What do I have??

[wrench]

Ok, so I received a phone call from Stacy in the Offroad dept @ Ohlins USA today.
He confirmed what Jakobi deduced about which type it is. The 46PRxx.

We discussed the spring rates that I have and what I thought I needed. Apparently they do things differently than the KYB, Showa etc... I made that comment and his response was a chuckle and a "yes we do".

What I thought would be too stiff [56-rear] for my weight turns out to be what he suggests that I start with for my weight [205 lbs +15/20 for gear]. He said that they increase in 11lbs increments, and that I may end up with a 58, if I do not drop anymore weight.

For the front, he says the the 47's that are installed may be slightly too stiff and that I could put one of the 41's in to make it work better. If that is too soft than I would need to go to the 45/6 range, which is where his chart puts me.

At anytime, he said that I can give him a call and he will get the right combination to me. They routinely run different rates in each leg to tailor to the riders needs. Something that Bruce Tripplet educated me on several years ago with my KTM/WP's.

Very nice guy, even apologized for not calling me back sooner. Due to legalities, he cannot provide any service specs/manuals to anyone who has not gone through an Ohlins training class, as a business owner I understand that position. But, I can call him anytime that I need some info.

In summary, I will change out one spring in the forks and go from there!

thanks again for all of the help. This board rocks!

[Jakobi]

For what its worth Vince, I'm 75kgs (165lbs) sitting around in a pair of shorts. Once I gear up, carry the mega roll of tools, 3L of water, a litre of fuel, a spare tube as well as whatever I decide to stash in the bag for the day I end up much closer to 95-100kgs (209-220lbs). At these 2 weights I'm kind of at the transition where I can use a 5.2 with heaps of preload, or a 5.4 with not too much. I go for the later. While I don't race I figure if I do I will push a faster pace which should offset the couple kgs of tools. I use Ohlins TTX fork insers with .46 springs running very little preload.

You might get away with the 5.6 on the rear. Best way to tell is to set it up and take some measurements.

[Fred1956]

Stacey is the best, always willing to take the time to hear you out and make suggestions. I've spent a lot of time on the phone with him. FWIW I'm 200# in my drawers, my 2010 ended up with a 5.8 on the rear that yields 105mm of race sag and 5.0 in the forks which yielded 55mm race sag. That's on a TTx setup

[wrench]

WoW Jakobi, that's a lot of gear!

Other than the standard gear [boots,CP,Helmet, GoPro] I take a camel back, low profile 52oz[?].

Fred, hang on to that 54, I plan on dropping another 10-15lbs or more by January, when race season starts up. I still need to check those springs for the Yammie that I have.

What do you have in fork springs?

[Jakobi]

Around 20kgs I figure (it could be more). I haven't actually weighed myself in fully gear but I carry enough to get myself home and also wear substancial protective gear.

I just weighed my helmet, goggles, knee braces and leatt and there is an easy 5kgs in that alone.

Add Body Armour, Elbow Guards, Pants, Kidney belt and BOOTS and I think you'd easily have another 5kgs.

Then we have 3L of water, 1L of fuel, 250mls of 2T oil. Lollies and snacks! (say another 5kgs).

A spare tube, 3 x tyre levers, assorted spanners and sockets, allen keys, a small torch, lighter, tyre gauge, zip ties, tape, spare plug, maybe a few jets. I'd say in there'd be another 5-10kgs here alone. Thanks to Gas Gas and their varied fasteners I end up carrying a load of sizes that I probably don't need. I could cull a fair bit of weight in tools, but the time I leave something at home will be the time I need it probably. Honestly probably carry enough tools to do a top end on the trail. I didn't however have the right sizes to undo the linkage! Hahaha!

[wrench]

Originally Posted by Jakobi

Around 20kgs I figure (it could be more). I haven't actually weighed myself in fully gear but I carry enough to get myself home and also wear substancial protective gear.

I just weighed my helmet, goggles, knee braces and leatt and there is an easy 5kgs in that alone.

Add Body Armour, Elbow Guards, Pants, Kidney belt and BOOTS and I think you'd easily have another 5kgs.

Then we have 3L of water, 1L of fuel, 250mls of 2T oil. Lollies and snacks! (say another 5kgs).

A spare tube, 3 x tyre levers, assorted spanners and sockets, allen keys, a small torch, lighter, tyre gauge, zip ties, tape, spare plug, maybe a few jets. I'd say in there'd be another 5-10kgs here alone. Thanks to Gas Gas and their varied fasteners I end up carrying a load of sizes that I probably don't need. I could cull a fair bit of weight in tools, but the time I leave something at home will be the time I need it probably. Honestly probably carry enough tools to do a top end on the trail. I didn't however have the right sizes to undo the linkage! Hahaha!

Holy Canoli Batman!! That is a lot of gear!
That's more tools than the rider pack we used for the Baja 1k!

I will definitely need to gear up and weigh it all. I have new lightweight knee braces from CTi now!

[Jakobi]

Like I said, if I was racing I'd drop a lot of the tools. If I bust my bike and can't fix it on the trail it usually turns into several hours of extraction mission. I just carry as much as I need to reduce the odds of that happening. Helps out other riders too when you can pull up, roll out the tool kit and get someone else out of trouble. Usually results in free beers when you get to where you're going/home!

[wrench]

Originally Posted by Jakobi

Like I said, if I was racing I'd drop a lot of the tools. If I bust my bike and can't fix it on the trail it usually turns into several hours of extraction mission. I just carry as much as I need to reduce the odds of that happening. Helps out other riders too when you can pull up, roll out the tool kit and get someone else out of trouble. Usually results in free beers when you get to where you're going/home!

I was wondering when you were going to get to the important tool ... the BEER!!