[pwatson]

Hi All,

I am pondering a couple of mods for my 6R, one of which is the change of rear shock to an ohlins unit. I have already ridden the bike on road and track, and seem to have it set up reasonably well (but I must say a little on the rigid side - but this seems a trait of the general suspension set up on this bike) Anyway I am thinking about an ohlins rear, but I not sure what and how much difference it would make. My recent bikes (R1 '00 with ohlins rear, and Mille R with full ohlins - suspension heaven) have benefited from them, but the originals (in the case of the R1) were pretty scarse so it wasn't difficult. With the kawa i'm not so sure.

So, what do you guys suggest? I am a reasonaybly fast road rider, take passengers now and again (remote preload adjusters - the best!) and each year make maybe half a dozen track outings, if I am in the mood with a one-off amatuer race now and again. I am light (70kgs) and tend to like a bike softish but well damped.

Its either this or an akropovic and pciii....

Paul.

 

[milesmcever]

Ohlins are nice i will not bash them but the stock shock can be adjusted. My opinion on it is keep the stock shock, try to at least adjust it. I race and keep in at least the top 10 in points and have no complaints about my suspension. Most of the people i race with use penske(i guess that is how you spell it) shocks. Which is better who knows. But Penske does offer great how to's on their site. Go with the cams, springs or an exhaust system. I guess either way its always money you do not get back, but its fun to spend it and go faster.

 

[desmokwan]

Ohlins are pretty and work very well, I actually have two Ohlins shocks still in the box for my two race 03's. The stock suspension with minimal revalve can easily match the Ohlins. The stock set up properly is far superior to 99% of us roadracers...stay stock and master it before the mods, you'll be a far better rider.

 

[pwatson]

Thanks for the tips!

I was sort of leaning towards leaving it stock, but money always burns a hole in my pocket! An interesting comment was to revalve the original items, but I have not seen any revalving kits / services on the market as of yet for this model. Can anyone point me to some info on this?

Finally, what set up are you guys running? I have BT012SS tires (70 profile front), dropped the front forks 5mm, 7 rings preload, (the following is from memory, may not be 100% correct) compression 5 clicks off max, extension 4 clicks, rear, preload 2 turns softer than stock, compression 4 turns, extension 3.5 turns. I have not raised the rear ride hieght as of yet.

thanks again,

Paul.

 

[winders]

I have ridden a ZX-6R with a stock shock and one with a Penske and Ohlins hard on the track at race pace. I can tell you that the stock shock is not very good. You will notice a large difference in control and overall performance with the Penske or Ohlins. The difference gets larger the longer you run the bike since the stock shock over heats fairly quickly. Also, the stock spring is too soft if you weigh 160 pounds or more. If you weight over 180 lbs, I would get a 600 lbs spring (10.75 kg/mm).

Scott

 

[Rob Lee]

winders,

Did you prefer the Ohlins or the Penske?

 

[winders]

Both the Ohlins and the Penske work well. The key is getting the right spring. The Ohlins is a lot cheaper....

Scott

 

[Strong Bad]

Bought and installed the Öhlins, it was well worth the money. Glad I spent it on suspension, you can't possibly know what good suspension is worth until you've tried it.

Chaos, panic, disorder......

my work here is done

 

[02kwaker]

HP makes you fast on straights, suspension makes your lap times drop. spend your money on getting a good suspension, then worry about HP.

 

[Transman]

what is the lenth if the 03 rear shock, from eye to eye?????????

 

[636Hooligan]

340mm.

 

[mjahelka]

Dan Kyle has the Ohlins rear shock for the 03 636 for $929. That includes installing the correct spring for your weight. If I had to choose between increasing power or improving the handling, handling wins. Go with the Ohlins.

http://www.kyleusa.com/catalog/kawasaki_zx6r_zx6rr_2003_47426_products.htm

 

[Strong Bad]

Yes, Öhlins are delicious. Also got some a complete comression/rebound re-valving kit on the way from Dan Kyle too.

Check it out - the chain has since been replaced for something a little lighter./forum/uploads/Strong Bad/zx-6r_rear_shock0003.jpg

 

[Transman]

im retarded,what does 340mm translate to in inches

 

[Transman]

the reason i ask is i have a fox twin clicker thats 15.5 in and it has about 2-300 miles and im trying to find out if it fits anyother bikes.i bought it for a 01 yamaha yzf600r ive sold the bike and its about an 1in to long for my 98 zx6r. i cant use it on my bike and fox wont tell me what other bike it fits so im asking everyone here

 

[dj dunzie]

Originally posted by Transman

im retarded,what does 340mm translate to in inches

About 13-3/8"

 

[Routa]

Originally posted by Strong Bad

Yes, Öhlins are delicious.

Mmmm... Öhlins. I wouldn't mind having one. Maybe next summer...

 

[pwatson]

Just to let you guys know that eventually I went for the ohlins rear with ohlins front springs and (lighter) oil. I am very happy with the set-up now, a _big_ improvement. Only one warning though, be careful with the choice of rear spring. I weigh 65kgs and the original spring was too hard (10kg). Eventually I went with a 8.5kg spring which works best for road and track. The front oil + springs have made alot of difference to the fork action. Well worth the little outlay.

Paul.