Suspension upgrades

[motoracer8]

I put a set of cartridge imulators in mine, I believe they were for a Kawasaki KX80, as they have 35mm forks. They come with three sets of compression springs, I used the middle ones with just alittle preload, and 10w fork oil. The damper rods all have to be modified as you have to eliminate the original compression damping by drilling out the holes in the bottom of the damper rods. If you are using the orignal springs shorten the spacer by the same amount as the new valve is high, so you will have the same spring pre load. I have installed imulators in several sets of forks and they have all worked much better than stock. Damper rod forks all seam to have too much compression damping, and not enough rebound, If you ues lighter oil then you have less compression, and no rebound. They are worth the trouble, but they are not a drop in deal. I use a Hagon shock for the rear, It was about $300 in 1998, It fit all Visions 82 on, you can adjust spring pre load, but not damping, And it is 100% better than anything Yamaha installed on the bikes. They are still available, look on Hagons web site.

  Ken G.

[jasonm.]

A guy not far from me advertises Hagon in the mags...he is a Hagon dealer. The site says adjustable damping= yes.  He is in Bethany, CT.

[joevacc]

Ya know I did call that guy. I remember now. I seem to recall a lot of hemmin and hawin but no deal. I would like to know if someone actually gets one of these things I think they will be great.

jv

[Cdnlouie]

Motoracer: I am curious as to what the cost of the emulators were for the Kawasaki?  The 3 spring kit sounds like a good option for setting up desired damping rate.  What year Kawasaki was that?  Any other modifications necessary when you did it?

Having a few options is great and trying to make some comparisons is of course hard to do without the bikes all being together, but giving your feedback is helpful, thanks for sharing the info.

Louie

P.S. It would be great to have some comparisons for the Hagon (and the like) shocks. These are the most critical upgrades we can do for our Visions.

[couchflyer]

What is a Triumph T600?  Do you mean a Triumph TT600? or a Triumph T595?
I cannot find any information on a Triumph T600.  Any help is appreciated.

[Glyn]

Still seems to be a few Triumph T600 shocks on E Bay. For those wanting to have a go at a conversion I can send you a scan of my construction notes for the adaptors. I did not really ride the bike that much with the std 82 shock fitted so hard to compare, after all these years, the magnitude of the improvement. It certainly corners well with no head shaking etc however. I'm now on   pickteam@xnet.co.nz if anyone would like the scans.

[Cdnlouie]

I am wondering if anyone has some comment on emulators or have recently installed a set and have a favorable source for them?  ???

Just thought I would dig this post out again as I would be interested in locating a set of emulators as I need to rebuilt my 83 front fork set this winter so it would be a good time to do it.

[supervision]

 Take a look at mikesxs.com,  he has some for 49 bucks.  I have them on my vision, as well as my xr200. They give you a way to have adjustable compression damping.  These may not be an exact Race Tech, emulator, but if I needed another set, I'd buy those.

[Cdnlouie]

Thanks for the recommendation.  :)  That's a great price for sure. For regular driving (ie. not requiring frequent suspension tuning like at the track) these would not doubt be a great improvement to any damper rod fork.  By the way, what firmness setting (if this one has any, Ie. washer stiffness) did you end up using on the Vision?

I am interested in doing my XVZ1200 Venture Royale with something like this as well so I really need to try one and get my head into the possible applications to other bikes.  I am wondering what range of fork tube diameter Mike's emulator might be used on.  If you have the installation instructions from the kit scanned somewhere that would be very cool (now I'm getting too hopeful  ::)).

And of course do you have any pics of your install,for inspiration? 

Thanks for good link!

CDNL

[Glyn]

Yep it is called a TT600 I believe. My shock is off one of the earlier models.

[supervision]

[supervision]

 

[supervision]

[supervision]

 Here is what a emulator looks like on top of any, damper rod.  This company makes this coversion for the SV 650.  A vision damper rod can be done the same.  Mikesxs has the emulators for fifty bucks, and with a little work to a vision rod, presto-change-o, you have the same thing. 

[motoracer8]

Cdnlouie,  I don't remember if there was a specific year for the KX80 valves. I have installed several sets of Racetech valves over the years in my own, and others motorcycles. Racetech makes specific aplacation valves for many bikes. Some of the old relics I work on are not listed, so I measure the inside of the fork tube and get the ones that I can install with the least amount of machine work. The damper rod (tube) all have to be modified as the new valve will now take care of the compression. Sometimes the top of the damper rod has to be modified so the valve will set flat. The RZ350 valve may be the one to use as the inturnals of the forks are very simular. I have installed the imulators in several bikes that run in AHRMA events, Elsnores, YZ's, Ceriani, and Bator forks, all are 35mm OD. but sometimes the ID. varies, The KX 80 valves seam to work with the least amount of machine work.

  Ken G.

[Cdnlouie]

Thanks Supervision and Ken for the great info  :). I would sooner be informed from your experience before getting into the process myself and this is very helpful. I think this is a productive area for Vision suspension upgrades and hope to gain a bit of experience with it myself.  I wish we had this technology back in the seventies.

Ken (or others), I would like to ask  :-\ what potential special tools might be required to attached the emulator to the top of the damping rod. I have the usual shop tools and can open up the damping rod for oil flow quite easily but attaching the emulator may require something special. I am sure I can have it done as long as it makes sense to do so.

I am looking forward to this  ;),

[supervision]

 the picture I put up, is an example of a company doing some machining of the top of the damper rod, for a perfect fit. In my opinion, it is not totally necessary for it to be a perfect fit.  the emulator just rests on top of the rod, then the spring goes in on top of it to hold it down.  The presure of the spring against it keeps it tight aginst the rod. the only tool that is handy to have is one of those long three prong, graber gismo, so you can remove it for adjustment. You need to stick that down in the fork tube, to fish the emulator out to make an adjustment, as needed.

[Cdnlouie]

Now that's a good thought  ;) about the tool SV, to get it out for adjustment, as that is going to take a few tries no doubt. On the subject of adjustment are there different washers or some sort of tension adjustment on the emulators?

What did you end up using for your particular rider weight and fairing (or no fairing setup). Did you use the stock oil viscosity or find lighter or heavier oil for your preferred riding style?

Cheers

[supervision]

 The washer is spring loaded, adjusting the spring preload makes it easier, or harder, for the oil to unseat the washer, for the oil to flow.  I am currently running 15 wt oil.  It is too thick, and will be changed soon.

[Cdnlouie]

The spring idea is a good one  ;).  Do you have any number of turns or notches to establish an initial setting?  I am prefering 10wt (Bel-ray fork oil) in mine with the stock setup and about 1cm additional preload on the 82 spring.  It is a very plush ride and I am using all my available travel without bottoming out nor diving into the corners.  Now compression damping would just be extra nice.