advice: ohlins vintage find

[ghostdancing]

hostare immagini

i just found these shocks (rare find indeed in italy..) on sale at 600,00 eu (less or more are  600 USD); the seller claims they are fully rebuilt by a specialist..

price its' high (basically what i need to buy a new set (but no piggyback) from YSS\works performance etc..)

but they are ohlins (ITC, correct??)..

 looking the picture looks like the travel is too short (less then 100mm).. isnt'?

what do you think? grab or pass??

[80-85 husky]

ohlins can be travel limited simply by fitting a spacer in the works. that's the difference btw cr and wr shock lengths. they look pretty good. well over a thou to buy new

[FourstrokeForever]

They are ITC shocks. For $US 600 they look to be a good buy. Shaft length is all dependent on the angle the shock will be working at and available wheel travel area. No point in having 12 inches of shock travel if there is only enough wheel travel space for 10 inches....

[shelpi]

good shocks at a good price, gives you some meat on the bone for setting up!
on that note they might just be good to go with a bit of luck, but hey nothing  springs, oil and the rest wont fix!

[NSR]

They are ITCs with short end eyes. 
To fit in the hyd bump stop the body of the shock is about 20-50mm to long for any other bike but a ITC Husky. 
I have a set of ITCs on my SWM with the hyd bump stop still working but it was a lot of reengineering to get the body and stroke right.  They work awesome and it was worth it for me.  As they are there in the photo I can't say they would work 100% on any bike.               

[Oldfart]

Springs are an issue here in Oz to buy @ correct rate  and fuggin expensive..... my two cents worth 

[Tomas]

Itc can be modified. You can shorten the bodies and get rid of hydraulic stopper fairly easy. I cut the shaft shorter and cut new thread to secure piston(M8). Than you just have to measure and shorten shock body to suit(M40x1) thread from memory. ITC shocks have an aluminium spacer on top of shock piston.(my one was 10mm thick). Get rid of that to get more stroke and use rubber bump stops. Parts available from husqvarna-parts.com in us. Good prices there and guy have all the parts for Ohlins shocks. Ask for parts that are not listed.O rings are all metric standard and available orings and more on ebay. Tuning the shock is bit of hit and mis since you have shims that suit a difrent bike. Your dumping may be too fast or too slow for your liking. Same with springs. I have used stock RM 125 spring and chucked the stock husqvarna 500 it was i think. It work fine for me riding. Maybe one day i will buy some extra shims and try other setup. Only need a lathe to shorten shafts and shock bodies. Some thread cuting involved but half decent machine shop should be happy to do that. You Italians have produced some great machines(Vertematies) so finding a good machinist should not be an issue. Here is a good start point on ebay right now   http://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-HUSQVARNA-ITC-OHLINS-SHOCKS-450MM-EYE-TO-EYE-/331925615699?hash=item4d484ef453:g:lBEAAOSwTZ1Xn5LU&vxp=mtr     
Also if you after DeCarbon stile Ohlins shocks look for Cannondale Cannibal Blaze front Ohlins shocks. But they are bit tricky to modify since you have to account for floating piston that is inside and also they have shorter shafs.They do come up on ebay now and than for about two hundred bucks plus shipping. Bit cheaper since people dont think they can be fit to a dirt bike. They also work well on my other RM. Goood luck whatever you decide to do.

[Wasp]

hostare immagini

i just found these shocks (rare find indeed in italy..) on sale at 600,00 eu (less or more are  600 USD); the seller claims they are fully rebuilt by a specialist..

price its' high (basically what i need to buy a new set (but no piggyback) from YSS\works performance etc..)

but they are ohlins (ITC, correct??)..

 looking the picture looks like the travel is too short (less then 100mm).. isnt'?

what do you think? grab or pass??

Do a few sums Paulo . You pay Euro 600 for shocks with 12 mm shafts and 36mm bore . They have no threaded preload adjustment , they have no rebound adjustment , they have no compression adjustment , and you may have to pay to get the travel right and you may have to buy springs.( I suspect they are Maico)  But you will have Oehlins , if thats what you must have . Not trying to upset the professors , but think about it . The shocks I quoted you on have exactly 12 mm shafts and 36 mm steel bore BUT come made for the job , have threaded proload  and rebound and compression adjustment if you wish . Like I said , this not to upset anyone of course , just a hint to think about the sums and the features you get , because many do not compare apples with apples and are rather focused on a  name . If you only paid 100 Euro , then you have room to make all the changes if you have to set up to do it . Over to you Paulo.

[ghostdancing]

tnx guys for your knowledge and advices; i've just realized they dont have any form of preload adjust..(apart that i can machine a spacer and put it under the spring seat..) rather strange.. never seen a set of (serious) shocks without preload adjust..

@walter: your point is correct.. i actually made the same thought..

another question: this model of ohlins is no longer available new.. correct? (i mean this style of reservoir)

[Gippslander]

I'm not so sure 'bout these shocks - I have 2 sets of ITC, from 83 Huskies and both have circlips to adjust the spring preload.

[Tomas]

Correct that stile was replaced by more modern I beam profiled one. Here are some pictures. Not sure if that site is working an prices are correct. http://www.huskyclub.com/ohlinsnew.html The rest of the shocks have not changed that much since seventies so the parts are available/exchangable 

[ghostdancing]

..so those bodies could be modified (thread\groves "shaved")?

ITC it's a model of ohlins shocks or an husky model (sorry for being so ignorant on this matter..)

[ghostdancing]

..just had a phone talk with the seller.. he says that preload adjust is made trough grooves and circlip.. cannot see in the picture cause springs are in fully soft position; he had them rebuilt and shortened to 400mm to fit an XT500 modified for offroad\cross, yellow spring is 8,5mm wire and its rather stiff.. so first i would need softer main springs..springs are 56mm ID..correct?

[Wasp]

The springs should be 46 ID , same as ours . You can go 2 stage like in your pic or one piece in a progressive rate . Some love the single rate springs  and others like the one piece progressive , depending on your preference .

[Wasp]

When you change the springs , then the damping needs to be adapted to the new rate . In this case there are no adjusters what so ever , so you have to get someone to pull them apart for each change . Remember you will have to run them upside down again (like the ones you already have ) because of your fitting issue at the top on one side .