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Öhlins develops Royal Enfield suspension

AZ Mtn Girl

Well travelled
Location
Arizona
Swedish suspension company Öhlins now has adjustable shock absorbers and fork springs with adjustable pre-load caps for the RE 650cc twin-cylinder Interceptor and Continental GT. A new shock absorber and front spring kit for the Himalayan will be released soon.

 

TN_twowheeladdict

Well travelled
Location
Tennessee
Ohh Noo! More things to buy!

Now that I have the seat concepts seat I am pretty happy with the bike overall. Don't really feel the need to upgrade the suspension on the Himalayan for my riding style.

My Road Glide Special has Ohlins rear shocks. Major improvement in ride quality. Especially with the low profile tires on that bike.
 

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
I improved my Honda Deaville by putting heavier fork oil and added pre-load on the fork springs by using 2mm this penny-washers. Why are you considering to do the front end? Do you notice issues?
On the Deauville I had head shaking issues around sharp bends, excessive diving during braking and especially with a load on the back.
Thinking seriously of doing the front end myself. Gold valves/heavier springs/pre-load caps etc. Went through the exercise on my Tenere, and it is not rocket science, provided you are mechanically inclined.
 

Sherpa

Well travelled
I improved my Honda Deaville by putting heavier fork oil and added pre-load on the fork springs by using 2mm this penny-washers. Why are you considering to do the front end? Do you notice issues?
On the Deauville I had head shaking issues around sharp bends, excessive diving during braking and especially with a load on the back.
Probably pre-empting things a little, as my Himalayan is still on the high seas atm. However, from experience, I know it is inevitable that I am going to hit at least one deep pothole/steep entry-exit causeway/wash away or miles after mile of endless corrugations that will cause the front end to bottom out, on most days that I ride. I suspect riding the Himalayan will be no different
Provided I can source the right spring rate and length, the rest of the process is pretty straight forward. The only technical issues are possibly having to machine up some collars to support the Gold Valves where they seat on top of the damping rod, drilling out the damping rod holes, machining the spacer tube to give the correct pre-load etc.
The whole process is documented in the Race Tech Motorcycle Suspension Bible. If you have the ability to do this yourself, you can make significant savings over buying a kit from Ohlins or the like.
I will gauge whether I want to go down this path after I have done a few multi-day rides, but am mindful of the fact that any improvement to the front suspension will only serve to highlight any deficiencies in the rear shock...Now that is a completely different animal to fix...(read expensive!!!).
 

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
Well seeing you are in Ozzie I can understand your reasoning. I've done a trip around Australia and thru it on a Landcruiser including Gibb River Road and Tom Price to Dampier Railway access route. Nasty corrugation especially just before the wet season when the road was not graded for a long time. Don't know how the Himalayan suspension will cope with that as here in NZ I have not encountered corrugations like those. However the Himma has been able to cope well with the corrogations that I've encountered here in NZ.
 

Sherpa

Well travelled
Well seeing you are in Ozzie I can understand your reasoning. I've done a trip around Australia and thru it on a Landcruiser including Gibb River Road and Tom Price to Dampier Railway access route. Nasty corrugation especially just before the wet season when the road was not graded for a long time. Don't know how the Himalayan suspension will cope with that as here in NZ I have not encountered corrugations like those. However the Himma has been able to cope well with the corrogations that I've encountered here in NZ.
Not expecting to have my Himalayan this side of Xmas...and January will be too hot for serious riding...probably be around Easter next year before I do anything serious too, or on the bike.
 
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