Öhlins Front Fork for MX and Enduro

Öhlins Front Fork for MX and Enduro Owner's Manual, The adjusters have a normal right hand thread.Turn the damping adjusters gently clockwise to fully closed (pos. zero [0]). To open, turn counter clockwise, and count the clicks until you reach the recommended number. For recommended clicks see the Setup data in the Mounting instructions or contact an Authorized Öhlins Service Center for advice.

Measuring sag and free sag
The sag measurement is a critical part of your setup work and should be performed thoroughly.
When taking measurements:

1. The rider shall be in full gear.
2. The rider shall center his/her body over thefoot pegs. Either by sitting on the bike holdingthe handle bar or by standing on the foot pegs holding the handle bar. It is good to have a friend to help you keep your balance.Even if this position is not your exact neutral riding position, it is the position for which the reference measurements are taken and itis important that you use the same position every time you measure.

Make the following three measurements:

1. With the bike on a stand with the rear wheel hanging free, the suspension fully extended,take a measurement in a vertical line from the wheel axle to a marked reference point onthe fender or number plate. See picture 2.7. If there is no good upper reference point: Cut and paste a small triangular shaped piece of tape and use the same corner reference for every measurement.
2. Load the suspension by sitting or standing on the bike as described above. See picture 2.8.Measure the distance between the wheel axle and the reference point. Calculate the difference between this measurements and measurement number one. Let’s say you get 108 mm, this is your sag.
3. Step off the bike and let its own weight compress the suspension. See picture 2.9.Once again measure the distance between the wheel axle and the reference point. Calculatethe difference with measurement 1. Lets say you get 42 mm, this is your free sag.

Rear shock
Choose your spring rate, install, set sag and check free sag. Due to the way your motorcycle is designed the rearspring ratewill be one of the most dominant parameters in your bikes behavior.It will determine every different position thebike attains when adapting to the rider’s input and input coming from the track. During the course of a lap you will break, accelerate and shift your body weight to accommodate the track’s obstacles. In every single one of these events the bike shall position itself to allowyou to handle the obstacle safely. The bike’s position is a combination of stroke and pitch angle.  Depending on its position, the bike can either help you or work against you. The effect of spring rate is most noticeable toward theend of the stroke thus affecting bottoming, hard acceleration, transitions and other high g-force sections.

To help you choose the right spring rate we have added a carefully considered spring recommendation list to the Mounting Instruction of your Öhlins shock. This list recommends spring rate based on your body weight (with gear included) to suite your specific bike. All manufacturers design their bikes with a slightly different approach, so their suspension systems differ. A rider of a certain weight will require different spring rates for different brands even though the bikes weigh almost the same. When the spring is selected install it with the approximate preload, found in the Mounting instruction for your Öhlins shock. Install the shock on the bike and get ready to set sag.

Second to spring rate,sagis one of the most important parameters of your setup. It is acritical parameter when balancing front and rear suspension to affect bike position in mid corner,initial acceleration and going into a jump face.The manufacturer has designed the bike with a specific sag in mind. Start off with the suggested nominal value found in the Mounting Instruction.

Now it is time to check the free sag. It is the resulting parameter of your spring choice and sag setting. The free sag controls how much the rear suspension extends under light load, thus affecting position during braking and subsequent corner entry. If the free sag measure is towards the smaller end of what is recommended in the Mounting instruction, meaning the spring is a little bit too soft and requires more preload: The rear of the bike will get taller under braking,transferring load towards the front wheel for more traction and aiding “turn in”, due to the steeper angle of the front fork. If the measure is towards the larger end of what is recommended in the mounting instruction meaning the spring is a bit too hard requiring less preload: The rear of the bike will extend less, be more stable under braking and rotate less forward when jumping.