Full Ohlins Suspension

[durchy]

Is it worth having ohlins fitted to my FZ1 Fazer abs for normal road riding. Went to Kais at Atherton for suspension set up, and they suggested having full ohlins fitted. Is it worth the cost, has anyone had this done? Thanks for any advice. 

[JoeRock]

You will notice an absoultely massive difference for sure, everything will seem controlled and tighter, yet at the same time much more sporty.
Whether it's worth it is another matter, if you're thinking of keeping the bike for a while then I'd probably say yes, but you won't get that money back when/if you come to sell it. Although if you take the parts off and sell them seperately, putting the bike back to stock, you'll still get a pretty big chunk of it back!

If you've got the money, to be honest I'd say go for it, aftermarket suspension really does make a massive difference!

[PaulSmith]

Nobody else can answer that for you. Of course it will be better, but only you can decide if the improvement is worth it. If you have spare cash burning a hole in your pocket, then go for it, but if you have to earn your money, then I suggest you stop and think first.

You say you just had your suspension set up by Athertons, why did you do that? Can you tell the difference their changes made? Can you tell what the difference is? Going full Ohlins will give you more of the same, but if you cant tell, then it wont be worth it.

[durchy]

Thanks for replies,may go for it now! Only went to kais for £50 suspension set up to see if my current settings were ok.
 

[fazer390]

I had my standard OE units serviced, upgraded and setup with K-tech Springs (by MH Racing, nr Chippenham) and that alone transformed my bike... 
 
 

[Mick-H]

If your having Ohlins on the back to make it worthwhile you'll have to get the front sorted as well, so reckon on best part of £1500 to get it all done.
Or you could do the R6 shock on the rear and front fork overhaul, £650 should cover it maybe less, for my type of riding this is the way I'm going. 

[durchy]

Just wondering if it makes any difference to fitting ohlins if I have abs?

[kebab19]

I think original poster has an FZ-1, not an FZS1000? In which case the R6 shock mod will not fit.

If that's the case....
Ohlins - massive improvement but way too much money.
Look on the American FZ1 site for alternative ideas, such as transplanting 04-06 R1 forks with radial calipers onto the front and a decent R1 shock on the rear.  Probably about a third of the price of the Ohlins stuff and perhaps two thirds as good. Certainly much better than the standard FZ1 suspension according to various reports... 

[Falcon 269]

Define 'full Ohlins'.  Top spec Ohlins shock and Ohlins R&T forks, or a basic Ohlins imulsion shock and Ohlins springs in the original forks?  Helluva difference in all respects.

[Phil]

I've got one of these fitted to my Fazer8 as in here. http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,3445.msg29983.html#msg29983
It fits the FZ1.
As Joerock says, the ride is more controlled and tighter, yet at the same time much more sporty. 
The original Fazer8 shock was very soft though, but the difference did seem massive to me.  It does spoil you, I dont think any standard OE shock will come close.

I went to Romania this year and it was set to guess the 'Romanian' settings in 1 minute to cope with the bumps, then fine tuned after. If only I had written down my preferred 'GB' settings down

I was lucky getting mine so cheap. If I sell my bike next year I'll take all the goodies off and advertise them on here first.

[durchy]

Saw ohlins rear shock on ebay for "buy now £450" made offer of £400 accepted! Fully adjustable race spec, think I saved few quid, although it may cost me £80 to have reconditioned.

[pitternator]

I am giggling at the thought of anybody fitting new high spec ohlins to a gen1...FFS the sussies will cost more than the bike ! 
 
 
it just cant be worth it when there are so many good alternatives about ...Ktech is probably the best solution in terms of cost/benefit for most .....but if you aint a mileage or track rider  tbh I just cant see the point !
 
I spent £700 on the full works K tech suspension and tbh I think thats top endy for a bike like  a fazer....theres lots of cheaper alternatives eg lukes R6 shock for example. But ohlins shocks are at least £1k to buy ....
 
still a fool is easily parted with his money ....

[JoeRock]

I am giggling at the thought of anybody fitting new high spec ohlins to a gen1...FFS the sussies will cost more than the bike ! 
 
 
it just cant be worth it when there are so many good alternatives about ...Ktech is probably the best solution in terms of cost/benefit for most .....but if you aint a mileage or track rider  tbh I just cant see the point !
 
I spent £700 on the full works K tech suspension and tbh I think thats top endy for a bike like  a fazer....theres lots of cheaper alternatives eg lukes R6 shock for example. But ohlins shocks are at least £1k to buy ....
 
still a fool is easily parted with his money ....

He did say FZ1!

But to be fair, if he's got the money and wants to spend it, who are we to judge - it'll definitely improve the bike!

[Hedgetrimmer]

Is full spec Ohlins not a little OTT for these bikes? Might it not just highlight other weaknesses in the handling? (Weight, chassis etc).
Having said that, I'll (hopefully) be looking at doing R1 USDs next year, but only from the 2003 bike (finances won't stretch further than that) and R6 rear shock. That's about as far as I'm prepared to go, and tbh, the forks are as much about the look as the handling improvements for me. I think I'll also do it Mike's way, as I think it could do with quickening the steering a little, and he and others have said it doesn't adversely affect stability at high speed.
 
But a question to Mike - have you tried yours loaded up with luggage or with a pillion at higher (straight line) speeds? Still ok?
 
(Oops, obviously I'm talking about gen 1, OPs is gen 2).

[Falcon 269]

Loaded up with pillion (what's one of those?) or luggage?  Why on earth would I want to do that ? 

But seriously, with the front end bias I have presently I don't see any problems arising if I were to add weight to the rear end.  Provided the shock spring has preload adjustment to spare, just stiffen up the back and increase the rebound damping there to cope.  Probably add some front preload and extra damping at that end, too, to cope better with braking weight transfer.