I emailed ohlins several times about the installation of the unit and they just keep on giving me the run around. I can see how hard it is to answer a few simple questions...
I guess they don't give a shit weather you buy it or not...
I tested one of these shock about a month ago on my 10R at Thunderhill and really liked it. It has a small harness and mini ECU that plugs into the stock wire harness to take the real time info and convert it to data to tune the shock.
Ohlins hasn't had the press release yet, so I can't go into details other than to say it's badass and I really liked it.
The Formula i race in allows for unlimited modifications to the bikes - so i am sure it will be allowed here!
Here is what our rule book says:
Eligibility of Motorcycle
8.7.1 Only 600cc and larger capacity superbike motorcycles are permitted to take part.
8.7.2 No Super Moto/Super Motard machines will be eligible to compete.
8.7.3 The only restriction on tyres is that they are supplied through a homologated importer/distributor.
8.7.4 There is no restriction on any performance modifications that may be done on the motorcycle, exhaust, air filter, suspension, tuning etc. No super charging, turbo charging or NOS is allowed.
8.7.5 Silencers must be fitted to all motorcycles.
I read an article about this shock a few months ago. I think it was in Australian Motorcycle News. It was probably syndicated from a European magazine. They liked it a lot. From what I recall it differs from other applications in that it doesn't have it's own controller but changes character in line with the power mode selected. I think they chose Kawasaki to do the first after market one because of its electronic sophistication. I will be very interested to hear what you think of it. I'm a throw back from the 70s and 80s and I'm just gob smacked at how well this bike does everything bog stock
ive been following this idea for a while now... and now since the hp4 s1000rr is using this tech for the front suspension, i think it will be more available for the masses...
There will tons of reviews coming out pretty soon..I know M-USA has their review out already..here's my .02..
I did the baseline testing for Ohlins months ago on my ZX10...I really liked it. They claim it's not a race shock, but it worked almost as well. (Almost as in 95% or better) It absorbed bumps noticeably better and you couldn't feel it adjust at all when riding. We ran it back to back with a standard TTX and if I were to nit-pick one thing, it would be at race pace, initial throttle coming off a corner, it didn't holds its geometry as well...that it. (Yes we did try many different settings to see what it would do..springs, preload, etc) I'm getting one, loved it....
My shock came in on 26 Nov from the states - did my first race with it on 1 Dec, and I also got the Attack Link.
So my feedback might be based on the shock, might be the link or it might be both together - but damn i just love my bikes suspension now, the bike is so much better on the track, handling is awesome and even my tyre wear has improved.
So in short - Love it!!!
The only thing i did not like about the shock - when you do the install, there is no way to test if the Ohlins ECU is actually working, you plug it in and hope it works - but worked it did!!
Had mine installed yesterday, after a short test ride the bike feels SO much better...can't feel adjustments happening on the fly, just feels so much more "planted" and precise.
Doing a decent test run out in the twisties today.
Did a mix of ~400 kms of tight twisties on wet & slippery roads (TC on 3, full power) followed by high speed sweepers in the dry (TC on 1, full power). Night and day difference over the stock rear shock. 10/10. Feel is incredible, corners on rails now, point and shoot. Correct rear spring for my weight installed by the Ohlins installer, he also dropped the OEM front forks by 4mm and increased the front fork oil level (she's done 32k kms and needed fresh fork oil).
I wish I could buy the attack link (or others) with the needle bearings in them. That way I could do back to back comparisons. The electronic adjustable shock might be able to take some of the harshness out at the slower speeds. I'm interested to hear more about it.
And JDS. I am just not sold on a bike that feels harsh. I'm hoping to avoid that on mine. Also, we need another zx10 test day next year. What do you say?
Kinda agree with you on the harsh/stiff thing. Now, with electronic dampening could we not stay with the softer spring - then let the electronic dampening take over when heavy on the gas or brakes(front suspension)?
Count me in on the ZX10 test day . Late Apr or early May would be nice:mrgreen:
With him sitting on the bike(I believe) from fully extended.
Just a note. I only have 5 mm of static sag on mine with the after market plate in & the pre-load maxed out. 10 mm of static sag with 0 pre-load, & 23 mm of sag with me on the bike with full gear on (0 pre-load).
Hey, I just talked to Dan Kyle. Unfortunately we cant buy the electronics seperately. Well we can, but the cost is ridiculus as opposed to just buying a new shock for under $1400
Also, these shocks arnt programable by the average Joe racer. No touching the dampening at all. Install it & let it do its thing. As Bounce stated earlier.
Hmmm. Anybody want to buy a good used TTX for a G4?
^^ No probs. Had to talk to Dan on a few others things that he cleared up.
Yours was a good question. If we could have sent our TTX's in for under $500 fitment it may have been worth the while.
Dan never did said how much it would actually cost. Just said it would be expensive. Probably best to see how the others like them. Ken Hills post is interesting.
Not sure if anybody has posted or picked up the following problems with the EC Shock.
If the bike has Error code 39 and FI light - the shock does not work and you will not have any active changes inside the shock.
Also
If you have a 2013 ZX10 with an Electronic Steering damper and remove the damper to fit a better one - and the bike give you an error - the shock does not work either.
Not sure what other error's will cause the shock to stop working.
Really wish the shock came with some software and cabling to test it to make sure it works - this has cost our team about 8 brand new rear tyres that got ripped to shreds before pin pointing the problem.
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