Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi all,
Gotta question for all you guys with ohlins on your ZRX's. I've had mine on for a year now and i'm starting to get a bit of dive on the front end upon braking,more than i had when new. It's had a few wheelstands done especially since i fitted the ZZR motor in it which also makes it a different beast but thats another story.
Not being an expert on fork adjustment i was wondering which of the adjusters on these forks might i use to help with problem ?.
Cheers adza

I've only had mine for a month, so I can't comment on what they are like after a year, but I would think the springs would settle a bit over time and your fork oil could need a change if you've put a few k's on them and given them a workout. Has your static/rider sag changed since you fitted them up?

Hi Nelso,
Maybe its the weight of that Kerker you sold me, But i figured it balanced out by the lighter wallet LOL.
Static sag still feels ok and yeah maybe i should do an oil change but i thought i'd play with the clickers a bit first. Just lookin for a start point cause my understanding of fork adjustment aint the greatest. Is it rebound or compression i should play with?

Sort your static sag out by adjusting the preload and you should be pretty close for a start point. You can't feel static sag you have to measure it. Use cable ties on the forks. It has the standard settings in the book you got with the forks. Stick a cable tie on the forks, go for a blat and do some hard braking and you should be getting the cable tie almost to the top but not quite. You want to be using almost all the travel under the hardest braking. Compression damping will slow down the rate that it compresses under braking.

Good luck with it.

Thanks Glen, Good job for tomorrow. The books buried in the shed i'll dig it out tmoz. Do you remember which adjusters do what?

adza wrote:Thanks Glen, Good job for tomorrow. The books buried in the shed i'll dig it out tmoz. Do you remember which adjusters do what?

Spring Preload is the big nut on the top. Screw in or out to adjust number of rings showing.

Rebound damping adjuster is the screw in the middle of the preload adjuster. Screw in to increase rebound damping.

Compression damping is the screw at the bottom. Screw in to increase compression damping.

Got it . I remember when they were new and i played around with them a bit but ended up putting back to how they came. They always had a little bit of dive and i remember Phil said he added a bit of oil to them to fix it.
I'll try a bit of compression but i think the real fix will be new oil + that little bit extra.
Cheers

It's always good to have a fiddle. Give you an excuse for a test ride

adza wrote:Got it . I remember when they were new and i played around with them a bit but ended up putting back to how they came. They always had a little bit of dive and i remember Phil said he added a bit of oil to them to fix it.
I'll try a bit of compression but i think the real fix will be new oil + that little bit extra.
Cheers

That's right, was about 20mm extra from memory. I now have my preload backed off to about 4 line showing from 2 originally. Make sure you change the oil after 2 years of use too.

Well i added about 3 clicks of compression which made the front end shake it's head. I returned it to where it was plus took another 2 turns off comp.
I then added i full turn of preload. Front end feels better with no head shake and less dive but i'm getting a bit of wallowing thru corners. But this was loaded up with luggage as i just got Back from a 2 day tour. Newcastle, Bathurst (with obligatory lap of the mountain ) Oberon, Golbourn, Braidwood, Batemans Bay. Then Back thru Jarvis Bay for a look and Kangaroo Valley,Bowral, Windsor and up the Putty back to Newcastle. Great little Tour with some awsome roads.

Come around my place & I'll have a look at it & set a few things up that will help..

I have noticed extra sag with my ohlin forks as well have been doing a few wheelies lately I thought that mite be the cause , I tried a bit more preload and found head shake as well . I will try the 20 mm exta oil do you need a special tool to undo the fork caps and what oil should I use
cheers greg

ocd wrote:I have noticed extra sag with my ohlin forks as well have been doing a few wheelies lately I thought that mite be the cause , I tried a bit more preload and found head shake as well . I will try the 20 mm exta oil do you need a special tool to undo the fork caps and what oil should I use
cheers greg

No special tool needed. Just undo the top triple bolts and wind the preload adjuster all the way out, once it get there the fork cap will start to undo.

Thanks Phil for the help
cheers
greg