1.

Ohlins steering damper rebuild

I have OEM Öhlins steering damper on my Factory which is ok for street use, but for racing I could
have used more adjustability. The adjuster has been closed all the way in to get it where I like it to be
and sometimes I could have used some more damping. Some of you guys in this forum talked about
re-valving the OEM damper to get it work like the proper race damper. So I did some research what
parts are needed etc.

Kawasaki ZX-10R has similar OEM damper as in our RSV4 Factory and there is a lot of information
about re-valving the Kawasaki damper. Some have soldered shut the orifice at the end of the needle
(bleeding hole), which is ok I presume, but the parts needed to do it properly cost <10€, so that was
the route I took.

Note that if you only need to change the needle/jet, you don't have to tear the whole damper apart,
like I did.

Parts needed:
02216-01 jet
02217-01 needle
02213-01 reservoir (not necessarily needed, but mine was quite 'dead', so better safe than sorry..)
01309-01 Suspension fluid (same as used for 30mm front cartridges btw..)

Service manual for Öhlins steering damper: (not 100% the same model, but very close)
http://www.rogueracing.org/dk/sdwm.pdf

Follow the instructions in the manual, my pictures are just for reference below - I might have missed
some steps.

Parts needed:
Put the damper on a vise with some protector and open the reservoir cover:
Take out the reservoir (which is basically some sort of foam, needed as 'extra space' for thermal
expansion of the oil):
Push down the shaft and pull to pop out the one way valve (put some rags on top of it to avoid a huge
mess..):

Loosen the cylinder cover, I used some pliers - no need for special tool:
Put the reservoir cover back on as told in the manual and pull rapidly from the shaft to pop out the oil
seal:
 Take out the locking ring:

Last edited by tomik; 06-22-2014 at 05:41 AM.

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2. 06-22-2014, 03:40 AM#2

tomik

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You are ready to remove the shaft/piston assembly:

Take out the adjuster, 1.5mm allen key needed:

Remove the circlip:
Pull out the adjuster:
Pull out the needle, here is the old and new needle and jet:
Here's the 'special tool' used for removing the jet

Aqui está o que eu usei para instalar o novo jato:

Eu medi a profundidade do jato tem que ser instalado para se certificar de que está totalmente assentado,
e fez uma marca para o eixo:
It's in!

Ferramenta especial que eu tive que fazer para instalar a mola e as esferas na agulha. Eu basicamente
enrolei uma folha de alumínio fino em torno de uma broca de 7 mm. Não é bonito, mas funciona
Installing the needle:

Parts going back in the opposite order they came out:

Piston/shaft assembly in:

Oil goes in. I used a syringe from a tool that I use for setting oil height for front forks.
Make sure all air is out, take your time. Here's the last part of getting the air out behind the seal.
Manual calls for thin plastic wire for letting the air out, I used a thin plastic film. Make sure you don't
damage the seal! When you push the plastic film/wire under the seal and apply pressure to the oil
reservoir you can see the last air bubbles coming out. You can see the hose fitting to the reservoir I
came up with in this picture as well:
Then you put in the parts for the reservoir and the reservoir cap like it says in the manual.
After all is said and done, push the damper in/out many times to feel is there any air left. If you feel
even a minute click, it means you have air in and you have to bleed it again.
Here's one more picture of the OEM needle, it has orifice in the tip and the "race needle" does not have
it:
It means that with the new needle if you turn the adjuster all the way in, damper won't move at all.