TheRoss
08-16-2009, 04:48 PM
Last year I installed Ohlins shocks on my 2000 R1100RT. They made a huge improvement to the bike's handling, and so far I have been pretty happy with them. I have had them for 15 months.
Last week I completed an IBA Border to Border Insanity ride, starting in Columbus, NM. While enroute to Columbus from Lubbock (500 miles) the Ohlins aluminum bracket securing the rear shock adjustor to the bike's frame broke. This is a road bike and it stays on the pavement, so I have no idea why the bracket broke. The bracket broke clean in a straight line at its bend, and the adjustor fell down next to the swing arm. And there it rode for who knows how long, until we stopped for breakfast in Deming and saw it.
The damage: The broken bracket. A hole in the shock hose and oil everywhere. A scuffed up shock adjustor knob. A wear spot on my rear brake line covering. A large wear spot on my swing arm.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/3827813396_eb596621f3.jpg
Being just hours from the start of a big ride, I duct taped where the hole in the hose was, folded the hose in half and wire tied it to help prevent leaking, and wire tied the adjustor back up to the frame. The shock did the job for the trip, and I was very thankful that this didn't happen during the ride through the night. I did ride with bad thoughts of oil dripping onto the side of my rear tire though.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3827810138_cd919cb084.jpg
I called Ohlins when I got back home. The guy on the phone was very friendly, but did say that they had seen this before and had told the folks in Sweden about the problem. Ohlins has not corrected this or addressed it yet. I am a handy guy and could have created my own mounting plate, that would not randomly break, had I known about this issue, but of course Ohlins does not tell you about the weak spot when you pay the really big money for their product. The guy I spoke to emailed me a form to send in with the shock. What they want... $75 labor. $35 new hose. $30 new bracket (just like the weak one that broke). Plus round trip shipping with insurance and tracking of course.
I am not going to make judgements about Ohlins yet. We'll see how they handle this problem. With the shock, I will be sending them a letter explaining about the type of riding I do (pavement only), and about how I feel that I should not be charged for this. Their part broke for no reason, just 15 months after it was bought new, and it caused damage to my bike that I'll have to live with. I can not just go buy a new swing arm because of the cosmetic damage done by the hanging hose and adjustor. So we'll see what they do. And I will let you all know.
One other comment..... if you have Ohlins that are mounted using this little aluminum bracket, go out right now and wire tie the adjustor to the frame. That way, if/when the bracket fails, you will be saved the trouble that I am now going through. Or make yourself a new bracket from something stronger.
Last week I completed an IBA Border to Border Insanity ride, starting in Columbus, NM. While enroute to Columbus from Lubbock (500 miles) the Ohlins aluminum bracket securing the rear shock adjustor to the bike's frame broke. This is a road bike and it stays on the pavement, so I have no idea why the bracket broke. The bracket broke clean in a straight line at its bend, and the adjustor fell down next to the swing arm. And there it rode for who knows how long, until we stopped for breakfast in Deming and saw it.
The damage: The broken bracket. A hole in the shock hose and oil everywhere. A scuffed up shock adjustor knob. A wear spot on my rear brake line covering. A large wear spot on my swing arm.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/3827813396_eb596621f3.jpg
Being just hours from the start of a big ride, I duct taped where the hole in the hose was, folded the hose in half and wire tied it to help prevent leaking, and wire tied the adjustor back up to the frame. The shock did the job for the trip, and I was very thankful that this didn't happen during the ride through the night. I did ride with bad thoughts of oil dripping onto the side of my rear tire though.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3827810138_cd919cb084.jpg
I called Ohlins when I got back home. The guy on the phone was very friendly, but did say that they had seen this before and had told the folks in Sweden about the problem. Ohlins has not corrected this or addressed it yet. I am a handy guy and could have created my own mounting plate, that would not randomly break, had I known about this issue, but of course Ohlins does not tell you about the weak spot when you pay the really big money for their product. The guy I spoke to emailed me a form to send in with the shock. What they want... $75 labor. $35 new hose. $30 new bracket (just like the weak one that broke). Plus round trip shipping with insurance and tracking of course.
I am not going to make judgements about Ohlins yet. We'll see how they handle this problem. With the shock, I will be sending them a letter explaining about the type of riding I do (pavement only), and about how I feel that I should not be charged for this. Their part broke for no reason, just 15 months after it was bought new, and it caused damage to my bike that I'll have to live with. I can not just go buy a new swing arm because of the cosmetic damage done by the hanging hose and adjustor. So we'll see what they do. And I will let you all know.
One other comment..... if you have Ohlins that are mounted using this little aluminum bracket, go out right now and wire tie the adjustor to the frame. That way, if/when the bracket fails, you will be saved the trouble that I am now going through. Or make yourself a new bracket from something stronger.