Installed Ohlins rear shock on my Monster 1100 EVO

[Skybarney]

I love my Rear Ohlins.  It was a very worthwhile expense.  Had to powder coat the rear spring though!  Yellow is just awful.

[Curmudgeon]

I love my Rear Ohlins.  It was a very worthwhile expense.  Had to powder coat the rear spring though!  Yellow is just awful.

Come on... THAT was your GIRLFRIEND!!! 

[Skybarney]

Yes, yes it was.  She all but made me change it.  Guess there are worse things then being nagged over a bike mod.........Guess I will keep her.   

[SDRider]

I love my Rear Ohlins.  It was a very worthwhile expense.  Had to powder coat the rear spring though!  Yellow is just awful.

I don't mind the yellow Ohlins spring.  It looks exactly like the spring on the OEM shock, which I'm sure was intentional. 

What color did you powder coat it?  Red might look cool, white would be sweet if I had white wheels.  Black would just make it blend in and I'm not sure that's a good thing.  I'd have to see it before judging though.

[Curmudgeon]

Ohlins springs are yellow.  If you paint it, how will you read the number?  Mine's 41/115 L2110 BTW and I'm 175# plus gear. (Rear sag should more or less match the front.)

[SDRider]

Ohlins springs are yellow.  If you paint it, how will you read the number?  Mine's 41/115 L2110 BTW and I'm 175# plus gear. (Rear sag should more or less match the front.)

I'm not going to paint it.  Just wondering what Skybarney's looks like.

[Skybarney]

Looks like this:



Also, I took a picture of the numbers on the spring before I powder coated it.   

[Curmudgeon]

Looks like this:

Also, I took a picture of the numbers on the spring before I powder coated it.   

WHAT?! You didn't paint it "carbon fiber"? 

[SDRider]

Looks like this:



Also, I took a picture of the numbers on the spring before I powder coated it.   

That looks really nice. 

I'm fine with the yellow though.  If it bothered me I'd have powder coated the OEM spring 15,000 miles ago.   

[Skybarney]

Other than the license tag the spring was the only yellow thing on the bike.  Besides it was a cheap mod @40.00.

mmmm carbon spring.....  

[SDRider]

You remove the hugger using a cut down Allen wrench and then that gives access to the lower attach bolt. The top bolt can be removed/reinstalled and torqued with a universal joint. The torque might be minimally affected by the angularity of the universal.

Looking at the pic of your tire makes me wonder why you wanted to change the shock since the original does not appear to have been challenged. If it was for the Ohlins bling I can understand that, having been guilty of the same with my bikes and cars.

You mean because my rear tire doesn't look like this?


I don't think it is that bad for a street bike that has never seen the track.  The yellow line is where the edge wear stops on my tire and it is pretty evenly worn up to that point.  The blue line is where the compound changes.  A lot of my riding is commuting with weekend canyon riding with friends.  I may or may not get aggressive, depends on the traffic, temperature, how confident I'm feeling, etc.  Just haven't really pushed this set of tires too hard yet.  I have a couple thousand miles on this rear tire.  The front is much newer.


But yeah, I certainly haven't pushed it as hard as the tire above.  Maybe if I go find an empty parking lot with a nice smooth surface I can work on melting some rubber.  

[SpikeC]

 Go find some chip sealed road in central Oregon and you can get your tire shredded in no time at all!

[Skybarney]

Different tires also.  I would have to ride like an asshat in the mountains to make my Rosso 2's look like that melted tire. 

[Triple J]

Don't worry about how your tire looks. I race, and am plenty capable of shredding tires, yet my street tires have always looked pretty weak. Partly due to tire type and the cooler temps here, but also due to me riding tame on the street...too much stuff to go wrong IMO so I ride well within my limits on the street.

...and good suspension makes a difference whether you're pushing it or not.  

[stopintime]

Öhlins