GeorgiaRoller
Exit Stage Left
A suspension expert...I am not. I've owned several motorcycles & ridden for many years but I've never messed with front fork suspension before. I've upgraded a rear shock once but that's about it. I learned about Traxxion Dynamics a few years ago and heard good reviews from others on this forum. I filed it in the back of my mind and figured one day when I was ready for an upgrade myself I'd give them a call. That day was today. Well actually I called a month ago but today was the day my ride in front/rear suspension upgraded happened.
Traxxion Dynamics is on the north side of Atlanta, GA and is only a 90 minute ride from my house. They manufacture their own hydraulic fittings with an improved valve flow design and even the now famous AK-20 front fork cartridge insert is custom built in house. They have done extensive R&D on the FJR (Lee is the expert on our bikes from Traxxion) and they do a ton of Goldwings and Sportbike racing suspension kits as well. They get ride in's from all over the country & they only schedule (2) two bike jobs a day. It takes a good 3-4 hours for a full upgrade. That being said they are extremely thorough, answer all your questions and make sure your happy & educated on the upgrade choice based on your riding style, weight, mileage...etc.
Fair warning...its not cheap! But of course in life you typically get what you pay for.
I choose to do the ride in service instead of tackling it myself. The extra few hundred dollars in expert labor to do the job from start to finish was well worth it to me for sure. I do oil changes & my minor upgrades & servicing myself, but I'm prob like most and don't have the knowledge or confidence to rebuild front forks myself.
REAR SHOCK UPGRADE:
I went with a new model Penske 8975 shock and they added a new Hypercoil spring and dialed it in for my weight.
FRONT FORK UPGRADE:
I went with the lower budget conscious upgrade (I'll explain more in detail in a moment) and got new springs, Spring buffer kit, lower bushings, fork seals, dust seals and Maxima 15w fork oil
FRONT FORK UPGRADE OPTIONS:
Ok to explain further they really offer three different levels of fork upgrades based on what you want to do & how much you want to spend. Like I explained briefly I got the basic upgrade that cost the least. Which again included: New springs, buffer kit, lower bushings, fork seal, dust seals & new fork oil. But they reused the OEM hydraulic fittings per my request. They actually make their own dual flow (ours is a single flow valve) that allow much more fork oil to come into the shock. I have no doubt theirs is a better design but the extra $400.00 for their hydro valves & installation on top of what I was already spending was not in my current budget.
Then the the Penultimate front fork upgrade is to pull out all the OEM "crap" and just spend the $1,200.00+ on their AK-20 inserts that work completely differently altogether. Again I have no doubt...if money is not an issue...that going with the AK-20 inserts would be the way to go. I've heard of many on this forum swear by them and I"m sure their awesome!
WHAT I LEARNED:
Our OEM front fork springs are "Progressive Rate" springs and over the past 20yrs aftermarket suspension manufacturers have switched to "Straight Rate" springs (that's what got put in my bike today). Basically there is not enough travel on ST or Sport bikes to take advantage of progressive rate springs. They compress at different rates along the spring length and the initial soft portions gets blown right through leaving a limited amount of travel and the stiffer portion to deal with. It makes for a less compliance & harsher ride. Also you can't correctly match rebound dampening rates correctly with progressive or variable rate springs. But with straight rate springs the compression rate is the same throughout the entire travel length of the spring and you get a smoother & more confident ride & response....I hope I explained that correctly???
My bike is 8yrs old & has 27,000 miles on it (I bought it two years ago with only 3,800 miles on it) and the forks have NEVER been serviced. Same OEM springs, bushings & fork oil. The OEM fork oil that Yamaha uses....Traxxion hates and thinks is sucks...to say the least. Our shocks have an upper & lower bushing with a protective coating on it that makes contact with our inner fork tubes. Over time the lower bushing wears through that protective coating and starts rubbing metal to metal especially if you don't change your fork oil. Over time if not replaced the lower bushing will warp the inner fork tubes and you'll get even more slop & play in your suspension. My lower fork bushings were completely shot...and I didn't even know it. They're only a $15.00ea part so replacing them is a no brainer. The upper fork bushings almost get no wear whatsoever. The reason is because the lower bushing is where all the action takes places. Its also down where the tire connects to the bike and the rotors connect to the front brakes so that's where all the tension & stress happens.
MY WEIGHT - RIDE STYLE - RIDE SETUP:
Me: 5'-9" - 180 lbs
Wife: 5'-5" - 120 lbs.
25% Solo fairly aggressive mountain twisty rider
50% 2up fairly aggressive mountain twisty rider
25% 2up easy cruising / site seeing rider
25% Solo Rider - No bags - Small topcase only
50% 2up Rider - No bags - Small topcase only
25% 2up Rider - Fully loaded bags and fully loaded large topcase
EXACTLY WHAT I GOT:
WHAT I PAYED:
$1,355.00 + Tax out the door.
HOW LONG IT TOOK:
Under 4hrs.
INITIAL RIDING IMPRESSIONS:
Even though I did the lower end front fork upgrade along with the full rear upgrade my initial riding impressions on the 90 min return trip home where...OMG!!! What a freaking difference!!! LOL. First off I gained at least 1" of ground clearance because I was virtually flat footed on by feet (I'm about 5' 9") before and with the new setup I"m on the balls of my feet almost on my tip toes sitting on it. No worries I"m fine with that and the extra ground clearance will come in handy in the mtn twisties!
The front forks don't dive anymore...like at all! The bike feels firm & stiff yet plush & comfy at the same time. Best of both worlds and how it should feel. It seems to just effortlessly go over road bumps and the bike is level, even and rides confidently. Tomorrow I go on a 2-day mountain ride trip with a FJR friend and the ride test in the twisties will ensue and I"ll report back to state how it handles the curves shortly there after. Even when I bought this bike with 3,800 miles on it and barely broken it...it never felt anything like this!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you have over 25,000 miles on your bike and you've never serviced your front forks...do it! Your lower bushings are toast and the fork oil is not doing its job anymore. In general they told me to change my fork oil every 2yrs if your a 10,000-15,000 a year rider. Anymore than that and the fork oil gets too thin and is not dampening correctly. And they've done enough FJR's to know the lower bushing will be gone by then.
If you want the AK-20 fork inserts and a rear shock service you'll be close to another $1,000.00 from what I spent. So decide on what your expectations are & what your budget will allow. But realize for $1,300 - $1,400 you can also ride in and ride out 4hrs later with a full front/rear suspension upgrade that will make your bike handle & ride better than when it had 0 miles on it brand new on the showroom floor. And that's no joke.
TRAXXION DYNAMICS:
Very rarely in life do you get the service & quality work you think you deserve. It seems to be a rarity these days. But Lee & Dan and the gang at Traxxion are top notch both in their expertise and also in making you feel educated about your purchase. They are not high pressure salesman, quite the opposite actually and they're happy to pass on their knowledge to you if you ask them questions, which I did. They also have the cleanest & most organized "bike shop" I've ever been in. They're more "engineers" than mechanics and it shows. I was very happy with my experience their today and I would def recommend them. So add me to the list of happy customers.
Traxxion Dynamics is on the north side of Atlanta, GA and is only a 90 minute ride from my house. They manufacture their own hydraulic fittings with an improved valve flow design and even the now famous AK-20 front fork cartridge insert is custom built in house. They have done extensive R&D on the FJR (Lee is the expert on our bikes from Traxxion) and they do a ton of Goldwings and Sportbike racing suspension kits as well. They get ride in's from all over the country & they only schedule (2) two bike jobs a day. It takes a good 3-4 hours for a full upgrade. That being said they are extremely thorough, answer all your questions and make sure your happy & educated on the upgrade choice based on your riding style, weight, mileage...etc.
Fair warning...its not cheap! But of course in life you typically get what you pay for.
I choose to do the ride in service instead of tackling it myself. The extra few hundred dollars in expert labor to do the job from start to finish was well worth it to me for sure. I do oil changes & my minor upgrades & servicing myself, but I'm prob like most and don't have the knowledge or confidence to rebuild front forks myself.
REAR SHOCK UPGRADE:
I went with a new model Penske 8975 shock and they added a new Hypercoil spring and dialed it in for my weight.
FRONT FORK UPGRADE:
I went with the lower budget conscious upgrade (I'll explain more in detail in a moment) and got new springs, Spring buffer kit, lower bushings, fork seals, dust seals and Maxima 15w fork oil
FRONT FORK UPGRADE OPTIONS:
Ok to explain further they really offer three different levels of fork upgrades based on what you want to do & how much you want to spend. Like I explained briefly I got the basic upgrade that cost the least. Which again included: New springs, buffer kit, lower bushings, fork seal, dust seals & new fork oil. But they reused the OEM hydraulic fittings per my request. They actually make their own dual flow (ours is a single flow valve) that allow much more fork oil to come into the shock. I have no doubt theirs is a better design but the extra $400.00 for their hydro valves & installation on top of what I was already spending was not in my current budget.
Then the the Penultimate front fork upgrade is to pull out all the OEM "crap" and just spend the $1,200.00+ on their AK-20 inserts that work completely differently altogether. Again I have no doubt...if money is not an issue...that going with the AK-20 inserts would be the way to go. I've heard of many on this forum swear by them and I"m sure their awesome!
WHAT I LEARNED:
Our OEM front fork springs are "Progressive Rate" springs and over the past 20yrs aftermarket suspension manufacturers have switched to "Straight Rate" springs (that's what got put in my bike today). Basically there is not enough travel on ST or Sport bikes to take advantage of progressive rate springs. They compress at different rates along the spring length and the initial soft portions gets blown right through leaving a limited amount of travel and the stiffer portion to deal with. It makes for a less compliance & harsher ride. Also you can't correctly match rebound dampening rates correctly with progressive or variable rate springs. But with straight rate springs the compression rate is the same throughout the entire travel length of the spring and you get a smoother & more confident ride & response....I hope I explained that correctly???
My bike is 8yrs old & has 27,000 miles on it (I bought it two years ago with only 3,800 miles on it) and the forks have NEVER been serviced. Same OEM springs, bushings & fork oil. The OEM fork oil that Yamaha uses....Traxxion hates and thinks is sucks...to say the least. Our shocks have an upper & lower bushing with a protective coating on it that makes contact with our inner fork tubes. Over time the lower bushing wears through that protective coating and starts rubbing metal to metal especially if you don't change your fork oil. Over time if not replaced the lower bushing will warp the inner fork tubes and you'll get even more slop & play in your suspension. My lower fork bushings were completely shot...and I didn't even know it. They're only a $15.00ea part so replacing them is a no brainer. The upper fork bushings almost get no wear whatsoever. The reason is because the lower bushing is where all the action takes places. Its also down where the tire connects to the bike and the rotors connect to the front brakes so that's where all the tension & stress happens.
MY WEIGHT - RIDE STYLE - RIDE SETUP:
Me: 5'-9" - 180 lbs
Wife: 5'-5" - 120 lbs.
25% Solo fairly aggressive mountain twisty rider
50% 2up fairly aggressive mountain twisty rider
25% 2up easy cruising / site seeing rider
25% Solo Rider - No bags - Small topcase only
50% 2up Rider - No bags - Small topcase only
25% 2up Rider - Fully loaded bags and fully loaded large topcase
EXACTLY WHAT I GOT:
- REAR: Penske 8975 Shock (Takes Penske 3 weeks lead time to build to your specs & you get rid of the soft/hard switch)
- REAR: Hypercoil 6x850 Spring
- FRONT: Fork Spring Kit OMNI x 1.10 - Straight Rate Design
- FRONT: Fork Spring Buffer Kit 11mm (Traxxion uses a smaller radius front spring and they stiffen it from the inside with this buffer rod kit. This keeps the spring from making contact and rubbing inside the fork tubes like the wider Dia. OEM spring does)
- OEM fork seals 48x61x11
- OEM fork dust seals 48x61
- Fork inner lower bushings 48x20x1
- Maxima 15w fork oil
- Labor for drive in/out service for removal of front forks & rear shock
WHAT I PAYED:
$1,355.00 + Tax out the door.
HOW LONG IT TOOK:
Under 4hrs.
INITIAL RIDING IMPRESSIONS:
Even though I did the lower end front fork upgrade along with the full rear upgrade my initial riding impressions on the 90 min return trip home where...OMG!!! What a freaking difference!!! LOL. First off I gained at least 1" of ground clearance because I was virtually flat footed on by feet (I'm about 5' 9") before and with the new setup I"m on the balls of my feet almost on my tip toes sitting on it. No worries I"m fine with that and the extra ground clearance will come in handy in the mtn twisties!
The front forks don't dive anymore...like at all! The bike feels firm & stiff yet plush & comfy at the same time. Best of both worlds and how it should feel. It seems to just effortlessly go over road bumps and the bike is level, even and rides confidently. Tomorrow I go on a 2-day mountain ride trip with a FJR friend and the ride test in the twisties will ensue and I"ll report back to state how it handles the curves shortly there after. Even when I bought this bike with 3,800 miles on it and barely broken it...it never felt anything like this!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you have over 25,000 miles on your bike and you've never serviced your front forks...do it! Your lower bushings are toast and the fork oil is not doing its job anymore. In general they told me to change my fork oil every 2yrs if your a 10,000-15,000 a year rider. Anymore than that and the fork oil gets too thin and is not dampening correctly. And they've done enough FJR's to know the lower bushing will be gone by then.
If you want the AK-20 fork inserts and a rear shock service you'll be close to another $1,000.00 from what I spent. So decide on what your expectations are & what your budget will allow. But realize for $1,300 - $1,400 you can also ride in and ride out 4hrs later with a full front/rear suspension upgrade that will make your bike handle & ride better than when it had 0 miles on it brand new on the showroom floor. And that's no joke.
TRAXXION DYNAMICS:
Very rarely in life do you get the service & quality work you think you deserve. It seems to be a rarity these days. But Lee & Dan and the gang at Traxxion are top notch both in their expertise and also in making you feel educated about your purchase. They are not high pressure salesman, quite the opposite actually and they're happy to pass on their knowledge to you if you ask them questions, which I did. They also have the cleanest & most organized "bike shop" I've ever been in. They're more "engineers" than mechanics and it shows. I was very happy with my experience their today and I would def recommend them. So add me to the list of happy customers.
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