pmk Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) A look inside the OZO Pro shocks. Edited December 7, 2018 by pmk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Interesting to see that they use an anti-topping spring. The rest looks fairly normal to me. How smooth is the section of bore that the floating piston O-rings run on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmk Posted December 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 6 minutes ago, feetupfun said: Interesting to see that they use an anti-topping spring. The rest looks fairly normal to me. How smooth is the section of bore that the floating piston O-rings run on? Could be smoother. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmac Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) Got them on two of my bikes. V happy with them. Edited December 7, 2018 by paulmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourex Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 7 hours ago, pmk said: A look inside the OZO Pro shocks. pmk, I'm totally confused, didn't all this OZO talk start with the 12mm spherical joints not being suitable for the 14/15mm top lugs on a MAR. Where are you going with this total dismemberment of the Ozo's ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 27 minutes ago, fourex said: pmk, I'm totally confused, didn't all this OZO talk start with the 12mm spherical joints not being suitable for the 14/15mm top lugs on a MAR. Where are you going with this total dismemberment of the Ozo's ? I think he or his mate was going to have a fiddle with the damping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmk Posted December 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, fourex said: pmk, I'm totally confused, didn't all this OZO talk start with the 12mm spherical joints not being suitable for the 14/15mm top lugs on a MAR. Where are you going with this total dismemberment of the Ozo's ? As feetupfun mentioned, a fiddle with the damping. Yes, correct, this all started with my friend buying these OZO shocks for his MAR. Initially, there was concern removing the upper eyelet mounting bushing setup as shown in another topic. He installed these OZO shocks onto his MAR, replacing aftermarket Betor shocks he purchased a while back. The Betors were pretty firmly damped, actually overdamped and had a design that did not allow easy removal of the coil spring. The OZO shocks were purchased with intentions to fit his second MAR, the one being modified with lowered footpegs and more, again, the reason for yet another topic. We have an event this weekend. My buddy wanted to run the OZO shocks on his current MAR, the relatively stock bike, not the one we are moving footpegs on. So after getting the mount setup sorted, he installed them. Yesterday he came by my house to check that the OZO setup would be good. He rode the bike about 10 minutes and I rode it a few minutes. After I rode it, I told him they were over damped, ultimately, he accepted that in this application they were over damped. What you see in the photo, his shocks, pulled apart. I made some valving changes and redeveloped how they are assembled allowing both shocks to be easily worked on, with repeatable assembly setups that match the left and right shocks performance. Initially, the intent was to merely swap the fluid for something with less viscosity. Finding the viscosity of the fluid fairly thin, other options were utilized to accomplish the goal. Nothing difficult, merely took a good base to work from and made a few minor setting changes. Once together, he was able to again ride the features at my house. The changes were in my friends own words “night and day difference”. In simplest terms, the compression was softened and rebound quickened. Not to the point of change to be like a modern bike all springy and hoppy, rather to follow the ground and features better with more control. Obviously not something everyone should delve into. The photo is merely to share information about what is inside. Realize also, I have the proper tools and experience to do this. Being old, I have tuned many shocks and forks since I started working on suspension in the mid 1970s. These shocks should prove to be a very good setup for him. My hope is seals are maybe available, plus if needed other parts too. Start to finish the entire job took about 2 hours. The first one coming apart was slower in disassembly, to understand how these were assembled. The second one was apart in a couple of minutes. We did take the added time to hand finish typical edges to make reassembly and performance smoother with less likelyhood to cut an Oring. In simple terms, these are now blueprinted as we call it in the USA, the pistons valving was changed, shafts were smoothed and polished, and the fluid in them now is a known item, easily attainable. Not bad shocks for the money, just needed a bit of attention to be what was needed for his bike and riding. Edited December 7, 2018 by pmk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 FWIW, I wouldn't even consider stripping shocks until they had a minimum of three trials under their belt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmk Posted December 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 22 minutes ago, b40rt said: FWIW, I wouldn't even consider stripping shocks until they had a minimum of three trials under their belt. I tend to agree somewhat, but not always. These would have been difficult to ride at the event as they were and not broken in / freed up. At this point, after the event, if more changes need to be made, it is an easy task. Honestly though, at this point it was a good choice and my buddy can bring his previously ridden Betors in case he decides to swap back. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section swept Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 There are some Betors that are not suitable for trials competition use as their effective range is minimal. In Motion sell Betors but state they are for show rather than comp use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 10 minutes ago, section swept said: There are some Betors that are not suitable for trials competition use as their effective range is minimal. In Motion sell Betors but state they are for show rather than comp use. I use the basic modern gas Betors on my 350 Alpina and find them fantastic for trail riding, but the compression damping is a bit heavy for trials riding. What do you mean by "effective range is minimal"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section swept Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 25 minutes ago, feetupfun said: I use the basic modern gas Betors on my 350 Alpina and find them fantastic for trail riding, but the compression damping is a bit heavy for trials riding. What do you mean by "effective range is minimal"? In Motion state in their advert that the Betors dont have enough movement for serious competition, they are mainly for show. Yes Betor do make other, better units but the cost is much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 56 minutes ago, section swept said: In Motion state in their advert that the Betors dont have enough movement for serious competition, they are mainly for show. Yes Betor do make other, better units but the cost is much more. In Motion know their stuff. Those old-style Betors are perfect for a show bike from that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oni nou Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 'Internal bladder technology' ?? .....did you omit to show the bladder in the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmk Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, oni nou said: 'Internal bladder technology' ?? .....did you omit to show the bladder in the pictures. Kind of comical...the advertising says "internal bladder technology" however, there are no bladders inside these shocks. In the photos, kind of holding the pose for the OZO sticker on the upper shock eyelet / endcap you can see the two O rings per IFP and the IFP separator pistons under the endcaps. So no bladders, but there are aluminum IFP with dual O rings to keep the gas and fluid separated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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