ohlins spring swap and other rear shock questions)

[stringman]

So on my never ending quest to get my new tracer IO have just found a 2019 GT for sale at a good price. A bit more thanI wanted to pay but it has an Ohlin street shock fitted. My thinking was that I could then sell my Nitron R1 shock to recoup some money.

Problem is the guy had is spung for 420Lb I am more like 250lb

I suspect that would make the bike hideous to ride.

I know I can change the spring- but am confused as to what spring I would need and how much it would cost any thoughts ( I am in the UK)

Also my nitron has a spring rate of 625, is there an easy way to find out what that is in N/mm and what that weight is set up for?

Thanks in advance

[piotrek]

You could go on the Race Tech spring selector and punch in some numbers to see when it spits out 625 lbs/in (11.2 kg/mm). You can convert units at Norwest Suspension.

FWIW... my Nitron shock was built for the 200lb me plus touring stuff... 650 lbs/in.

[stringman]

4 minutes ago, piotrek said:

You could go on the Race Tech spring selector and punch in some numbers to see when it spits out 625 lbs/in (11.2 kg/mm). You can convert units at Norwest Suspension.

FWIW... my Nitron shock was built for the 200lb me plus touring stuff... 650 lbs/in.

Thanks for that, very interesting.

Do you mind me asking how heavy your touring stuff is?

I cant remember what weight the ordered it for but with gear I am about 210lb and have a top box so its about 225lb

 

[piotrek]

22 minutes ago, stringman said:

Do you mind me asking how heavy your touring stuff is?

My solo touring weight is approximately 305lbs. That includes everything else on the bike... my gear, top and side cases, tail/dry bag, crash bars etc. Not always this heavy... but it happens.

Edited April 10, 2022 by piotrek

[stringman]

well I picked up the bike yesterday

the rear spring is a 140nm/mm  or  800lb

it wasnt as bad as I thought handled really well round the smooth bends.

I have been advised to get a 115nm//mm  655lb as this is the minimun that ohlins reccomend for the GT. With gear and topbox etc I reckong is  105-110kg around 230-240lb

sound about right to you guys?

Thanks

[petshark]

2 hours ago, stringman said:

well I picked up the bike yesterday

the rear spring is a 140nm/mm  or  800lb

it wasnt as bad as I thought handled really well round the smooth bends.

I have been advised to get a 115nm//mm  655lb as this is the minimun that ohlins reccomend for the GT. With gear and topbox etc I reckong is  105-110kg around 230-240lb

sound about right to you guys?

Thanks

Yes, this is what I was told by Ohlins:

Quote

 

The standard spring has 115N/mm, the next harder spring is 130N/mm. That is 15N/mm which will be too hard for you alone I fear.

So it makes sense to aim for comfortability when you are riding alone and not with your cases on, so we and your dealer recommended the standard spring which is for 80 to 90kg.

 

 

[stringman]

Thanks for that

I have seen a second hand one on ebay so shall go for that

[PhotoAl]

On 4/10/2022 at 4:56 PM, piotrek said:

My solo touring weight is approximately 305lbs. That includes everything else on the bike... my gear, top and side cases, tail/dry bag, crash bars etc. Not always this heavy... but it happens.

How does the bike ride without the touring weight?  I'm contemplating a rear shock but wondering about spring weight.  I'm probably about the same, 180 pounds plus gear plus full sidecases, 58 liter duffle bag and a (mostly) empty top case.  I've been cranking up the preload but when "empty" it still seems to ride nice but firm.  The old conundrum, need to have best setup for long trips as I do a fair number but still not so bad when empty.  Sometimes on the trips I'll do day trips thru the mountains with not much weight.

[piotrek]

6 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

How does the bike ride without the touring weight? ...  The old conundrum, need to have best setup for long trips as I do a fair number but still not so bad when empty.  Sometimes on the trips I'll do day trips thru the mountains with not much weight.

My everyday is ~225lbs accounting for my gear and all the non-stock weight on the bike (small side cases and a tail bag). 650lb/in spring works very well. I hit the right rider and static sag numbers with little preload. I have to crank it a bit to get the numbers into the range when loaded, but it works.

[stringman]

AAAARRRRGHHH

Just when I thought it was sorted

I have a replacement spring off ebay which is the correct load weighting  41/115 but I have now noticed the 1st set of digits is different 21040  as opposed to 01092

Does this mean the spring wont fit my shock ( ya538)??

 

[Manxkiwi]

If it helps at all; on my 2019 GT I have an NTR2. I ended up with 750lb/in spring, which is approx 13.1Nm. Stock is 10! And woefully undersprung.

I am 80kg in civvies. The GTs longer swingarm necessitates a heavier spring than earlier gens. I do mixed riding, sometimes two up and the 750 seems spot on for me. I can get my sags no prob and the bike handles very well.

[stringman]

Thanks for the replies.

21040 is indeed wrong and being sent back I have a 01092-41/115 from a ducati on its way

Manxkiwi.

I am curious to what you are saying  i get the 750lb ( funnily enough the guy from Nitron said that i could technically use my Nitron R1 from my 17 tracer ( the size is the same buut the valving is different) and I would need a 750lb spring)  and i converted lg/inch to nm/mm and got 131 13.1

You said the stock is 10 (100nm/mm) Ohlins recommend 115 and I was advised that would be fine for me ( Im 88kg in civvies, so about 95 in gear  plus topbox and 5k load.

[Manxkiwi]

I would imagine you'll regret a 115Nm spring and will be upping it later. Here in NZ many roads are pretty bumpy, I was continually grounding out the bike on bumps in corners with the stock unit on full preload, riding solo! There was no way I would be touring two up with that. I guess it depends how bumpy your roads are and how you ride, but I would never go lower than my 750 knowing what I know now. YMMV..

Photos for reference: Not lovely vs Nitron loveliness.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Manxkiwi
Wording order.

[stringman]

I dont ever go two up.

[Manxkiwi]

Fair enough. I've got 5 turns of preload on the 750lb for solo riding. 10ish for two up.

Ultimately only you can make your call for yourself. Good luck anyway. If you found your spring choice to be not ideal, you can always change it again, it's not that big a deal.

Cheers.