Ohlins Rear Shock Models

zenwhipper · Mar 25, 2014

Folks-

I am desiring to upgrade my rear shock (and the front fork as well). I am pretty settled on Ohlins. There appears to be three models for my 2008. There also is a wide price spread depending on what model you choose. I am looking for some advice.

I am your average sport touring bloke. I do a lot of loaded touring. I usually have my side cases filled and a duffle on the back. Likely weight I add to the rear is... 25 to 50 pounds depending on how long I am gone. I am gone for day rides and up to two weeks at a time as well. I enjoy the twisties and sweepers - but never push it too much. I weigh 180 lbs and the bike just turned 20K miles. I have noticed the suspension seems a bit wallowy anymore.

My first requirement in the shock is a remote preload adjuster so I can easily change the pre-load depending on my load. Second, yes, I would like full adjustability with compression and rebound. Heck, I even like a little bling by having a remote shock reservior. But- how much of all this do I really need? Can I get by with the low end shock S46DR1?

What have folks purchased and why?

Thanks mates!

CAJW · Mar 26, 2014

YA342 with remote reservoir and adjuster. My weights and riding style is very similar to yours and I'm very happy with my setup. I often ride two up and it handles that task fine and I hardly ever mess with the settings so the remote adjuster is mainly eye candy on my bike, but it is cool for the bling factor!

yamafitter · Mar 26, 2014

I ended up with a Wilbers with a remote hydraulic preload adjuster because at the time no one had figured which Ohlins would fit the 06AE. If you are going to go to the trouble to change the rear shock to my mind you want the most amount of adjustability to dial in the suspension to your particular riding needs. This means you want both compression and rebound adjustment with an easy way to adjust preload and that means a YA707 which is the Ohlins equivalent to the model of Wilbers that I have on my bike.

A GenII needs the remote reservoir the for compression adjustment since the fixed reservoir will not fit on the GenII mostly due to the clearance issues with the ABS module on the GenII. Having the hydraulic preload adjuster makes setting the ride height adjustment very easy to go from solo with empty or no bags to touring mode with a full load on. I have a bad habit of taking the kitchen sink when touring and if I don't take the time to adjust the preload and add a few clicks of rebound and compression I notice the change in the handling on my bike.

Queensland Ken · Mar 26, 2014

You can pick the YA707 up for $990

I bought mine from JC Motors a few years ago, $990.00, order it with the spring rating you want.

creg-ny-baa · Mar 26, 2014

You'll notice a big improvement whichever way you go. For me, on the FJR, I'd want the remote preload adjustment, because that you can definitely feel, and you'll make adjustments that you wouldn't otherwise. Everything comes with rebound damping adjustability; I rarely change that once I get it dialed in. It was the same with compression when I had that on a Penske and an Elka; those were track-focused bikes. But, if your riding conditions change a lot, having that tunability is good. Again, for me, on the FJR, I'd get the remote preload adjustment, take the compression, get the tailored spring...and ask for the check. My 0.02.

900gc · Mar 27, 2014

If you got the $$, the convenience of remote adjusters is great to have. Performance wise, even the base model is a big upgrade over the stock one.

PapaUtah · Apr 8, 2014

I went with the YA707 in my 13. Finally got to ride it today...pure heaven...the 2013 stock shock is a vast improvement over the previous factory shock, but the Ohlins is in an entirely different league.

flagstaff · Apr 8, 2014

I was in the same position a couple of weeks ago. I dropped the idea of the Ohlins and went with a Gen III shock. The price was great as were the results. Your weight and riding style are pretty close to mine. Here is my write up on the new shock:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/157212-replaced-gen-ii-shock-with-a-gen-iii-shock/

MCRIDER007 · Apr 9, 2014

flagstaff said:
I was in the same position a couple of weeks ago. I dropped the idea of the Ohlins and went with a Gen III shock. The price was great as were the results. Your weight and riding style are pretty close to mine. Here is my write up on the new shock:https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/157212-replaced-gen-ii-shock-with-a-gen-iii-shock/

A bit off topic but I missed your write up......glad to hear that the GEN3 shock met your needs.

flagstaff · Apr 9, 2014

MCRIDER007 said:
flagstaff said:

I was in the same position a couple of weeks ago. I dropped the idea of the Ohlins and went with a Gen III shock. The price was great as were the results. Your weight and riding style are pretty close to mine. Here is my write up on the new shock:https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/157212-replaced-gen-ii-shock-with-a-gen-iii-shock/

Click to expand...

A bit off topic but I missed your write up......glad to hear that the GEN3 shock met your needs.

Thanks for the tip. It is a good solution and a great value. I'm still tweaking the damping, six click like on the old shock was not enough. I'm at eight now and waiting until I ride some more.

Sorry if I'm taking this further off topic, but this seems to be a real option for aftermarket replacements.

Ohlins Rear Shock Models

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