Ohlins Shock Install

[Puma Cat]

Installation of an Ohlins HO 801 dual adjustment shock is covered here:

Per Reg71's article on the Penske Shock install, I removed the rear cowl, and bolts securing the tank.

This is a great opportunity to break out the Honda cleaner and spruce things up a bit. I cleaned up the suframe, plastic undertray, wiring harness, etc.



Side shot showing the new R/R. What does this have to installing the shock you say? Absolutely nothing, just cleaning up a bit.



I removed the bolts holding the tank in place and per a forum member's recommendation, but a piece of wood under the rear of the tank so I could loosen and remove the nut holding the clevis bolt to the frame.

Wood:


The nut in question....torque spec for this nut is 31 ft-lbs, note that for installation.



At the bottom of the bike, I removed the bolts that hold the bottom of the shock to the shock link plate (bolt at top lef), and the bolt that attaches the shock link plate to the swingarm (bolt at top right). I also removed the allen head bolt you can barely see at the left end of the dog bone so that I could remove the entire dogbone/shock link plate assembly. I left the bottom most bolt in place on the shock link plate. By lifting the rear wheel and placing it on a two by four board, I was able to get enough clearance to remove the shock link plate/dogbone. Once that was out, it was easy to remove the stock, old, shock.

The notorious shock link plate with old shock in place.


This allows you to slip the old shock out the bottom of the chassis, alongside the left part of the collector.

A photo of the old shock, shock link plate/dogbone ass'y. and clevis bolt.


I mounted the clevis bolt to the top of the Ohlins, to prepare it for insertion back into the frame/chassis.


The next part was the most difficult. Wending the way of the shock back up into the chassis to fit the clevis bolt into the hole in the frame was the most problematical. The Ohlins is notably thicker in diameter than the stock shock, and that, coupled with the remote reservoir, it's braided hose, and the preload adjuster, there is less room to maneuver the shock to get the clevis bolt to line up with the hole. It took a long time of fidding, moving the shock around and trying to get the shock in place with the hoses.... it was an exercise in frustation, and the spring's paint got garfed up a bit with all the effort of trying to get the shock into place so that the clevis bolt would go through the hole in the frame, as did the paint of the collector. I finally got the bolt through and secured it with the nut on the top portion of the frame, but it was a real hassle. Future installers might want to install the clevis bolt by itself first into the frame, and then bolt the shock head into it and secure and tighten the bolts, though it is tough to reach into the frame to do this and tighten the bolt attaching the shock to the clevis forcefully enough.

Future Ohlins owners note: I inserted the shock so that the braided reservoir line and preload adjuster cable come off the right side of the shock. I then routed the braided line for the reservoir under the plastic "fender" panel over to the frame handle on the left part of the subframe, so the cable makes two bends from the shock. The preload adjuster was routed out the right side of the subframe for attachment to the rear footpeg/exhaust hanger bolt. I loosened the remaining bolt on the shock link plate so that I could fit it and the dogbone in to their attachment points on the frame, shock and swingarm. Moving the rear while you do this helps in aligning the holes for the linkages and bolts properly. When I torqued all the bolts in the shock link plate to 31 ft-lbs, I cinched them down my hand first, and then went around the "clock" with the torque wrench to torque them down. I also torqued the allen bolt attaching the left end of the dogbone to 43 ft-lbs.

Routed the reservoir to the left side subframe handle (now with new and improved pix!)



I also routed the preload adjuster to the right side passenger footpeg, and bolted it up. Now, that looks cool!




I routed the preload adjuster cable over the heat shield thingy on the right of the bike, and ziptied it to a steel brake line for the linked rear brakes. You can see part of the shock and spring at the left part of the frame.



Went back and checked the torque on everything, and put the rear cowl and tank back on.

That's it for now...more details later...

[RVFR]

Great write up and photos too. A+ my man.

[Puma Cat]

Thanks, R.

I will add some more photos and article edits tomorrow.

Despite my concerns about the spring being too stiff, off the top of it, it seems quite good and in the correct range. The bike seems to sit at the same ride heigh from spring preload as before. Static sag seems to be around 12 mm, and roughly 32-35 mm sag with me on the bike w/o gear. Static sag will probably go to 15 mm or so when I get the WingRack 2 and side cases on, they probably weigh an additional 10-12 lbs. Seems like Ohlins was really close on the spring preload and the damping settings right out of the box. Impressive.

[R.W.]

I've been looking forward to your install thread, did you make it through the install without cursing and losing any skin on your knuckle's? Can't wait for your write up on the front after Mr. Kyle dials it all in

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by R.W.

I've been looking forward to your install thread, did you make it through the install without cursing and losing any skin on your knuckle's?

No way!

A lot of cursing and I noticed my skinned knuckles in the shower today. The collector being under the shock really makes things a lot more difficult. If you pulled the exhaust system, it would literally be a breeze. I also garfed up the paint in the collector a bit, too. It's got some scratches on it now from the bottom of the shocks hitting it when removing the old one and installing the new one. I'm going to try to find some flat black header paint today.

[chomper]

PC... thanks for the detailed write up with pic's too!! going save this for future reference Great Job!

[Sebspeed]

Moving the rear wheel up as high as it can go makes the job much easier; did you do this?

[Puma Cat]

Seb,
I moved it up high, but not that high. it certainly looks like it would provide more clearance between the hole in the swingarm and the collector. Good tip to remember for next time. Having the additional length on the shock from the clevis bolt made it more difficult, too. A friend who came over to help me torque down the shock link plate bolts said that the Ohlins looks bigger in girth than the Penske.

[Puma Cat]

More pix...

The Ohlins installed....



A key photo....note how I routed the braided hose for the remote reservoir coming off the right side of the shock. I ziptied the hose to the left subframe rail so there's no chance of the hose getting in the way of the wheel when the swingarm moves up and down.



Another shot of the remote reservoir. Note how I've pushed it as far back as it will go so that I can turn the compression damping knob at the front.



Stay tuned, I will post static sag measurements once I have the WingRack 2 back on with the E21 side cases. I will try to get someone to measure my rider sag with all my gear on the bike.

[reg71]

cool install thread. funny my penske went in pretty well. I didn't lift the wheel at all. your bike is much cleaner than mine ever is! of course, most people's bikes are. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "I like my bikes like I like my women, fast, loud, and a little dirty when I'm riding them hard!"

Hey, that pic you took with the r/r would look nice in the wiki under "What is an R/R?" "What does it look like?" etc.

[Puma Cat]

Reg, a buddy of mine that came over to help me torque the shock link plate nuts said that the Ohlins looked quite a bit beefier than the Penske he installed. It certainly is beefier than the stock shock. Where would I put the pic of the R/R...can I upload it myself?

[bear]

Don't the two hose clamps move the rear cowl out? When I installed my ELKA shock I tried the resevoir there, but the hose clamps pushed the cowl out, and I was afraid the cowl would crack at the bolts due to the stress.

[reg71]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Reg, a buddy of mine that came over to help me torque the shock link plate nuts said that the Ohlins looked quite a bit beefier than the Penske he installed. It certainly is beefier than the stock shock. Where would I put the pic of the R/R...can I upload it myself?

you can go to this page:http://wiki.vfrworld.com/index.php/Regulator_Rectifier

click edit and then stick it in where you think looks good...

[Bubba Zanetti]

Sebspeed:

I love the pic with the ballpeen hammer beside the shock on the floor.

The hammer is for when things really go wrong LOL!

BZ

[Puma Cat]

BZ,

The ballpeen hammer is in Seb's garage, not mine...

[Bubba Zanetti]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

BZ,

The ballpeen hammer is in Seb's garage, not mine...

Sorry about that Puma!

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by bear

Don't the two hose clamps move the rear cowl out? When I installed my ELKA shock I tried the resevoir there, but the hose clamps pushed the cowl out, and I was afraid the cowl would crack at the bolts due to the stress.

Not really, perhaps a fraction of a millimeter. You can bend the hose clamps in above the reservoir so that they do not impinge on the side of the rear cowl.