How to install an ohlins shock

[HispanicSlammer]

I took advantage of the Ohlins sale at Cyclemall.net and ordered one for 1998 VFR, my shock has 28k miles on it and 5k of that loaded down, the shock was getting bouncy and wore out.

As you can see this version has a few features.

• A Remote Hydrolic Preload adjustment
  
• A remote gas and oil cannister w/finger stylecompression adjuster
  
• Finger style Rebound adjuster
  

The shock comes with a rubber stop in case you bottom out

I was a bit disappointed to find the spring had paint scraped off, However this spring is set for my weight and riding style, I just touched it up. The rebound damping setting is that knob on the bottom

This is the hydraulic preload adjuster, this spring is stiffer and is also shorter so they screw it down a bit to get it set up correctly.

This is the remote preload ajuster

This is the gas and oil reservoir the compression damping adjustment screw is here

Begin By Removing the Exhaust and Rear Wheel

I used a scissor jack to support the rear when removing the old shock

You must remove the gas tank to gain access to the upper shock bolt.

As you can see here the upper U bracket is very cramped, it is easier just to remove it from under the seat

Here is the upper bolt under all those rubber pieces

The headers are in the way

The headers must be moved and dropped down out of the way

Remove the heat shield - 3 hex screws

You can loosen the assembly enough to make room but I decided to remove them.

The Rear headers have a coupling that must be loosened and taken off behind the heat shield 12mm bolts.

Remove the front header bolts 2 on each side of the pipe, 10mm and they were not very tight.

Boy they were dirty and rusty!

Now you can remove the rear linkage and the old shock 12mm bolt 14mm nut

I removed the old shock by letting it drop down, holding on to it, you have to remove the U bracket cause you need that again

Side by side comparison, notice anything funny, THE BONE HEAD HAS THE BEARINGS BACK-WARDS! The short one goes up and the long one goes down! I was peeved to say the least.

Well I spent 20 minutes hammering them out and pressing them into the correct position with a vise, now they are on correctly, these bearings are just solid no needle bearings like the OEM shock has.

There was no way I could just run it upside down, cause the remote lines would bind and also the U bracket will only fit on the top side of the shock. Igreased everything up nicely.

You can see here the linkage triangle has some grooves in it, I ordered replacements, when I took it off there was some sand in there that must have been picked up off the road that made those grooves. Just like what happened to Lewis.

I pulled out the inner bearing on all the linkage pieces cleaned them up and greased everything, the same thing on the swing-arm mount too.

I threaded the remote res and preload thru the hole in the swing-arm first them lifted the new shock in place, bolted it up-top loosley.

A little grease on the triangles, they have a line on them to show you how they go.

I lined up the holes and shot the bolt thru, the scissor jack came in handy here to line up the shock. Tighten the 3 bolts to 33 ft/lbs

This is where I mounted the remote reservoir on the left side. cut notches in the plastic to take the clamps

I wanted to show it off, they tell you to mount it under the rear fairing, at least I can adjust it the way I did it. You can also see they mount the preload adjuster to the exhaust hanger.

Painting the headers

The headers were all rusty on the bottom so I decided to paint them with some heat resistant black paint after I washed them

Thanks to Smeg for the Idea!

I also put on some new grips I had in the closet, finally installed them, Here is a tip if you don't want he old ones just cut them off

I went and washed the bike after I had it back together, wow the new shock is amazing, the ride improved immediately, no bouncing at all! I set the rear sag to 32mm and like that feel, The rebound and compression was set already, so I did not mess with that.

DATA

shock length 325 mm

shock stroke 58mm

part number 01092-59

preload 12mm of adjustment

rebound adjustments 14 clicks

compression adjustments 12 clicks

[Guest]

Excellent write up HS. I'm not far behind you...99 with 20K. Curious...how much did you have to fork out thru CycleMall?

Randy

[HispanicSlammer]

I wrote this a year and half ago, just reposted it with bigger pictures..  I have 45k now.

[BoulderGeek]

As a newb here, it's great to have your write-up brought to my attention.  My new Hyperpro rear shock  is being built for me now, and I should be able to install in 2-3 weeks.  

I hadn't thought that it would be such an elaborate process.  We'll see how tough it is on the '93 VFR.

Those black enamel headers look great now!

[Guest koma]

hi HispanicSlammer wat kind of paint did u use for ur headers??

[HispanicSlammer]

fixed the photos

[HispanicSlammer]

hi HispanicSlammer wat kind of paint did u use for ur headers??

High temp ceramic paint from the autoparts store

[Avid One]

H.S., thanks for the fix up work on this great post.

[Guest VFR2X]

Just a quick observation, you're not using that chain in the photos are you?

[HispanicSlammer]

Nope this post was in the dead of winter and at the time I had to park it outside, I built a shed for it now and have a gold DID on it now. The D&D is gone too replaced by a high mount Staintune.

[Guest]

The headers are in the way

The headers must be moved and dropped down out of the way

Remove the heat shield - 3 hex screws

You can loosen the assembly enough to make room but I decided to remove them.

Just read your post, I fitted the same Ohlins several months ago, and just for info I didn't touch the headers, had enough room to get at the linkage bolts. I like your idea for mounting the remote res. , mine is under the fairing, and difficult to get at for adjustment.

[HispanicSlammer]

Yea this is a rewrite it can be done without removing the headers but its a pain, and I wanted to paint mine so I removed them

[AB-Oz]

Nope this post was in the dead of winter and at the time I had to park it outside, I built a shed for it now and have a gold DID on it now. The D&D is gone too replaced by a high mount Staintune.

G'day Slammer,

Do you have any pix of the high mount 'tune and the remote preload adjuster?

I am about to fit my Ohlins and I have a high mount custom pipe and think I may have to find somewhere else for the adjuster, I guess it could go below the can?:

Thanks for the header paint idea, will get some today...I wonder if I can get chrome?

[Throttlestop]

I'm about to bolt up an Ohlins shock to my 2001 Viffer, and I still can't get over the fact that this thread from 2004 is going to be my guide. Goes to show the high quality of this post. Thanks, H/S.

[BonusVFR]

I'm about to bolt up an Ohlins shock to my 2001 Viffer, and I still can't get over the fact that this thread from 2004 is going to be my guide. Goes to show the high quality of this post. Thanks, H/S.

Where did you get your Ohlins...............want to do the same thing.

[dude]

So how did the painted headers hold up over time?

[AB-Oz]

My header painting attempt didn't go very well, it started flaking off after about 2 weeks. I have since had my them Jet-Hot coated, 4 months of all sorts of conditions they still look superb.

[Throttlestop]

I'm about to bolt up an Ohlins shock to my 2001 Viffer, and I still can't get over the fact that this thread from 2004 is going to be my guide. Goes to show the high quality of this post. Thanks, H/S.

Where did you get your Ohlins...............want to do the same thing.

When I posted that, I was waiting on a 2nd hand CBR 929 Ohlins shock that was on its way in the mail. Well, that shock coudn't fit, without extensive mods to the bike (the nitrogen canister on the Ohlins is offset to one side, unlike the stock 929 shock, so that it would come into contact with the rear brake proportioning valve and part of the rear frame). I sold that off for no loss, and promptly ordered the proper Ohlins part from my local dealer.

He checked with Ohlins and they were out of stock. The next production date according to Ohlins is 23rd Jan 2008. They should get here by 1st week Feb. I'll post up pics when its done.

[Guest]

This post helped me a lot! I have just installed a öhlins shock like yours in my '98 rc46

[Guest]

This post helped me a lot! I have just installed a öhlins shock like yours in my '98 rc46

i installed my ohlins rear shock on saturday. had to borrow my grandpop's garage... and it took 5 hours!

because of the cat (i've got an fi-1) the shock wouldn't drop out. i had to remove the seat cowl, unbolt the subframe and lift it like a trapdoor to swap the shocks over.

luckily i had the help of an uncle who also happens to be a bike nut - it would have been a mare of a job on my own - undoing the bracket bush bolt required the purchase of articulated ratchet spanners.

we also got into a bit of a tizz with placement of the remote reservior; the instructions ohlins provide make no mention of whether the banjo connection to the rebound reservior should face forwards or rearwards. eventually we cracked it

[Guest]

forwards! I also in doubt where to place the reservoir... nowadays I have it with nylon ties to the pillion's footpeg

[johnmark101]

I am doing the same job now, but having a devil of a time getting the exhaust off. The pipes are stuck together at the coupling just behind the right footpeg assembly.