Ohlins vs. Penske

[yjleesvrr]

It doesn't take long for a motorsports enthusiast to run across the names of Ohlins and Penske when it comes to high performance suspension. Given that my Roadster is transitioning to its mid-life age, I'm beginning to consider what aftermarket brand I'll replace its suspension with. What is it about Ohlins in particular that warrants such a high price? Does anyone here have real-world experience with either of these brands? Anything beyond anecdotal evidence that these suspension component brands are truly superior to stock?

[R4R&R]

I've tried asking this question a while back - no real answers. I think all of the aftermarket shocks are an improvement over the OEM unit, but I wouldn't know which way to steer you when it comes to brand. I bought Wilburs shocks last fall and they are a great improvement over the OEM. The local club just got done with a group buy on Ohlins and some of the members have already installed theirs and love them. I started evaluating based on price and I think "Works" shocks were the least expensive, but you should consider factory support and what's involved in having them rebuilt. Also the knowlege of the person setting them up. At Wilburs, Klause did a great job of setting mine up for me - all I had to do was bolt them on but I think Wilburs is fighting the factory for support.

I think Vann has an Ohlins but hasn't replaced them both yet. I have replaced both with Wilburs. It would be interesting to see who is going to the spring Bash and have replaced their shocks. That may be a little too late you Yong, but it would be a good comparison.

If you're interested, you're welcome to ride my bike too see what the Wilburs feel like.

[wncbmw]

I have a friend who does a side business in suspension work and could have got me either Penske or Ohlins. Except, he said the Penske I wanted was not available for my bike. Don't know it that was all models for the 1150R or just the one with the adjustable pre-load.

I ended up with an Ohlin on the rear and it was a good improvement. Not as dramatic as past shocks on other bikes only because I recognized the symptoms before the handling went entirely to heck!

But believe me, when that butt-tightening twitch at speed leaned over went away, it was worth it!

Wilbers are popular but he says they are not made as good as the better shocks on the market. He also does a lot of rebuilding of shocks for people. Unfortunately, the stock BMW is not rebuildable.

[ProductUser]

I replaced my stock shocks with Ohlins some 25k miles ago. They did make a difference as the stock shocks were worn to bits. However, I'm not a very fast rider, so I should've went with Wilbers or something less expensive. Of course, there's nothing like the bling-bling that Ohlins provides

ProductUser

[fnfalman]

It doesn't take long for a motorsports enthusiast to run across the names of Ohlins and Penske when it comes to high performance suspension. Given that my Roadster is transitioning to its mid-life age, I'm beginning to consider what aftermarket brand I'll replace its suspension with. What is it about Ohlins in particular that warrants such a high price? Does anyone here have real-world experience with either of these brands? Anything beyond anecdotal evidence that these suspension component brands are truly superior to stock?

Anecdotal evidence? You mean like the top racing bikes using Penske or Ohlins?

I don't mean to sound harsh here but the stock BMW shocks are crap Tokicos. The only decent one that I know of in quite sometimes are the WPs that come standard on the R1200S and even with the WP (KTM use the hell out of them in their bikes) as stock shocks, Ohlins is still being offered.

The stock shocks, besides the crappy quality (ie don't last that long), have quite a great deal of wants when it comes to performance. Most of the times, the springs are too soft and then the valves aren't all that well calibrated for spirited riding and the oil isn't exactly top notch either.

My Aprilia Tuono has an aftermarket Ohlins rear shock installed and it was night and day over the stock Sachs (which is a lot better than the bottom barrel Tokico).

After a hair over two years and with the second BMW stock shocks done for, I have just ordered the Ohlins front and rear for my Rockster. BTW, price out the BMW stock crap and compare them to Ohlins. You don't save much at all.

I don't know anything about Wilbur, but anything has got to be better than the factory crap.

Oh, and Ohlins are rebuildable once they get worn out, which is a lot longer than the crap Tokico.

Did I mention that the BMW stock shocks are crap Tokico?

There are several good suspension makers available, it's just that Ohlins and Penske are more proliferated and better known.

PS It wouldn't be too bad if the stock shocks are rebuildable. I could have the shocks rebuilt by Race-Tech for a lot cheaper than buying a brand new set of Ohlins. But they're disposable pieces of junks, so what's a man to do?

And BTW, if anybody were to want to buy a set of Ohlins for reasonable prices, contact them up, ask for Mike or Ruben and tell them that HT sent you. You'll get not just the typical internet discount but a little extra because you're my acquaintance. I don't make a dime of any sales but simply offering fellow riders a chance at saving some additional cash from a reputable mail order place. http://www.motorhelmets.com

[CycleRob]

I put on a set of Ohlins on March 24, 2004.with 33,000 miles (53,108km). The rear shock started leaking mid summer of 2006 around the chrome shaft's seal to the point of gathering oily mud, but not yet dripping. That was at about 53,000 miles (95,295km). So . . . . . 20K miles and a little over 2 years of life and it needs to be "serviced" by Ohlins. I'm fully expecting Ohlins telling me the shaft also needed replacement and it'll be an additional arm-n-a-leg. Right now the shaft's oily mud is getting even messier, which means my joy of procrastination is nearly all gone. I need to swap it out, send it in and git-r-done before this spring's Beakster Bash. I don't plan on flying at the old, pre-retirement CycleRob's spirited pace, so the stock shock should be OK if the Ohlins service op takes too long. The dealer price on these shocks I paid is very very near retail price, still over a grand. It's a good thing I kept the stock shocks and put them in the molded foam pocket safety of the elaborate Ohlins boxes.

The Ohlins handling improvement was noticeably smoother on tiny bumps, dramatically better on bumpy curves. Besides that, it's just plain nice looking with it's yellow spring and high quality componetry look and feel of the preload knob assembly. It's not snobbery to me. It's the satisfaction of adding better parts that have the ability to make me a better, safer, faster, more comfortable rider.

If I had it to do over, I would give more weight to the other competing shock brands than I did in March of 2004.

[fnfalman]

Cyclerob,

You got 20,000-miles out of the Ohlins before it began to leak. The factory shocks are pretty much done for by 14,000. I felt mine gone soft way before that but I dragged it out until then because I didn't know better. The footpegs started to drag too quickly and in my naivete I thought that I was riding the bike better. And then my Beemer Guru rode on it and pronounced that the stock shocks are done for. Doing a search on the R1150R forum will have people reporting that the stock are really done for by around 15,000-miles. So I put in another set of stock shocks that I got used from another Rockster that had 4000-miles. Eight thousand miles later and it's softer than overcooked pasta.

I can't stand it any more and shelled out the cash for Ohlins. Can't wait for them to come in so that I can try them out.

The Beemers are heavy and we BMW riders are known to put some serious mileages on, so 20,000-miles before leakage is pretty darn good.

A rebuild kit should be no more than $300 bucks plus labor (probably 1-hr at most). I doubt that the shaft is damaged unless the shock leaked out all the damn oil.

And even if money were tight then one can get the Race Tech revalve kit to rebuild the shocks with. Race-Tech valve kits are about 60% the price of Ohlins valve kits.

Life is too short to be riding on crappy BMW stock shocks.

[yjleesvrr]

At nearly 42k miles on the odo, my rear shock still appears to be normal. But I keep hearing how much better the Ohlins shock is compared to stock. I'll continue to do my due diligence to research how it stacks up against Penske and others. I intend to install a replacement shock on my SV650 first, and then the Roadster.

fnfalman - is your alias indicative of enthusiasm for the Belgian made assault rifle?

[R4R&R]

I think at 42k miles, your stock shocks are probably worn out; I know mine were at that age.

[fnfalman]

At nearly 42k miles on the odo, my rear shock still appears to be normal. But I keep hearing how much better the Ohlins shock is compared to stock. I'll continue to do my due diligence to research how it stacks up against Penske and others. I intend to install a replacement shock on my SV650 first, and then the Roadster.

fnfalman - is your alias indicative of enthusiasm for the Belgian made assault rifle?

First of all, yes, I have an affinity for a certain Belgium rifle.

Secondly, by all means, put the shocks on the SV first because you can rail the hell out of that thing. The Roadster is fun and deserves a good set of shocks too.

As far as how Ohlins stacks up against Penske and others, I think that you got it the other way around.

[sweatmark]

Good thread & comments.

Bought an Ohlins rear for the wife's Roadster, since I'd pretty much trashed the OE shock before she started riding the bike last season. The bike still handles OK for her, probably 'cause she's half my weight! Still, the Ohlins will come in handy this season.

Just so happens I also have a Penske 8981, originally purchased for my Buell, but now destined for my Rockster. Penske will try to retrofit the shock for R1150R use, though without external preload adjuster. Will have to send them my OE unit for measurements.

If I can talk them into making up a front shock, then we'll have an option besides Ohlins.

If the racing community is any indicator, then Penske and Ohlins are the dominant performance shocks, with a bunch of others playing 2nd fiddle (WP, Wilbers, Works, HyperPro...), followed by the non-rebuild-able OE-spec stuff found on our bikes and many others. Just my uninformed layman's perception!