Poll: Who's interested in Öhlins Suspension for the Big Bikes

1) You said no pro racers for KTM use WP. The pix above prove that wrong. I didn't post the pics to compare a 4CS system to a stock system. I simply posted them to show the forum that a statement that 'no KTM pro riders use WP' is untrue.

2) Yes I know what a Trax is. From a rider feel perspective a Trax is on par with a TTX. They're both great shocks.

These statements are what I'm talking about. Pompous and condescending.

And btw, I was never questioning your knowledge as to what a Trax, SXS, 4CS, yada yada yada is.... or what your knowledge on anything is.... you're going there for no reason. Back to main point: just because you geek out on this stuff still doesn't change the fact that BOTH Ohlins and WP make decent entry level stuff and very good pro level stuff. So no, Ohlins isn't necessarily superior to WP. That's just your individual opinion.

My opinion, take it or leave it, is that I like WP's stock/entry stuff better than Ohlins stock/entry level stuff.

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Hey, I can appreciate that. But I'm not willing to let this become an opinion thread. There's plenty of suspension opinion threads out there that go nowhere and solve nothing. I'd much rather make this be a sandbox for the big-boys. The subject matter is professional level suspension, so unless you have extensive experience on the subject it's probably best not to expose yourself to questioning. I truly welcome anybody&#8217;s input on this subject. But if you come in here with a position, be prepared to defend it. We don't need anymore people making misleading statements. <o></o>
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And where as opinions are fine, when it comes to certain subjects (suspension specifically), they need to be backed by credentials in order to give that opinion validity.<o></o>
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So with that in mind, I plan to ask people to explain themselves. It's the only way this thread can serve to inform and educate. And it's the only way this thread will be able to separate the fact from the fluff... this can be a fun thread
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OK, that's cool... I appreciate that. But it's not what we're talking about here. Öhlins TTx isn't entry level suspension. It's what the pros use. And it's available to you. And my statement about most not being able to really appreciate this stuff is true. You'd have to push a 990 pretty friggin' hard to get the benefits that this stuff can bring to you. But for the few out that really like their Adventure/SER and want to take it to the next level, I'm taking a head count to see if it's something worth pursuing...


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Thanks Ken. I appreciate it. I'll get out of your way here.

That said, if opinions are to be vacant in this thread, even the OP has to abide by that rule.

Absolutely. What would you like to know?


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I would love to try a few trails on something that has some proper oomph in it.

However, out of interest, against an SPS re-valved and re-sprung OEM "S" system on an adventure, what type of riding would the Ohlins shine? I understand that it should be better everywhere, but where would it shine the most? Sand, whoops, fast gravel, baby headed rocky trails, touring, mud, etc?

"Would I like?" Hell Yeah!
"Will I take?" Shit, depends on how well my year goes.

I answered beer, until I know what the ball park figure would be.

LOL... that's funny, and probably a really smart position to take. The stuff's gonna be expensive. The fully bypass design of the Mk-II will help in most every environment, depending on what your suspension is like now. The two places that it will shine most are high-speed gravel and rock gardens. These are two situations that having competely seperate compression/HS compression/rebound circuits will allow the suspension to remain plush while still being able to handle whoops. You won't need to compromise one for the other...



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+1

Yuuup... those are some sweet pix. Did you guys notice that Dungey and Roczen's bikes don't have rear springs? Trick shit for sure...


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I have enjoyed a complete Ohlins front fork for over 2 years with a revalved and re-sprung rear shock on my KTM 950 SE and would love to balance the bike with a TTX44MKH with the same travel. The value of this kit will depend on the optional spring rates and matching internal valving available to optimize this investment. The Ohlins front forks offer incredible compliance on small and medium bumps yet stiffen up progressively to prevent harsh bottoming. I am sure Powercell will offer complete tuning solutions as all his projects have shown his dedication and expertise on the KTM 990/950 bikes.I look forward to his opinions and accept that he does not tolerate fools lightly! I am willing to put up funds to further his research into providing a balanced and optimized suspension solution! thanks!

Thanks for the confidence! All spring rates will be available. I've been working with Cannon Racecraft for years and they custom make all my springs. I'm currently running a 59.5 up front and a 11.2 out back.

I've also been experimenting with a uniquie carbon fiber spring lately. It's not a typical coil-type spring, but offers tremendous weight savings and tunability... 50% lighter than titanium! We'll see how it goes. Today I was attending the SAMPE show at the Long Beach Convention Center. One of the Manufacturers there had a CF coil-type spring built for Factory Connection. It weighed nothing but had some serious packaging challenges. I think there's a future in CF, but it's gonna require a purpose-built shock to handle them...


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Would this setup have hi/low comp + rebound, or or comp/reb only?

Dumb question from a suspension noob - I do a lot of travel at moment (200-500 miles/day) and am always looking for something to make the bike handle better when loaded.

I am not the great gun many here are, but the two areas I find the stock suspension lets me down are
- high speed gravel/sand (say 80-100mph stuff) where I am looking for a little more compliance in loser/softer stuff and not that heart in the mouth stuff when you hit it.
- tracks that have a lot of big rock on them, embedded in the ground, I find this hard work if I want to push a reasonable pace.


So I guess what I am saying I would (depending on price) have a interest in some kit that would work well on bike that is used as a daily travel bike.

Of course. The Öhlins TTx features 2 seperate and completely independent compression adjustments; low and high speed, as well as an isolated rebound adjuster. The high speed compression circuit is something new as well, as it is not simply a blow-off valve, but a seperate valve stack that features an adjustable base fulcrum. What this means to you is that for the first time ever, you have truly effective HS adjustability without effecting your LS settings. It's also the only motorcycle shock available that completely seperates compression and rebound functions.


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You would benefit most from the TTx22 fork kit...


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More stuff for the farklehorse.

Since its been years when i last ventured the offroad on the 950. I can still remember when i couldn´t get more out of the standard suspension(04 s). I got SPS to take care of the front and it raised my speed with 30 km/h overall. Suspension IS speed and it is very nice to see some serious shot at this in the Öhlins way. I have since upgraded to the WP 320mm front/rear, though i still need to go for some offroad to test this.

And that coil-less Dungey/Roczen shock, did it not run air?

btw... pictures or you didn´t do it

I'd be interested at some point when the cash flow catches back up to the purchasing.. lol.

I've had fox, ohlins and penske on bikes in the past (mostly road racing) but know what good suspension does for any bike. My 950 SE came with SPS suspension on it, but I haven't spent any time working on dialing it in. Some say it's good, some say it's not, my problem is I ride mine mostly off road if I have the options. On my 450 there's a local shop (KTM World/Highland Park) that's pretty well known for the little bike suspension setup. I've got their "works" package on my XC and it's nice.. would like to have something similar for the 950. The last hare scramble I did out there I rode the 950- I know I was bottoming a lot during the race. The part of the loop around the MX track wasn't kind to big orange. :eek1

related to Ohlins, I know a couple of guys up there (joey S mostly) and live fairly close (ok 2 hours or so but still it's no problem to plan a trip up there, some nice roads around there!) so if they need a "mule" or something similar I'd be glad to work with them on it..

lastly, I've seen the 320mm suspension that someone offers for the 9x0 bikes, what is the travel on the 950 stock vs what we might be looking at with the Ohlins?

I'm assuming it's the fork internals and a replacement rear shock? A lot of my friends are running the ohlins internals in their road race bikes and are very happy with them.

I would definitely like to upgrade at least the rear shock on my SE. If money is good I would do both but don't want to dig to deep into my beer fund. Excited to see prices. Thanks Ken for always developing new products for my favorite bike I've owned!

You know, I've seen several people refer to 320mm front suspension. Originally Pyndon, and more recently Alex at Konflict. I'm not sure if they're transposing numbers or what, but the stock KTM EXC/SX forks run 300mm/302mm respectively. WP stuff is already a little edgy when it comes to overlap between the fork housing and the stanchion tubes (Öhlins complete forks run 24mm extra), so I can't recomend or even imagine pushing them another 20mm. The big bikes place a crap load of force on the fork slider bushings. To decrease that overlap even a small amount can cause the fork bushings to wear quickly and the forks will start to flex and become unstable.

Maybe the confusion is they're really only referring to the shock. I haven't spoken to either about it. You can extend the length and travel of the shock, but this will unfavorably upset the frame geometry. You could try and compromise by running a dual-stage rear spring so that any added travel is only realized as droop, but that's not going to benefit you as much as you might hope as it causes the shock to pump. The true solution out back would require a shock relocation and modding both the under seat tray and the subframe.

Another issue with the forks is the bottom triple-clamp. It rides approximately 25mm lower than a KTM thumper. You just don't have the room available for this kind of travel without building all new fork housings and stanchion tubes from scratch (~$10k). If I were to attempt this I would definately upgrade to a 52mm fork tube and increase the overlap. Unfortunately, this would raise the seat height by another couple of inches! :huh

I believe shorty Adventure forks are 235mm, SER forks are listed at 250mm (resticted due to the aweful rear shock), and S forks are around 265mm. I run the max physically available without unbalancing the geometry... 277mm. Any more than that to me requires a frame redesign...



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So whats the ball park figure....$$$ How many beer tokens are we talking here?