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Front Suspension upgrade?

...It's not "oh man this is awful," more like, "hmmm, this could be better."

I thought it was awful. I guess it depends on what you are used to and how you plan to use it. My bike went from having a "built on a budget" feel to having a "luxury" feel. When you can make it both firmer and yet more "plush" and comfortable, it is hard to pass up. On rocky roads, the stock fronts rattled my teeth out.
 
I *feel* like mine has smoothed out after 4k miles...but maybe I have just gotten used to it. I will still do a RT rebuild on the front in the future.

Sent from a Speak & Spell wired to a record player, a saw blade, a fork, and an umbrella.
 
FYI, Belray weight oil when compared to other brands is equivalent to 15W. Belray tends to run heavier than labelled. So essentially you are already putting 15W in there (when measuring true viscosity). The opposite holds true with Torco. Torco runs lighter than labelled. I run Torco Fork oil on all my bikes and for my race bike, I actually have to use Torco 20W since its equivalent to majority's 15W.

I actually have a spreadsheet of all the different known brands of Fork Oil with their Viscosity Ratings. They are listed numerically matching by true viscosity. If anyone wants it, PM me and I can email the spreadsheet or PDF Copy.
Is this the same chart as found on Peter Verdone's website?

Suspension Fluid - Pvdwiki

I wouldn't really agree that BelRay 10wt is equal to 15wt. There are plenty of "10 wt" fork oils clustered above and below BelRay 10wt's reported centistoke and calculated viscosity values however it might be accurate to compare Torco 15wt to many other brands 7.5 and 10wt oils using centistoke and VI values.
 
I thought it was awful. I guess it depends on what you are used to and how you plan to use it. My bike went from having a "built on a budget" feel to having a "luxury" feel. When you can make it both firmer and yet more "plush" and comfortable, it is hard to pass up. On rocky roads, the stock fronts rattled my teeth out.

.... and you did that with Racetech emulators in the front? Or did you do a complete cartridge drop-in from someone like, Ohlins?
 
.... and you did that with Racetech emulators in the front? Or did you do a complete cartridge drop-in from someone like, Ohlins?

I looked at Ohlins and Traxxion for full cartridge set-ups, but I wasn't willing to go the cost. I would have rather had a cartridge fork, and I had heard a number of people grouse about the Gold Valve Emulators on the BMW boards (especially the Airhead crowd, but they would grouse about a free lunch). Regardless, I decided to give them a try and I am glad I did. Several people here saved big bucks by doing their own installation, but I did not. Not so much because I was afraid of the mechanical scope of work (I lack fear and good sense in equal measure) as because I didn't trust my ability to specify what was needed. French and suspensions are both foreign languages to me. I thought for a while about going the next step but decided that I was satisfied enough. The brutal pounding is gone and the suspension is very compliant over broken road.
 
Anyone know what the Race Tech '15wt' fork oil's 100F/40C viscosity is?

***EDIT: Nevermind. Race Tech says their 15W is ~45 cSt @ 40C, and ~7.5 @ 100C (I don't recall the figures more precisely than that at present). They do NOT use Motorex fluids any more.
 
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I looked at Ohlins and Traxxion for full cartridge set-ups, but I wasn't willing to go the cost. I would have rather had a cartridge fork, and I had heard a number of people grouse about the Gold Valve Emulators on the BMW boards (especially the Airhead crowd, but they would grouse about a free lunch). Regardless, I decided to give them a try and I am glad I did. Several people here saved big bucks by doing their own installation, but I did not. Not so much because I was afraid of the mechanical scope of work (I lack fear and good sense in equal measure) as because I didn't trust my ability to specify what was needed. French and suspensions are both foreign languages to me. I thought for a while about going the next step but decided that I was satisfied enough. The brutal pounding is gone and the suspension is very compliant over broken road.

Perfect, thank you for the response.

I know lots of guys who race with emulators in "production classes," because it's against the rules for them to change the fork and it is cost prohibitive to go to a full drop in cartridge fork. The emulators end up working well for them on the track, but I was curious how it translated to the street.

Sounds like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, giving you that adjustability at the extreme ends of the stroke to make the front wheel do what it's supposed to when going over broken pavement -- rolling over it -- instead of jumping up it and jumping back down it.

When it comes time to service the forks I'll be adding racetech emulators.
 
Wow! I just finished putting everything back together after a GV install and other work, and the difference is amazing! This mod is WELL worth the effort!

I used Red Line fluid, and in order to match the 40C viscosity of the Race Tech fluid, I used a mixture of 55% "Medium," and 45% "Heavy" fluid. I used the Red Line fluid because it has a much higher viscosity index than the RT fluid, so it's more consistent as temperature changes.

If anyone's 'on the fence' about whether to do the GV upgrade, I say go for it!
 
We need a pioneer to try Traxxion's emulators or true cartridge forks to see how they acquit themselves. Also the Ricor Intimidators. Who's up to brave the potential arrow?
 
As much as you have bragged on your gold valves, why would you expect me to try something else :confused:

Nothing at all wrong with Gold Valves, just trying to goad someone into swinging for the fences. Might be something better out there. I am pretty sure that true cartridge forks are better. Traxxion's emulators have a better reputation than RaceTech but they cost over twice as much. I wasn't willing to spend the money because I thought GV's would be adequate. I am still satisfied with them, in fact, they keep getting better with some miles (as does the Ohlins rear).
 
We need a pioneer to try the Ricor Intimidators. Who's up to brave the potential arrow?


I've sent off an email to them, I'm pretty sure their 41mm jobbies are nothing weird to try and fit, but just thought I would ask anyway. I'm willing to give them a go if nothing untoward returns as a reply...

Not that I have the slightest prejudice against the RT's of course, but I'm easily led astray with the goading thing, lol ;)
 
cartridge forks are the best way to go, rebound and compression damping can be shimmed in a single, dual, or triple rate, so they can really be find tuned.
 
I ordered a set of the Ricor Intiminators (not sure I'm digging the product name choice, lol. Intimidators makes no sense, but it's at least a real word, "Intiminators" just makes no sense at all, that I can see) from these guys: Ricor Intiminators 41mm for All Honda XV600V Transalp | eBay

They thought so, and I hope so, that the 41mm NCX suspenders are similar enough to Transalp's etc., 41mm forks for a no issue fit. They did assure me I can send them back no problem, if they don't fit for some weird reason.
 
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