FGK 224 Cartridge Oil Level

DesmoAndrew

New member
just joined this forum ...

I'm rebuilding the Marzocchi with Ohlins FGK 224 cartridges. A little unsure of the oil level.

After removing the spring and spring tube, the oil level is at about 250 mm from the top of the outer stanchion tube, when it is sitting all the way down.

Seemed a little low to me. No oil leaks.

The bike is track only. I was able to empty about 360 ml of oil from the forks.

One the one hand, the bike handled OK for me, so maybe just keep it the same. I'm not a demon on the brakes so tend not to bury the front. Sag was set, and the travel zip tie was close to the bottom, but not all the way there.

But I dont have a comparison ... and the 250 is at the high end of the range in the Ohlins manual and provides somewhat less spring force given the large air volume. I'm leaning towards adding 20 - 30 mm of oil to get near the mid range of the Ohlins manual (assuming I am measuring correctly).

Anyone have any insight on this?

thx
 

BMW Alpina

FOUNDING Member & Administrator
Staff member
just joined this forum ...

I'm rebuilding the Marzocchi with Ohlins FGK 224 cartridges. A little unsure of the oil level.

After removing the spring and spring tube, the oil level is at about 250 mm from the top of the outer stanchion tube, when it is sitting all the way down.

Seemed a little low to me. No oil leaks.

The bike is track only. I was able to empty about 360 ml of oil from the forks.

One the one hand, the bike handled OK for me, so maybe just keep it the same. I'm not a demon on the brakes so tend not to bury the front. Sag was set, and the travel zip tie was close to the bottom, but not all the way there.

But I dont have a comparison ... and the 250 is at the high end of the range in the Ohlins manual and provides somewhat less spring force given the large air volume. I'm leaning towards adding 20 - 30 mm of oil to get near the mid range of the Ohlins manual (assuming I am measuring correctly).

Anyone have any insight on this?

thx
Hi DesmoAndrew,
I think the best person to answer this question would be our official forum vendor Brad @MOTION SBK
The fastest way to reach out to him would be to his email: motionducati@yahoo.com
You can tell him that you are a member of our forum and refer to you by Howard or by @craig bush (sorry to borrow your name Craig, but there is no way Brad would forgot one of his best customer :D)
Just kidding of course, Brad remember his customers personally.

In return, in the future when you need an Ohlins forks oil, you can buy it from Brad.
Last time, I bought an Ohlins oil from him, not only he gave me the lowest price, it also shipped to me by 2nd day air UPS !
This also ensure you get the correct answer from an Ohlins authorized dealer.
 

craig bush

Well-known member
100% ok with me Howard. :)

Not only is Brad a master Ducati and Ohlins tech, he also offers customers great prices on aftermarket parts and services, and generously shares his time and knowledge. He’s a huge resource for any Ducati owner. (y)
 

BMW Alpina

FOUNDING Member & Administrator
Staff member
copy on reaching out to Brad .... thx
Hi DesmoAndrew,
Brad told me that he gave you some recommendation, I forgot to ask him was it about the oil level? If yes, curious what tips that he provided to you? Please kindly share. Thanks
 

DesmoAndrew

New member
yes, Brad was kind enough to suggest an oil level of 160 mm, or perhaps 150 if I planned on really nailing the brakes.

I decided to go with 160 mm initially, given it is much higher than what was in the forks.

Was out in the shop today re-assembling one of the legs and realized I really need the tool to pull up the dampening rod ... seems easy enough to make but requires an M12x1.25 tap which I dont have ... Have one on order.

Since I got stopped on the fork, I shifted to cleaning the calipers and installing a new set of EBC GPFAX pads. These have incredible braking performance, but not for the street - way too agressive. Really need a race tire compound to make it work. I run Pirelli slicks and they seem to work well with this set up.
 

DesmoAndrew

New member
I do have a question for the forum ... I find that cleaning the calipers pistons is hard .. trying to keep the dust from building up too much. So I just use a toothbrush and SimpleGreen to clean as much of it as I can. I stay away from pushing the pistons out further, or pulling them out all together. But I'm sure this leaves dust down inside the piston bores, in likely the worst area. What to do?
 

BMW Alpina

FOUNDING Member & Administrator
Staff member
I do have a question for the forum ... I find that cleaning the calipers pistons is hard .. trying to keep the dust from building up too much. So I just use a toothbrush and SimpleGreen to clean as much of it as I can. I stay away from pushing the pistons out further, or pulling them out all together. But I'm sure this leaves dust down inside the piston bores, in likely the worst area. What to do?
If the piston seal did it's job, it should prevent the dust from going into the piston (unless after many thousands of miles). Your brake caliper is still a street brake caliper, right? not the racing brake caliper?
if you worry, it's not that hard to take out the piston, just use compressed air to push it out (of course you have to take out the caliper from the brake line and push compressed air into the caliper.
The piston will shoot out (so becareful when applying the compress air. Hold one back of the piston maybe with some tie lock or even several layer of duct tape, this way you will be pushing out one side at a time.
Then if the piston dust seal and inner seal it still good, you can always reuse it. Make sure you clean everything and then lube with brake fluid before you push the piston back in.
 
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