Suspension Tune

[Chris-CJ]

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Not having the luxury of a cartridge-type fork on my bike, I was exploring the option of a drop-in cartridge kit.
NIX 22 - Cartridge Kit for Sport and Street Bikes | Öhlins Racing
Those kits are expensive!
Then, I came across Paul Thede's Gold Valve emulator kit - much less expensive.
Sport Bikes
The only drawback of these is their lack of external adjustment.
However, for a bike regularly street-ridden, my preference is to "set and forget", so this will not be a huge disadvantage.

Will be grateful for your feedback/opinion on this choice i.e. cartridge vs emulator.
Thanks!

 

[moarmoto]

I'm nowhere near someone that knows suspension ins and outs.

When I did my own research, I came across another option which is Ricor Intiminator.

From sv650 forum, those who've tried it like it. Racetech GVE was more for track and Ricor was more for street from what I gathered.

I myself just did spring for my weight and thicker oil and saw good enough improvement for me.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Brian P]

What's the bike and what are you using it for?

My old race bike (FZR400) had the "emulators" in it. My current one (R3) has the Ohlins NIX22 cartridges in it. The cartridge setup is vastly better (granted, different bikes).

With the emulators, your only adjustment for rebound damping is via fork oil viscosity, which (A) isn't very effective, and (B) varies with temperature at the best of times, and (C) is incapable of anything but "orifice damping", i.e. it will have too much high-speed rebound damping and not enough low-speed rebound damping (that's how orifice damping works). The NIX22 cartridges have a shim stack on both compression and rebound damping.

If it's just for street usage, it hardly matters what you do, to the extent that unless there is an obvious damping-related problem that you are trying to solve, springs of the correct rate and preload/rider-aboard sag, and fork oil of the correct viscosity and level, ought to be good enough.

 

[Chris-CJ]

Thanks Brian!
The bike [R9T Pure] is used on the street only and its suspension has been custom-tuned by Accelerated Technology
Home - Accelerated Technologies
I came off a cruiser to this bike and the road manners of the two are quite different - miss the plush ride of the Cruiser but not its wiggle through the corners!
So I guess, I have to re-tune my perception rather than the suspension, as the current bike rides how it is designed to.

 

[Chris-CJ]

Thanks Moarmoto, the Ricor is definitely an alternative, but I hear that it does not have adjustment options.
Quote:
The Intiminators have no adjustability, so you’re left with just spring preload and oil level in the front forks to fiddle with.
from:
http://mnmotorcycle.com/march-2015-gear-review-ricor-intimidators-and-rear-shock/

 

[Brian P]

Looks like that bike has inverted forks as original equipment. Probably it already has damping cartridges and the associated shim-stacks for compression and rebound damping in it, they're just non-adjustable. AFAIK the BMW R9T is pretty well sorted from the factory, and if you did what John Sharrard recommended, it's probably pretty close to where it needs to be.

 

[beverage]

Thanks Brian!
The bike [R9T Pure] is used on the street only and its suspension has been custom-tuned by Accelerated Technology
Home - Accelerated Technologies
I came off a cruiser to this bike and the road manners of the two are quite different - miss the plush ride of the Cruiser but not its wiggle through the corners!
So I guess, I have to re-tune my perception rather than the suspension, as the current bike rides how it is designed to.

I don't think anyone would question what Accelerated Technologies has done with your current setup. It is probably setup about as good as it's going to get with the current suspension. If you want better, then emulators and cartridges are the tip of the iceberg. If I were you, I'd probably call Accelerated Technologies (John) to pick his brain regarding best bang for your buck given your use case, since you're already familiar with him. Just be aware that if you drastically improve the front, the back will likely then need work just to make the bike feel properly balanced suspension-wise. I improved the forks on my SV, and then the back end felt even worse, so more $$$ spent!

 

[Chris-CJ]

I don't think anyone would question what Accelerated Technologies has done with your current setup. It is probably setup about as good as it's going to get with the current suspension. If you want better, then emulators and cartridges are the tip of the iceberg. If I were you, I'd probably call Accelerated Technologies (John) to pick his brain regarding best bang for your buck given your use case, since you're already familiar with him. Just be aware that if you drastically improve the front, the back will likely then need work just to make the bike feel properly balanced suspension-wise. I improved the forks on my SV, and then the back end felt even worse, so more $$$ spent!

John, has suggested that the cartridge option is better value and also that the rear shock will also need changing, if I want to see a quantum improvement.
As both yourself and Brian have commented, the current state of tune is good as it is going to get, so I should prolly leave it as-is.
(blame my "errant" thought on this winter's PMS - Post Motorcycle Syndrome)


"four wheels good, two wheels better"

 

[GreyGhost]

John, has suggested that the cartridge option is better value and also that the rear shock will also need changing, if I want to see a quantum improvement.
As both yourself and Brian have commented, the current state of tune is good as it is going to get, so I should prolly leave it as-is.
(blame my "errant" thought on this winter's PMS - Post Motorcycle Syndrome)


"four wheels good, two wheels better"

Use the money you planned on spending on new suspension for a trip south to get some winter riding in

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