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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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jd750ace wrote:
Here it is:
Since we all want to make our bikes "ours", we personalize them in many ways, and other ways, we put improved products on like everyone else, but stop shy of truly tailoring them to our exact needs. Suspension is probably the place this happens most. The most popular standard spring rate for a factory installed straight rate spring is .7KG-MM. That is a good spring for a rider who is about 175 pounds or so. We big 'ol corn fed country boys need springs that are .9-1.0 KG-MM in out forks for a good front end feel on the Road Star.
Now, I have nothing personally against Progressive Suspension, and have bought rear shocks from them for several bikes, and have been pleased with the results.
For my own preference however, the progressive rate springs do not give me the consistency in front end feel that I like, which I first observed in a Used EX500 I had bought with progressive springs in it, and switched to Race Tech straight rate springs. I did not install emulators in this bike, but the springs alone where a big leap forward toward what I felt the front should do.
Not long after buying my 2002 Suzuki SV650, I decided to re-suspend, as I'm much bigger than the "universal rider" it's budget suspension was set up for. I installed a Showa racing rear shock off a GSX-R750 on the back, with a Race Tech straight rate spring, and serviced it with 7.5 WT (vs original 5 wt) oil, and 120 PSI of nitrogen Set the static sag, and called that end good. In the forks, I installed Race Tech springs, and gold valve cartridge emulators, which give you the ability to tune your damping rate via a calibrated orifice and tuneable spring. In order for them to function correctly, you must drill out the damping rod orifices at the bottom of the damping rod, that are the original metering. Instructions are in the kit. The damping rate on the valve is controlled by a straight rate spring on what is essentially a pop-off valve. Very small bumps are absorbed by the springs, and the air that is present over the oil in the top of the tube. Once the air is compressed to the point of exceedng the cracking pressure of the valve, the valve opens a metered amount and allows fluid damping through it's orifices. If you want less diving under braking, just raise the oil level a tad and force the damping to begin earlier that way. It is a balancing act, but most find that even the base settings are MILES ahead of stockers, and a great improvement over springs alone.
http://www.racetech.com/HTML_FILES/EMULATORGV.HTML
Well, this is an improvement over.."if your out my way, I'let ya ride my other bike" We're about the same size. You need to hurry up and make this switch in your Roadie, so all I have to do is cut and paste the little details like total oil amount, weight of oil used etc., or, are there recommendations included in the destructions?
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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They include starting points, but if you call them, (most of the time you'll have to leave a message, since they all actually work!) an actual HUMAN who knows what they are doing will give you great advise overthe phone.
I know, that just does not sound right in today's world, but it HAPPENS!!
Great company. One thing I do love is that they will let you know what to do to optimise for the feel and performance you want, not just throw a baseline out there based on weight alone.
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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Obviously, for most of us, Progressive springs and a little heavier oil give lot better feel. I just really like getting it as close to perfect as possible. The Race Tech front with a 465 rear should be a pretty sweet setup, and when you get it done, you'll see what I'm talking about when I say Suspension is the best mod you can do!
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blue_star (User)
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Posts: 6570
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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One more question for you. What brand of fork oil would you reccomend?
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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I've been using Bel-Ray synthetic, but almost any synthetic will work well. I do synthetic because it just don't cost that much more. I don't think street forks get hot enough to worry about thermal breakdown, but synthetic stays "in-grade" longer than mineral based oil, and since I'm big on consistency, I go with the synthetic. The Kawi shop down the road always has Bel-Ray in stock, so that's how that started. As an aside, most people here don't watch motorcycle racing, but former Supercross champ Chad Reed got his own private team going with lots of help from Bel-Ray, so that makes me just feel good about using a product that supports a sport I enjoy.
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blue_star (User)
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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Thanks again jd. I know there are probably just as many opinions on fork oil as there are on engine oil. I guess the real question should have been, is there a brand to avoid? I have used Belray products before and don't have anything bad to say about them. I've just never done any work on front forks and I'm trying to gather as much info as I can before starting this project.
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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Yep. the time to seek answers is before she's apart!
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Re:RACE TECH springs and gold valve emulators 5 Years, 8 Months ago
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That would have been a Hondashadow.net world. I was there a lot when I had my 750.
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