By Molan on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 08:58 am:

I think I know the answer to this question but wanted to double check....

I know someone selling a 2002 Mille R rear shock. Can I fit this to my 2001 Falco?

I'm guessing that the answer is a no  

By Litre1 on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 10:15 am:

It will fit, but the spring will be too soft. You'll have to crank up the preload a lot. It costs about $100 to buy the correct spring, but Ohlins also recommends having the valve size and other stuff modified for it to work at its optimum. I bought one off an '01 (same problem as '02) and I love it, but I'm not doing track days with it, either.  

By Molan on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 10:20 am:

Thanks Litre 1

So did you buy the spring & do the adjustments or just stick with the standard fitments?  

By Litre1 on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 02:51 pm:

I am using it as it came off the RSV. I have adjusted it to where I am happy with it, but I may have the mods done one of these days. You know how it is... it seems great to me, but someone else told me it could be better!

I have been thinking about using the spring from the sachs unit in place of the ohlins spring. I am not sure if it is any stiffer, though. I would like to find out before I go to all that trouble.

The ride height adjustment alone is worth the cost of a second-hand unit. If you raise the ride height, though, you'll need to play with the front forks quite a bit.  

By Cplus on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 03:20 pm:

My Ohlins came straight off an '01 RSV-R without modifications, but I also changed the linkages (dogbones) at the same time which plays a big part. Haven't riden too much with it, but so far I'm very impressed.  

By Johnl on Friday, December 06, 2002 - 12:38 am:

Hi Cplus

Hoping you can help here. I obtained my ohlins off a 2000 model mille r but the swinging arm off a 2002 mille which has different linkages (dogbones) Did you use the falco linkages or the longer ones off the mille ?  

By Cplus on Friday, December 06, 2002 - 02:54 pm:

Johnl,

I used the whole kit from an '01 -- swingarm, shock and linkages. There was no difference that I know of between the swingarm for the different years, however. The only difference is the shock and linkage. Since you have an 00 shock, you should use the stock Falco linkage. That should do the trick.

Clear as mud.... Oh, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!  

By Johnl on Saturday, December 07, 2002 - 12:50 am:

Hi Cplus

Looks like you are correct regarding the linkage, the mille 02 linkage probably uses a spring with less poundage as it is nearer the bolt point on the swing arm ie further away from the engine. Don`t suppose you know the spring rating of the 02 mille, just curious. Thanks for the info  

By Cplus on Saturday, December 07, 2002 - 06:33 pm:

Johnl,

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but when I posed the question of spring rates for the '01 RSV-R vs. '01 Falco to Ohlins USA, this is the response I received:

"The Mille comes with a 1093-54 spring (150mm x 140 N/mm rate). The Falco a
1095-49 spring (180mm x 130 N/mm rate). The spring you have on the shock now
is quite a bit lighter rate & also is a different length than what is
needed."

Clearly there's a [significant?] difference in the two springs. I think the only way I got away with using the stock '01 RSV-R unit was by also using the linkage as well.

Now I'm starting to question my post-installation riding impressions. It seemed great at the time, but I'll need to do more riding to be sure. Since it's about 20f with 6" of snow on the ground that won't be for a little while.  

By Johnl on Sunday, December 08, 2002 - 02:33 am:

Hi Cplus

The spring for the (newer) mille is indeed lighter than the falco which explains the changed geometry ie spring is nearer the arm bolt point (less leverage)

Unfortunately I have a bit of a hybrid, 00 spring 140nm so I am using as you suggested the falco linkage. I suppose if I put the 02 linkage (as supplied with the arm) the suspension would be just too hard. I have set the arm length to 322mm, the bike feels more like a 250cc machine fairly low. I think I will have to raise the height which was the purpose of getting the arm and shock in the first place ???

If you do not have a gsxr side stand, I would get one and I will give details of how to modify to fit the falco.

What ride height have you set you ohlins at ?

john  

By Cplus on Sunday, December 08, 2002 - 11:50 am:

Johnl,

I don't remember off the top of my head what I have the total length of the shock set to -- about 320-321mm I think. It's the same as it was when it came out of the Mille which I think translates into a few more mm ride height. I think most people with adjustable shocks go for between 320 and 325mm measured eye-to-eye.

I think my sidestand is okay as-is, at least I don't think the bike is any danger of tipping over. Apparently there was/is a difference in side stands between the US versions and those for other parts of the world. Since I'm in the US, I haven't had this problem, but thanks for the offer!