Excellent video, here’s some extra tips, once you start getting 4-5mm preload push on the spring , you’ll find that the method shown becomes slower with lower returns each attempt at adding oil. Until like mine, you end up with several turns until the preload adjuster starts moving, so I suggest this: turn preload knob and add preload of around 5-6mm, with fill port closed and tightened, find a narrow flat piece of steel, 5mm thick, I ended up using a round drift around 5mm thick, but a piece if square steel 5mm squared would also work. Once the spring is compressed, the notches around the preload piston are exposed, and the piece of steel will fit into the gap created. Hold the steel in the gap, while you take the preload off of the spring, trapping the Steel in the gap and taking the pressure off the piston, with the adjustment knob quite a few turns off of the fully open(no preload position), allowing you to open the fill port, and slowly add oil to the adjuster as you turn the adjuster open, filling the hydraulic adjuster and removing air or voids in the mechanism. You may have to do this once or twice to get the system full of oil, but you’ll know it full, when one turn from no preload, starts moving the piston and begins to compress the spring. I agree that 10mm is the limit on spring compression, as that was about the max I achieved adding the oil. I also think it’s approximately 20 turns to full compressed, making each turn a 1/2 mm of piston travel fyi. Hope this helps, as my preload adjuster now works, and now I need to readjust my spring, as it’s way to stiff with just a small bit of preload.
@@LollerStormeR if your preload piston doesn’t move whatsoever, after bleeding/adding fluid, or has a visual leak anywhere, then either of our suggestions may not work at all, or stop working again over time. If that the case, a rebuild of the failed part is in order. Haven’t opened either the adjuster or the piston myself, but imagine it’s not that complicated to service, though parts could be difficult to come by.
@@smiller787 thanks for the heads up, I actually googled and there is a service kit for sale for this preload adjuster, for like 15 bucks, so that's good 👍
Excellent result Andy! I too got a black version jacket in 97 when I ordered a 750 Supersport which took about 5 months to get delivered to Australia from Italy! It was when Ducati was being sold to TPG & they felt sorry for the suckers that waited. Still got it & keeps me warm during Philip Island world superbike races in the worst of weather. The sleeves are zipped & becomes a new fangled vest.😉 Never really liked the red version because they become a blackened red after years of abuse. Great gift from a follower!🇮🇹
Loads of more adjustment on that now fella. Would love something like that for my old horse. Ideal for touring for when you have extra weight on the bike. Luggage and possible passenger. And will be great to see basket case on the road and functional again. Missed seeing the old girl.
👍 That looks a bit more useful. IIRC Ohlins use their 1309 in the preload adjusters, their proprietary 5w fork/shock oil. ATF will probably be around the same viscosity and it won't matter much as it's a closed system. They are kon to fail occasionally, usually a weeping seal, keep an eye on it for seepage (easier now it has red fluid) and loss of preload.
Even if you did't said that the jacket came from 1996... we all should have been able to guess the year.... but it does suit the 900SS (wich i think is one of the best looking Ducati!)
You must have ESP, I fitted an Ohlins BMW 1200 shock to my VFR and need to bleed the adjuster, the clear oil that came out of it as I loosened off the fitting to fit the unit to my bike is feels like very low viscosity (almost watery), it reminded me of Singer sewing machine oil. Your vid is extremely useful. Thanks again.
@@ANDY5 Will do.... I was going to drain the power steering reservoir from the 1967 Pacer and use that, but I couldn't find a 1/4" whitworth spanner.... I did bleed the system and top up the oil, I couldn't get more than about 7mm of movement. I may have to bleed it better as the first 13 clicks did virtually nothing.
Funny I was just watching a few of your old basket case episodes yesterday and was wondering what the go was the it. What did you end up doing with "Farm Fresh".
They don’t. You can convert them to manual adjustment but it requires removing the spring and replacing the hydraulic adjustment system with a manually adjusted nut.
@@ANDY5 I am pretty sure you can adjust them once you remove the spring and pull down on the hydraulic collar. That's according to the instruction manual that comes with the hydraulic adjuster that Ohlins sells separately. I doubt those are different then the ones preinstalled on shocks. But hey, never seen it in real life so... :)
You can do it on the bike, that’s what I did. I didn’t top the oil up until after I fitted the shock. You just have to remove the preload adjuster from its mount as I did, takes two minutes. Use 5W fork oil.
Thank you very much!, I have performed the operation on my recently acquired used Ohlins, but even so I'm at SAG limit, is it possible to adjust the castellated nuts without removing the spring? I have the impression that it is not possible. Sorry for my english.
according to what I've seen arround and also looking at the assembly instructions for ohnlin's hidraulic preloader that they sell separatly, it would seem you do indeed need to remove the spring. You might need a higher rated spring though if sag is at the limit. In my case, for a 2019 V Strom 650 XT, the shock that Ohlins makes for this bike, with the default mechanical spring preload (and hydraulic preload set to 0) gives me exactly 40 mm of sag (I'm about 83 kilos with gear) which apparently is the perfect sag for my bike. And this is riding sag, as in measured with me on it vs measured with the bike on a jack and rear wheel in the air. My point beeing that Ohlins seems to really nail their parts.
@@sebastian3122 what Loan said, yes you need to remove the spring but you most likely will require a higher spring rate. Any authorised Ohlins service centre will be able to best advise you and get you set up, take their advice. Not mine.
Do you enjoy riding the ST over the Supersport? I have a 99 Supersport 900, but the riding position on that bike kills my wrists after about half an hour.
I love both and have no issue on either. But I would suggest that the ST is probably more comfortable on longer runs, and more so if you fit bar risers.
thing is, I have a brand new one and I need to turn that knob about 4 times until I feel the pressure and by the 5th turn I see the ring starting to move. Why in hell would this be the case on a brand new unit ? (OHLINS STX 46 SU 916 is the model btw). Would there be a valid reason for that slack to exist ? I get a travel range of 7 mm (measured with electronic calipers) while the manual says 8 mm total travel range. I know 1 mm ain't much but with my spring rate, that's 11 kilos "lost".
I can’t tell you why it’s like that but if you do this procedure you will likely improve it. If you do decide to do this use 5W fork oil, that’s what I should have used.
@@ANDY5 aye, definetly going to do it and see what happens. Thing is, if the thing scales linearly, I should get more than +1mm. It takes 20 turns to move it 7mm so ~2.85 turns per mm and I have 5 extra, so I am really curios what will hapen. Will it have a fixed range of 8mm no matter what ? Will it go over ? Anyhoo, tnx for the vid, good stuff.
k, so I did the job and I got that +1mm back (for a total of 8 as per Ohlins install manual). Tedious job, wind down knob all the way, wind up a couple until slight tension felt, open torx, pour 1 drop, wind down again pour another drop, knob at minimum, torx back in, wind all the way up, measure gain with calipers (shock still installed on the bike btw) ... and all this about 10 times or more, just to be sure :) Buuut, from feeling pressure at the 5th turn, now I feel it after 1 and 1/4 and before the 2nd turn is over, the ring is already moving.
You are limited by the length of the stroke of the slave cylinder so if it has 8mm of travel, then that’s all you will get. Glad that it worked out for you, mine is still fine.
Excellent video, here’s some extra tips, once you start getting 4-5mm preload push on the spring , you’ll find that the method shown becomes slower with lower returns each attempt at adding oil. Until like mine, you end up with several turns until the preload adjuster starts moving, so I suggest this: turn preload knob and add preload of around 5-6mm, with fill port closed and tightened, find a narrow flat piece of steel, 5mm thick, I ended up using a round drift around 5mm thick, but a piece if square steel 5mm squared would also work. Once the spring is compressed, the notches around the preload piston are exposed, and the piece of steel will fit into the gap created. Hold the steel in the gap, while you take the preload off of the spring, trapping the Steel in the gap and taking the pressure off the piston, with the adjustment knob quite a few turns off of the fully open(no preload position), allowing you to open the fill port, and slowly add oil to the adjuster as you turn the adjuster open, filling the hydraulic adjuster and removing air or voids in the mechanism. You may have to do this once or twice to get the system full of oil, but you’ll know it full, when one turn from no preload, starts moving the piston and begins to compress the spring. I agree that 10mm is the limit on spring compression, as that was about the max I achieved adding the oil. I also think it’s approximately 20 turns to full compressed, making each turn a 1/2 mm of piston travel fyi. Hope this helps, as my preload adjuster now works, and now I need to readjust my spring, as it’s way to stiff with just a small bit of preload.
Hi,
Thanks for the info, I am struggling with my preload adjuster, I will try the video's ideas and your info
@@LollerStormeR if your preload piston doesn’t move whatsoever, after bleeding/adding fluid, or has a visual leak anywhere, then either of our suggestions may not work at all, or stop working again over time. If that the case, a rebuild of the failed part is in order. Haven’t opened either the adjuster or the piston myself, but imagine it’s not that complicated to service, though parts could be difficult to come by.
@@smiller787 thanks for the heads up, I actually googled and there is a service kit for sale for this preload adjuster, for like 15 bucks, so that's good 👍
Thanks for shedding some light on this mysterious art. From another Life long Neighbors fan. Cheers
Excellent result Andy! I too got a black version jacket in 97 when I ordered a 750 Supersport which took about 5 months to get delivered to Australia from Italy! It was when Ducati was being sold to TPG & they felt sorry for the suckers that waited. Still got it & keeps me warm during Philip Island world superbike races in the worst of weather. The sleeves are zipped & becomes a new fangled vest.😉 Never really liked the red version because they become a blackened red after years of abuse. Great gift from a follower!🇮🇹
Another excellent video Andy!!!!
Good job buddy!! I love your "give it a go attitude " and that's how things get done! Great video..
Loads of more adjustment on that now fella. Would love something like that for my old horse. Ideal for touring for when you have extra weight on the bike. Luggage and possible passenger. And will be great to see basket case on the road and functional again. Missed seeing the old girl.
Muchas gracias Andy desde España, me ha servido para solucionar él problemas de mí amortiguador ohlins, un saludo
👍 That looks a bit more useful. IIRC Ohlins use their 1309 in the preload adjusters, their proprietary 5w fork/shock oil. ATF will probably be around the same viscosity and it won't matter much as it's a closed system. They are kon to fail occasionally, usually a weeping seal, keep an eye on it for seepage (easier now it has red fluid) and loss of preload.
Yeah, the fork oil thing occurred to me later. You would think it would have been bloody obvious ffs
Hello, thank you for clarifying a doubt, and if you want to tighten the spring nut, how do you do it if you have a pin to lock? thank you so much
I just got a ohlins shock and the preload adjuster doesn’t turn the collar like yours. Is this just a feature in older models?
If I disable complete the hydraulic preload is the same way to assembly again and re FIL with oil?
Even if you did't said that the jacket came from 1996... we all should have been able to guess the year.... but it does suit the 900SS (wich i think is one of the best looking Ducati!)
Andy's Motorcycle Obessiions. Could you use fork oil?
Yup, I had this light bulb moment when I was reviewing the upload. That’s exactly what I should have used, but no harm done.
Thanks for this is very helpful
thanks for your video
You must have ESP, I fitted an Ohlins BMW 1200 shock to my VFR and need to bleed the adjuster, the clear oil that came out of it as I loosened off the fitting to fit the unit to my bike is feels like very low viscosity (almost watery), it reminded me of Singer sewing machine oil.
Your vid is extremely useful. Thanks again.
Use 5W fork oil, it’s what I should have used.
@@ANDY5
Will do.... I was going to drain the power steering reservoir from the 1967 Pacer and use that, but I couldn't find a 1/4" whitworth spanner.... I did bleed the system and top up the oil, I couldn't get more than about 7mm of movement. I may have to bleed it better as the first 13 clicks did virtually nothing.
Yeah, keep going. It will improve.
X great vedio Andy! Tony
Funny I was just watching a few of your old basket case episodes yesterday and was wondering what the go was the it. What did you end up doing with "Farm Fresh".
I grabbed a couple of usable spares off farm fresh and sold it to a dismantler
How do the collar adjustment rings/ collars work in conjunction with the manual adjuster?
They don’t. You can convert them to manual adjustment but it requires removing the spring and replacing the hydraulic adjustment system with a manually adjusted nut.
@@ANDY5 I am pretty sure you can adjust them once you remove the spring and pull down on the hydraulic collar. That's according to the instruction manual that comes with the hydraulic adjuster that Ohlins sells separately. I doubt those are different then the ones preinstalled on shocks. But hey, never seen it in real life so... :)
Whats oil ? Use subtank
Hi Andy, can the same Ohlins shock as yours, be topped up and bled on a bike, or has it to be removed first.
You can do it on the bike, that’s what I did. I didn’t top the oil up until after I fitted the shock. You just have to remove the preload adjuster from its mount as I did, takes two minutes. Use 5W fork oil.
Thank you very much!, I have performed the operation on my recently acquired used Ohlins, but even so I'm at SAG limit, is it possible to adjust the castellated nuts without removing the spring? I have the impression that it is not possible. Sorry for my english.
according to what I've seen arround and also looking at the assembly instructions for ohnlin's hidraulic preloader that they sell separatly, it would seem you do indeed need to remove the spring. You might need a higher rated spring though if sag is at the limit. In my case, for a 2019 V Strom 650 XT, the shock that Ohlins makes for this bike, with the default mechanical spring preload (and hydraulic preload set to 0) gives me exactly 40 mm of sag (I'm about 83 kilos with gear) which apparently is the perfect sag for my bike. And this is riding sag, as in measured with me on it vs measured with the bike on a jack and rear wheel in the air. My point beeing that Ohlins seems to really nail their parts.
@@ioandragulescu6063 Thank you Ioan
@@sebastian3122 what Loan said, yes you need to remove the spring but you most likely will require a higher spring rate. Any authorised Ohlins service centre will be able to best advise you and get you set up, take their advice. Not mine.
On my 2004 Honda ST1300 I used something called Jack Oil.
I think 5W fork oil is the official product, but any light weight hydraulic fluid should be fine.
Andy, what happened to the cooperation between you and Biggelaar?
Toine just got stupid busy and kind of fell off the radar mate. He did message me a couple of months ago, just to say hi.
Do you enjoy riding the ST over the Supersport? I have a 99 Supersport 900, but the riding position on that bike kills my wrists after about half an hour.
I love both and have no issue on either. But I would suggest that the ST is probably more comfortable on longer runs, and more so if you fit bar risers.
thing is, I have a brand new one and I need to turn that knob about 4 times until I feel the pressure and by the 5th turn I see the ring starting to move. Why in hell would this be the case on a brand new unit ? (OHLINS STX 46 SU 916 is the model btw). Would there be a valid reason for that slack to exist ? I get a travel range of 7 mm (measured with electronic calipers) while the manual says 8 mm total travel range. I know 1 mm ain't much but with my spring rate, that's 11 kilos "lost".
I can’t tell you why it’s like that but if you do this procedure you will likely improve it. If you do decide to do this use 5W fork oil, that’s what I should have used.
@@ANDY5 aye, definetly going to do it and see what happens. Thing is, if the thing scales linearly, I should get more than +1mm. It takes 20 turns to move it 7mm so ~2.85 turns per mm and I have 5 extra, so I am really curios what will hapen. Will it have a fixed range of 8mm no matter what ? Will it go over ? Anyhoo, tnx for the vid, good stuff.
k, so I did the job and I got that +1mm back (for a total of 8 as per Ohlins install manual). Tedious job, wind down knob all the way, wind up a couple until slight tension felt, open torx, pour 1 drop, wind down again pour another drop, knob at minimum, torx back in, wind all the way up, measure gain with calipers (shock still installed on the bike btw) ... and all this about 10 times or more, just to be sure :) Buuut, from feeling pressure at the 5th turn, now I feel it after 1 and 1/4 and before the 2nd turn is over, the ring is already moving.
You are limited by the length of the stroke of the slave cylinder so if it has 8mm of travel, then that’s all you will get. Glad that it worked out for you, mine is still fine.
Awesome video. I would rather watch someone try to maintenance their stuff, and it not be 100% by the book, than not maintenance it at all.
I know Ohlins are sexy, but I didn't realise they were bukakae sexy 🙂
First 😁
Go Eddie...😁
Fast Eddie 😉
😜👍