How to Install Öhlins Shock - CRF250L

[@coltenhawks]

Thank you for posting this video. I found this more helpful than another video with guys wearing official Ohlins shirts because you show the all the steps required in very good detail. Yes, it is a very tight fit to get the reservoir through the frame and drive gear area, but can be done without scratching the nice gold finish. The tape tip on the wrench to hold the top nut for the shock worked well since I did the job by myself. I got such a good deal on my gently used 2014 CRF250L, it was worth the money for me to install the Ohlins rear shock and rebuild the front forks with the Ohlins fork kit. What a transformation! No more pogo sticking and bottoming out and the handling is now awesome. With the Ohlins suspension, I can now safely ride technical trails at a fast and fun pace. With all the mods I have done, all in I have spent less than 50% of the cash it would take to buy a high performance dual sport bike, and I ride the same trails as riders with very expensive bikes. If you are ever in Sedona, AZ, look for me riding Red Dawn.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Thank you! I do my best to show information that can really help. You’re right about the suspension transforming this bike. The stock suspension made it feel like a cheap bike but the good suspension makes it ride like a dream. I’ve got my eye on Arizona so hopefully I get a chance to ride out there some day soon.

[@eileenparks3672]

(with install tips) well after an almost 2 month wait, Cogent said they were having trouble sourcing a spring for my custom rear shock for my 17 CRF250L. problems gets orders canceled. So I went with my backup plan and gave Kyle at Kyle's Racing East a call. He is one of the largest Ohlins dealers in the country. after a 15 minute chat, he had me all set up with an Ohlins HO429 rear shock with a proper 100 Nw spring. A weekend and a day and I got it. a buddy and I had it all installed in 2 hrs, with several beer breaks. Casey isn't kidding about the transformation of the bike. A couple of helpful hints on install 1. use a 17mm crows foot on the nut for the top shock mount. harbor freight sells a whole metric set for 8 bucks. disconnect the negative terminal off the battery for easier access. 2. for us that have an ABS model...DO NOT DO WHAT SRC MOTO SAYS and bend the little fin that holds the rear ABS line. too thick and its part of an engine mount and if you snap it off...big problems. instead do all the other steps as in Casey's video, but then remove the swingarm bolt and let the left side drop a little. plenty of room to get that reservoir between the engine and frame.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Sorry to hear you had some trouble but it sounds like you got things sorted out in the end, congrats!

[@Hutchie2112]

That is a SERIOUS suspension upgrade. I have upgraded using K-Tech in the past on bikes, but never Ohlins (the creme de la creme!) Just going to have to tweak the front some more now , eh ;) ;) :) Great video Casey, you must really love that CRF.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Thanks, Hutchie! Nothing has changed the character of the bike more than that rear shock, I have not regrets at all about spending the money. And yes, once I get the front dialed in how I want it, it will be the perfect machine for my needs!

[@Hutchie2112]

@@Casey_Schmidt Can't ask for more than having a bike that suits you perfectly. A wee tweak or three on the front and it's up up and away!

[@rosarioroberto5823]

Greetings, As always another brilliant detailed video production 🇺🇸🍾🎉🇺🇸 Do you think if you cut down the black tube 1 or 2 inches inside the fork would make a little softer!? Please, let me know about your thoughts. Keep producing more videos about the CRF.

[@gothops154]

I think I want to do the exactly same front/rear on mine and now I have a full install video guide so thanks so much

[@hectorohh]

Nice, I am getting the CRF300LS and I want to get this asap.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

If you have the funds, you’ll thank yourself immediately.

[@arideinthecountry]

Great video. Love how you talk through your thoughts on the details… I do feel like I have to say… it says a lot about you that you happen to have a piece of thick wall aluminum tubing just lying around your garage. Just sayin’

[@Casey_Schmidt]

For your comment on the fork spring video, at your weight the front spring will definitely help. Just as well, getting a heavier rear spring will make much more difference. I got the Ohlins because it was something I could afford, you don’t need to buy anything that expensive to get better handling. I got that heavy wall tube from a company called Online Metals. They used to have a lot better prices than they do now. I don’t know if they still offer it but they used to sell boxes of cut offs by the pound. It was a great way to get lots of random pieces without spending much money. Thanks for watching!!

[@mrRiceman2000]

Awesome video, thank you for the time you put into this and I really appreciate your attention to detail. Seriously great work. Given that you did both the fork and rear shock, what would you say is better to do first? You mentioned that with just the fork the bike had some squat to it but I am wondering if it would be the opposite with just the rear. I suppose the real solution is to just buy both and do them at the same time but money doesn't grow on trees. Thanks!

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I think it depends on your weight. I’m a light rider and the front actually ended up being too stiff and I removed the extra spring. Instead, I kept the original front spring and increased the damping. If you’re heavier, you’re going to want some extra spring rate up front. Without a doubt in my mind, the rear shock is the thing to replace first. It improved the handling more than anything else. Honestly I think it made a bigger difference than tires, and that’s saying something. Always stay within your budget but buy the best shock you can reasonably afford. I could afford Öhlins so that’s what I got. There are many systems available.

[@mrRiceman2000]

@@Casey_Schmidt Thanks for the reply, I doubt I will go with the Ohlin's but you've convinced me to seek out an upgrade. Just so you know, FMF discontinued their product line for the 2020 CRF250L. If you think you'll ever want a new exhaust header you may want to jump on them while they are still around. Again, great work on the videos and I really appreciate the work you put in.

[@user-se7vt5ow4e]

@@Casey_Schmidt I wish I had bought the Öhlins shock. I went with the YSS and it is fine for the street and smooth dirt roads. But off-roading on rough terrain it heats up and fades badly.

[@jwrancher1222]

Now that you have had more time with the suspension do you still like it? I am a little surprised the shock reservoir is so close to the engine. I would have thought the heat of the engine might effect it.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I still think it’s the best upgrade you can make the the bike. No question. I don’t think there’s too much of a hear risk so long as you keep the bike moving. In slow speed technical riding it will get warmer hit you don’t need the suspension working as hard then either. You could make an aluminum heat shield bracket pretty easily I’d think if you want the extra heat protection.

[@bmarra14]

What location did you ride at? Looks absolutely beautiful.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

It’s in south east Iowa. About 25 miles from the Missouri border.

[@gothops154]

15:30 did you ever figure out the torque spec for the bolt which holds the shock from the top? The owners manual doesn’t list it, it doesn’t list a lot of them actually. I did the fork upgrade yesterday and couldn’t find any triple clamp specs, some people saying different things online but between 21-24 ft-lb seemed to be most consistent so went with that, not sure if you have a real service manual and know the official specs

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I do have the factory service manual. I’ll double check the numbers shortly.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

From the official Honda FSM: Upper shock nut 54 Nm Lower shock nut 44 Nm Triple clamp bolts 29 Nm

[@gothops154]

Thank you! Does it happen to list the spec for the other 2 bolts that go into the rear linkage? Also 44 Nm like the bottom shock bolt?

[@eileenparks3672]

Nice upgrade. So jealous. 3 more weeks for me for my Cogent rear to show up. Race tech fork spring is on the schedule for monday.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

It will be worth the wait! The rear shock alone has made the biggest difference in the feel of the bike. In my opinion, it easily doubles the performance potential of the 250L (300L included).

[@CheekyMiner]

Did you do the front as well?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@@CheekyMiner Yes. I put the Racetech gold valve in the front. I did a video on that if you’re interested. It makes a huge difference as well.

[@H.B.B.-77]

motorcycle height changed after installing ohlins?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Not that I could tell/measure. It will sit higher when compressed obviously because of the stiffer spring; which is the point obviously. If you can afford it, I think this is absolutely the way to go.

[@alelectric2767]

Change in seat height?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Basically none. But it’s obviously doesn’t squat down as much as before so if rely on that, be aware it will feel taller even though it isn’t.

[@carlosenriquelazohernandez2501]

Type shock ohlins? Model?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

It’s in the intro section.

[@gothops154]

Did you go for the stock spring which SRCMoto states is for riders up to 175lbs, or for the stiffer spring for 175-215lbs? And sorry to be nosy but I’d also need to know if you are over or under 175lbs 🙂

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I got the standard spring from SRC. Their site states that they only offer one spring rate for the L model but I think they might have the heavier spring for the Rally. You’d probably be best to ask SRC which ones they offer. I’m about 140 lbs so the standard spring works absolutely perfect for me. If you do need a heavier spring, you might be able to source one from Ohlins separately. Hope this helps!

[@gothops154]

@@Casey_Schmidt it says the heavy spring doesn’t fit the 250L shock for some reason but I can’t see why that’d be. Btw did you find the rear shock has 64 clicks of rebound? My front has 22 if I remember correctly but that one had clear endpoints. But the rear has a hard stop going anti clockwise but clockwise it just spins forever but eventually stops clicking. Seems weird but bc the instructions recommend 12 clicks on rebound, which is totally wrong (although I did put in 6 turns of pre load) but I’m somewhere in around 20/64 clicks now

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@@gothops154 Yeah that sounds right for the spring. The only thing I can think of is that the Rally has longer-travel suspension so may not be perfectly compatible with the L. I haven't checked how far out the rebound goes. I think the compression has something like 22-24. For my purposes, because I'm not a pro and I'm not racing anyone, the actual number of clicks isn't too important to me. I see it as a reference of comparison but otherwise I just set it to where the bike handles/feels best. I think I'm currently at 12 clicks of compression and 14 clicks of rebound and it's feeling really good.

[@gothops154]

@@Casey_Schmidt do you get 64 clicks of rebound? Not sure if mine is broken. Increasing rebound (slow rebound) has a hard end to it where I can’t click no more. Decreasing it (faster rebound) has no hard end. It just stops clicking but keeps spinning. I feel like I shouldn’t have 64 clicks of rebound I feel like something there isn’t right

[@Casey_Schmidt]

That’s what I’ve found too. Just checked again. I imagine the valve/needle wasn’t designed with a hard stop for the rebound adjustment.

[@user-se7vt5ow4e]

Why Honda put such wimpy cheap suspension components on this bike is beyond me. My 2002 XR250R had better suspension than this bike.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

It’s a low budget dual sport and is targeted to the market in Thailand where they sell most of these bikes. It would be nice if they’d tune the USDM bikes for us but they only sell one product. It’s still a good bike though.