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Heading to Chiba in a strong wind
I was supposed to be touring over the weekend, so I left the OHLINS in a corner of the room when I arrived and installed them today, a weekday.
I took the morning off from work and headed to the bike shop. I overslept a bit, so I got ready and set off in a flurry. I thought there might be traffic on the way to work, so I decided to take a course that would take me from the Daisan Keihin to the Wangan and across the Aqua-Line.......
When I was driving along the Gulf Coast, I noticed that my phone's navigation system was showing something red: .... I thought........
The bridge part of the ocean had a wind speed of 15 mph.
It's a little better than the last time I was buffeted by strong winds because I was prepared for it, but I was still swinging left and right: .... The car behind me is clearly keeping its distance from me.......orz
We arrived at the bike shop in a haze.
Front and rear Ohlins installed.
The front suspension springs and fork oil were shipped directly from the store, so we handed over the rear suspension we brought to the staff for them to install.
By the way, I matched the viscosity of the fork oil with the standard oil.
After an hour and a half of looking at bikes and reading comics in the store, the work was easily finished.
I also asked for help with the sag adjustment, which requires jacking up the rear tire to get an accurate reading, so I set the rear suspension preload perfectly to the recommended value.
By the way, my current weight is about 80kg, but the preload was too strong when I bought it, so I loosened it considerably. If you are a lighter person, you may not be able to use the OHLINS as much as you would like.
By the way, after the adjustment, the footing became exactly the same as the standard suspension (the standard suspension also had the preload played with), so you may want to adjust based on that.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but not only the color of the spring, but also the appearance of the parts is very good, so even at a quick glance, you get the feeling that something good has been installed.
Impressions for a short ride
After the work was done and the preload was adjusted, he asked me to take a ride and check it out. I made four left turns and went around in a circle......
What is it? This is super awesome... (delighted)
Even when driving in a straight line, you can feel the amazing sense of ground contact as it grips the road surface and handles the bumps. Even when turning at an intersection at low speed, the body falls down quickly and the bank angle is set exactly where you want it. .... When swinging the vehicle from side to side on back roads, the fluttering feeling is also greatly improved.
Most importantly, the ride is much more comfortable.
It's as if the seat cushions have been thickened..... For example, if it were a liter car, it would feel like a luxury sedan. And yet, the road information is conveyed more clearly than ever before.
I'm sure this will be very effective in reducing fatigue while touring.......
So, after just a few hundred meters, I was convinced that I had made a good purchase.
Go back to the store”It's amazing." I asked him to measure the pitch of the caliper mounting bolts (55mm) for the upcoming front brake tuning, and then we left the store.
....I checked the wind speed at Umihotaru just in case before the.....
The wind is picking up.
I had no choice but to go around Tokyo Bay on my way home. At first, we took the open road, then took the Tokan Expressway from Narashino on the bay, and came home via the Metropolitan Expressway.
On the way home, I could feel the effects of the new suspension.
- Absolute grounding
When driving straight, the tires seem to be one size larger, and when cornering, the tires seem to be rounder than before, with a tremendous ground contact feeling.
- Stability at extremely low speeds is also improved.
I don't even feel like I'm wobbling when I slip through a red light to get to the front. Even at slower speeds, you can drive exactly where you want.
- Seams on the Metropolitan Expressway
Especially on the corners, I used to feel a little bounce in the rear of the car when passing through at a certain speed, but this has been super reduced. It's not gone away yet, though.
- Rear tire information
You can feel the presence and behavior of the rear tire more than ever, diagonally behind your buttocks. I can see very clearly what the current road conditions are like: .... I can see very clearly what the current road conditions are like.
- Reduction of front nose dive during deceleration and stopping
Combined with the stability of the car body, the feeling is easy to understand and control. I haven't had a chance to do any emergency braking yet, but I have the feeling that the car stops as if it were sinking parallel to the ground without nose-diving.
- Stable body posture when decelerating or changing lanes
Pitching back and forth when decelerating, rolling left and right when changing lanes, yawing when crossing ruts, and other effects on the vehicle body are minimized and contained. On the return trip to the Gulf Coast, the wind was so strong that it blew right across the road, but compared to the outward trip, I could drive with no worries at all.
- be crooked
The only corners with large R's were junctions and interchange entrances on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, but combined with the increased ground feel, it was more fun to turn than ever.
No, it's all good at the moment.
I replaced the rear suspension and front suspension springs at the same time, so I don't know if there is any difference from replacing just the rear suspension.....
I've only driven about 80km since installing it, so it may get even better as it acclimates. The standard suspension also felt "better" after about 3,000km. after about 3,000km.
Compared to some of the more expensive leggy rental bikes I've ridden, I'd like to see better shock absorption over rough terrain and bumpy joints (although it sits better than the standard suspension). However, with the offset design of the current Ninja 400 and 650 (and no linkage), this may be too much to hope for.
We ran smiling and had lunch at the Wangan Ichikawa PA.
Returned home. Started work.
By the way, by the time I got home, I was so used to the feeling of riding with OHLINS front and rear that I didn't feel fresh and felt like "this is normal, right? This is normal, right?....
I'm going to have to adjust the damping and go for a bit of a hike in the mountains........
Items brought back
So, the suspension upgrade that has been pending since the Ninja 400 is now complete.
The OHLINS suspension is recommended to be overhauled every 10,000 to 20,000 km or every two years, so at my driving pace, I would need to send it in for an overhaul about once a year. I couldn't spend that time without the rear suspension, so I brought back the standard suspension.
This is the standard suspension. When I held it, I noticed that it was noticeably heavier than the OHLINS rear suspension.....
I also have quite a few OHLINS stickers on hand, including the one that came with the front fork spring: .... Hmmm.... I wonder what I should do with them. I don't know... I don't think I should put these on......
I responded to BRIGHT's new car purchase questionnaire via the web, so I also received this sticker. I'll put this one on the car body.
Well, I guess I'll continue my research on front brake customization: ..... After a little bit of Googling, I found out that the pitch is 55mm, which means that there is no opposed 4-pod caliper that can be installed without a caliper support.....
postscript
The day after I wrote this article, I went to work on my motorcycle. I noticed another change when I rode at a reasonably fast pace on the open road.
I'm naturally more aggressive with the front brake.
Even when you need to brake hard at a traffic light, the bike is stable and the front end feels solid, so you can feel comfortable even if you have to brake harder than usual.
I was thinking of customizing the brakes because I was a little dissatisfied and worried about the front brakes, but I didn't expect that the brakes were also improved.
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