Report on new shock ans front fork emulatorss

Merlin III said:

For those who replaced the rear shock with an aftermarket shock, what did you do with the old shock? Mine is still sitting in the garage and it is time to do some house keeping. Has anyone tried to sell it? If so, how much?

Click to expand...

Nothing with mine. Just stored in box. I don't think it has much value to anyone.

It kind of makes a person wonder why Honda charges so much for these when rarely is anyone going to buy one.

Mine just went on the scrap metal pile.

I installed the Ricor intiminators in the front forks yesterday. These are similar to the Racetech cartridge emulators in terms of what their purpose is. Unlike the Racetech, drilling holes in the damping rod isn't needed, instead the intiminators are just dropped into the forks during an oil change and the oil is changed to 5w.

I still need to put some more miles on it, but the results (so far) are not what I expected. I was hoping for a plush ride, but that didn't happen. What I got was more like Big01987 described with his Racetech's. The ride seems a little more firm and the handling is improved. I'ts kind of a subtle thing. I didn't notice a big change, but the front end doesn't bounce up and down like it did before and going fast around a corner seems easier and the bike feels more planted. It seems to handle more like a smaller bike which I consider a good thing. So far, there doesn't seem to be any improvement on large square bumps, but I need to ride more before I decide. It also seems that the front forks and rear Penske shocks are working in unison rather than like it was before where the front and back seemed to act differently when passing over the same bump.

Compared to stock (front and back)... In stock form with the Gonzo mod on the rear, the bike road very nice as long as the road was relatively smooth, but when it got rough, it felt like the stock suspension was going to break. Keep in mind that I'm heavy. After the Penske shock was installed it rode about the same on smoother roads, but when it got rough the Penske was able to handle it without feeling like it was going to break or bottoming out. Depending on the bump, I would often find that the front end would be jarring while the Penske rear shock felt smooth. With the back and the front now upgraded they feel about the same. Depending on the bump there can be still be differences, but it's closer than it was before. I also noticed that I would go around curves a little faster without thinking about it.

This is just a preliminary opinion and I'll let you folks know if anything changes.

Ricor Update...

I wasn't really happy with the improvements with the Ricor intiminators, they were more subtle than I cared for so I drilled out my damping rods like I would have to do with the Racetech's and it made all the difference in the world. I finished up doing that about an hour or so ago and took it for a ride. My first impression is that it's a very plush ride now. It was raining so I didn't stay out long. Apparently the holes in the CTX's damping rods holes are too small and were restricting the oil flow on the rougher pavement. Weather permitting, I'll test it further tomorrow.

good info, Steven
I hope you took pics of where the holes were drilled
haven't had my forks apart so can't relate to how this gets done
Do the forks come off the bike or did you do this from the top?

Good question Dave.

I didn't take pictures but here are some that Gonzo took. You can see how small the holes are in the stock unit. The new holes don't have to be in any particular place or size. What you have to be careful of is that they're not too close together, otherwise the rod would be weakened. Like Gonzo, I smoothed out the edges from drilling and then I cleaned the rods with brake/parts cleaner to remove any metal bits.

As for how to do it... (Chapter 17 in the manual)

First, The forks have to be off the bike. Before you do that, loosen (don't remove) the fork caps. This makes it easier to remove them later.

After the forks are off the bike, remove:

1: Fork cap (It will spring up so be careful)
2: Preload spacer
3: Spring washer
4: Spring
5: Then dump out the oil. You will have to pump the forks to get all of it out. I also suggest that you let them drain for a while just to reduce any mess.

Removing the damping rod:

At the bottom of the forks insert an allen wrench, remove that and then remove:

1: Fork piston
2: Rebound spring.

Note: The first allen bolt came out with no problem, but on the second fork it was ruining the head of the bolt so I used an air impact wrench and it came out with no problem. Also keep in mind that the fork slider and fork pipe with still be together. No need to mess with that unless you're trying to replace your fork seal.

Drilling holes:

I drilled out the two existing holes and then drilled out two more a little higher and between the existing holes. I just picked a drill bit that wasn't too big. (About the size that Gonzo used) Then I smoothed the edges and cleaned the metal shaving using brake/parts cleaner. While you have it apart, insert the allen bolts in the bottom just to make sure they go in easy during reassembly.

Putting it back together:

1: Insert Piston rod and rebound spring
2: With forks angled downwards (to keep the fork piston at the bottom of the fork slider) insert the allen bolt and tighten. I used Loctite Blue on the bolt to keep it in place.

Inserting Ricor Intiminator (or Gold Valve Cartridge Emulator):

When I first installed (dropped them in the forks) these they had a tendency to lean to the side. It was a problem to get them to stand straight up so this time I balanced them on top of the spring and lowered the forks onto it. I also used the preload spaced to make sure they were at the bottom. Then I turned the forks vertical and removed the spring and spacer.

Adding oil:

The forks require 17.5 oz of oil but to to it right, requires a fluid level of 103 mm. I bought a device that allows me to do that. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/stockton-fork-oil-level-gauge

Add oil and compress the fork tube. Insert device and suck out oil to the required level. (Page 17-22 of manual)

Also, pump the tube up and down to remove any air trapped at bottom of forks. You might want to do that before you add all the oil.

An after thought... I was concerned that the Ricor's would not remain vertical so I left the springs in the forks until I had added the oil and pumped the forks. Then I removed the spring and used the "special" tool to set the oil level.

Final assembly:

1: Insert spring (tighter end first where the coils are closer together)
2: Spring washer
3:Spacer
4: Fork caps (The Fork caps don't have to be tight, you can do that once they're back on the bike.) I held cap steady and turned fork tube. It was easier for me.

Finally:

Put the forks back on the bike.

This may seem complicated, but it's not.

Final notes:

I noticed that there was some gunk in the forks left over from the previous oil (15k miles) so it's my recommendation that changing fork oil should be done periodically.

As per Ricor's recommendation, I used 5wt oil. I believe Gold Valve requires the same.

I went for a ride today to test out the Ricors and to make a long story short, they improved the ride across the board. On the worst bumps (perhaps 1.5 -2 inches high sharp rise) it took much of the jolt/harshness out of them. I'd say they are keepers. They are adjustable somewhat, perhaps not as much as the Gold Valves, but I'll keep that as an option for the future.

The only other thing is that they seemed to follow the road irregularities better and so the bike felt better planted on the pavement.