Ohlins 1099 Spring

[Darth Bling]

Ohlin 1099 Spring: Will it work on the stock Showa shock??

And the answer is: I don't know. But it looks very promising. :thumbsup:

So, here's a couple side by side comparisons of the stock 6th Gen Showa spring and the Ohlin 1099 spring. The Ohlin is 8.75 inches long, and the 6th gen spring is about 8.25 inches.

As you can see, the height different shouldn't be too much of an issue. I'm going to guess that because of the extra length of the 1099 spring over the stock spring, it'll be like running at full preload on the stock shock when you've got it dialed all the way down. Personally, that sounds good to me. On the stock shock, I would normally run with the preload maxed out because that's what I thought felt the best. Plus this way, I should have plenty of adjustment left to increase the preload whenever I carry a passenger. :salesman:

But, there is a fitment problem that needs to be addressed before swapping the Ohlin spring onto the shock. The problem comes from the fact that the stock spring actually has a taper to it. :blink: I was quite surprised to discovered this. One end of the spring has an I.D. of 50mm; the other end is 56mm.

The smaller end of the spring is up near the top of the shock (near the preload adjustment collar), and the wider end is on the bottom. The Ohlin spring, which has the same I.D. on both ends, has the same measurement as the wider end of the stock spring.

When trying to fit the Ohlin spring on the stock shock, it became quite apparent that the stock retaining collar that sits between the spring and the preload adjustment collar is way too small for the Ohlin Spring.

You can see the gaps here:

Luckily, I had an extra rear shock laying around the garage (brought it off ebay thinking it was a CBR929 shock, but the seller misrepresented the shock and it was actually a GSXR shock). So, I took my extra shock apart (using a ton of zip-ties and my channellock pliers) so I could get an extra retaining collar.

My goal is the put the extra collar so in between the smaller stock collar and the spring.

This gives the Ohlin spring a bigger footprint to seat against on the top end of the shock. On the other end, I'll just use the stock collar to secure the shock onto the spring!

Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to put the 1099 spring onto the stock shock. But, I'm now at least 98% sure that the 1099 spring will fit the stock shock. Once I get a shop to put the spring on for me (next week hopefully), I'll update this thread with some more details and initial ride impressions. :thumbsup:

[Alien VFR]

Sweet.

What kind of equipment is required to put the spring on the shock?

[Darth Bling]

Sweet.

What kind of equipment is required to put the spring on the shock?

A special hydraulic press that can compress the spring while you put the locking collar on it. The shop I went to had a rig set up that used a 4-ton hydraulic bottle jack and a retaining ring that slipped over the spring but not the collar.

[Darth Bling]

After putting some miles on the new shock, I'm back with an update!!!

Firstly, the answer is yes! An Ohlins 1099 spring will fit on the stock 6th shock. And here's proof:

Here's a pic of the top of shock. You see the extra retaining ring that I added is on there.

And a picture of the bottom just to be thorough:

Ok, so how does it ride??? That's really the big question here. I was sure the shock was going to fit, but would the preload be too much since the Ohlins is a good 1/2 inch longer than the stock showa? :unsure:

I put the preload setting on the shock to the softest setting and took off down the road. The ride was very firm and quite nice, until you hit a sharp bump. It feels like the shock has no problem on the compression stroke, but it rebounds way to fast. And unfortunately there's no rebound setting on our shocks. <_< My Ohlins spring is just way too much for the stock shock. There were a number of times I felt the shock top-out when going over some rough roads.

Now with a pillion on the bike, the shock was awesome. With the extra weight of a pillion, the fact the shock was 1/2 too long wasn't a problem anymore. In fact, the bike's never handled so good with a passenger before.

Another area that the shock excels in is squatting. When getting on the throttle real hard in first gear, power is instantly transferred to the wheels. Whereas before, when you goose it hard the back end squats before you get propelled.

Now, for the record, I got the 1099-84 spring. It has a spring rate of 20.38 kgs. Yes that's very, very stiff. And the only reason I went so hard on the rear is because I have 0.95 kg springs up front. I want to keep things balanced.

If you get a 1099 spring, my recommendation is to get a spring lighter than you would normally get. Now, if you weighed 300 lbs, the 1099-84 spring would be perfect for you. But because the spring is 1/2 inch longer, you really need to compensate and get a softer spring. Otherwise, you'll have too much preload, even on the softest setting.

Another alternative is to find a 5th gen shock or a Blackbird shock. Both shocks are longer than the 6th gen shock, so spring length is as much of a problem. For comparison sake, here's a picture of a Blackbird shock compared to the 6th gen shock:

You can see the black bird shock is longer, but it isn't long enough to make up the 1/2 inch difference. Again, if you get a shock that's slightly softer than you would normally get, you should be fine.

If you weight about 180, I'd suggest getting the 1099-64. 200-pounders, go for the 1099-69. If you're north of 230, go with the 1099-74. If you're 260, the 1099-79 is for you. And for anyone around 300, the 1099-84 is probably what you're looking for. Now, I'm no suspension expert, this is just my opinion on this matter. :pissed: Here a link that thx1139 posted with Ohlins' spring rates: Ohlins Chart

If you have aftermarket springs in your forks and you want to get a rear spring to balance out the front, this probably isn't the path you want to take. But hey, for 30 bucks, what do you want? (Link to ebay ohlins springs thread.)

So, in summary, a new Ohlins spring will improve your ride considerably, especially if you have stiffer spring up front to match. The only caveat is that because the springs are 1/2 too long, you need to compensate for that and get a softer spring. If you try and match spring rates, you'll end up with a rear shock that's too stiff and is prone to topping out. Now, if you're really serious about getting a quality rear end, consider a full Ohlins or Penske shock. Or better yet, jump in on the Elka group buy. But, for $30, you just can't beat a new Ohlins spring. :thumbsup: