2007 Ohlins forks airgap for oil ?
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Category: RSV / RSVR / FACTORY
Forum Name: Technical Chat
Forum Description: Any technical problems or useful advise for other owners, remember this is just advice posted here, if you make something go BANG in a big way don't take anyone to court about it.
URL: http://www.rsvr.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=29281
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 04:53
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Topic: 2007 Ohlins forks airgap for oil ?
Posted By: rossguzzi
Subject: 2007 Ohlins forks airgap for oil ?
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2021 at 08:15
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Hi all, I have a set of 07 RSVR Ohlins in my 04 Tuono. I need to know what the air gap for oil quantity is ? That is, after filling and bleeding, how far from the top of the tube should the oil level be. I have herd 85mm up to 115mm. The model number stamped on the inside of the fork foot is FG 8903 2006 03 30 Also what weight oil, 5wt ? No racing, street use only, Im 80 kg, mostly solo. Thanks for any help. Cheers. ------------- 2004 Tuono & KTM 990 Adv = :) |
Replies:
Posted By: Mikey
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2021 at 12:03
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https://www.ohlins.com/app/uploads/world/documents/2015/06/OM_07282-04.pdf%20" rel="nofollow - https://www.ohlins.com/app/uploads/world/documents/2015/06/OM_07282-04.pdf
What you'll find is that the oil level depends on what type of response you expect at greater compression. ------------- RSV1000R, m.y. 2007 |
Posted By: Spoonz
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2021 at 18:50
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The oem air gap is 85mm (damper rod raised) and 7.5wt oil. Depending on your weight you might want to have a slightly bigger air gap but go in 5mm increments. Unless you have done a strip don’t go by oil volume alone as there will be some oil trapped and you will overfill them.
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Posted By: rossguzzi
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2021 at 02:50
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Hi Spoonz, So I have had people say up to 125 mm on different forums. One youtube said 85mm, so this is the second 85mm recommendation. Can I ask how you came across 85mm ? Even a reputable Ducati service agent could not tell me the level. I thought the forks were basically the same as the Ducati 1098 ones. Cheers. ------------- 2004 Tuono & KTM 990 Adv = :) |
Posted By: Spoonz
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2021 at 07:21
85mm is in the Aprilia service manual, I ran 90mm personally just to suit my weight. Never ever heard of anyone exceeding 100mm on the ohlins unless it’s measured with the spring out. 85mm is spring in and damper rod raised.
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rossguzzi wrote:Posted By: BRG
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2021 at 10:27
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Somewhat confusingly, Öhlins manuals state two ways of measuring the oil level: * spring present but preload adjuster removed (oil level 110-80 mm); * spring and preload adjuster removed (oil level 190-150 mm). In both cases the fork should be compressed. Mikey’s post (#2) links to a manual that uses method 2, but the Aprilia information uses method 1. Here’s an Öhlins spec sheet for the ‘03 RSVR, which states an 85 mm level with spring present and preload adjuster removed. http://www.zen50505.zen.co.uk/AF1Forum/Ohlins_FG8903_Aprilia_RSV1000R_OEM.pdf" rel="nofollow - As Spoonz says above, the Aprilia workshop manual (01/2005-05 §5.2.11) implies that the spring is present and the preload spacer is removed when the level is measured (at 85 mm). 2021/07/29 Edit 1 - Removed visible HTML crap at end of post. ------------- BRG https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/" rel="nofollow - https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/ '05 Ducati MTS 1000S DS 'Neppomuk' "[...] a nugget of purest green" '06 Aprilia RSV 1000 R Factory 'Nibelung' |
Posted By: rossguzzi
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2021 at 04:04
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Confusing but thanks. ------------- 2004 Tuono & KTM 990 Adv = :) |
Posted By: BRG
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2021 at 09:57
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Apologies if I've muddied the waters... Standard setting is given by Spoonz in post #3: Oil level of 85 mm with the spring in and the pre-load spacer out. Use 7.5w oil. ------------- BRG https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/" rel="nofollow - https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/ '05 Ducati MTS 1000S DS 'Neppomuk' "[...] a nugget of purest green" '06 Aprilia RSV 1000 R Factory 'Nibelung' |
Posted By: rossguzzi
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2021 at 10:35
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Ha ha, and to confuse things more, Motul recomends 5w. Guy who is doing my forks says it is usual for the spring to be out then measure the air gap as there is more room in there to measure. Just shows to me that the forks are not serviced enough, or at least known about by owners, as much as other aspects of the bike. But important none the less. Cheers. ------------- 2004 Tuono & KTM 990 Adv = :) |
Posted By: legend88
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2021 at 21:46
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With fork oil apparently not all weights are alike. One brands 5w is another's 7.5w so you can only compare within the same brand. Sadly it seems they aren't covered by accepted international specs similar to engine oil which seems odd and ridiculous in equal measure. |
Posted By: 426hemi
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2021 at 22:05
| You need to look on the back of the bottle and find the measurements for centistoke, that’s the true weight of the oil. |
Posted By: IanG
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2021 at 22:39
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Another reason why suspension tuners have their own favourite brands and stick with them for consistency. Obviously Ohlins only use their own brand and I guess their service agents worldwise do likewise I think Maxtons use Putoline 5wt in all their work but I may have mis remembered as it's been a few years since I spoke with them. ------------- www.apworkshops.co.uk www.apriliaforum.co.uk www.apriliaownersclub.co.uk Looking forward to the next track day |
Posted By: BRG
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2021 at 14:41
I concur. The most-used (international) standard for measuring viscosity is the centiStoke (cSt) where 1 cSt = 1 mm2/s. Other ratings, such as “weight”, differ from brand to brand and are not a standard.After a short shout around t'Interweb, I found that: https://www.ohlins.eu/%20" rel="nofollow - https://www.ohlins.eu/ - R&T Fork oil (01309) = "19.0 Centistokes at 40°[C] (similar SAE 7,5W)" https://www.motul.com/gb/en/" rel="nofollow - https://www.motul.com/gb/en/ Technical Data Sheet: Light (5W) Viscosity at 40°C = 18.9 mm2/s = 18.9 cSt Medium (10W) Viscosity at 40°C = 35.9 mm2/s = 35.9 cSt So, I would conclude that Motul Light 5w is roughly equivalent to Ohlins R&T(01309) 7.5w. ------------- BRG https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/" rel="nofollow - https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/ '05 Ducati MTS 1000S DS 'Neppomuk' "[...] a nugget of purest green" '06 Aprilia RSV 1000 R Factory 'Nibelung' |
Posted By: twinfan
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2021 at 19:32
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Good information, every day is a learning day for me ------------- on my licence it says "tear down the dotted line" so I DO! |
Posted By: rossguzzi
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2021 at 05:18
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Thanks for all the replys. Job now done. Think he did 85mm spring in but its a tight fit to measure. 5wt Motul. Cheers. ------------- 2004 Tuono & KTM 990 Adv = :) |
Posted By: Retromlc
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2024 at 18:28
| I'm setting the air gap in a set of ohlins for the 2002 RSV-R, the seals had been leaking when I bought the bike, I've cured the leak and wish to top up the oil, the aur gap is measured with forks compressed , the measurement is taken from the top of the outer fold tune, not the chrome tube which sits lower? My measurement is 145 mm in one fork and 154mm the other with fork compressed, sprung in and rid lifted, I guess it could easily leak 55ml if it's been sitting a while, just to confirm it's from the top if the outer gold tube? |
Posted By: Retromlc
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2024 at 18:29
| That should read the air gap, from top of outer gold tube |
Posted By: Spoonz
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2024 at 19:56
Yes the outer gold tube. The damper rod should also be raised while measuring if your basing the air gap on the oem figures.  |