2009 SV650sf - Race Tech

j2 said:
Paul Thede at Racetech provides "Hearsay Advice" :)

Don't take this this wrong way, but Paul Thede is one of the 10 best suspension guys in North America. Google him

The reason you need 20wt oil when using the Racetech Emulators is that the Damping rods are drilled to prevent them doing any damping at all. The Racetech Emulators are designed to work with 20wt oil out of the box, thats why they recommend 20wt. They do the damping, not the damping rod.

Damping in the emulator is controlled by a screw and a spring that preloads the damper. Normally about 2 turns for the street and 4 turns for track.

Here is the racetech web page with recommedations for the SV. http://racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/Suzuki/SV650 A, S, SA/2003-09

Here is a link to Zoran's site. http://www.twfracing.com/ As Delboy said above, he has good information on installing the emulators and proven results on the track.

If you do the emulators, you will need 20wt. At least for Racetech. have not used any others.

I race 3 bikes in the VRRA, all with Racetech emulators, all with 20wt oil and am really happy with the result

Give the guys at racetech a call. They are very helpful and will spend the time discussing
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Thanks for the sites! Appreciated....... everyone has so much advice on suspension. all are a little bit different which makes it tough to come to your own decision lol
 
j2 said:
Paul Thede at Racetech provides "Hearsay Advice" :)

Don't take this this wrong way, but Paul Thede is one of the 10 best suspension guys in North America. Google him

The reason you need 20wt oil when using the Racetech Emulators is that the Damping rods are drilled to prevent them doing any damping at all. The Racetech Emulators are designed to work with 20wt oil out of the box, thats why they recommend 20wt. They do the damping, not the damping rod.

Damping in the emulator is controlled by a screw and a spring that preloads the damper, not the oil weight. Normally about 2 turns for the street and 4 turns for track.

Here is the racetech web page with recommedations for the SV. http://racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/Suzuki/SV650 A, S, SA/2003-09

Here is a link to Zoran's site. http://www.twfracing.com/ As Delboy said above, he has good information on installing the emulators and proven results on the track.

If you do the emulators, you will need 20wt. At least for Racetech. have not used any others.

I race 3 bikes in the VRRA, all with Racetech emulators, all with 20wt oil and am really happy with the result. John Sharrard did my RZ350 and FZR600.

Give the guys at racetech a call. They are very helpful and will spend the time discussing
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Exactly. With Racetech Emulators you basically remove all dampening duties from the rod its self - it no longer does anything - and allow the emulator to handle compression dampening. Rebound Dampening is still supplied by the oil but since the holes in the rod are so big now, you need the 20wt oil to be effective.

I've never personally used the Ricor ones but if you don't feel comfortable drilling they may be worth a shot.

I still have the instructions for the Racetech install. PM me your email and I"ll scan them for you.
 
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j2 said:
Don't take this this wrong way, but Paul Thede is one of the 10 best suspension guys in North America. Google him
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Next time I talk with Paul I'll let him know that he's highly thought of.

Another person who is much closer to you than Race Tech is John Sharrard. He's also highly thought of.

And by the way, running thick fork oil is a bandaid for a bad damping setup. In My Humble Opinion....

You'll have to take my word for it as I'm not interested in getting into a discussion on fluid dynamics.

:D
 
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BC1100S said:
Next time I talk with Paul I'll let him know that he's highly thought of.

Another person who is much closer to you than Race Tech is John Sharrard. He's also highly thought of.

And by the way, running thick fork oil is a bandaid for a bad damping setup. In My Humble Opinion....

You'll have to take my word for it as I'm not interested in getting into a discussion on fluid dynamics.

:D
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Noted :) and appreciated

Probably sticking with the 5wt synth
 
I really dont think you understand what the Emulators actually do. Your rods don't damp any more. The Emulators do and require 20wt oil. That's how they are designed.

Here is a great write up as to how they actually work.

http://www.fjmods.btinternet.co.uk/emulators.htm

BTW, My SV forks were build and set up by a guy called John Sharrard who owns a company called Accelerated Technologies right here in Ontario. He's running 20 Wt Maximia in them and, please dont take this the wrong way, but I'd feel better taking his recommendations for my sons weight - 180lbs. This is what he recommended.

He may be completly wrong and you may be right but it seems to be working for him. This was his first year on the track and was doing 1.02's at Nelson. Not too shabby for a 15 year old.
 
Delboy said:
I really dont think you understand what the Emulators actually do. Your rods don't damp any more. The Emulators do and require 20wt oil. That's how they are designed.

Here is a great write up as to how they actually work.

http://www.fjmods.btinternet.co.uk/emulators.htm

BTW, My SV forks were build and set up by a guy called John Sharrard who owns a company called Accelerated Technologies right here in Ontario. He's running 20 Wt Maximia in them and, please dont take this the wrong way, but I'd feel better taking his recommendations for my sons weight - 180lbs. This is what he recommended.

He may be completly wrong and you may be right but it seems to be working for him. This was his first year on the track and was doing 1.02's at Nelson. Not too shabby for a 15 year old.
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The common wisdom, in suspension setups, is to use as light a weight oil as possible and just let the valving do its job.

With that said, I would NEVER second guess John Sherrard.

And with THAT said, I would have John do the work because he may well have his own setup for the valving, that goes outside the usual RaceTech stated settings.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
The common wisdom, in suspension setups, is to use as light a weight oil as possible and just let the valving do its job.

With that said, I would NEVER second guess John Sherrard.

And with THAT said, I would have John do the work because he may well have his own setup for the valving, that goes outside the usual RaceTech stated settings.
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+1. John did my RZ350 and FZR600 VRRA bikes and he worked wonders. Top Bloke. I like him as he spends the time to find out what you need and the type of riding you will be doing. In 2 pages I don't think anyone even asked the OP that.

I did the RD400 myself but based on what he recommended. I know for a fact there is heaver oil in there as I was in California on vacation and he told me what to pick up. The oil is US3 if if you want to look it up on their site it will give you a good idea if what's in there.

Just as an FYI, I'm also running the racetech bushings in the FZR and RZ and find them to be at least OEM quality if not better. The work and last very well.

Now bear in mind, these bikes never run off the track. For a Sunday morning ride its probably not the ideal setup, but if you do trackdays you may want something close, just take it to John and have done. Its a bit of a hike but well worth it and his prices are reasonable.
 
The OP mentioned in his first post that he's intending on only street riding. No track.

Basically the options are:
- Ricor Intiminators are a straight drop in, and fresh oil (sub $200). Since the SV was never sprung for a 230 pound rider, a set of springs are probably a good idea, so add another $100 - $120.
- Traxxion Dynamics drop in kit (http://www.traxxion.com/SV650Drop-InDamperRodKit.aspx). Basically a drop in kit with RaceTech emulators, springs, and already machined damping rods ($350).
- RaceTech spring/emulator kit (http://www.svracingparts.com/products/#ecwid:category=526077&mode=product&product=1776584). $255 for springs and emulators, and the OP will still need to drill and braize his current damping rods. BTW, Blair at svracingparts is pretty good to deal with. Shipping rates were very reasonable, and he mentioned something about having his own importer, so duty is not an issue.
- John Sharrard or Ryan Gill or similar. Probably kit price plus additional time and money for the install and setup.

No doubt that if the OP has the budget, getting a pro to do the work will give him the best result. But if the budget isn't there, then there are a few other options that can all be completed by the reasonable do-it-yourselfer, that will all make a huge difference on the street. I didn't need new springs, so the Ricor's were the cheapest and easiest to install, and I think it made a huge improvement.

And speaking of budget, don't forget to factor in some money for a replacement rear shock, because once you improve the front, the back will feel even worse than it does now. Trust me. I ended up upgrading my rear shock to a 2007 ZX10R fully adjustable unit, that was revalved and sprung for my weight by Traxxion Dynamics.
 
beverage said:
The OP mentioned in his first post that he's intending on only street riding. No track.

Basically the options are:
- Ricor Intiminators are a straight drop in, and fresh oil (sub $200). Since the SV was never sprung for a 230 pound rider, a set of springs are probably a good idea, so add another $100 - $120.
- Traxxion Dynamics drop in kit (http://www.traxxion.com/SV650Drop-InDamperRodKit.aspx). Basically a drop in kit with RaceTech emulators, springs, and already machined damping rods ($350).
- RaceTech spring/emulator kit (http://www.svracingparts.com/products/#ecwid:category=526077&mode=product&product=1776584). $255 for springs and emulators, and the OP will still need to drill and braize his current damping rods. BTW, Blair at svracingparts is pretty good to deal with. Shipping rates were very reasonable, and he mentioned something about having his own importer, so duty is not an issue.
- John Sharrard or Ryan Gill or similar. Probably kit price plus additional time and money for the install and setup.

No doubt that if the OP has the budget, getting a pro to do the work will give him the best result. But if the budget isn't there, then there are a few other options that can all be completed by the reasonable do-it-yourselfer, that will all make a huge difference on the street. I didn't need new springs, so the Ricor's were the cheapest and easiest to install, and I think it made a huge improvement.

And speaking of budget, don't forget to factor in some money for a replacement rear shock, because once you improve the front, the back will feel even worse than it does now. Trust me. I ended up upgrading my rear shock to a 2007 ZX10R fully adjustable unit, that was revalved and sprung for my weight by Traxxion Dynamics.
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Great post thanks for the info.

Update:

I ordered the Ricor intiminators and have already the Race Tech springs to go with them. Probably going with the 5WT Synthetic that Ricor recommends for the system combination.

As to installation It's something I want to do myself with a buddy who has done his own suspension work on his two bikes (One street, one track) I enjoy working on the bike and learn a lot by getting my hands dirty so looking forward to the experience.

Like you said for just street use sounds like as long as its done right this will make a huge difference.

As to the rear shock it is in the plan, I hope to be able to scrape the funds together before spring but worse case I'll adjust the rear as best as possible and swap it out once I get the cash to get one in my hands. Sunk sooo much into her this winter already lol..

Thanks for all the help, this has been the most technical mod I've tackle so far :)
 
09SV650S said:
As to the rear shock it is in the plan, I hope to be able to scrape the funds together before spring but worse case I'll adjust the rear as best as possible and swap it out once I get the cash to get one in my hands. Sunk sooo much into her this winter already lol..
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If you still have the stock shock, the only thing you can adjust is preload. At 230 pounds, you may as well crank it to full preload and be done with it ... and you'll probably still have too much sag. The stock shock cannot be rebuilt.

There's a group buy going on over at svrider.com for a couple of different Penske rear shocks (http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151673). Not sure what the pricing is since they're not posting it in the thread (PM only), but there are enough orders that the price must be pretty appealing. Group buy ends today. If you have an ABS model, your shock choices will be more limited. With an ABS model I think you have to either get a remote reservoir, or no reservoir shock. There's not enough clearance for a piggyback reservoir shock on an ABS model SV.
 
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beverage said:
If you still have the stock shock, the only thing you can adjust is preload. At 230 pounds, you may as well crank it to full preload and be done with it ... and you'll probably still have too much sag. The stock shock cannot be rebuilt.

There's a group buy going on over at svrider.com for a couple of different Penske rear shocks (http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151673). Not sure what the pricing is since they're not posting it in the thread (PM only), but there are enough orders that the price must be pretty appealing. Group buy ends today. If you have an ABS model, your shock choices will be more limited. With an ABS model I think you have to either get a remote reservoir, or no reservoir shock. There's not enough clearance for a piggyback reservoir shock on an ABS model SV.
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Thanks for the heads up on the group buy. Probably have to pass. Blown the winter budget so far for mods. Lol. Need a month or do to collect the cash for the rear. I hope to have a new rear for spring. If we get nice weather early I'll just adjust it like you mentioned and get a few rides in :).

I can't wait to see how it handles after all this :)
 
I disagree.
 
BC1100S said:
Next time I talk with Paul I'll let him know that he's highly thought of.
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Hi BC1100S

I sent you a couple of PM's but I guess they didnt get through. I manage the channel for Racetech here in the north east. I see that you know Paul and I assume you are one of our dealers.

We are having the Dealer Seminar tomorrow. Will you be there?

BTW, any reputable Racetech dealer will know our specs and the oil is very specific to the design of the emulator. If you have a Racetech dealer install them they will advise you. For the SV650, 03-09, with FEGV S4101 emulators the recommended oil is OSFO-20, I would also recommend the Racetech oil. You WILL need to modify the Damping rod.

However, this is a generic recommendation and you can "tune" it in conjunction with the preload on the emulator. If you are installing Racetech emulators on any bike, I would recommend you call our tech support line @ (951) 279-6655 and ask for Louie. He can certanlty advise you on the best combination of preload and oil for any bike and riding type combination. I would highly recommend this if you do the install yourself.

As previously discussed, TWF have their own recommendations for modifying the rods. These are diffrent from the Racetech recommendations and while some riders have reported good results, this is not something that we support.
 
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Ulsterman said:
Hi BC1100S

I sent you a couple of PM's but I guess they didnt get through. I manage the channel for Racetech here in the north east. I see that you know Paul and I assume you are one of our dealers.

We are having the Dealer Seminar tomorrow. Will you be there?

BTW, any reputable Racetech dealer will know our specs and the oil is very specific to the design of the emulator. If you have a recetech dealer install them they will advise you. For the SV650, 03-09, with FEGV S4101 emulators the recommended oil is OSFO-20, I would also recommend the Racetech oil. You WILL need to modify the Damping rod.

However, this is a generic recommendation and you can "tune" it in conjunction with the preload on the emulator. If you are installing Racetech emulators on any bike, I would recommend you call our tech support line @ (951) 279-6655 and ask for Louie. He can certanlty advise you on the best combination of preload and oil for any bike and riding type combination.
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Thanks for the help..
 
09SV650S said:
Thanks for the help..
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Not a problem. Just wish I saw this post eariler.

BTW, Ricor also make a good product.

Its designed a little differently and you should call them for their specs related to springs, oil viscosity, volume, etc., if you end up going this route. You can't apply what I said about Racetach emulators above.
 
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