The SXS shock would be acceptable, but the dealer searching for a shock said that there were no PDS shocks available to him in the U.S. He said they were all sold out and on backorder for as late as December. The Ohlins sounded good at that point.
I've had good luck with Ohlins in the past, my only concern was shim availability and if my PDS shims would fit.
I actually go the opposite direction in spring rates. I weigh 220,promote and ride on 3 different Grand Prix ( giant MX) tracks, ride some MX, and love the desert. Stiff springs with light preload, soft compression damping and lots of rebound works well for me.My 520 has .44's in front and a 9.8 in the back. My 200 has .45's and a 9.2. Both rear springs give me 100mm of laden with around 25-30mm of unladen sag. The ride is cushy, yet firm. My Gp tracks vary from a desert-like 10 mile course with rocks and highspeed chop to a 6 mile course that has g-outs,up and downhill jumps, natural mogul sections,some choppy sections, and more g-outs. The third course is a giant natural MX track, with big hills and some tight, rocky patches on the GP portion.Finding a system that works on all of courses is a challenge. No one setting will work for all three, and I'm just getting close to a set-up that will work with major clicker adjustmentbetween the courses
My goal on set-up is try to make the bike plush while maintaining good bottoming resistance.I've found that I regulate my speed by how much bottoming resistance I have. The easier the bike bottoms, the slower I go to prevent that.