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Servicing F4 Ohlins Steering Damper.

29K views 55 replies 17 participants last post by  Glenno 
#1 · (Edited)
Right, I was scared to do this myself because if you get it wrong then it can hurt, well that was my thinking back then.
I now know, thanks to YouTube, that it is realy easy to replace the oil if there is nothing wrong with the seals, and this how you do it okay.
First you remove the steering damper from the bike :stickpoke

Okay jokes aside.
Go buy youself some fork oil, I used Silkolene 7.5W racing oil. 1 Litre bottle.
Get yourself a 2L ice-cream tub (empty one :naughty:).
A. Remove the Allen head grub screw which sits opposite to the tension adjuster knob, also turn the adjuster to the fully "hard"position.

Now there is two ways to go about with the next move. I will show the one way only.
This is the easy way but the "you have to be more carefull at the end way".
B.Turn the damper upside down into a jar and move it up and down on the rod - you will see some very ugly oil come out and also a *** filter like black sponge - then a black metal tube about half the size of a *** will fall out, remember which way round this goes back in.

C.Once you have moved the casing up and down the rod till no more oil comes out, you place the entire damper in the ice-cream tub and submerge in oil that you already bought remember. Also turn the damper adjusting knob to the "ëasy" setting.

D. Have a Beer

E.Now this is important - keep the damper submerged at ALL times from here on in. So make sure you have all the bits you removed right there next to you and some clean rags.

F. Now slowly move the damper to and fro on the rod - I found keeping one of the ends on the rod makes for a good place to grip - and now winding the adjuster knob to the "soft" setting if you have not allready done this - keep doing this slowly until all the left-over oil had come out and had been replaced by the new oil. But more importanly, till no more air bubbles come out.
It is very important that you can not feel any air inside the damper, so keep doing it till you are sure you can neither feel or hear any air.
Your last movement is to be with the damper sucking oil IN, so make sure you become clear on this as you suck oil in and blow bubbles out.

G. Now, while still keeping the damper submerged, insert the metal tube with the smaller end first - push it all the way in using something like a scribe - till you can see the thread for the crub screw. Still submerged !

H Now submerge the sponge - squeeze some oil through it to fully empregnate it - and insert it into the damper.

I. STILL submerged.
Now fit the grub screw back it and tighten with a Allen wrench.

Okay now you can take the damper out, wipe it and test it.
Make sure you have NO air in the damper my moving it around and operating it again.
If you hear air bubbles, put the damper back in oil, remove grub screw and insides as before and repeat the steps from E.

Good luck, I did this with my damper and was pleasantly surprised by how big a difference it made, and also how dirty the oil was inside there.

Have another Beer on a job well done.
 

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#7 ·
Got one of those things on my Cafe HD and it's started to get a wee bit of air at the end of travel. Thanks a bunch for posting this one. Did you find your choice of oil to give you the damping you wanted?

Gonna' need a bucket for mine- really long rod.
 
#8 ·
aarrgghh



Lee , "Harley's" don't need dampers, they need a lot more B4 we can call them bikes.
Seriously, the 5W felt a bit like the OEM shit. 7.5W gave me more options, with a few clicks spare.
If you watch my race vid's, do not worry, most of my head shaking is suspension related and not damper. I know where it is damper related, but not sure how to translate yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB9zavd20-M
 
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#13 ·
Welcome to the forum mate.



When you say the bike is very averse to low speed cornering - please explain some more, do you mean carpark riding or 20-40kph riding etc. What does it do, hard to turn ?
What condition is the tyre's, front especially ?
Have you taken the bike for a ride without the damper on ? What does your steering feel like then ?

And then lastly, yes, if you have the screw/adjuster tuned all the way anti-clockwise and it's still very stiff, then there is something wrong in there.

Let me know what you find, good luck.
 
#14 ·
Hi Donsy
Thanks for the rapid reply and the warm welcome.
I mean carpark riding I guess. i
If I'm at the lights waiting to turn 90', when I go to execute the turn, the bike would rather run wide. Once up to 40kph or so it's just like any other bike.
I haven't ridden it without the damper yet.
Don't suppose someone would mind unscrewing each end of theirs and trying to push it across with one finger also? There's very little online about these Ohlins dampers, I expect they're usually bullet proof.
With 4 previous owners, it's possible someone put engine oil or something in it, but why? I don't know.
Ciao
 
#15 ·
Okay, I have one right here in my hands, new 7.5W fork oil in it, unwound and it moves very easily. I think yours need some new oil. Bike running wide could be because of the damper, it sure sounds like it, but also rear ride height etc. I would say sort the damper first, it really is a 20min job mate.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Hi guys.
Wow this forum is excellent. Usually people just bitch and moan and say stuff to make themselves appear like a genius.
Ok, so thanks to Donsy, adecritten, and Richrox75 for expending some brain power on my problem.
I forgot to say its got brand new Pirelli Diablos on it :smoking: so I'll check the profiles with the manual tomorrow but I reckon they're good.
The manual also gives a preload shock height I believe so could check that too, likewise with the forks, but what I really think is I'll buy some 7.5wt and rebuild that damper!
I must say the more I ride the bike the more I'm impressed with it, and I certainly don't wish I'd gotten a Ducati instead at this point.
I'll get back to you when I've done it.
Oh yeah, and it had new wheel bearings all round when the tyres went on. Apparently early models eat wheel bearings regularly eh.
Ciao
 
#23 ·
I don't think they do a Diablo in a 65 profile anymore which means that the front end is most likely slightly taller than it should be if it has a 70 fitted, it shouldn't be too noticeable but will make the bike steer slightly longer than it would if the 65 was fitted

The issue with the 750 is that the steering head angle is a little more acute than the 1000 so its not a good idea to drop the forks through the yokes to compensate for the 70 tyre profile, under heavy breaking its possible for the tyre to touch the radiator.

You could however compensate by raising the rear ride height to say 195mm.

FWIW I wasn't aware that the early bikes ate wheel bearings, but would advise that not only should you get the rear hub serviced PDQ but also to check the spherical bearings in the ride height adjuster as they are certainly prone to wear.

This is simple to check, all you need is to suspend the rear of the bike off the floor a few inches (I have used tie-down from the ceiling in the past) and then stick a plank of wood under the rear wheel an gently try to move the back wheel up and down, if there is any play in those bearings you will feel it through the plank and also possibly hear it too.

You will need a mate to steady the bike whilst you are doing this however unless of course you have either an Abba Stand or similar.

Best of luck, keep us informed as to your progress.


:smoking:​
 
#24 ·
So i rebuilt the dampner with 7.5wt oil today.
The oil that came out was very clean which makes me wonder if it was not the factory ohlins oil.
Anyway now the rod takes only half the effort to push across by hand, so its a win so far IMO.
I'll put it back on and ride it tomorrrow.
To be continued.....
 
#25 ·
As you probably already know, the most important thing with steering dampers of any make is that when they change direction there is absolutely no air gap whatsoever. Even the slightest lack of damping at the change of direction point is not good and it will be amplified may times through the bars.

Hope its all worked out for you.


:smoking:​
 
#27 ·
this goes back in.

C.Once you have moved the casing up and down the rod till no more oil comes out, you place the entire damper in the ice-cream tub and submerge in oil that you already bought remember. Also turn the damper adjusting knob to the "ëasy" setting.

D. Have a Beer

E.Now this is important - keep the damper submerged at ALL times from here on in. So make sure you have all the bits you removed right there next to you and some clean rags.

F. Now slowly move the damper to and fro on the rod - I found keeping one of the ends on the rod makes for a good place to grip - and now winding the adjuster knob to the "soft" setting if you have not allready done this - keep doing this slowly until all the left-over oil had come out and had been replaced by the new oil. But more importanly, till no more air bubbles come out.
It is very important that you can not feel any air inside the damper, so keep doing it till you are sure you can neither feel or hear any air.
Your last movement is to be with the damper sucking oil IN, so make sure you become clear on this as you suck oil in and blow bubbles out.

G. Now, while still keeping the damper submerged, insert the metal tube with the smaller end first - push it all the way in using something like a scribe - till you can see the thread for the crub screw. Still submerged !

H Now submerge the sponge - squeeze some oil through it to fully empregnate it - and insert it into the damper.

I. STILL submerged.
Now fit the grub screw back it and tighten with a Allen wrench.

.
How did you get this wrong ?

The hard part is finding a trough-like container, long but narrow, and ideally deep enough that the reservoir can be positioned on top.
In my case I wondered if a subsurface rebuild of the entire piston assembly might have cut down on the amount of stroking (!) to get the thing bled up.
I believe the little foam wad is there to let tiny air bubbles reside in the chamber without being inducted back into the fluid, but it will only tolerate so much.
If you don't have a 2liter Ice cream container use a 2l Coke bottle lying it on it's side with the lid on, but cut open allong the belly, like a coffin with the lid off.
 
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#28 ·
I have a stable of 12 motorcycles in my garage 3 unique performance builds in the works and a race team in which we run a EBR1190RS. At one time Ohlins made the best suspension components money could buy. Today there are european companies such as FG Gubilinni, Mupo,Bitubo and WP who have not only surpassed Ohlins in Quality but also cost less.If you look MotoGP and WSB many teams are opting to use these new suspensions.Dont get me wrong , Ohlins is still makes the best of the best when money is no object. But these are special 1 off units you and I cannot buy.
Ohlins steering dampers have been fragile for as long as i can remember . FG Gubilinni has come out with a new radial steering damper that works in conjuction with the Grip One traction control system. Bitubo and Mupo are pure gas units that are at least 2 steps above the Ohlins damper in performance and 3 steps above in durability....You probably think I have something against Ohlins... not true , Ohlins products are better than my riding ability. These are opinions of My rider and other top national Riders/racers. Im passing on this information if rebuilding the ohlins dampers get to be a PITA AND the Fg Gubilinni,Mupo and Bitubo units also Cost less.

PS Ohlins is a good product and a known product . Yes there are new , better products now but there are also new suspension companies that are just flash&bling. I dont like to bad mouth on a public forum but if you have a product question , feel free to pm me . I am not a salesman ect and dont make a dime on ANY product, I just like to help people get the best components and dont want to see anouther motorcyclist get screwed . take care jake
 
#29 ·
+100

I have a stable of 12 motorcycles in my garage 3 unique performance builds in the works and a race team in which we run a EBR1190RS. At one time Ohlins made the best suspension components money could buy. Today there are european companies such as FG Gubilinni, Mupo,Bitubo and WP who have not only surpassed Ohlins in Quality but also cost less.If you look MotoGP and WSB many teams are opting to use these new suspensions.Dont get me wrong , Ohlins is still makes the best of the best when money is no object. But these are special 1 off units you and I cannot buy.
Ohlins steering dampers have been fragile for as long as i can remember . FG Gubilinni has come out with a new radial steering damper that works in conjuction with the Grip One traction control system. Bitubo and Mupo are pure gas units that are at least 2 steps above the Ohlins damper in performance and 3 steps above in durability....You probably think I have something against Ohlins... not true , Ohlins products are better than my riding ability. These are opinions of My rider and other top national Riders/racers. Im passing on this information if rebuilding the ohlins dampers get to be a PITA AND the Fg Gubilinni,Mupo and Bitubo units also Cost less.

PS Ohlins is a good product and a known product . Yes there are new , better products now but there are also new suspension companies that are just flash&bling. I dont like to bad mouth on a public forum but if you have a product question , feel free to pm me . I am not a salesman ect and dont make a dime on ANY product, I just like to help people get the best components and dont want to see anouther motorcyclist get screwed . take care jake
I agree with you one hundred percent Jake, I have been saying this, or asking this question fro quite some time.
Our biggest problem is often getting these companies to supply a product that would work on the MV, and the other is of coarse to find a re-liable source to get these parts serviced without always having to send them back to Europe.
I have been looking towards the Andreani fork inserts and the Gubilini rear shock for some time, but I see Mupo hasd come out with a range of gear that would work on the MV too, I am not very familiar with them though.
Thanks for your input, always good to hear from the Pro's.
 
#32 ·
:yo:I actually planned to do this this Tomorrow. It's rather convenient that you bumped it, now I don't have to search for the thread. I bought the silkolene 7.5 you recommended in the first post. I will let you know tomorrow how it goes, but with your tutorial, I expect it to go smoothly. :drummer:
 
#34 · (Edited)
I took care of this this morning, and the guide was great. I accomplished it in about 30min, on the kitchen table, with the help of my three year old. It might have only taken 20 min otherwise. I wasn't really able to have the beer as it was 9am.
The bike has less than 5k on he clock, but the oil was still pretty gross. Good prep and gloves minimized the mess.

The only thing I didn't see in the previous posts (I might have missed it) was the direction that the final stroke should be to fill the body, which is the rod fully extended to the adjustment screw side of the damper.

Great post Donsy, thanks again for sharing your knowledge on the forum. The 7.5 Silkolene works great and feels a bit smoother than the old dirty stuff.
 

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#38 ·
Good one mate, love the iPad on the side with the instructions opened. :)
Yeah, I usually read the instructions a few times before I start a project, but I always forget some little step and it screw it up. I had my daughter scrolling slowly down the page a few times (she wasn't wrist deep in oil) to make sure I didn't miss anything, which I almost did with the final "pull" stroke before sealing it back up.
 
#36 ·
Thanks for the instruction Donsey . The info you gave is very worth while being Ohlins dampers are renouned for leaky seals. FG Gubilinni has come out with a rotary damper that is connected to the traction control unit and the front/rear suspension. I dont know the particulars but your bikes suspension is interlinked and if you start to tuck the front end the computer/electronics on the bike backs off untill you have enough grip and do not loose the front end and low side.
Also Bitubo and Mupo make great gas unit dampers that are tough as nails and have better feel than the ohlins damper. For the record , Ohlins makes great products but there are better products on the market and most American riders are unaware of this being the majority of bike shops here only carry Ohlins. For this reason I try to inform others on some of the top shelf components available in Europe and Austrailia.
 
#37 ·
...and we are thanking you for that Jake!
 
#40 ·
Only ever changed/replaced the seal on one of them Ade, never had one leak yet, not to say they won't in the future. The seals I got from a guy in Germany, no numbers on (Ohlins trick?) and it was a bastard to get the old one's out. At that stage I did not even think of keeping them, as I was dead set on never using these steering dampers again.
I sold that steering damper and the one I'm using on #2 bike is still going great.
 
#41 ·
The reason I mentioned it was that I was having a chat with Dave Hagen who is a highly respected Ohlins/Maxton authorised service engineer over here, he was saying that its the tiny rubber particulates in the fluid that have in fact contaminated it in the fist place causing it to go black and that replacing the tiny seal as a matter of course whilst you have it apart would be the correct thing to do as the seal is obviously worn. I tend to agree with him.

Just a thought.​
 
#42 · (Edited)
Not arguing the fact mate, just saying what I have done.
If you think back you might remember how quite a few of us struggled for months to try and get the seals, no Ohlins dealer would sell us the parts to service these, not even JDS could get the parts.

So as far as I'm concerned, Ohlins can go hopping sideways, pretty sure I told you that before. Maybe if they looked after the regular guys nearly as well as they do with the top race teams, we might have access to parts too.

All I did was show the guys how I did it, I never said it's the Ohlins way, you're more that welcome to sell them the seals Ade.

Just a suggestion.

PS. In all honesty Ade, the Ohlins guys over here charge about $300 for a steering damper service, I can't see that being nearly fair.
 
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