My Ohlins shock is oversprung

okiesaki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
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147
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Well, I bought a used Ohlins YA013 rear shock off this forum and it came with a 59/150 (857 LB) spring and it's a little oversprung for my 195 lb weight without gear. I can't even get there loaded with luggage. Here's my numbers:

Bike and rider only with no preload and spring set at 208mm ( free length: 220mm )
static sag: 4mm
race : 24 mm

With top box no preload and spring set at 208mm ( free length: 220mm )
static sag:5 mm
race :26mm

with top box and panniers no preload and spring set at 208mm ( free length: 220mm )
static sag: 6mm
race : 34mm

With top box and panniers loaded with about 50 lbs of gear no preload and spring set at 208mm ( free length: 220mm )
static sag: 12mm
race : 46mm

Needless to say, I can't get to the magic 57mm with this spring. Would an 800 lb spring rate get me there or should I just look for a stock 742 lb. and use the spring adjustment to get my sag? I always ride solo,no passenger
 
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twinrider

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Sep 28, 2011
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1,882
Location
Yokohama
Well, I bought a used Ohlins YA013 off the forum and it came with a 59/150 (857 LB) spring and it's a little oversprung for my 195 lb weight without protection. I can't even get there loaded with luggage. Here's my numbers:
Bike and rider only with no preload or spring adjustment
static sag: 4mm
race : 24 mm

With top box no preload or spring adjustment
static sag:5 mm
race :26mm

with top box and panniers no preload or spring adjustment
static sag: 6mm
race : 34mm

With top box and panniers loaded with about 50 lbs of gear no preload or spring adjustment
static sag: 12mm
race : 46mm

Needless to say, I can't get to the magic 57mm with this spring. Would an 800 lb spring rate get me there or should I just look for a stock 742 lb. and use the spring adjustment to get my sag?
Ping Cogent, they can give great advice and sell you the spring.
 

okiesaki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
147
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Probably cheaper than an Ohlins too. I sent Ohlins the info just to see how high the spring would be but in the mean time I thought I would get a couple hundred opinions from others that are in my weight range.
 

bimota

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Dec 10, 2017
Messages
6,521
Location
bridgend, Wales, UK
i just fitted that ohlins to mine 4 weeks ago.

standard spring 130 no good for me i nearly went for the 150 ended up with a 170 spring. i am 110kg kitted with also atop box fitted but the 150 spring was not quite there when i had pannier plus a 70 kg wife on.
if always solo the 150 would be ok but lucky i can just get the sag in with 170 spring.

in the uk i had to buy a seperate 170 spring as well so the shock came with the 170 fitted and the new 130 of the shock in a bag in the box.

springs are about £90 in the uk
 

escapefjrtist

Searching for Dry Roads
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
1,418
Location
Snohomish WA
Rather than worry about sag, how does the bike work for you and your riding style?

FWIW, another data point. I'm running a 8983 Penske with 7" X 900# spring, 12mm of initial preload, 200 pound rider plus gear. Unloaded with a empty topbox the bike has a nice firm sporty ride. Loaded up with bags and topbox, the ride is controlled, plush and rocking chair smooth. Add a passenger with bags and topbox, I swap the spring for a 7" X 1000# with 15mm preload. Works awesome.

~G
 

okiesaki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
147
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
The ride is actually better than I thought it would be as long as I keep my panniers and top box on but the rear is jacked up like a horny cat, my seat is back to pushing me into the tank,my headlights are way off, I"m on my toes and the kick stand needs to be extended with these numbers. I would really like to get it back to the 57mm sag numbers I had when the oem shock was new because my seat angle and bar risers where set up perfect for me and it still had a little more adjustment without luggage but loaded it would be closer to 60mm. With only 15k on the original shock now my rider sag is 70mm with no luggage and preload maxed. Loaded with luggage I was at 90mm which is why I knew it was time for a new shock . With the Ohlins I can turn the preload in about half way with no luggage and get zero static and get about 5mm with rider.
 
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okiesaki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
147
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
That's the look I had on my face when I removed my spring to see if I could back the preload collars out anymore (couldn't) then installed spring and forgot to measure the I.D. of the spring to search for aftermarket options.
 

okiesaki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
147
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
UPDATE: I installed the lighter 750lb spring to the shock and set the spring preload to 12mm from the free length of 220mm . This is Ohlins recommended distance. This put the installed spring length to 208mm. My sag with rider/no luggage is 72mm. I cranked the remote preload to max which measured 7mm in distance and it gave me an additional 15mm of preload which put my sag on the money at 57mm,easy math from there. I removed the shock and spring and ran my collar adjusters down to the 7mm that the preload gave me and now my spring preload length is 201mm and now I have 57mm rider sag with no remote preload. Yehaa! I can now crank about five turns of preload for top box only loaded and about 15 turns in for loaded panniers only. I only fall short when panniers and top box are fully loaded and add a tent and sleeping bag on passenger seat which puts me at 62mm. Of course, loads vary but in most cases I can stay in the desired rider sag for most weekend trips. This spring would definitely not work if I was hauling a passenger unless it was passenger and no luggage but we all know that ain't gonna happen.
 
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