Ohlins rebuild

jduke · 05-21-2007, 06:17 AM

Friday I rode up to SMC in Harrisburg, just outside Charlotte NC, to have my Ohlin shocks rebuilt. I didn't have a spare pair so I called Andy Rounds and made the appointment to wait on the rebuild. 5 hours later I was on the road, smooth as glass.
Andy made his mark in the suspension business in NASCAR and knows his stuff. He pulled both shocks, rebuilt them, reinstalled them and set the suspension. As smooth as new.
If anyone in the southeast needs Ohlins work or suspension setup, I have no problem recommending Andy / SMC. I believe Dee Jones knows Andy too.
Andy charged me $365 for the complete job. Money well spent.
Andy is known in the Charlotte area for his knowledge of suspension work. While there I saw a Ducati 1098S and a Mike Hailwood replica carbon fiber Duc.
If you need Ohlins, or have them worked on or general suspension work, Andy Rounds with SMC is my recommendation.

SMC Inc.
408 Plaza Dr.
Harrisburg, NC 28075
Phone: (704)455-2434
Fax: (704)664-6612
E-mail: smcspec@aol.com
Motorcycle suspension.

Jerry Duke - Savannah, GA

dee jones · 05-21-2007, 06:45 AM

Jerry, I guess my secrets out. I've been having Andy do my work for about the last 4years. He works alone and he stays real busy. He always finds a way to work a rider in. Glad he could help you out while you waited. Did Peach's draw any blood? Those gentle dogs of his will bite.

jduke · 05-21-2007, 06:50 AM

Nobody got bit this time.....
A friend, a lawyer, was up there about a month ago and did get chomped on. I think the dog is going to live.

Steve Carlton · 05-21-2007, 06:56 AM

Wow, that's a cool deal! Reminds me of going to see Rick Meyer or of those guys that ride to Corbin. Good resource for those nearby.

jduke · 05-21-2007, 07:20 AM

I agree Steve. Not very many people with the knowledge and experience Andy has will take the time to do what he did at my convenience. Too many shops will read you the riot act, "Ship them here" type attitude.

Bob Hancock · 05-21-2007, 08:19 AM

I trust Jerry when he says Andy is the bees knees, but I just pulled my Ohlins off the R11S and sent them off to Rick Tannenbaum of Cogent Dyanmics, in Fletcher, NC. I'm ashamed to say how many miles these shocks have on them, but they were still doing well, but I think it's time.

Anyway, he did the rebuild on the forks on my Ducati and is well known in the Ducati community for good work. I expect it to be about $100 per shock, but I did the work pulling them off and will pay shipping. Great we have so many choices to do this type of stuff, huh?

jduke · 05-21-2007, 08:37 AM

Many choices is great!
I didn't have the option of pulling the shocks and sending them off.....
Good thing for me Andy will let you make an appointment and ride in. Plus for the $365, he pulled the shocks, rebuilt the shocks, reinstalled the shocks AND set the suspension. Setting up the suspension is what makes any after-market shocks worth the money.
Now that I have a base line number of clicks I can fine tune the suspension to my liking.

dee jones · 05-21-2007, 11:30 AM

Andy also does a lot of machine work, and is a great guy to boot. So you guys may want to take note for future reference. He has helped me out mucho much on several crashed bikes. Make sure you take some dog biscuits when you visit.