Good day Michael,
The simple solution is:
Mirror the i386 directory (and everything below it) from your internet SuSE mirror.
If you have a fast connection between your linux machine and your download machine, then use the Patch CD Update to update by pointing it to the directory containing the i386 directory on your download machine.
If you have no connection between the machines, copy the i386 directory to the root of a CD and use that with the Patch CD Update.
are you certain about everything beneth i386? Shouldn't it be everything beneth: ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/8.1/ ??
Yes, I am certain. The great Togan Muftuoglu pointed a bunch of us to a HOWTO about how to do local YOU updates. The i386 directory is what YOU will be looking for. Best regards :o) Johnny :o)