'95 R100R Ohlins problem

[20774]

The two pictures side by side. It's clear that the "problem" shock isn't as long and has fewer coils. The coil thickness appears to be nearly the same...the "problem" shock also has quite a bit of spacing between the coils.

[PGlaves]

Look at the two pictures. On the second bike the angle of the two pivot points (shock stud and paralever pivot) is about a 45 degree angle from horizontal. On the original poster's bike the angle is closer to 35 degrees from horizontal. That screams that the paralever arm is too short.

[dbrick]

The spring in the left picture has far fewer coils than the spring in the right picture. Even if the Paralever arm is too short, I suspect that the the spring and perhaps the shock body itself are not correct for this application, even if the ends do bolt up.

[AntonLargiader]

I took some measurements of the Ohlins on my R100GS. The spring is 83mm (which is pretty standard) with 8 coils, and the distance from the center of the mounting stud to the beginning of the spring retainer is 100mm. For reference, the Wilbers R100GS shock on my R100R is 110mm.

Interestingly enough, I have signs of light contact in the same place. And this is a shock which has been ridden very hard on rough terrain.

shock1.jpg

shock2.jpg

[ricard]

Thank you all for the replies and useful info. Anton, the damage to my paralever looked similar to yours when I bought the bike, 6ok miles later it looks like my photos, the entire outer aluminum ridge has been gradually knocked off. I have been communicating with Ohlins USA. The shock Ser. Num BM3321 is correct for the R100R and the spring 1096-24 is perfect for someone of my weight (170 lbs). The length of this shock is not adjustable. After reviewing the photos the Ohlins tech thinks that the shock is hitting under extension, but has no solution to the problem as of yet. I'll keep you posted...

[AntonLargiader]

It's hitting on compression. I pulled the spring off my shock this afternoon and took some pix, but I left the camera at the shop.

It's hitting at FULL compression, with the external bump stop mashed and possibly some deflection in the rest of the system. With normal weight on the bump stop, there is still space. Will add a photo here tomorrow.

[PALADINWEST]

the spring 1096-24 is perfect for someone of my weight (170 lbs).

It would seem that the possibility exists that it is not perfect

[AntonLargiader]

The spring doesn't have much to do with it; suspension is designed to bottom out regardless of the spring.

Here's a picture at close to full compression. You can see the shock body is pushing on the external bump stop but it's not compressing it much.

Ideally, the lower body would be a bit longer. Like the Wilbers. But, in full disclosure, my suspension compresses a bit more than normal because some P.O. slotted the upper shock mount . This adds maybe 8mm to the total suspension displacement, which could very easily make the difference between touching and not touching. The above picture does not represent the additional compression allowed by that modification.

I wonder if there is anything else going on with that R100R that allows more compression than normal. If you remove the spring and take a fully-compressed length measurement I'd be happy to do the same.

shock3.jpg

[20774]

Anton -

From your picture, which you said is near full compression, it appears that there is an angle between the driveshaft tube and the final drive housing. Seems like a strange way for the driveline to bend. I was thinking that if you had hit a hard bump or something, the rear drive would kick up, creating a reverse bend with the driveshaft.

[AntonLargiader]

From your picture, which you said is near full compression, it appears that there is an angle between the driveshaft tube and the final drive housing.

Yes, that is the whole point of the Paralever.

[20774]

Yes, that is the whole point of the Paralever.

Right...the "parallelogram" effect!

[ccolwell]

Any chance the paralever 'stay' bar (I don't know what it's really called - stay that runs from the hub to the frame under the swingarm) is binding?

[GRAHAMM]

Any chance the paralever 'stay' bar (I don't know what it's really called - stay that runs from the hub to the frame under the swingarm) is binding?

Good one :

how about the paralever bearings - are they in good shape?

[ricard]

OK .... Thanks to Anton's photo I was able to explain to Ohlins USA that the shock was hitting under compression. They asked similar questions, to those posted above, about the condition of my paralever. My paralever was removed, the transmission output seal replaced, the drive shaft inspected and the paralever bearings replaced 8k miles ago. Ohlins did not have an answer as to why it is hitting and they have not seen this situation before. They agreed that replacing the bump-stop with a slightly thicker stop would be a good idea. I plan to send the shock to them for this work unless I can think of another solution.

Regarding the lower linkage arm, the name of which I am unsure, it seems to be working correctly, not too tight or too loose. It looks to be stock. Were these ever available in different lengths to lower the bike?

Anton, thanks for the help and the offer of measurements, unfortunately I don't have and good way to remove the spring at this time. My mechanic may be able to if it still seems important.

[20774]

RealOEM seems to indicate there's only one part number for the rod of the R100R paralever - 33 1 72 310 160.