[Duc96cr]

Is anyone else on the forum unhappy about the performance of the Ohlins suspension, more specifically the forks, on their S4RS ?
I find the forks very lacking in compliance compared to the Showa forks on my SS and Hayabusa. My SS forks have GSXR internals.
If anyone has addressed this issue with success, please let me know what you’ve done.

 

[convict]

no. but i am on a s2r
so s4r is an old bike. when was the last time you changed out the fork oil

 

[Duc96cr]

Rebuilt completely last winter. New seals, new fluid.

 

[alancsalt]

I'm not unhappy, but would agree they're on the stiff side.

 

[Duc96cr]

I’m away from the bike right now but when I return home (?) I plan on checking the torque on the triple clamp in case of a binding situation, and also change to a lighter weight fluid.
If that doesn’t do it I may change springs.
If that doesn’t do it I’ll send them to a suspension expert.
I love this bike other than the forks. I thought having Ohlins forks was going to be great.
So far, not so much. The modified Showa forks on my SS are so much nicer than the Ohlins.

 

[zjeep]

I’m away from the bike right now but when I return home (?) I plan on checking the torque on the triple clamp in case of a binding situation, and also change to a lighter weight fluid.
If that doesn’t do it I may change springs.
If that doesn’t do it I’ll send them to a suspension expert.
I love this bike other than the forks. I thought having Ohlins forks was going to be great.
So far, not so much. The modified Showa forks on my SS are so much nicer than the Ohlins.

Ohlins is much better suspension than Showa, just the way it is. You have to realize one thing for S4RS - these are OEM setup Ohlins. Ducati didn't know if the rider will be 120lbs or 250lbs, two up or single rider....they had to account for all those variables in one set up. As a result, typical suspension setup on any production bike - light front springs/heavy rear springs: do it all setup. Once you address those two things for your weight, maybe increase the rear ride height slightly ....different bike

 

[Bushyeyed1]

Once you get the settings correctly adjusted on both forks and the rear shock; as well as the ride height adjusted, you will be very pleased. Take it to a professional and have them adjust it to your height and weight. You could watch some videos from a YouTube channel called “two clicks out” and get some good information if you want to do it yourself. Usually if your forks are too stiff it is a product of the rear shock being too soft. These forks and shocks can be complex; with compression and rebound if you don’t know anything about adjusting shocks. Start with the base settings in the manual it will be a good starting point for adjusting. If your like me 6’2 and 205 Ibs the ride height bar will need to be raised about a half inch and the shock slightly stiffer. I am very pleased with my suspension on my S4RS now that I dialed them in correctly.

 

[zjeep]

Once you get the settings correctly adjusted on both forks and the rear shock; as well as the ride height adjusted, you will be very pleased. Take it to a professional and have them adjust it to your height and weight. You could watch some videos from a YouTube channel called “two clicks out” and get some good information if you want to do it yourself. Usually if your forks are too stiff it is a product of the rear shock being too soft. These forks and shocks can be complex; with compression and rebound if you don’t know anything about adjusting shocks. Start with the base settings in the manual it will be a good starting point for adjusting. If your like me 6’2 and 205 Ibs the ride height bar will need to be raised about a half inch and the shock slightly stiffer. I am very pleased with my suspension on my S4RS now that I dialed them in correctly.

Professional is always helpful, especially if one needs to rework the suspension (revolve/new springs/service etc).
However they won't do any magic with the stock setup, there is not much to work with, as I mentioned earlier OEM used "do it all" safe bet setup. Professional will typically start with the educated guess on suspension settings and adjust +/- based on your lap times.
s4rs stock rear spring - 36/105 , will get a ball park good sag numbers for the rider 240-260 lbs (rider + gear)
s4rs stock fork springs -.85 - rider (with gear) < 165 lbs

Not much good anyone can do with that setup.

Typical educated guess settings are: F-front; R - rear
Without rider (static bike sag under its own weight from fully extended )- F - 15-30mm; R- 10-20mm
With rider (ride height, the same as static sag, subtracted from fully extended) - F-35-50mm; R- 25-40mm.
Basically... if one achieves correct rider sag (ideal #s - F-40mm; R-30mm) and your free/static sag is still within spec - your springs are correct for your weight and preload is dialed-in properly.

Front forks have long top out springs so one will notice that their free length (fully extended ) will grow as more preload is dialed in (just the nature of the fork design, main springs and long top out spring are fighting each other). So no need to go crazy there, if you are not getting correct rider sag with +/- 11mm of preload (11 turns from 0 preload -fully open), new springs are needed.
Comp/rebound Ohlins recommended settings are a good place to start as well. Front forks: comp -10clicks ( bottom adjuster), rebound -12 clicks, both counted from fully closed. Rear shock- comp (top adjuster) - 12 clicks; rebound -14 clicks. From these settings, check to make sure rebound From/Back is balanced while someone is holding the bike, adjust rear shock rebound to match the front. That would be a good starting point. Start doing laps and adjust as needed.
For some reason, Shop Manual has mixed up setting for these adjustments


Main spring/top out spring visual.