What does everyone think of OHLINS suspension???

[gixxer1k]

im working directly with ohlins suspension to develop and expand the ATV product line, any advice that you may have would be helpfull and beneficial for us at ohlins and all of you. as many of you all know we make the best suspension, we just need to offer a little more for this market. what would you guys like to see available in the suspension market?

[300ex73]

Well, I know I considered them when I looked for suspension for my 300EX. Nothing available for me though. And I'm sure they offer compression adjustment, but what about rebound? And maybe thy should offer some sort of zero preload shocks.

[gixxer1k]

thanks for the imput, it was the type of response i was looking for, but we do offer high and low speed compression adj, as well as hydraulic spring preload adj, and rebound dampening on certin modles (36 prx).

[Chino886]

Originally posted by gixxer1k
thanks for the imput, it was the type of response i was looking for, but we do offer high and low speed compression adj, as well as hydraulic spring preload adj, and rebound dampening on certin modles (36 prx).

more advertising and marketing, not a whole lot is known about Ohlins.

[gixxer1k]

dont feel bad about hurting my feelings, tell me what sucks about them if anyone has personal experience with them or trying to purchase them! i wana hear all the bad talking!

[Chino886]

Originally posted by gixxer1k
dont feel bad about hurting my feelings, tell me what sucks about them if anyone has personal experience with them or trying to purchase them! i wana hear all the bad talking!

I honestly don't know jack about them. I have heard that they are cheap alternative though. Send me a pair and I will give you feedback. I ride with about 20 guys and none of us know anything about them.

[400exMO]

I don't know much about them, but I like the color schemes. More advertisement on them and all the models specs. I dont' even know if you guys offer them in remote rezzis. More advertising would be well worth it.

[400exrider707]

Well just look at what elka and axis have and then try and sell the same stuff.....BUT at a lower cost! I personally dont really like the gold color often found on the shocks it makes them seem cheap maybe its just me. Also ZPS would definitely be good, maybe even triple/quad rates? Like someone else said remote rezzy as an option if you dont already have that. Most importantly sell them at a lower cost. Customer support goes a LONG way too, as of right now ELKA seems to be the best at customer service IMO, and then slap a set of them on a couple of PRO's rides for exposure and you should be in business.

[JR3]

Hmmm. Ive always wanted to try ohilins but went with axis because i knew a lot more about them etc. PLus not to many dealers are set up with you guys. I wouldnt do all the triple rate quad rate bull**** now its all about titanium. like axis they came out with the dual rate titanium piggybacks and they are 10x better then a lot of quadrate/tripple rates.

Originally posted by gixxer1k
im working directly with ohlins suspension to develop and expand the ATV product line, any advice that you may have would be helpfull and beneficial for us at ohlins and all of you. as many of you all know we make the best suspension, we just need to offer a little more for this market. what would you guys like to see available in the suspension market?

#1 problem, you dont have enough rider support and your product is not proven in the ATV market

the reason i purchase Elka shocks is because i know that they are great shocks, i have used them before, and know they are race proven and built top knotch

i know ohlins makes good shocks, but i dont see ohlins giving me the same kind of discounts or sponsorship help as any other shock company would

being i have Elka shocks right now, your product needs to be good enough to make me sell the Elkas and switch over, and i just dont feel your at that point yet, im looking for something i know works and performs at its best at all times, which Elka has always done for me

I have seen you guys at the GNCC races, but i have yet to see a rider using them, or sponsored by you, non-pro support seems to be the way to go for word of mouth, and thats what gets the information around, consider that for 2006

but like i said, you need good sponsorship programs for the racers to get information around, thats what it takes now, and then people will know your product has been put to the test, the first step in doing this, is finding a good group of riders to sponsor, beat all their current deals, and start from there, then work your way up to the pros

hope that helps!:macho

[jdwxv3]

I just think the Ohlins look old school. I have watched some old quad racing videos and I see a lot of ohlins, and they look the same now as they did then. Some fresh new colors and new image would be nice as well as dual rate, tripple rate, and quad rate, and maybe even titanium would be nice. As of now people just kind of look at them as a joke. I also think if you could get a couple well known riders to use them it would get the name out a little. I hope this helps, I know it is not much info but it is the best I can do with my simple little mind:ermm:

[igmif]

I don't think I've heard anything new about Ohlins shocks since Gary Denton raced with them in the 90's. I'm hesitant to go with them because they seem to be old technology to me. I saw a picture on this site of some new Ohlins products, but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere. I agree with the other replies too. I like Ohlins, but I'd like to see them with remote rezzie's and multi rate/titanium set-ups.

[trx400exxracer]

not enough rider support

they look like nice shocks

the only pro that runs them that I know of is Jason Dunkleugger

web site ?

more dealerships in the U.S.

[dangle]

All of the lost creek cycle bikes run them... There just to fugly for me to run though..


Mike

[300ex73]

I know that if there was a rear shock available for my 300, and I could get some front shocks set up for my LT arms, I would definitely give them a try. I kinda like the look of them, but I'm not a big fan of having a bunch of flashy crap. I like how they have the somewhat factory appearance.

[ill_lil_romey]

Focus more on promoting quad products. Ohlins is well recognized as high end shocks in the streetbike world, but the company has never introduced anything new to the quad market. A redesigned , reasonably priced shock, some new color schemes, and a whole lot of marketing is my opinion.

[Chino886]

Originally posted by gixxer1k
im working directly with ohlins suspension to develop and expand the ATV product line, any advice that you may have would be helpfull and beneficial for us at ohlins and all of you. as many of you all know we make the best suspension, we just need to offer a little more for this market. what would you guys like to see available in the suspension market?

I really think there is no marketing for the Ohlins, if you get me a set I will post information on this site for all the users to see. I ride a little bit of everything.

[hoopd450]

its hard to find info on ohlins shocks. i would be interested in trying a set but its hard to find dealers, features and prices of the shocks. also i wanted to send ohlins a sponsorship resume but the only addresses i could find were in europe or somewhere. i would say advertise in the atv market more and sponsor some racers.

[scramblerracer]

Want 150 quad racers every 2 weeks to really appreciate your products- Sponsor the Missouri Harescrambles Championship Series for 2006. 13 or 14 races average turnout for quads around 125-150 racers plus all of their friends and family who most also ride. This would get you the kind of exposure in the midwest that you need. Don't think there is some trick suspension parts in the slow midwest-guess again; come to a race in either the MHSC or the Hillbilly Gran Prix and you will see hundreds of potential buyers all in one place. After you hang out here in the midwest for a season or two- then go on to the GNCC and be a large corp. sponsor so your logo and products are plastered all over the eastern 1/3 of the country. Just one opinion. I have ridden on your shocks on a Gas Gas 300 wild- They were stock and undersprung for my weight but they were very smooth and they stayed cool. websites for info www.mhscracing.com www.hillbillygp.com
Thanks Josh

Originally posted by scramblerracer
Want 150 quad racers every 2 weeks to really appreciate your products- Sponsor the Missouri Harescrambles Championship Series for 2006. 13 or 14 races average turnout for quads around 125-150 racers plus all of their friends and family who most also ride. This would get you the kind of exposure in the midwest that you need. Don't think there is some trick suspension parts in the slow midwest-guess again; come to a race in either the MHSC or the Hillbilly Gran Prix and you will see hundreds of potential buyers all in one place. After you hang out here in the midwest for a season or two- then go on to the GNCC and be a large corp. sponsor so your logo and products are plastered all over the eastern 1/3 of the country. Just one opinion. I have ridden on your shocks on a Gas Gas 300 wild- They were stock and undersprung for my weight but they were very smooth and they stayed cool. websites for info www.mhscracing.com www.hillbillygp.com
Thanks Josh

they already sponsor GNCC

[tater_kamik]

i have ridden and loved ohlins shocks. but only on an streetbike. i looked into ohlins when i was in the market for new shocks for my quad, but there isnt any info on the ohlins website (or want when i looked, i havent checked it out since then) i may have bough ohlins, but since there was no info out there for them, i didnt.

[bradley300]

looks like your biggest downfall is your lack of marketing/pro sponsership and a small dealership network. i know anyone can get ohlins from any white brothers distributor, but most people dont.

[Colby@C&DRacing]

We sell the ohlins shocks :) But until now I did not like the lack of setup options. They have just came out with a new line up, we can get longtravel or standard and pic the spring rate and the list goes on of available options.(high and low speed, rebound etc)

[ajr400ex]

I agree with the marketing comments. I also prefer to buy shocks from a person with technical "know how" vs. a large distributor (GTT, TMM, Quadshop, C&D, Derisi, etc.). If you are spending the money you want to know that they are setup correctly and have someone to help if they are not. Also looking for correct travel based on a-arms used. There is probably many (10+) different shock lengths required for each quad so buying from a distributor is not practical. Establish a dealer network, offer discounts, sponsor some riders. Find riders that have the capablity to provide feedback to the design process. Hook up with an a-arm mfg. and offer packages that are designed correctly to work together.

[Sjorge450R]

I personaly never hear about Ohlins. I think that if you were to support riders and advertise at tracks, you would get some support. I know that if I were some how able to try your shocks for a race, I would be able to tell you the difference between your shocks and my Elkas. Like things that need to be improved and about how they might be better.

I've ridden them. My grandpa works with Ohlins in the auto racing department. Very, very good shocks. He's spent alot of time in Sweeden at the HQ or w/e. I'm almost sure he told me that Yamaha owns Ohlins:confused:

[gixxer1k]

its not a full ownership, ohlins is still a sepperate company, but yamaha does have a vested interest in them.

thanks for all your responses guys... you can forget about the sponsership thing though, not even Valentino Rossie gets his shocks for free so chances are the quad guys wont either. please keep your eyes open though and if you see an ohlins parts unlimited guy at any of these events come up and say hi! ill see ya out there!

:cool:

[bradley300]

thats sad to hear, because to get faith in your product, you need more than 1 pro rider using your shocks, and i dont know how many would pay for your shocks that they know little about as opposed to getting a set of axis, elka or PEP for free. even if they arent free, they would still take the axis, elka or PEP because they know more about them

[gixxer1k]

we are still looking for riders we want to ride with our shocks, but they dont get them full spon. they only get discount, we might change that for sports that we are not as developed in(as far as public knowledge is concerned) such as ATV or Supermoto, but for the most part ohlins expects the customer to be edjucated enough to know they are the best.... dont blame me im just the messanger, they are sweedish! :) but they really do make the best product you can get... and as far as something being under sprung, send it to the service center free of charge and they will do everything for you with a very fast turn around! they are very good about offering suport, they even have service vans at the races as one of you has noticed to do work for you on the spot!

[bradley300]

i say your best bet is to give 2 top pro's a set. once people see them doing alright on them, you should be able to survive on the current contingency until public opinion raises to that of elka/axis. it didnt take elka long to raise to where they are, i think the key was sponsering the four stroke tech team. that got them alot of exposure and racer feed back in a short amount of time

[gixxer1k]

haha elka got its name by giving un-believable amounts of stuff away for free...they really arnt as high of quality as people think, they just make an okay product and help the customer fix the problems all the time, thats why they are so good at tech sup. i do like how condition specific they are however and hope we can eventually make dune specific and other such suspension available to you all as well, but our suspension should be just as good pretty much everywhere you go.

well sorry to say..but if u dont give discounts to a lot of riders, and good discounts...u wont sell your shocks to any racers...which means no reccommendations...which means no sales for you...its your choice

[bwamos]

Originally posted by bradley300
i say your best bet is to give 2 top pro's a set. once people see them doing alright on them, you should be able to survive on the current contingency until public opinion raises to that of elka/axis. it didnt take elka long to raise to where they are, i think the key was sponsering the four stroke tech team. that got them alot of exposure and racer feed back in a short amount of time

I agree. Sponsor the pros. People buy what the pros use, period.

20 sets of shocks fpr the top 10 guys aren't even a drop in the bucket.

It's all about name recognition.

Style, is another issue. Mosts other sports the shocks are hidden. ATV's they are exposed in their full glory. I personally dont care about the looks, but if you're a pro, a duner, etc. the look of the quad is very important. I'd suggest an annodized black body w/ the ohlins gold springs, black pigyback w/ gold accents. It still screams ohlins, but doesn't look like a 1980's suspension. ;) Gotta have the sex appeal.

[wilkin250r]

You've got to be kidding me.

Look, I'm not about to say "If you give away free shocks to pros, I'll buy a set" That's absurd. However, in a round-about way, that's pretty much the end result.

Elka was well-established in the snowmobile market before they broke into ATVs. Even with all that experience, when they first came out for quads, they weren't all that great. But massive amounts of continued R&D on ATVs, in their terrain, have vastly improved their product into a top-notch ATV shock.

Ohlins may be hot-stuff for streetbikes, but that's a different realm, much like Elka and snowmobiles. And much the same as Elka needed to do, I believe Ohlins has a lot to learn through R&D about the offroad market and performance before they have a top-notch product. Now, I know that Ohlins shocks used to be popular on ATVs way back when, but ATV suspension has had some major breakthroughs since then.

The fact that Ohlins does NOT have their shocks on a bunch of pro riders tells me that they are NOT as committed to R&D that Elka was. It tells me they are not committed to finding out what is required of an ATV shock, and how to make them perform the best in all situations.

For crying out loud, they don't even have a ZPS option?!? What does THAT say about their commitment to R&D, quality, performance, and what riders want? EVERYBODY has a ZPS option. This tells me that Ohlins has been stagnant in their research.

I don't know about you, but I'm not about to blindly trust their performance on streetbikes, because I'm not on a streetbike. I'm on an ATV, and I haven't seen Ohlins prove themselves on an ATV.

Originally posted by wilkin250r
You've got to be kidding me.

Look, I'm not about to say "If you give away free shocks to pros, I'll buy a set" That's absurd. However, in a round-about way, that's pretty much the end result.

Elka was well-established in the snowmobile market before they broke into ATVs. Even with all that experience, when they first came out for quads, they weren't all that great. But massive amounts of continued R&D on ATVs, in their terrain, have vastly improved their product into a top-notch ATV shock.

Ohlins may be hot-stuff for streetbikes, but that's a different realm, much like Elka and snowmobiles. And much the same as Elka needed to do, I believe Ohlins has a lot to learn through R&D about the offroad market and performance before they have a top-notch product. Now, I know that Ohlins shocks used to be popular on ATVs way back when, but ATV suspension has had some major breakthroughs since then.

The fact that Ohlins does NOT have their shocks on a bunch of pro riders tells me that they are NOT as committed to R&D that Elka was. It tells me they are not committed to finding out what is required of an ATV shock, and how to make them perform the best in all situations.

For crying out loud, they don't even have a ZPS option?!? What does THAT say about their commitment to R&D, quality, performance, and what riders want? EVERYBODY has a ZPS option. This tells me that Ohlins has been stagnant in their research.

I don't know about you, but I'm not about to blindly trust their performance on streetbikes, because I'm not on a streetbike. I'm on an ATV, and I haven't seen Ohlins prove themselves on an ATV.

wow, that was very well said :macho

[MD450r]

Some of the things that I would like to see from a suspension company.
Other than the works shocks that I had once the only other shocks that I have ever had are the long body elkas I have now. One of the main reasons that I bought elka is because of the good quality and short wait time. If Ohlins can keep there delivery time at or under two weeks it would be a huge plus.

One of the things that I liked was how that I shock company had a page or two that left me more informed as to why there shocks can work better than other shocks even with the single rate setup. Youve talked some allready about why your shocks are better built than others out there but lets see some pics on your website with yours and competitors shocks cut up and tell us why your shock will be more durable and what about your shock will allow better dampening. Like why Ohlins only have dual rate when others are tripple and quad rate setups. How is the dual rate setup going to work better than the others.

When I get the shocks I want them to be setup to be as close to where it needs to be as possible to the point that i realy dont even need to play with the compression and rebound adjusters if it has them. Thats just me though, because I cant stay out on the track long enough to figure out what I need to adjust to make the quad ride any better. I can deal with adjusting the ride height though.


Aaron

[willow2679]

Like others post I know they make high end suspension components but aren´t as involved like others brands in taking the quad market seriusly and specifically (developing taking in consideration the specific needs for the quads). It would be good for the quad people to have you more involved to make more competition and better Products/prices.
I know denton and B. HAWK used them but that was a long time now

[plusultra]

Pat Brown will be using Ohlins in 2006. He tested them out in California. he felt the performance of the new PDS (position damping system) was what he needed to take him to the next level. the shocks he tested were production units with Aluminium bodies and triple rate titanium springs approximately 1/2 the weight of competing shocks (not air). Jason Dunkleberger had his best seson in 2005 and rekons Ohlins played a big part in that. He will use them again in 2006. Dustin Nelson has been using them in the ITP series & winning a bunch of races. Ohlins has been testing in California in October with enginners from Sweden and will be testing again in December.