BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Well the time has come, I have rat holed enough money to put Ohlins on the R12R. I called the dealer to ask about price and delivery time and he was inline with what others have posted regarding price, +/- $1,600.00 installed. I asked about lead time due to getting proper springs on the units-I'm about 220lbs in gear. His response was he could get them in a week but if I wanted different springs (he indicated that the spring rate would be good as delivered) he'd have to send them to Ohlin to be resprung.

My question is this; I have heard there are "factory" BMW Ohlins that are not the same as "aftermarket" Ohlins, and possibly inferior. Is this an internet haze, or is it for real and I should investigate further?

To answer the first question that will probably be asked of my shopping inquiry's to this point-no I forgot to ask him the Ohlin's part number. I didn't think of this until after the phone call with the dealer.

Thanks

I have Ohlins, not yet installed, for my R12R. BMW doesn't have an Ohlins option for the R like it does for the R12S. Your BMW dealer will order them from an Ohlins distributor and then install them on your bike.

As I recall, the Ohlins made for the R12S do not have all the bells and whistles of the typical Ohlins shock (like remote preload adjustment) but they are the same quality as the standard Ohlins. Some people are sending the R12S Ohlins to some speciality suspension companies to get added adjustment features. Also, the Ohlins website and Jerry at Ohlins USA is helpful.


Dan Kyle of Kyle Racing is an excellent Ohlins tuner and dealer. I've used Ohlins on previous bikes and getting them from a knowledgeable Ohlins dealer is really important.