Took the front forks from my VStrom into the suspension shop yesterday. It was a brisk 3 deg C when I started out to get the 0700 ferry over to the mainland, warmed up nicely as the day went on. Had my heated gear and was quite comfortable. Having a set of Andreani cartridges installed, and have a Nitron R2 shock for the rear on order.
Had a good discussion regarding this issue with Rod, owner of RMR Suspension in Abbotsford. He has raced professional in the dirt bike circuit, been a co-owner of a motorcycle shop in Alberta, and now into off road bikes and such here. Mentioned to him that suspension seems to be one of those issues that does not get a lot of attention. He mentioned that he had a fellow come into the shop he was at in Alberta and was asked about the suspension setup on a new bike. He admitted that he knew very little and was able to move the conversation away from that topic.
He recounted an event from the early '90s, back in his racing days, when he decided to do a suspension upgrade on his dirt bike, and that he had a less than good experience with the results, and it almost ended his racing career.
Fast forward to the present and he has been into motorcycle suspension for quite a few years, mostly for the dirt bike crowd, but doing Traxxion upgrades to Goldwings and others.
I mentioned that I would be looking at the front suspension on my 1500 because my pillion rider has let me know that the VStrom should not replace the GW for long distance touring. I thought a good upgrade would be a set of Race Tech emulator gold valves, new springs with a rate of 1.1 or 1.2 kg/mm, and a fork cap with a preload adjustment. Rod mentioned that this would probably do, but apparently Andreani has a cartridge kit for the 1500, and the price in CDN dollars is about the same as buying the other three parts - have to consider exchange and such. Will be looking at this for the new year touring season.
The Andreani cartridge system also has the advantage of having preload, compression and rebound adjustments.
When I took the front tire off the VStrom I noticed the tire is showing advanced signs of "cupping". I'm a proponent that this is primarily caused by a weak/soft suspension. I submit that the tire(s) will be more firmly affixed to the road with a good suspension and setup.
I discussed the air shocks on the rear of the 1500 and there is not a lot to be done with these, specifically more/less air depending on the requirement.
Rod installed the Progressive series 12 non-air shocks on my 1200 back in 2015, and I have been pleased with the performance to date; however there is only preload. The other issue is that the eye-to-eye distance is 14.5 inches instead of the 13.75 inch OEM eye-to-eye distance. When the 1200 is on the centre stand, the rear wheel is still on the ground. Getting the bike off the centre stand is a challenge. We discussed the possibility of changing to a better rear shock suspension. Rod was intrigued and mentioned it would be a good project. One of my riding friends did this to his HD a few years back and with the better shocks that could be tweaked 6 ways to Sunday, he mentioned the difference between the OEM shocks and the aftermarkets was phenomenal.
These bikes are keeping the gray matter engaged. I do like the learning experience, and coming up with potential solutions.
It's off to the Casino for breakfast and our weekly $20.00 donation activity. We have fun, sometimes we come away with a few extra dollars.
Cheers
Had a good discussion regarding this issue with Rod, owner of RMR Suspension in Abbotsford. He has raced professional in the dirt bike circuit, been a co-owner of a motorcycle shop in Alberta, and now into off road bikes and such here. Mentioned to him that suspension seems to be one of those issues that does not get a lot of attention. He mentioned that he had a fellow come into the shop he was at in Alberta and was asked about the suspension setup on a new bike. He admitted that he knew very little and was able to move the conversation away from that topic.
He recounted an event from the early '90s, back in his racing days, when he decided to do a suspension upgrade on his dirt bike, and that he had a less than good experience with the results, and it almost ended his racing career.
Fast forward to the present and he has been into motorcycle suspension for quite a few years, mostly for the dirt bike crowd, but doing Traxxion upgrades to Goldwings and others.
I mentioned that I would be looking at the front suspension on my 1500 because my pillion rider has let me know that the VStrom should not replace the GW for long distance touring. I thought a good upgrade would be a set of Race Tech emulator gold valves, new springs with a rate of 1.1 or 1.2 kg/mm, and a fork cap with a preload adjustment. Rod mentioned that this would probably do, but apparently Andreani has a cartridge kit for the 1500, and the price in CDN dollars is about the same as buying the other three parts - have to consider exchange and such. Will be looking at this for the new year touring season.
The Andreani cartridge system also has the advantage of having preload, compression and rebound adjustments.
When I took the front tire off the VStrom I noticed the tire is showing advanced signs of "cupping". I'm a proponent that this is primarily caused by a weak/soft suspension. I submit that the tire(s) will be more firmly affixed to the road with a good suspension and setup.
I discussed the air shocks on the rear of the 1500 and there is not a lot to be done with these, specifically more/less air depending on the requirement.
Rod installed the Progressive series 12 non-air shocks on my 1200 back in 2015, and I have been pleased with the performance to date; however there is only preload. The other issue is that the eye-to-eye distance is 14.5 inches instead of the 13.75 inch OEM eye-to-eye distance. When the 1200 is on the centre stand, the rear wheel is still on the ground. Getting the bike off the centre stand is a challenge. We discussed the possibility of changing to a better rear shock suspension. Rod was intrigued and mentioned it would be a good project. One of my riding friends did this to his HD a few years back and with the better shocks that could be tweaked 6 ways to Sunday, he mentioned the difference between the OEM shocks and the aftermarkets was phenomenal.
These bikes are keeping the gray matter engaged. I do like the learning experience, and coming up with potential solutions.
It's off to the Casino for breakfast and our weekly $20.00 donation activity. We have fun, sometimes we come away with a few extra dollars.
Cheers
