New Ohlins Forks Or Cartridge Kit

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RandallNYC

RandallNYC

Joined
Jul 3, 2013
Messages
112
Location
Queens, NY
I have a 2013 Base. I weigh between 200 and 210. I'm too heavy for the stock suspension, the Sachs shock is trash, and I'm not waiting for my Marzocchi forks to fail. I know I'm going with Ohlins, because most local guys are familiar with them. TTX shock is a must. My only dilema is should I do the forks or the cartridge kit. $3300 vs $2300 for parts. I have no idea what they'll charge me for labor. I have a feeling the dealership will rape me in labor charges if I do the cartridges. What do you guys think?
 
I went with the forks. Benefit of doing that is if you ever decide to sell the bike, you can always put the Marzocchis back on n sell the Ohlins. There will always be a market for Ohlins forks. If you do the cartridge kit, odds are it will not help resale value since most mods don't add any monetary value anyway. Pay a little bit more n at least you will still have a spare base set. The shock is an obvious necessity, especially at your weight. You have a few options there but if your local guys are all familiar with Ohlins, well, that pretty much sells you on the set. You can get nice deals on the combo if you shop around or if you're patient like myself, you may even come across a used set for sale on the forums, although they don't show up often.
 
Depends on what you want to do with the suspension and how much that extra $1,000 means to you. If you're only concerned with performance, I would say the cartridges are fine unless you're within 5 seconds of the lap record. Even then, cartridge development is more advanced than ever since AMA and other racing series require stock fork externals and can only use cartridges. The gas version of Ohlins cartridges cost more than the full forks. Also, you can certainly sell fork cartridges after they've been removed if you sell the bike and put it back to stock.

$1,000 buys a lot of tires and track time, or other bling if you're a street rider, just sayin'.
 
JeffD said:
Depends on what you want to do with the suspension and how much that extra $1,000 means to you. If you're only concerned with performance, I would say the cartridges are fine unless you're within 5 seconds of the lap record. Even then, cartridge development is more advanced than ever since AMA and other racing series require stock fork externals and can only use cartridges. The gas version of Ohlins cartridges cost more than the full forks. Also, you can certainly sell fork cartridges after they've been removed if you sell the bike and put it back to stock.

$1,000 buys a lot of tires and track time, or other bling if you're a street rider, just sayin'.
Click to expand...

My "local" track's lap record is held by Josh Hayes, I'm waaayyyy off from his time. I'm only into performance, but I'm just trying to figure out which route is more economically logical. When you add labor, new fork seals, and oil, the price of cartridges get closer to the price of forks. How many labor hours do they charge to install forks?
 
RandallNYC said:
How many labor hours do they charge to install forks?
Click to expand...

I got Ohlins FGRT808 forks on my Crossplane R1 a couple years ago. You can do that yourself if you have a head lift front stand. I'm not super mechanical and it is really that easy. I did have my Bitubo ECH-29 gas cartridges installed by my Ducati dealer and they only charged 2.5 hours. There was nothing else needed as the kit came with everything. BTW, they blow away my Ohlins forks which had Superbike valves in them. The Marzocchi forks are significantly lighter than the Ohlins and make a great host for the cartridges. The comparable Ohlins and Traxxion Dynamics gas cartridges are around $3,000.

Less than $1,800 with your forum discount through Gunny Fitz:

BellissiMoto – Bitubo Front Suspension
 
FGRT 203 NIX Ohlins forks are on ebay for 2295.00 all day long, the ttx rear shock is 1495.00, set up for you weight.
 
RandallNYC said:
I have a 2013 Base. I weigh between 200 and 210. I'm too heavy for the stock suspension, the Sachs shock is trash, and I'm not waiting for my Marzocchi forks to fail. I know I'm going with Ohlins, because most local guys are familiar with them. TTX shock is a must. My only dilema is should I do the forks or the cartridge kit. $3300 vs $2300 for parts. I have no idea what they'll charge me for labor. I have a feeling the dealership will rape me in labor charges if I do the cartridges. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

I went with the Ohlins FGRT 203 and TTX36 MK II. I think the Ohlins forks is the way to go because of the little difference in price between the two. With the Ohlins you get the Titanium Nitride Coating which is harder than the hard anodized that is on the Marzocci forks. The Ti Nitride offer lower friction and is harder than hard anodized to prevent rock chips and better corrosion prevention. If you go with the cartridge kit you may want to look into getting the tubes DLC coated which is probably the best option there is right now. DLC is the hardest with the lowest friction rating.
 
Would the 1199 base require new triples for the Ohlins forks? The Marzocchis are 50mm or something like that tree trunks, aren't they?
 
There is an Ohlins supplier on this forum, sells the insert and rear for $2250 total. With the inserts, you end up with a lighter shock then going full Ohlins front shock.
 
JeffD said:
Depends on what you want to do with the suspension and how much that extra $1,000 means to you. If you're only concerned with performance, I would say the cartridges are fine unless you're within 5 seconds of the lap record. Even then, cartridge development is more advanced than ever since AMA and other racing series require stock fork externals and can only use cartridges. The gas version of Ohlins cartridges cost more than the full forks. Also, you can certainly sell fork cartridges after they've been removed if you sell the bike and put it back to stock.

$1,000 buys a lot of tires and track time, or other bling if you're a street rider, just sayin'.
Click to expand...

+1 to that! I've also been through it many times with various Ducati track bikes, sometimes putting on full Ohlins forks and sometimes just the cartridges, and I'm of the opinion now that the cartridges have been developed to the point that they're darn near as good as the full forks for anyone who is not a professional racer. The only real difference is at the very limit with edge grip where the "slightly" more precise movement of the Ohlins forks with the Ti-Nitride coating and light seals, along with the tuned flex of the outer tubes, may offer better feel to a pro. These are the things that WSBK teams pay for to gain a fraction of a tenth of a second a lap for a pro rider, the rest of us could replace our fork oil with olive oil for a day at the track and probably not notice any difference. :cool:
 
After weeks of careful consideration, today I finally pulled the trigger. I ordered the SD 040 Damper, MKII TTX DU 930 shock, and FGRT203 forks. I recieved what I consider to be a very fair deal, and everything should be shipped by Monday. With the new suspension set up for my weight, I hope my bike's handling is greatly improved. I can't help but be a little upset I didn't just buy the S instead of the Base. After my Termi slip ons, and today's suspension upgrades, I paid the same amount anyway. Thanks to all you guys who gave your opinion.
 
You made a better decision in buying a base + upgrades vs. Getting the S, even if u spent nearly the same $$. As I mentioned before, you'll always be able to go back to stock and sell all your Ohlins and more importantly, you get to enjoy the transformation of your bike and see it go through its phases, unless of course you're the type who doesn't mind getting handed the end result vs. witnessing the upgrades yourself.

Anyways, congrats on the upgrades. You'll be more than satisfied with the changes.
 
If any of you guys need Ohlins suspension stuff and don't have a shop you already work with make sure you check with me, I will always take care of my forum buds. We don't usually promote it online because most of our suspension work is local with all of our track day customers and race teams we support, but we're a very large Ohlins distributor and certified suspension center, we can do everything from installing fork kits to servicing TTX shocks, etc. We like to say we're the "stealth" Ohlins shop! ha ha!
 
Congrats. Now save up for some lightweight wheels. If you get CF wheels. It will be as dramatic a performance difference as going from OEM suspension to your Ohlins setup, seriously.
 
double0 said:
You made a better decision in buying a base + upgrades vs. Getting the S, even if u spent nearly the same $$. As I mentioned before, you'll always be able to go back to stock and sell all your Ohlins and more importantly, you get to enjoy the transformation of your bike and see it go through its phases, unless of course you're the type who doesn't mind getting handed the end result vs. witnessing the upgrades yourself.

Anyways, congrats on the upgrades. You'll be more than satisfied with the changes.
Click to expand...

It's definitely nice to see the upgrades. But the S with new springs is probably cheapest route.

jarelj said:
If any of you guys need Ohlins suspension stuff and don't have a shop you already work with make sure you check with me, I will always take care of my forum buds. We don't usually promote it online because most of our suspension work is local with all of our track day customers and race teams we support, but we're a very large Ohlins distributor and certified suspension center, we can do everything from installing fork kits to servicing TTX shocks, etc. We like to say we're the "stealth" Ohlins shop! ha ha!
Click to expand...

NOW YOU TELL ME!!! I was looking through the vendors on the site. I didn't see anyone advertising that they were an Ohlins dealer. So I took a chance on a company unknown to me. Next time I'll contact you first.

JeffD said:
Congrats. Now save up for some lightweight wheels. If you get CF wheels. It will be as dramatic a performance difference as going from OEM suspension to your Ohlins setup, seriously.
Click to expand...

I would like a set of light weight wheels very much. Maybe I'll do that next year. For now, my tax refund splurging is over.
 
RandallNYC said:
After weeks of careful consideration, today I finally pulled the trigger. I ordered the SD 040 Damper, MKII TTX DU 930 shock, and FGRT203 forks. I recieved what I consider to be a very fair deal, and everything should be shipped by Monday. With the new suspension set up for my weight, I hope my bike's handling is greatly improved. I can't help but be a little upset I didn't just buy the S instead of the Base. After my Termi slip ons, and today's suspension upgrades, I paid the same amount anyway. Thanks to all you guys who gave your opinion.
Click to expand...

Curious, what did you notice about the stock suspension and your weight? Front end dive? I'm about the same weight and am wondering how much better the bike could be with a new shock set-up. Also, had you already adjusted to stiffer settings on the stock suspension?
 
Hard Racing usually has great deals on a combo of the two you need.

I was going for the combo on my 848 but got the TTX only and what a mistake that was!

Got the 1199 S last month and I am sure the aftermarket Ohlins are still better than OEM thought that will probably cause some argument and heated discussion.

If I were you I would get a FULL Ohlins upgrade and like DoubleO said you can remove and sell at a later date.

Regardless, Hard Racing has a combo that is tough to beat.

Happy Modding!
 

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