Viper S w/ front and rear Olins harsh ride

stealth800

stealth800

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Oct 12, 2005
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51
Location
Rochester NY
I finally got to put some real miles on my Viper S this past week end and It runs great but the suspension is a little disapointing. I know these proactions are the downfall of these sleds but I figured that with 2 Olins up front and one in the rear it would ride decent. All the shocks have compression adjustments on them. My limiter straps have about 1.5 inches of thread showing. The center shock in the skid is the standard kyb shock and it is preloaded to the middle spot, #3. I tried adjusting the rear compression on the shock but it did not make that much change. All the shocks are in great shape. The sled seems to go through the big bumps ok, It bottoms occasionally but I can ride it and keep good control at speed. The little bumps are where it sucks, It just feels like a stiff board. It shoots the shock right up the seat and in my back. I set the ride height according to Olins and Yamaha. Would a KYB rear shock be better? Believe it or not my buddies 01SRX with the KYB shocks and standard travel rides better than my Viper through the smaller bumps. Thanks in advance.
 

I it is an ohlins shock in the rear, they only come with ohlins in the front from the factory. Sorr about how many times I spelled ohlins wrong in my post, no excuse for that.
 
Check your control rods.. They should be set at 50/50 or 60/40.. Set your rear shock total range adjustment to the middle. You can decrease the damping on your front ski shocks by turning them couter clock wise. I would leave your limiter straps where they are. You might want to get a re-valved KYB from Pioneer for your rear shock.
 
the problem is you have a miss match in parts, you left the center shock stock and put the Ohlin behind it, like you said in rough stuff its OK. The center shock is one of the softest Yammie uses and you put a stiff racing shock behind it and they're coupled together, if you want a great ride in stutter bumps, put the stock rear back on and put a stiffer center spring on with less preload. The ohlin is valved stiff and thats what you're feeling. Try loosening the spring preload on the rear to make it feel good in the little bumps and then use the compression dampening to help in the rough stuff, less preload intitially will absorb the little ones and make the shock cycle quicker, either way you do it the center needs to be changed
 
i have the same exact setup as you pretty much-- front ohlins, stock center, ohlins rear. what i did was send my center shock out to pioneer to be rebuilt/revalved for my weight, and got the next size down spring for the rear ohlins- which was what bruce at pioneer suggested-being only 160 lbs. i've only got a couple hundred miles on this setup but so far but it's def. waaaaay better than it was. haven't really played around with it yet
 
harsh ride

Well I found out today that the ohlins rear shock I have comes from Ohlins with a Yamaha spec spring that is way to stiff for a 195 lb person. I ordered the proper spring for it and hopefully it solves my issue. I'll post the results. Thanks for all the input and keep it coming, me or anyone else that has an issue like this might benefit from it.
 
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