If you have seen my
"What have you owned" post you will probably have noticed that I've done a bit of racing.
So as with all my bikes suspension is the first thing to get changed, I have already replaced the rear shock with a
Nitron NTR R2
which has made a huge difference to corner stability and entry/exit speed and tyre wear but it's never enough is it so today I ordered some replacement
Andriani fork cartridges from Omnia Racing
Cant wait for them to arrive.
Once the handling is sorted it'll be getting a reflash or PCV, think the PCV might be better as there's an interface that will allow you to switch between maps and as it's my daily commuter an economy map would be preferable to a full on power map on a daily basis.
If there's such a thing as a how to section on this forum I'll do a write up of the work and maybe even a video, just in case anyone else should want to tackle it.
I would be interested in yours views on the for set up now converted
Sorry for the slow reply.
My views? Well in short, new forks be good.
But I'm sure that's not what you're after, if you're asking this question I am assuming you have never ridden with anything except a stock set up.
First off is the fitting, it's not a difficult job but will require about 3 hours at a leisurely pace including fork removal and re fitting, on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say it's a 4 for a competent home mechanic. Depending on what you want to do and how you want to do it, there doesn’t need to be any special tools required.
That is to say, a home mechanic would already have the tools to do the job. Tools to remove the front wheel, mudguard and brakes a set of allen keys and an impact driver ( you could get away with a reversible drill if you’re lucky).
Next is setup and this is very much dependent on the oil you decide to use, personally I use castrol because i know it and understand how age, hydroscopy and temperature affects it and how setting changes will affect behaviour. Beware, not all oils are equal. Just because it says 10w on the bottle doesn’t mean it’s the same as what’s in there now.
Castrol, STP, smith and allen, putoline, motul etc will all be labeled 10w but their viscosity will not be the same and so will all affect damping behaviour and changes differently.
Now for what I think you were actually getting at, what are they like in use?
Again it’s very dependent on what you are after or expecting, these forks (internals) are like an aftermarket (quality) rear shock, it will do what you ask of it precisely and very well but only what you ask for and nothing else. If you want razor sharp handling and control you can have it but you won’t get a smooth plush ride. You want comfort- set up for it, control- set up, tyre wear- set up.
You see, people say that this is a step backwards because stock suspension is plush but works well when pushed. The truth is that this is demonstrably inaccurate but you don’t know it until you have ridden on a good setup. While I know it’s not all about ultimate speed, as an example on a favourite section of …… lets say track…… a series of 6 flip flop bends that had the bike pushing wide on exit and late on acceleration at 60mph has been taken at 85mph comfortably in the dry and 75 in the wet.
The big advantage over a stock setup is the linear springs and precise damping control, you see, with progressive springs the damping doesn't know what to do. Damping is static, once set it allows x amount of oil flow to pass at y pressure and pressure is dependent on speed of fork movement. With a linear spring the forks will move at the same speed for the entire length of their travel for any given load applied so the damping will work evenly from the start of the stoke to the end. In this way you get exactly the same feeling from the front under acceleration or braking and that feedback can be tuned precisely to your requirements.
With a progressive spring you get more and faster movement at the start of the stroke than at the end for any given load applied so the higher the load the less damping you will get.
Have you ever noticed when taking a chicane (exiting a roundabout) fast how the bike tops out and then drops back onto the springs then settles up a bit when flicking from side to side? This shouldn't happen at all and doesn’t with these forks, upward movement is minimised during the flick therefore there is less drop onto the spring the other side. This results in less sudden high loading and unloading on the tyre meaning a regular and even contact patch/ grip and feedback.
To sum up, new forks be good.
This sounds fantastic ,Im looking at doing this Mod .
Thanks
John
Excellent. How did you arrive at your settings? Trial and error?
Trial and error yes, 39 years of it.
Used to race so have a good idea of how to set up suspension correctly.
If you want any help setting yours up just drop me a line.
Would recommend castrol 10w in a 600 assuming you're not over 15 stone.
Did you have to alter any of the stock parts to get the kit to fit?
Not at all. The kit for USD forks is just that. Didn't have to use any of the oem parts. Apart from cleaning and oiling it was literally a case of undo the cap, undo the screw in the bottom of the slider that holds the cartridge in place, remove the old one put the new one in fill with oil and done.