REAR SHOCKS - Factory vs Mid-range vs Premium: is Ohlins suspension worth the extra?

I have tried three different pairs of

rear

shocks

on my triumph speed twin, the

factory

kyb on the left, the 450 euro yss one in the middle and the 1250 olin one on the right. The question is: do you really get what you pay for? Does more expensive mean better? Or is this just hype as soon as I bought my Speed ​​Twin I knew the

factory

rear

shocks

weren't going to be enough, they felt adequate at low speed but pushing exposed the core components of the interior and rear of the bike quickly felt neglected? and such an embarrassing and lazy triumph upgraded the front forks to decent marzukis for the 2022 model, but left the rear shocks alone, not only do they offer relatively mediocre performance, but the little adjustability that five clicks of preload have only means Removing the final can to gain access to the adjustment mechanism the final nail in the coffin for me was the way they looked and felt.

I'm not sure if you can see this on camera, but I can bend the top bell between my fingers like a coke can and all. The thing just feels distinctly non-

premium

and lets the rest of the bike down, so I started digging. some better aftermarket alternatives of course I was aware of products like olins and nitron but the idea of ​​spending another 12 to 1500 euros after having dropped 10 times that amount of money on the bike itself wasn't really an option which I was comfortable with, so I started looking at yss located in Thailand. They have a pretty good reputation on user forums as a manufacturer of mid-

range

suspension

components and I had used them before on a previous one. bike and was pleased with them so I thought I would give them a try.

I ordered a pair of these rz362s from the European importer of the Netherlands based manufacturer. Now the price on their website here seems to have increased a little because in autumn 2021 I paid around 430 euros plus 20 euros shipping, but when they arrived immediately, they looked and felt in my hands much better than the shock absorbers from factory and much more in line with the rest of the bike, with plenty of solid quality milling. ally on display and overall just a more

premium

look and in terms of weight increase there is a not insignificant advantage of 1100 grams over the original kybs, there is enough preload adjustment of course but also rebound adjustment Easy access thumb and finger tips without having to remove the overall exhaust and shock length adjustment, which meant I could play around with the bike's ride height a bit.

Now

suspension

components always need a few hundred miles to perform at their best, so I waited until I had driven about 700 kilometers (450 miles). or so I think it was and then I began the process of adjusting the shocks to suit me. I know I'm no expert but I followed the manual and the various online guides and got it right, it was a bit of a trial. and mistake to be honest, but after a few tries I got the shocks to be more or less where I wanted them on the road, the difference was immediately clear, the bike was much taller, much more planted in high speed corners and by far I don't like the expression more confidence, inspiring comfort in terms of comfort, they initially felt a little tight, but on longer trips this was something I appreciated and I actually found I could ride about 30 minutes longer before needing a break in compared to the factory shocks and after a couple of months they had worn very well and were more compatible than the kybs, so if they were so good why did I want to upgrade further to the olin ones?

Well, to be honest, it was a mix of lust for some Swedish gold after having had it in the past. bikes and thinking how nice a pop of color would look compared to the new charcoal black paint job and curious how much better shops that cost two and a half three times the price could feel, now regular viewers will know I don't like adding colors to my bikes so I ordered a pair of these tr923s with the black spring as the yellow spring clashes with the gold cartridge and doesn't really go with the traditional speed twin look and in fact the tribes seem to have the same opinion because the special Breitling Speed ​​Twin edition takes exactly the same hits and if I'm totally honest, it was when I saw these photos that the lust really started.

After looking at a few resellers, I finally went to a classic bike race located in Germany, now like many of my exes. friends here in Portugal and in France where I used to live, I used to buy a lot of things from the UK but Brexit has made this a nightmare with unexpected taxes and various inexplicable fees so I don't bother anymore which is a sorry for both. for me and the British economy so I have to find resellers within the EU and what really tipped the scales for me with Race was the fact that they offer a custom setup of the shocks at no

extra

charge before shipping them to their customers. me my weight how often I took a passenger and if I was looking for full handling or added comfort when the shocks arrived they included this spec sheet detailing exactly how they set the sag, preload compression and rebound so you have a set point.

If I wanted to make more adjustments myself, it's all in German, but at least this validates the decision I made in school many years ago to study the language. I suppose that all knowledge has its moment, but certainly, from the first moment. olins felt at least as well set up as yss after a lot of trial and error on my part, so herzlich and dank food is the name that suggests they offer a wide

range

of custom add-ons for triumph and bmw modern classics and, In fact, they stock many pieces, although I try not to spend too much time browsing their site, as it's almost impossible not to stumble upon some gorgeous leather or solid aluminum accessory that I never knew I needed, but I can't help but see that They also offer. a full customization service and from the looks of some of their finished machines, they seem to do a good job of staying within the boundaries of good taste, which is not always the case.

I always feel that knowing when to stop should be the mantra of any good product. custom shop anyway a few days later the shops from Germany arrived Julie installed for me like I said 1250 euros including shipping almost three times when I paid for the yss shocks and this is what you get two manuals shock absorber maintenance and a warranty card and the Installation Instructions that you must follow carefully regarding the specific washers and spacers that Olins provides. Installation wasn't particularly difficult, but the exhaust end cans on the Speed ​​Twin need to be removed to allow the lower retaining bolts to be removed. and of course the bike must be properly supported front and rear with a jack placed in the center so you can raise and lower the bike and align the top eye of the shock with the lug on the bike frame now if you do have a compressor of compressed spring or a specialized bike ramp, of course, then I'm sure I could do the job easier or faster, but I didn't, so I made do with what I had.

It's always a good idea to use a thread locker for this type of work and the bolts need to be torqued to Triumph specifications, other than that it was pretty straight forward and including a couple of five minute breaks the job took me around 90 minutes. minutes from start to finish. Well, was it

worth

it? are the olin better than the yss well the short answer is yes they are but contrary to what the price would suggest but probably in line with what you expect no they are not three times better i have been trying to think .

How to explain to you the difference in sensations and the best thing I have come up with so far is that in terms of grip and confidence inspiration they are similar to the yss but they are better, maybe only 10 to 15 percent better, at the less in normal riding, when I took the bike up the hills and pushed a little, the improvement was more pronounced now, this could be psychological of course, there is almost certainly a placebo effect knowing that some of the best suspension experts in the world world The world, so to speak, has your back and I've certainly found that the butt clenching around some of the hairier corners has lessened and I guess it's that kind of indefinable peace of mind that you're finally paying for with these high-end components in terms In terms of comfort, which is what I was personally most interested in, I would say that the improvement over the YSS shock absorbers is more significant.

I know it's very subjective, but I'd say the Olins are maybe 20 more comfortable than the YSS shocks. You had your seat reupholstered and the guy put an

extra

layer of foam inside before closing everything up, this is what the olins feel like after the yss, a subtle but definite difference, softer, more luxurious, more expensive, three times more comfortable, no, of course not, but it's always peeking out. The last 10 percent of the money, a Rolls Royce Phantom is about 20 times the price of a Ford Fiesta, it's 20 times more comfortable, 20 times better, probably not, but of course, how do you measure comfort?

So in conclusion I would say the yss shocks are a

worth

while upgrade and I would definitely recommend a good way to significantly improve the handling of your speed twins and in my opinion they cost less than 500 euros the

ohlins

are excellent they are definitely better and I can see or rather feel why they are so expensive, these numbers are meaningless and subjective but if I had to rate them in a nutshell I would say that the yss are 50 percent better than the factory shocks and the olins are 10 to 15 percent better than YSS. I wouldn't waste a set of volumes on my honda adv 350 scooter and it was certainly overkill to put them on my mono, but I think the speed twin is worth the investment and I'm glad I went with this second upgrade if so. the funds available, then do it, you will know you have the best and not just the second best.

The only slight problem I have now of course is that the factory Marzuki forks feel a wee bit unsophisticated, oh dear, get out your wallet again. Man, anyway, let me know in the comments if you'd be comfortable spending the price of an iPhone 13 pro max or a Samsung S22 Ultra in a couple of years, and as always, thanks for watching.