Yun Lung Yang very generously decided to wash the bikes today. I walked by and noticed oil on the final drive. Initially I stated, 'It looks like my final drive has failed." but upon further examination we realized that my beloved new Ohlins shocks had committed Seppuku. Bummer, man.

I'll give Bob's a call tomorrow and see about dropping the bike off to have the shock repaired. I've read about this kind of thing happening. Unfortunately, the shock was rebuilt over a year ago so I suspect there's no warranty coverage.

I would definitely suggest sending to Ohlins for service next time. Probably wouldnt be a good idea now, since the turn over will be way too long. But just on the price alone, Bobs was going to charge me more twice as much. Also bobs was also trying to charge me for alot of nonsense "service" items. I like bobs, but I think they try to hack the premium on things they think they can get away with. It only cost me 350 to do both the front and rear on mine and that included a 80 dollar spring. So all in all, the shock should be able to be serviced for less than 150 bucks if you send it in to ohlins. I'm certain bobs will be over 300

Yea, if I had caught it earlier I certainly would have.

No joy on dropping the bike off this week. I have an appointment for Wednesday of next week.

Racetech could easily turn this around in less than a month.

Unlikely this time of year. During the spring they tend to be completely swamped with 6+ week turnaround times. Ohlins is even worse.

(but then again I haven't checked recently.)

I recommend you give them a call.  Probably worth the 5 minutes.

What's that nasty scrape from?  Is that related to the leak?

It was a used shock pulled off of a used bike. I was lucky to have gotten it. At the time they were pretty much unobtainium. 

I had it rebuilt at Bob's. I've heard that Ohlins do have a tendency to blow seals. Granted, I haven't been exactly easy on the thing. 

Sorry for the suck factor. But this *should* be a quick/easy fix. I look forward to seeing the 1157 bulb of the blue bomber again soon.

Long live the smoking brick!

Heading up to Bobs now.

And?  Does the smoking blue brick fly once again?

Not yet. It's going to be a few days at least.

What's the status of the great blue oil burner?  My friend Jay sent his rear shock in to Race Tech on Saturday and they told him it would take five days to rebuild it once they got it. 

I'm not sure why but the partss for the shock are on backorder. It may be because the unit is so old. (It is a 20 year old shock.) Not sure. 

If for some reason this is not resolved before May 18th the fjr is available as a guest bike.

I appreciate the offer. I talked to them today. They are still waiting on parts. They were back-ordered but are apparently in-transit. They may have a shock that I can borrow for the trip if the Ohlins isn't repaired in time. They are checking and will let me know. 

jpcfjrSooooo....... the FJ has been relegated to "guest bike" ststus huh? lol

Well...not "officially" a guest bike but for certain guests accommodations will be made.

Thanks. I really appreciate that.

So I heard from Bob's BMW today. Daryll called and let me know they had gotten all the parts in, put it all back together but the shock blew out during the test ride. They've contacted Ohlins about it and are sending it to them.

In the mean time, as a courtesy, they are temporarily installing a Progressive Shock for me to use for the Deal's Gap trip. I ran one of these shocks on the bike for a number of years. It's entirely serviceable. 

Wow...just wow.

I picked up the bike today. It's serviceable but will unlikely be much fun.

"You don't know what you have until it's gone." is the thought of the day. Going from a spent shock to a rebuilt Ohlins was quite the step. I didn't notice how used to it I had become. Going back to a Progessive shock is an even bigger step in the other direction. It completely changes the character of the bike and makes it feel significantly less capable.

This shock is apparently the lower version as the rear is now significantly lower changing the geometry of the bike noticeably. Regardless, it was kind of Bob's to put a brand new shock on it as a loaner so I can take the bike to the Gap. Unfortunately, I'm going to be a bit limited as to what I'll be able to do with it but this was to be expected.

I should know more about the Ohlins in the next few weeks.