The facts.
| Brand | Öhlins |
|---|---|
| Part Number | 00181-03 |
| Spring Rate | 23 N/mm |
| Free Length | 315 mm |
| Inner Diameter | 46 mm |
| Stroke | 180 mm |
| Construction | Straight |
| Finish | Powder-coated yellow |
| Country of Origin | Sweden |
DescriptionThe whole story▼
Öhlins part number 00181-03 is a shock absorber spring rated at 23 N/mm, 315 mm long with a 46 mm inner diameter. A rear spring matched to rider and load keeps the chassis attitude where the factory intended it.
Key Features
- Inner diameter 46 mm
- Powder-coated yellow
- 180 mm of usable stroke
- Öhlins part number 00181-03
- Measured spring rate 23 N/mm
- Free length 315 mm
- Straight-wound, constant rate
Manufacture and Tolerance
The Öhlins part number is stamped on the unit, so its specification can be looked up years later. Shafts are hardened and surface-treated so the seal has a consistent surface to run against. Machining, anodising, assembly and testing all happen in the same building rather than across a supply chain.
Dimensions
Öhlins holds the free length at 315 mm and the inner diameter at 46 mm across this rate range, so moving up or down a rate changes nothing about the installation.
Where This Rate Belongs
Comfort and grip come from the spring moving early; this is the end of the range where that happens. This is the end of the range where small-bump compliance matters more than resistance to diving. A soft rate favours grip and comfort over support: the fork moves early, which keeps the tyre loaded on a poor surface. Ride quality on the road is decided by rate first and damping second.
How a Rear Spring Works
Progressive springs change rate through the stroke, which suits machines with little travel and a lot of load. Rear spring rates run in the tens or hundreds of N/mm because the spring sits at the short end of that lever, not at the wheel. The rear spring carries the rider, the pillion and the luggage; the front carries only part of it.
Applications
Where Öhlins lists this size against a particular unit, the listing is a starting point rather than a boundary. Nothing about the installation changes across a rate range: the mounting, the length and the bore stay the same. This is a service part in the proper sense — it wears, it settles, and replacing it restores what the suspension was designed to do.
What Fitting Involves
The job needs no special tools beyond a fork spring compressor and a measuring rod for the oil level. Öhlins states an air gap for this application, and that figure is part of the setting rather than a detail. Öhlins supplies a setting sheet with the springs; the numbers on it assume the specified oil.
Road Approval
Road approval: none is issued for springs as such — they replace an existing component of the same function. Any model-specific approval is listed under Applications.
Fitting and Setup Service
Öhlins suspension rewards careful fitting. We recommend having the work done by an authorised Öhlins service centre — and we are one ourselves: we fit, service and set up Öhlins components in house. If you would like us to handle the installation, just ask and we will quote it with the order.
Specifications
- Brand: Öhlins
- Part Number: 00181-03
- Spring Rate: 23 N/mm
- Free Length: 315 mm
- Inner Diameter: 46 mm
- Stroke: 180 mm
- Construction: Straight
- Finish: Powder-coated yellow
- Country of Origin: Sweden
FitmentWhich bikes this fits▼
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