Ohlins rear shock question

So some of you may know I recently installed the Ohlins shock on my 91 VFR. As I have been doing some research on the shock, I noticed that to set the preload I need the spanner wrench. (which didnt come with the shock) Since when I sit on the bike it has quite the drop.

When I was looking at spanner wrenches for the shock, i noticed that some wrenches said I needed 2 types of spanner wrenches to adjust the preload for the shock?


As you can see that this profile wrench is different than the other one.
Yamaha SXViper Accessories, Yamaha SXViper Ohlins® Spanner Wrench


OHLINS SHOCK SPANNER WRENCH from Parts Unlimited Street

As it states on their site

From my understanding, I thought my shock was a hydraulic?

But I also have the 2 rings to adjust the pressure on the spring. I am just trying to figure out how many or which one of these spanner wrenches I need to adjust the preload on the shock.





Thanks in advance.
Jay

 

My fox pre-load wrenches look kinda similar to the ones in your pictures. I have a 3/8 square that I could use a ratchet on but I recall that I used a piece of pipe maybe. You know how it goes, I worked on my shock years back and things get cloudy. You have two rings though, one is the lock and one you can turn with the tool. Once you set the main ring snug up the lock nut. But you knew that already, btw in the past I have used a long punch to knock those rings up or down, mine was brass but you could always use a crapman screwdriver. I believe that you want to crank up the pre-load on ur shock. You should be able to bounce the bike with you not on it from the back and let it rebound then kinda pick it up. You shouldnt have alot to move when you lift the tail section, kinda difficult to explain/worse than describing what it feels like to be having sex to an alien. Good luck/Cheers dude

 

The smaller hydraulic reservoir with the large black knob is your preload adjuster, no wrench necessary.

 

Green arrow = Remote Compression adjuster.
Red arrow = Remote Spring Preload adjuster.
Yellow arrow = Rebound adjuster.
+1 to what VFRCapn said,no spanner wrenches should be necessary to make preload adjustments on this model Ohlins shock.


Here's a pic of the lock ring above the hydraulic preload adjustment mechanism on the Ohlins shock on my 6th gen. That ring is there to set the initial static spring preload,which is preset at the factory. Once the factory presets the static preload on the spring the lock ring is locked off with a roll pin so it can't turn. If your Ohlins shock has been set up properly for your rider weight Jay there should be no need to move that lock ring. All further preload adjustments are made with the remote hydraulic preload adjuster. If you sat on your bike and the back end sagged too far,than simply turn the Black knob on the hydraulic preload adjuster clockwise and dial in some more preload.


Just a heads-up Jay,do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt. The book will walk you through step by step and explain in detail exactly how to properly set-up and tune your bike's suspension. In my humble opinion this book is worth it's weight in gold. Hope this helps you.

 

Just a heads-up Jay,do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt. The book will walk you through step by step and explain in detail exactly how to properly set-up and tune your bike's suspension. In my humble opinion this book is worth it's weight in gold. Hope this helps you.
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Absolutely true Stosh, this should be required reading for VFRW members. This was recommended to me by one of our venerable gurus here (thank you NCB), and it is worth every penny.