold?

2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Mr. DOBALINA 
#1 ·
ok so we all know that the rear suspention can fade with agressive track manuvers and because it's situated about 3 inches behind the rear exhaust header spigot...

but what about cold?

Temps are dipping around here (chicago area) and to mornings are in the upper 30's to lower 40's range...

the bike just feels WRONG, so bad I though I had a flat tire, front wants to dive and tuck at low speed when turning (yeah, I know, I don't really go any other speed then "low")

handling just felt sloppy and mushy....

wasn't sure if I just got used to it or what.... next day, same thing... so it must be getting better when things start to get warmed up...

but those first 2 blocks are:scared :crazy

is this normal for an Ohlin's at cold temps?
 
#2 ·
Checked tire pressure lately?

If its good I'd re-check suspension sag front and rear.

Damping on most any oil-damped fork/shock will change with tempeture. I know my race bikes (off road) are noticeably harsher when first staring off on a cold day, but the act of riding hard usually heats them up to a normal temp.

So I'd say too much damping when first starting out on a cold day is normal, but that shouldn't greatly affect how the bike steers, just how it responds to bumps.

One thing that never made any sense to me is why street bikes don't have air bleaders for the fork. To maintain consistent fork action you don't want positive or negative air pressure in the fork. On MX bike (where suspension is super importaint and high tech) you normally blead the fork before every moto - it does make a difference. Perhaps you've got negative air pressure in the fork, making it sag too much untill the bike warms up:O

good luck
 
#4 ·
I'd say keep a warmer on it - how about putting a thick cotton sock over it during the overnight periods?

Regarding getting a shock way too hot & loosing rebound damping I had a talk with Jim Lindemann a few years back. I was concerned about the Ohlins on the TLS being so close to the rear exhaust spigot & was working on a way to insulate it. Jim said that he used to work on offroad shocks & he could tell how fast an offroad rider was by checking the temperature of the shock. He said that an Ohlins or Penske wouldn't get so hot by most riders on a roadrace track that you would be able to feel the rebound damping go away like what happens on the stocker rotary damper. I was getting annoyed so I pointed out how close the Ohlins was to the exhaust pipe on my TLS. Jim asked me if it got so hot it burned my hand when I touched it. No was my response. He said it was OK then. He clarified his comment & pointed out that a shock is basically an energy transfer device. It dampens motion & in the process converts that motion energy to heat energy. He said that the offroad shocks he worked on got so hot that if you spit on them the spit would sizzle! They worked pretty well up to that point was his explanation.
 
#5 ·
BikePilot said:
Checked tire pressure lately?

good luck
well who has the time to do that:coocoo :laugh I gave them the ol squeeze and kick test and they wern't mushy. But I'll have to put a guage on them and see.

maybe a combo of both... or that the cold weather is making the tire pressure go down as well. I'll check them tonight

Just really noticed that something was wrong and the poor man's check of the tire pressure told me that it wasn't a flat. Kinda weird, two days in a row, it felt wrong.
 
#6 ·
Ohlins are crap ! (I should know I've got one) hard when cold, soft when warm. another reason I'm a fan of the Bitubo.incidentally, did you know the rebound changes the comp damping too! Found that one out when had it in my hand after rebiult (by main dealer) when quizzed, they admitted that is the case.
 
#7 ·
My experiences with Ohlins rear dampers have been pretty darn good. Got a few thousand track miles on my TLS with an Ohlins rear damper combined with a Lindemann 800 lb. rear spring. Ridden on tracks with ambient temps in the low 50's & up to 115 degrees in the shade. Sure, it felt differently between those 2 temperature extremes but I think the Dunlop 208 GP (DOT race tires) had quite a bit to do with that. I have ridden the bike a few times on a track with outside temps in the 110's with no rear shock issues. Last time the track surface was checked out by Michelin track support guy (Joe) @ Buttonwillow in mid July & the track surface was at a toasty 148 degrees. I softened up all my comp & rebound settings by a click front & rear and it worked as well as I could expect it to.

How about an old shot back in 2001 of my TLS out at Willow Springs? Coming down the hill exiting turn 4 that is a decreasing radius, uphill entrance, downhill exit turn that is also banked on the entrance & goes off camber at the exit. By the way it is bumpy right in the area where the shot was taken at. The Ohlins rear did just fine.




Worked on a few AMA race teams over the years. I generally didn't touch the rear shocks or front ends as all the teams I have worked on have suspension techs from suspension companies to provide race support. Worked with Jim Lindemann on Lion Racing, Race Tech Randy on Nicky Moore's Moore Power Racing effort (a few races) & lastly on Corey Eaton's privateer GSXR1000 Superstock spec bike with GPR's Rob at the Cali Speedway this year. The first teams ran Ohlins shocks & Corey's 06' GSXR1000 had a Penske installed.

A former TLP member from Wisconsin posted that the Ohlins dampers that top teams ran are way different than what other privateers & the general public run. Lion Racing ran Ohlins rear shocks that I sourced from Ohlins USA in Georgia & Jim Lindemann reworked the shocks & they were installed on the race bikes & run all season long on the Superstock spec GSXR1000's & Formula Extreme spec GSXR600's in the 2004 AMA season. Jim sells Penske shocks but we ran the Ohlins on the race bikes. I seriously think that if Jim had any good reason to run the Penske set-ups on the race bikes especially considering he distributes the Penske's I am sure we would have run them! :coocoo

Some shots of the Lion Racing effort at Daytona in 2004. First a pit shot of the bikes & the Fabritech made race banner that adorned our pit. Fabritech Jim rocks!



How about a shot of Wednesday practice at Daytona during bike week? That's Corey Eaton debriefing with Jim Lindemann (black LE shirt) as my team mates get to work.



IMHO and many suspension tuners Ohlins aren't crap. There are some damn good shocks out there & Penske happens to be one. Once again I have yet to see a Bitubo rear damper or shock on a racebike at a racetrack. That being in the AMA National series or the WERA series. Not a single one.

:O

-
 
#8 ·
When I had Pete at Computrack Boston do my stuff, he also mentioned the fact that the ohlins rear on the TLR doesnt travel too far...because there's no linkage, its straight travel, and it's not a lot, so it doesnt heat up too quickly. And yes rifleman...I've noticed the same on mine lately. I have a 25-30 min back road ride to work though, so it gets warmed up somewhat quickly :O
 
#9 ·
Oh yeah,
For some reason this stuff didn't register completely when I first responded. DUH! When temps change radically on racing style shocks you need to change your settings. If it gets really hot out there soften up all the settings to allow the suspension to go up, over & back down bumps without overwhelming your tires. If it gets really cold & the rear shock feels really stiff back off comp damping & rebound damping by a couple of clicks & see how it reacts. If it doesn't feel much better back it off by another click or two. Get used to setting & resetting suspension settings on bikes with adjusters as that's the whole point for them having those things. Take notes & use them to help guide you. Once you do the bouncing stuff & get baseline settings you can get a "feel" for how to set the bike up when temps change radically. You already know how it should feel back there & you realize it is not feeling right. Make the adjustments, take notes & go ride before it snows.

.
 
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