What did you do in your garage today..? | Page 191 | GTAMotorcycle.com

What did you do in your garage today..?

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shanekingsley said:
My last bike (VStrom 650) was set up at Accelerated Technologies in summer of 2020. It had an Elka shock that was mint and they upgraded the forks for me and set the bike up. Took a few rides to get used to but once I did, it felt great on all kinds of riding. I took my laptop up there and worked out of their shop for the day while John and Ron worked in my bike. Then I went and tested it out on Northeys Bay Rd and the 507. That bike was not your average VStrom!

This bike is a first gen FZ1 and just had the fork oil changed a month ago. The internals were upgraded for the previous owner by a shop called Traxxion Dynamics in the US and feel pretty damn good.. So maybe I’ll book an appt with John and ride over there again and see what magic they can do for me on this bike for dialling it all in.
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You're way ahead of me, then. Apologies for making assumptions! Shame Elka stopped making suspension for street bikes, it was neat to be able to buy a Canadian product that was simultaneously good value and top quality.

Sounds like the fork has been done up nicely to match the shock, too. Traxxion Dynamics has been around for ages, and were very well known for their street-oriented suspension options back when the FZ1 was new. If the cartridges have been replaced, that's about as in depth an upgrade as you can make.
 
I bought a set of clip ons at Paris. Last night I slipped them onto the forks but they don't seem to fit the cut outs in my Rickman fairing. Damn.
 
So seems like EVERY comment about the Ducati Scrambler rear shock is that it's '$38 junk from a parts bin somewhere', which may explain the feel I have of it. However, with the rain all weekend I didn't get a chance to test the adjustment to the highest pre-load. Waiting for a dry evening to give it a whirl.

$1000 for a new replacement shock for the bike....yowza.
 
mimico_polak said:
$1000 for a new replacement shock for the bike....yowza.
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What shock? Ohlins? If so, you're paying for the name.
Have you looked at Maxton? If you go down to the starting grid at the Manx GP (IOM), there are more bikes on Maxton suspension than all others combined AND the pound is in the toilet so the parts are cheaper out of England. Maxton's after sales service will actually work with you to make it RIGHT, something that is beneath the gods at Ohlins.
John Sherrard can build you a custom shock for that price... BUT it won't say Ohlins on the side, but it will be a better shock.

Yep... I HATE OHLINS, they don't know/do anything special, except how to advertise.
My suggestion is if you don't know a lot about bike suspension, get yourself hooked up with a suspension shop, that DOES know what they're doing, and go with their recommendations, and I highly recommend John Sherrard... Ed Sorbo is better, but he's in California (I got a couple of bikes with Lindeminn suspension and they're MAGIC. Ed invented the "fork emulator" that Race Tech sells)
Oh... and read this cover to cover, if for nothing else you can discuss suspension half way intelligently
 
I am of the opinion that if you're going to be more than a casual rider, you should know what your suspension does, how it does it and why it does it... and what you can change.
I think it's funny that the average rider buys a bike and immediately slaps a pipe on it and generally "hops up" the motor... cuz MORE POWER.
You're only using that MORE POWER about 5% of the time... you're using your suspension 100% of the time... and good suspension makes everything better. The bike brakes better, accelerates better, turns better... is jus all round BETTER.
I am also of the opinion that all OEM suspension is pretty crap once you start to push it... even the stuff that says Ohlins on the side (I haven't ridden a electronic suspension bike, but that doesn't matter).
99.99% of the difference in top end suspension and el' cheapo suspension is adjust-ability.... what you can adjust and how to adjust it. I can make a non- cartridge fork do everything a cartridge fork will do, but it's 10x as much work to adjust it.
Soooooo the average rider would be much better served by paying to get their suspension setup CORRECTLY instead of wasting money on a pipe and ECU.
Good suspension is like good sex... you have NO IDEA till you've had some
... and if you READ your user manual, the manufacturer of YOUR bike assumes you at least set the sag... you have at LEAST set the sag on your bike... right? (It might be called "spring preload" in the manual)
 
bitzz said:
I am of the opinion that if you're going to be more than a casual rider, you should know what your suspension does, how it does it and why it does it... and what you can change.
I think it's funny that the average rider buys a bike and immediately slaps a pipe on it and generally "hops up" the motor... cuz MORE POWER.
You're only using that MORE POWER about 5% of the time... you're using your suspension 100% of the time... and good suspension makes everything better. The bike brakes better, accelerates better, turns better... is jus all round BETTER.
I am also of the opinion that all OEM suspension is pretty crap once you start to push it... even the stuff that says Ohlins on the side (I haven't ridden a electronic suspension bike, but that doesn't matter).
99.99% of the difference in top end suspension and el' cheapo suspension is adjust-ability.... what you can adjust and how to adjust it. I can make a non- cartridge fork do everything a cartridge fork will do, but it's 10x as much work to adjust it.
Soooooo the average rider would be much better served by paying to get their suspension setup CORRECTLY instead of wasting money on a pipe and ECU.
Good suspension is like good sex... you have NO IDEA till you've had some
... and if you READ your user manual, the manufacturer of YOUR bike assumes you at least set the sag... you have at LEAST set the sag on your bike... right? (It might be called "spring preload" in the manual)
Click to expand...
Yup the amount of my friends that message me complaining about their bikes handling and they still haven't bothered to set their sag even though I've told them 3 times to do that.
Times that by the amount of people that poo-poo a bike on the internet because it didn't hold a line, turned slow, forks dove, etc. READ THE EFF'ING MANUAL and spend the time setting up the suspension and everything else you can customize in the dash settings.
 
Got this today. Hardest part of the install will scuffing that nice aluminum before I rattle can it flat black.
rad11.jpgrad22.jpg
 
Assembled my new stands.
Installed the top box.
Installed the new windshield.
Found the source of my noise (caliper / brake pads) as the bike was up on the front stand and I could hear the source with my stethoscope. Not sure if normal or not.

1724284216126.jpeg

Only concern is the visibility of the rear light. But standing behind the bike about 10ft back it’s clearly visible.

1724284263874.jpeg

Now to just get more proficient at lifting the bike up solo as my wife was holding it…just in case…
 
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