Honda XR250R with CRF250R stem - ohlins steering damper

[5mman]

Hello fello forumers.. I'm new to here. This is my first post! I have a Honda '04 XR250R that is in need of a steering stabilizer and unfortunately I have my heart set on ohlins (I think there is an off the shelf scott damper available). I've been researching what I'd need to do in order to fit the ohlins damper. I'm planning on doing long trips touring the Victorian Alps in Australia. Along with the braided lines I have already put on, I think a damper will transform the already fantastic XR.

 

Can anyone give me any input on this plan:

 

I want to install an '04 CRF250R stem and retain my XR tripples. The '04 CRF250R bearings are the same OD as the XR ones so they all drop straight into the frame. The CRF bearings are 12 mm deep instead of 15mm which is fine. I'll machine the ID of the top and bottom XR tripples to accomodate the larger stem and run a tap down the thread to bring it lower. The CRF stem is physically longer to accomodate the thicker CRF top tripple so I'd need to do this to ensure I have enough thread protruding above my top XR tripple.

 

The ohlins catalog lists the 2.1 damper kit split into CRF25R '07 to '09 as one kit number and '10 to '12 as another. I need to figure out what the difference is. I am almost positive it will be a small difference in the bracket that replaces the washer on top of the top bearing.

 

Once that is figured out, it should all bolt up just fine.

 

Let me know what you all think..

[Kev_XR]

I just bought a Scott's top mount and bolted it on. I got a really good deal on the kit or I would have gone for the sub mount. If you buy a Scott's, be sure to get the off road vs the street bike damper.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Kev_XR

[5mman]

There are plenty of folks on this and other forums who have put CRF forks on their XR's but they all do it by machining the CRF stem and shimming the CRF tripples. I want absolutely everything XR except the stem. Seems like an easy mod - machining out my XR tripples. Just looking to see if anyone has done it. I might be the only person in the world with a 2003 XR 250 with an ohlins steering damper soon! I'll post my results when I get it done. Away from home at the moment. It's on my list of jobs when I return..

[Brewster Two]

There are plenty of folks on this and other forums who have put CRF forks on their XR's but they all do it by machining the CRF stem and shimming the CRF tripples. I want absolutely everything XR except the stem. Seems like an easy mod - machining out my XR tripples. Just looking to see if anyone has done it. I might be the only person in the world with a 2003 XR 250 with an ohlins steering damper soon! I'll post my results when I get it done. Away from home at the moment. It's on my list of jobs when I return..

Please correct me if I'm wrong but ........ isn't the Scotts damper the same damper as the Ohlins with minor mods. If I understand correctly the Scotts damper is made under license from Ohlins.

I'm looking to buy the Scotts front mount damper for my 400 for the LA/Barstow-Vegas Dual Sport ride next Thanksgiving.

Cheers,

Edited February 26, 2014 by Brewster Two

[5mman]

Brewster two, I believe you are right. I believe the only improvement of the ohlins 2.1 damper over the Scotts one is that the oil is always travelling the same direction regardless which way your handle bars are going. This supposedly removes the "flutter" the Scotts damper has as the bars change direction. From what I read the "flutter" isnt a problem, especially since you can adjust the span your bars travel where the damper does nothing at all anyway and you would want that for most riding conditions. I just like ohlins stuff. I'm wary of anything I put on any bike that wasnt there when it was new because 99.99% of it is rubbish. Not saying that the Scotts damper is rubbish. Just saying that I know for 100% sure that ohlins gear isnt.

 

It's always a red rag to a bull too when a distributor tells you "it isnt possible to fit that to your bike". I guess I'm just going to have to fit that to my bike now! Ha

[5mman]

I haven't looked into the mounting of the scotts damper much but i believe they need a pin added to the frame. The Ohlins one used a braket that replaces the top washer on top of the upper bearing. It looks neat. I read a few threads about Scotts pins that were breaking off the bike. Maybe the damping was dialed up too hard or something? Not sure, but I like the way the Ohlins one fits to the bike all the same..

[Eric@ScottsPerformance]

Brewster two, I believe you are right. I believe the only improvement of the ohlins 2.1 damper over the Scotts one is that the oil is always travelling the same direction regardless which way your handle bars are going. This supposedly removes the "flutter" the Scotts damper has as the bars change direction. From what I read the "flutter" isnt a problem, especially since you can adjust the span your bars travel where the damper does nothing at all anyway and you would want that for most riding conditions. I just like ohlins stuff. I'm wary of anything I put on any bike that wasnt there when it was new because 99.99% of it is rubbish. Not saying that the Scotts damper is rubbish. Just saying that I know for 100% sure that ohlins gear isnt.

 

It's always a red rag to a bull too when a distributor tells you "it isnt possible to fit that to your bike". I guess I'm just going to have to fit that to my bike now! Ha

As a company that has dealt with Ohlins for many years, be careful what you think is rubbish or not. There are a lot of good things about their products, but not everything is what it seems.

 Keep in my mind I have only played with the early 2.0's and they may have refined things since then. It would seem to me that if you have the damper and the mounting nut for the CRF steering stem you will be able to mount the damper on the triple clamp and stem. The hardest part will be getting a frame bracket to work. My first instinct was to say to use one of our SUB weld on towers but we use a round pin and they use a oblong pin.  You might try calling Coppersmith here in the US and see if they have an answer. You need to find someone who has actually played with these things rather than someone who is just looking in a book. Show is pics when you have it done and good luck!

 Thanks-

 Eric

[Eric@ScottsPerformance]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but ........ isn't the Scotts damper the same damper as the Ohlins with minor mods. If I understand correctly the Scotts damper is made under license from Ohlins.

I'm looking to buy the Scotts front mount damper for my 400 for the LA/Barstow-Vegas Dual Sport ride next Thanksgiving.

Cheers,

Ohlins bought UNIC, the original designer of the damper. We were a distributor for UNIC here in the U.S. and carried that over when Ohlins bought UNIC. We started making and refining the damper here in the states around 1992 and some were made in Sweden by Ohlins. Since about 2006 all of our damper are made here in the states as Ohlins went the way of the 2.0 and we stayed with the refined original design.

 Thanks-

 Eric

[Brewster Two]

I haven't looked into the mounting of the scotts damper much but i believe they need a pin added to the frame. The Ohlins one used a braket that replaces the top washer on top of the upper bearing. It looks neat. I read a few threads about Scotts pins that were breaking off the bike. Maybe the damping was dialed up too hard or something? Not sure, but I like the way the Ohlins one fits to the bike all the same..

There are various mounting systems for the XR. One requires welding a pin on the frame, another mounts over the oiler filler but makes checking the oil a PITA. And finally the most expensive and nicest IMHO, is the front mount.

Cheers,

[5mman]

I do like the front mount option. I've seen pics. Happy to strip my speed and dash out if need be and it looks like that'd be necessary. I never look at it and it's rec registered only.

 

The ohlins bracket replaces the top bearing shell which is a super neat way to do it too. It's really clean and it stands to reason that it's probably the strongest way to do it.

 

The info I have now is great. I'll get stuck into the project when I get home and post my findings on here.

 

Thanks everyone for the input..