SO I got my Ohlins last week. Ordered from Fuel Moto and went with the baseline model #HD 022. Put 'em on. Bike rides nice, but I need to make sure the preload adjustment is correct so I know that I am getting the most out of them. After putting a hundred plus miles on them I decided to take some measurements.
Admittedly my measuring method may not be perfectly accurate. I jacked the bike up so the rear wheel was off the ground. I tied a piece of mason's twine to the fender strut cover and hung it straight down across the axle nut. I marked the twine with a sharpie where it met the center of the axle nut. I then put the bike on the ground and measured again. I did this a couple different times and didn't get terribly consistent results, but the average seemed to be in the accepted range recommended by Ohlins. They say 5-15mm. Mine is about 11ish. Then I put the bike in the chock sat on it, and had my wife mark the string again. I did not have the bags on the bike for any of this, and I wasn't wearing all my riding gear, but I was just looking to get a ballpark idea to start with. Total sag with me on the bike is only about 22mm. The shocks have 84mm total stroke, so 1/3 should be 28mm. I didn't really mess with adjusting much because my wife had other stuff to do and wouldn't be able to help right now.
My thought is if I decrease the preload enough to get proper 28 mm of rider sag, then the free sag will be excessive, making me wonder if perhaps the spring rate is not right. They were ordered specifically for my weight, and the bike does ride pretty well, but I don't want to settle for close enough. Again, my measurements may not be perfect so I don't want to get ahead of myself here. I will call Fuelmoto tomorrow to discuss, but I was wondering if anyone else could share some experience.
Also, does anyone have a link to an Ohlins spring rate chart? I can't seem to find one. My springs are marked 00280 21/25. I weigh about 170 and the bike is an 04 Road King.
Lastly, on these shocks, how much change is made by each turn of the adjuster. If I did need to go from 22 to 28mm how many turns do I need to make to get that 6mm difference.
Sorry for rambling. Discuss.

 

Check out the motorcyclemetal site. Howard has good instructions with photo's etc.

 

The "/25" on the springs means it is a 25 N/mm spring. That should be ok for you, great for two up, and maybe a bit firm for your weight one up.

If it is firm, try backing off the preload a bit. My HD159s really like 30mm rider sag. Try setting the sag with some weight on your back, or strapped to the bike, that way you can get closer to normally loaded. (Surprisingly, my saddlebags are 13 lbs each). But really, I suggest you not be afraid to lighten the preload if the ride is too firm, or crank it down some if it is too mushy.

For measuring sag, have you seen that huge vernier caliper they sell at harbor freight? $9.95. You can just go across the shock mounting bolts, very easy to get repeatable measurements. It will be off by cos of the shock angle (24 degrees on my RK), you can correct for that if you want.

I'll post a link to a spreadsheet later.

 

For spring rates, the link is here:

http://www.fastbikeindustries.com/fa...stries-faq.htm

It is the "spring assortment" spreadsheet.

Also, on my shocks, I ended up with 23 N/mm springs, I am 210 and ride only one up. With those I get about 13 mm difference between bike only sag and bike+rider sag. I suggest you put some real miles on them though before you decide. When I finally got the springs right, I quit noticing them all the time and could just ride.

 

25nm should be perfect. I'm at 27nm on an Ultra, and I weigh around 210 with my gear on.

Then again, that's with JRI "B" shocks.

 

This might help:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact....0-d4ae52753a3b

 

Thanks for the replies. I guess before I get carried away here, I should focus on getting some accurate measurements. I may pick up one of those big HF calipers. Also, I have seen several people refer to the zip tie method, but I haven't been able to find anything outlining exactly how to go about that. Anyone?

 

The big calipers work well as does the big micrometer (about $9 if memory serves). Make sure the upper and lower shock bolts are in the same plane so you can get consistent measurements. If you've got a shelf or something to hang on to, that helps as you'll insure you have no weight on the ground.

You put the zip tie on the piston and shove it against the underside of the shock body. When you sit on the bike and compress the suspension, then jack the bike up again, you can see how much travel you're using. Only problem with this is getting accurate measurements since the piston is inside the spring.

The zip tie is also helpful to determine how much of the stroke you're using when riding.

 

the zip tie is placed around the rod and pushed up against the shock body, then as the rod goes in you will have a visual indicator on your shock travel, you really cant measure it, it s more of a visual indicator to ensure you have total travel on your shocks to aid in spring selection or copression adjustment if you have it i suppose ie if you had it so far off the shocks dont move lol

 

So I played around a little more. Tried to get some measurements using the zip tie. Near as I could tell free sag (bike only) is about 13mm. With me on the bike, it's about 26mm. So free sag is approaching the upper end of the range (5-15mm), and rider sag is not quite where it should be (28mm). I decreased the preload one full turn to hopefully get a little more sag. I didn't measure again after adjustment, but I took a ride and it definitely rode worse. Small bumps and little road imperfections were transmitting rather harshly. I changed preload back to the previous setting (initial out of the box) and the ride was smoother but the sag measurements still have me wondering if the spring might not be quite right.
The way everyone talks these shocks should be a night and day difference over my 12 inch air shocks, and I'm just not sure that I'm getting the full benefit of them just yet. Thoughts?