Going for ohlins suspension upgrade on my 2013 Blade, been quoted: TTX MK11 Rear Shock- £1280 Forks 30mm cartridge kit+springs- £1221 +fitting It seems not a bad deal, still doing research but are these the right correct components for my model? thanks
"The kit has a unique design with compression damping and adjustment in the left leg and rebound daming and adjustment in the right leg. All adjustments are made at the top together with the spring preload". Whats that all about are the forks connected in some way?
I've got the 2012 blade and I think the stock suspension is perfect, I've got a speed triple with ohlins front and rear, but it's not as good a ride as the blade.
my TTX rear cost me £450 and is almost new. will give it a service at MH racing for £150. would be getting front springs and service and should cost me another £250= but the best money you can spend So do it
Have to agree, I spent a shed load of cash on Ohlins goodies for my GSXR750 when I had it. good for track but no good for the road!
I'd rather blow that kinda cash on some dymags and get the standard suspension set-up, but each to their own.
I'm a big fan of ohlins shocks, but didn't like the ohlins fronts tbh, and the 30mm kits are harder to set up. I binned the ohlins I had and changed them for K-techs 25mm kit and got better feedback. if you speak to the guys around the race paddock most of them run K-tech stuff, its cheaper than ohlins and works better too. I assume this mod is for the track and not road? if its for the road, then its a waste of money TBH as you wont get the benefit of the forks/ shock the standard forks are pretty good and only need a basic valve upgrade to make them competitive, a full cartridge upgrade really is a waste of money esp on the road, most of the club race guys I know use these forks with k-tech piston kist and valve kits circa £500 and get very good results.
cheers but im 17.5 stone so standard suspension doesn't work grt for me its ok but do trackdays etc and just wanted to get it sorted properly will look into K-tech thanks
Kinnel Kidder! That's knocking on £14.5K including the initial purchase price! That's only a Grand or so shy of a standard BMW HP4! Shuda bought that instead and just had stiffer springs fitted for a few hundred, then you'd have had a decent working ABS, Traction control, diff Power maps a far better engine and Snazzy on the fly damping! Ah well, hind sight is a wonderful thing!
sineware- IS THIS A FIREBLADE FORUM or not- you remind me of that harry enfield character 'you don't want to do it like that!' And just to say I test rode every machine on the market including BMW but liked the Blade best, I don't really need the ohlins the bike is very good already knee down on a few local roundabouts etc- but always wanted ohlins but never could afford them but now I can- so thought why not they can only be even better than stock! That old maxim comes to mind- if you have nothing constructive to say then say nothing? Or maybe it makes u feel better- WHATEVER PAL
Can't agree at all that upgrading suspension is a waste for the road, the road is the most likely place your gonna get killed, not the track. good suspension makes the bike handle much better, therefore safer IMO. Spent money on mine and it is the best handling bike I have ever had. Spent more than I would have if I had brought a new BMW or Ducati.............but I did not want to do that. I wanted a bike I could keep and modify to meet MY needs, not anyone else's likes or dislikes. I have heard Kidder that the Bitubo cartridges are excellent, about the same money as the Ohlins and some rate them more highly. Kidder, if you want to spend money on your bike do it mate, there will always be people saying x or y negatives. The biggest laugh of all to me is the ' you don't need that if your using it on the road ' ...........like anyone actually 'needs' a 1000 cc bike for road use. Besides, as I said before, the road is the place where you are most at risk, I think my life is worth a few bob. I could also argue that if the standard suspension is fine for people on the road then they either have superb roads they ride on or ride a little more sedately than others. Cos the standard suspension was way off what I needed, even when professionally set up.
tyres and suspension, the only 2 things that make sense. carbon bling, ok if you want. But good tyres and a bike thats set up well either on standard suspension or aftermarket. Will be the best money you can spend. taken me years to learn that
I know what your saying, but having crap tyres. and wrongly set up suspension is going to make a bigger difference than say Carbon wheels
I agree totally Remal. I was just saying wheels make a big difference too, especially with acceleration, braking and turning. Combined with good suspension set up, tyres and brakes it makes a massive difference. I think it is important to have a holistic approach, I like my bike to match how I ride, I have never left any bike stock. My bike is far more user friendly than it was at stock, not that it was bad just not what I wanted.
ah in that case the standard springs are gonna be far too soft for you buddy,, ultimately its your choice, and its your bike, so spend the cash on what you prefer, I was only suggesting a cheaper alternative than full cartridges. if you defo want Ohlins matey, my friend may well be braking his bike next week, and it has a new set of 30mm ohlins cartridge forks. think he's gonna be looking for around £1000,00 for them as they are new, and still cheaper than you getting yours done with the same kit. Lee
Thanks for replys, I too cant understand people who say if you go for ohlins for road use its a waste of money- Can someone tell me what the difference is between going round an open B-road corner at 110mph and going round the same type of corner at the same speed on a track? I know I would rather have ohlins suspension fitted for both scenarios.
Oh dear this thread is going down hill fast - why do people get so aggressive on the forum?? Ohlins suspension can't be too shabby for the road - it's fitted as standard OEM by enough manufacturers on the top of the range models - are we saying these bikes were never meant to be ridden on the road only the track?
