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This text is from our
brochure "The ultimate tuning ". In the brochure you
will find the following:
• The ultimate choice
• The choice is simple
• When you are riding
• Which fits which
• All Öhlins champions
• A desire to win
You can download the brochure here
(1.1mb). You can then read and print it later, off line!
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Improving
your bike's suspension does more for overall performance than
increasing your engine's horsepower.
You will feel the difference in the
first corner!
With a real world-class suspension you
get better traction and handling. You can ride faster, more
safely and in comfort.
Just ask any of the more than 80 world
champions who won their titles on Öhlins shock absorbers.
We guarantee they will agree. Good traction and handling are
more important than extra horsepower that can only be used when
you are aimed "straight ahead"!
Keep the balance
All our tests have shown fitting Öhlins shock absorbers
to your bike will improve handling, but for the best results
you have to do something with the front end as well.
The reason for this is quite simple.
For the ultimate in suspension improvements, the front and rear
of your bike must match!
When changing suspension components
it is essential that you do not alter your bike's suspension
geometry. This applies particularly to your bike's loaded ride
height front and rear. The ride height effects the weight distribution.
The weight distribution effects the angle of the front fork.
And the front fork angle effects the steering.
This can happen
If you fit a new shock absorber, with a fresh spring, your bike
will almost certainly end up front-heavy if you have a worn
front fork.
A high rear end a low front will give
the front forks a steep angle. This results in a quick and slightly
nervous steering, especially when braking hard. You may also
feel a tendency of the bike to oversteer (the rear wheel looses
traction first and the rear end breaks loose). This is not a
good combination!
If you only fit new front fork springs
the result will be the opposite. A high front ride height will
give a flat fork angle and slow, inaccurate steering. You may
also feel understeer (the front wheel looses traction first
and the front end "push" in corners). Again, not a
good combination, but slightly better, at least at high speeds!
It is wise to
check
Most bikes have front forks that will match the Öhlins
shock absorbers perfectly. But if Öhlins front fork springs
are available for your bike, this should be taken as a recommendation
to please switch to new Öhlins springs.
On a few bikes a switch is absolutely
necessary! Your Öhlins dealer will know which models require
Öhlins fork springs.
It is important to remember that European
Superbike champion Anders Anderson and the rest of our test
riders always test on brand-new bikes. If your bike is a couple
of years old, it is wise to check that your bike's front fork
and fork springs are still up to their original standards of
handling and performance.
And please, do not forget the oil! Öhlins
new front fork oil is available in three different viscosities
specially formulated for conventional and cartridge front forks.
Öhlins new front fork oil radically
reduces friction (essential on forks with large sweep areas)
and will not fade even under the hardest use.
Winning concept
All Öhlins shock absorbers are based on Öhlins successful
application of the "de Carbon" concept. The de Carbon
concept means that the damping oil is placed under pressure
by gas and separated from the gas by a floating piston.
This concept has many advantages. It
prevents the chance of cavitation, which happens when the oil
can not move fast enough and becomes hard as a rock (compare
with an unsuccessful dive into water). It offers better cooling,
especially if the shock absorber has an external reservoir (the
external reservoir is in fact an extension of the shock absorber
and more oil, larger cooling areas improve performance and durability).
Gives more consistent damping, regardless of the shock absorber's
working temperature. And it makes the shock absorber last longer.
But there are two exceptions, some extremely
short models of Öhlins Type 36 and 46 are emulsion type
of shock absorbers (oil and gas mixed in the shock absorber),
see "Two concepts, three types" to the right.
More
than 300 models
Öhlins manufactures more than 300 different shock absorber
models, each model tailor-made for one specific bike. The basic
set-up of each shock absorber model, both the design of the
shim stacks and the calibration of the adjusters, is tested
both on road and track. They are the results of true tests with
your bike and not guesswork!
All Öhlins shock absorbers have
one or several adjusters. The minimum is an adjustable spring
and the maximum number of adjusters you will find on the top-of-the-line
models of Öhlins Type 36P, 46P and 46H. These shock absorbers
feature a double-acting rebound/compression damping adjuster
in the piston shaft, an independent compression damping adjuster
in the external reservoir, adjustable length and a clever little
hydraulic adjuster for the spring preload.
Your
own set-up
You can fine-tune the shock absorber with the adjusters. You
optimize it for your weight, your riding style and the road
conditions. Compensate for extra load or a passenger with the
spring adjuster. This means that you keep the balance that your
bike was designed with.
If the shock absorbers bottom when you
are riding with a heavy load on rough road and, the trick is
not to increase spring preload. That might cause your bike to
ride high in the rear and have a negative effect on the steering,
see "This can happen".
Instead you should increase compression
damping with the adjuster in the external reservoir. This adjuster
increases compression damping without changing rebound damping,
see "When you are riding".
The double-acting rebound/compression
damping adjuster in the piston shaft modifies the damping at
a ratio of approximately 90% rebound, 10% compression. 10% effect
on compression may seem like very little but feels like a lot.
Remember that the spring absorbs most of the load transferred
during a compression stroke. And you need the 90% on rebound
to stop the spring from extending too fast during the rebound
stroke!
Riding
flat out
Too much compression damping you will give you a harsh ride
as your bike "jumps" along the road.
With too much rebound damping your bike
will have difficulties with several bumps in a row. The suspension
will not extend fast enough between bumps, your bike will ride
lower and lower and eventually the suspension will bottom.
By changing the length of the shock
absorber you can effect the sensitivity of the steering without
effecting anything else.
For flat-out race track performance,
adjust your bike lower at the rear end. A nice amount of understeer
makes you a lot happier than a lot of oversteer, especially
if you end up in a corner a bit too fast!
Learning how to use the adjusters will
take time but you will quickly appreciate them once you know
the tricks. Even Max Biaggi and Troy Corser sometimes need a
specialist!
Your own internal set-up is also possible.
The Öhlins shock absorber is not a "disposable"
shock absorber but one you can take apart, revalve, readjust
and overhaul.
Precision
is the difference
All Öhlins shock absorbers are designed to win races. The
ones you can buy are exactly the same as the ones we sell to
top teams and riders. The set-up might be different and by all
means there are prototypes around. Progress can not be stopped!
The Öhlins concept is not a secret,
it is precision. Precision gives superior control of the damping
oil and is the key to our success. Precision also results in
quality, a quality you can both see and feel.
For the ultimate in performance, Öhlins
is the ultimate choice. |
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you are riding 
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