MarctheSharc
PR Founding Father
Yes, I saved it..
On Monday afternoon I called up Andre at Coppersmith and we talked suspension. I’ve known of the Ohlins brand throughout the years and quickly recognize the gold anodizing of the Swedish marquee. Being in Moto, and seeing the add here on Pitracer, I knew that Coppersmith was in Akron and they have a long association with Ohilns.
We talked chassis set-up, theory, suspension application and real economics.
I know suspension is a personal thing and a set-up that works awesome for one person may not work at all for me. Yet, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to ride an Ohlins bike? Very intriguing and somewhat mysterious, any time I would see an Ohlins equipped bike, I wanted to try it out. Ultimately though, I never have gotten the opportunity.
The Nordic theory and engineering is tried, tested and has been tweaked through decades of suspension devotion while the craftsmanship is aerospace solid . Add the notion that an attractive, tall, blond, blue-eyed Scandinavian beauty may handle my shock, just adds to the allure. As we spoke, it became obvious that even though I’m over 50 years old, I’m still mad about MX and in my perpetual quest for moto nirvana this would be a perfect time to try out a set of Swedish sticks.
After checking up what Ohlins recommends for the 13 RMZ, Andre offered me a smoking Cycle Show Deal. It was around 2:00 on Monday when I took the plunge and ordered up a full set of Ohlins Suspension. I would be getting a TTX44 Shock and a set of RXF 48 Forks complete with TTX Cartridge. They would come valved for my weight with matching Ohlins springs.
Over the phone I gave Andre my measurements and how/ were I ride. He said it would take a little longer because of a Cycle Show surge but reassured that few days should do it. On Thursday at 4:00 I got a call saying my Swedish Made - Akron Tuned Custom Suspension was done and ready to go!
After work on Friday, I found the nicely kept Coppersmith store front on Main Street easy enough and anxiously dashed inside. I met Andre, Ed and Thom working and was taken for a tour of the suspension lab. The lab was a well lit, pristine clean service area that has a slick Shock vacuum pump, custom benches with custom Shock / Fork vices. On the walls, hanging bin shelving contain rows after row of new parts. Shock springs, Fork springs, bottom out bumpers, tubes, bodies and even fork lugs. Pretty much everything needed to build custom suspension from the ground up. All of it Very, Very nice!
I looked around some more asking a bunch of questions and since Ed was wrapping up a few things he was working on, he took some time and showed me how the Ohlins stuff is built and how it works.
Andre and I went over the Ohlins set-up manual, my spec-sheets and individual bike set-up. He asked that I call and give him my sag numbers so he could up-date my profile. I agreed, and with that I loaded up the two beautiful Swedish boxes into my truck and hurried home.
Everything was boxed up real nice.
You can tell things are specific, coded and checked.
Opening the boxes and feeling the Scandinavian love
Both forks and shock are set for me.
With closer inspection the unique design and outstanding craftsmanship becomes evident in every detail of both the sock and forks. Every thing is nicely machined, the use of multiple hard coatings used throughout is obvious and interchangeable components are engraved.
The Ohlins manuals are product specific for my 2013 RMZ. Starting with a chapter covering product design and options, it then goes into install instructions and tips. Proper chassis measurements math and diagrams are included in the next chapter to double check that everything is correct. The spec sheets are custom for me. They list me, my bike, my riding, the individual components used, spring rates, preload settings, sag settings, clicker settings and even torque specs for all the bolts
Checking out some pretty anodizing and intricate engraving detail.
That’s it for now……so far this Ohlins experience has been awesome to say the least and my excitement is off the hook. I can’t wait to slip the new jewels on the Suzy ….More on the install next..
On Monday afternoon I called up Andre at Coppersmith and we talked suspension. I’ve known of the Ohlins brand throughout the years and quickly recognize the gold anodizing of the Swedish marquee. Being in Moto, and seeing the add here on Pitracer, I knew that Coppersmith was in Akron and they have a long association with Ohilns.
We talked chassis set-up, theory, suspension application and real economics.
I know suspension is a personal thing and a set-up that works awesome for one person may not work at all for me. Yet, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to ride an Ohlins bike? Very intriguing and somewhat mysterious, any time I would see an Ohlins equipped bike, I wanted to try it out. Ultimately though, I never have gotten the opportunity.
The Nordic theory and engineering is tried, tested and has been tweaked through decades of suspension devotion while the craftsmanship is aerospace solid . Add the notion that an attractive, tall, blond, blue-eyed Scandinavian beauty may handle my shock, just adds to the allure. As we spoke, it became obvious that even though I’m over 50 years old, I’m still mad about MX and in my perpetual quest for moto nirvana this would be a perfect time to try out a set of Swedish sticks.
After checking up what Ohlins recommends for the 13 RMZ, Andre offered me a smoking Cycle Show Deal. It was around 2:00 on Monday when I took the plunge and ordered up a full set of Ohlins Suspension. I would be getting a TTX44 Shock and a set of RXF 48 Forks complete with TTX Cartridge. They would come valved for my weight with matching Ohlins springs.
Over the phone I gave Andre my measurements and how/ were I ride. He said it would take a little longer because of a Cycle Show surge but reassured that few days should do it. On Thursday at 4:00 I got a call saying my Swedish Made - Akron Tuned Custom Suspension was done and ready to go!
After work on Friday, I found the nicely kept Coppersmith store front on Main Street easy enough and anxiously dashed inside. I met Andre, Ed and Thom working and was taken for a tour of the suspension lab. The lab was a well lit, pristine clean service area that has a slick Shock vacuum pump, custom benches with custom Shock / Fork vices. On the walls, hanging bin shelving contain rows after row of new parts. Shock springs, Fork springs, bottom out bumpers, tubes, bodies and even fork lugs. Pretty much everything needed to build custom suspension from the ground up. All of it Very, Very nice!
I looked around some more asking a bunch of questions and since Ed was wrapping up a few things he was working on, he took some time and showed me how the Ohlins stuff is built and how it works.
Andre and I went over the Ohlins set-up manual, my spec-sheets and individual bike set-up. He asked that I call and give him my sag numbers so he could up-date my profile. I agreed, and with that I loaded up the two beautiful Swedish boxes into my truck and hurried home.
Everything was boxed up real nice.
You can tell things are specific, coded and checked.
Opening the boxes and feeling the Scandinavian love
Both forks and shock are set for me.
With closer inspection the unique design and outstanding craftsmanship becomes evident in every detail of both the sock and forks. Every thing is nicely machined, the use of multiple hard coatings used throughout is obvious and interchangeable components are engraved.
The Ohlins manuals are product specific for my 2013 RMZ. Starting with a chapter covering product design and options, it then goes into install instructions and tips. Proper chassis measurements math and diagrams are included in the next chapter to double check that everything is correct. The spec sheets are custom for me. They list me, my bike, my riding, the individual components used, spring rates, preload settings, sag settings, clicker settings and even torque specs for all the bolts
Checking out some pretty anodizing and intricate engraving detail.
That’s it for now……so far this Ohlins experience has been awesome to say the least and my excitement is off the hook. I can’t wait to slip the new jewels on the Suzy ….More on the install next..
