Over the winter I installed the Race Tech compression and rebound valves along with their fork springs. I was a bit apprehensive after reading some of the negative comments about Race Tech in some of the other threads but I used their parts having had good success with them in the past along with the similar success a few buddies have had with their parts. Having ridden and tuned a bit I am very happy with the front end of the FJR. Definite improvement in terms of damping control and ride quality. I no longer "hop" over bumps and tar strips at speed.
I did make one small modification to go along with the Race Tech springs. Since some people have reported noise with the springs. To prevent them from banging inside the fork tubes (they are smaller in diameter than the production FJR springs) I made a small pilot washer to center the spring at the top of the mount. It is just an aluminum "washer" with ears to hold the spring centered on the mouting post. I also added a guide to the ID of the spring to keep it centered along the full length and to prevent it from banging against the sides of the fork tube and making noise. The quide is a very expensive, elaborate 6 inch piece of 1/2 pvc pipe with the ends beveled slightly. No noise at all.
I tried the Wilbers front springs and did not like the progression. They are too soft for me during the progression and have more brake dive than I like.
I ended up with the straight rate Race Tech springs and the oil level set 130 mm from the top of the tubes. This way the spring carries the front end with less progression from the air space. The damping matches the spring rate better for my tastes with this setup.
I used 5w Golden Spectro fork oil as it was the lowest viscosity oil I could find locally and seems to match the damping gain of the adjusters pretty well.
All in all I'm pretty happy with the Race Tech parts so far. The front end is a nice match for the Wilbers shock in the rear. Rides like a different bike.
I did make one small modification to go along with the Race Tech springs. Since some people have reported noise with the springs. To prevent them from banging inside the fork tubes (they are smaller in diameter than the production FJR springs) I made a small pilot washer to center the spring at the top of the mount. It is just an aluminum "washer" with ears to hold the spring centered on the mouting post. I also added a guide to the ID of the spring to keep it centered along the full length and to prevent it from banging against the sides of the fork tube and making noise. The quide is a very expensive, elaborate 6 inch piece of 1/2 pvc pipe with the ends beveled slightly. No noise at all.
I tried the Wilbers front springs and did not like the progression. They are too soft for me during the progression and have more brake dive than I like.
I ended up with the straight rate Race Tech springs and the oil level set 130 mm from the top of the tubes. This way the spring carries the front end with less progression from the air space. The damping matches the spring rate better for my tastes with this setup.
I used 5w Golden Spectro fork oil as it was the lowest viscosity oil I could find locally and seems to match the damping gain of the adjusters pretty well.
All in all I'm pretty happy with the Race Tech parts so far. The front end is a nice match for the Wilbers shock in the rear. Rides like a different bike.
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