Suspension upgrades

[supervision]

 Stock, our forks use a hole to provide the compression damping.  They work, OK on low speed movement of the fork.  The problem is when they try to react to react to a fast movement of compression. At that time the forks feel harsh, because a bleed hole can only pass oil so fast.  That is what the emulator can provide,when it is knocked off it's seated position, by fast movement of the fork, and allows fast passage of oil.  Today I made a change to 7/12 wt oil, and went for a ride, it was very good.   I used Bel Rey 5wt and 10wt to make the 71/2wt.  I had 15wt before. 

[Cdnlouie]

Smooth working forks are a real treat for riding ;D. I can't think of a better place to spend some money and time.  I have been working on my touring bike (Venture Royale) and the Vision to get the best setup for my type of riding. I am ready for an emulator setup.

I am wondering if you have done anything to reduce stiction in the forks?  I have tried a couple of ideas which involve buffing the chrome tubes externally and the springs as well.  Reducing the binding of all the moving parts really adds a smoothness to the fork operation.

On my upcoming retrofit I need to figure out how to buff out the inside of the lower tubes and smooth out the inside of the fork tubes.  So far I have polished the insides with fine sandpaper but that is a bit difficult to do.  Just buffing the chrome tubes (with a buffing wheel) and spring that rubs on the inside, did make a significant reduction in stiction.  You can see the fork operation glide smoothly even on small pavement bumps which translates into a real nice ride.

Keep posting your tweaks as it sounds like you are having fun  :).  I can live vicariously through my California buddies  ;).

[jasonm.]

stiction on mine was misalignment of the forks. This was due to a slight binding caused by the fender not installed properly. There was an article in MCN on how to check this. It made my forks react great at all speeds. I use 0w30 mobil1 in my Vision forks and 5w20 in the Venture(0w20 may be better). These give more consistant damping at all temperatures.

[Cdnlouie]

I was pleasantly surprised  ;D to see that http://www.mikesxs.net/ has a Canadian site out of Stratford, Ontario.  This sure simplifies the border issues and the extra shipping costs. Both sites ship for free in the US and Canada.  That makes his emulator a pretty good deal. I have a set on the way so it will be fun to see how this works out.

As you have experienced Jason, front fork tuning is a very worthwhile job, stiction is a serious issue and it is real important to check the forks and their movement and watch for binding as each piece goes together.  Some of the best improvements just take some TLC.

[Cdnlouie]

I picked up the emulators and took a look at how well they fit on our damping rods. These are a great price (1/3 the retail price) and look identical to the Race-tech brand. Unfortunately, it appears that our rods are a bit larger (diameter 2mm) than the XS650 and I don't exactly like the idea of the emulator floating without a secure lateral fit  :-\. I would think that they will bang around against the inside of the tube unless they are fitted with an adaptor into the damping rod.

I am not sure how SV did his here, but I am thinking about adding an adaptor or machining the rod out to fit the emulator valve (inside) and hold it in place better. I am thinking a 4mm depth cut would give a nice little indent to hold the valve (and make a nice seal too), otherwise you would need to weld a washer to the top, with the proper inside hole size to catch the inside raised ridge and hold it in place that way.  Two possible approaches and one that I think necessary to keep the valve from walking around inside the fork tube  :-\.

Getting the valve to sit squarely in the damping rod will be important for it to work to its full potential. I picked up a Race-tech valve for my Venture (next project) and it suggests adaptors for different styles of rods including the flat top rod on the Vision. The xs650 valve should work but it really should have a proper fit to the damping rod.

Not sure what someone may have done in this regard but thought I would post my concern for this particular valve  :-\.

Cdnl

[supervision]

  Remember, the spring holds the valve down in the center of the rod, the less than perfect, connection becomes your low speed compression damping, as well as the tiny  hole in the emulator body.  When high-speed compression happens, that's when, the adjustable  emulator, spring, preload , comes into play.  For me it was necessary to go down to, 9 oz, of 7 1/2 wt oil, and only 2 turns of preload, against the spring.  I am using, cut down, stock 82 springs.  I cut off 4 coils and it gives me good ride height for 200 lb rider.
  My bike also has fork boots which are slowing the movement some, as well...... diner is ready, gota go,   

[Cdnlouie]

I appreciate your thoughts SV on the fit  ;). I am going to try for a better seal and more firmly positioned emulator if I can get the damping rod modified to suit and then adjust for ride. I love the idea and look forward to the performance of this damping system.