Race Tech Gold Valves Fork Comp/Reb Settings?

[ULEWZ]

For anybody that installed Race Tech gold valves, what initial Rebound and Compression settings did you use?

I set the sag to 30mm, and am going to try 8 rebound and 10 compression. (I am 180lbs, Aggressive street, no side bags.)

I am very interested in what settings you ended up with.

Thanks,

Lew

 

[ahchiu]

They suggest a start point of:

Fork sag..........25mm

Compression...15 clicks out

Rebound......... 20 clicks out

 

[ULEWZ]

I just got back from a thorough flogging and must say, those gold valves with new springs had this thing on rails. Way stable in the turns and I never changed the initial settings of 10 out compression and 8 out rebound. 110mm of fork fluid and 32mm of sag. There is no way 15C/20R would have worked. Now to install the Penske and see what that does.

 

[ahchiu]

I just got back from a thorough flogging and must say, those gold valves with new springs had this thing on rails. Way stable in the turns and I never changed the initial settings of 10 out compression and 8 out rebound. 110mm of fork fluid and 32mm of sag. There is no way 15C/20R would have worked. Now to install the Penske and see what that does.

Your correct, I have not installed the Gold Valves yet, the max out for Comp is 21 clicks and Rebound is 17 out, I will need to call Race Tech and ask where did they get those settings.

 

[Fred W]

Even with 30mm of sag I think the forks would be a bit too stiff for the street. And we all know that the sag setting (spring rate and preload) will affect all of your damping adjustments later as well as the steering angles, so that seems important to get correct first.

Racetech actually says that for street use fork sag should be set to between 25 and 33 percent of full travel. The FJR forks travel 135mm total, so the sag should be 34 - 45 mm. For race track use the recommendation is less (25-30mm).

 

[yamafitter]

We just finished installing the Race Tech kit in Ray's forks this weekend at Tech Day VI and it is important to install the fork caps correctly to get the maximum number of clicks available. The procedure is with the caps not yet installed on the rod, set the rebound adjuster all the way in (clockwise) and then back off two clicks. You then thread the cap assembly onto the rod until you feel the adjuster make contact with the road and the needle feels bottomed out. You want to do this gently so that the needle is not damaged. You then hold the adjuster nut on the cap and jam the nut on the road into the cap assembly to lock it in place on the rod.

Following this procedure gave us plenty of adjustment to set the rebound clicker at 20 out. We set the compression at 15 clicks out as per Race Tech's suggestion. The front sag settings after adjustments were Free Sag (no rider)= 25mm & Rider Sag = 35mm for the forks. Ray installed the 1.0 spring rate Race Tech Springs and we did not cut the preload spacer rods. This gave us two rings showing on the preload adjusters so we are right in the middle of the preload adjustment range.

We ended up at 35mm of Rider Sag on the aftermarket rear shock. I would have liked to have adjusted to bring it closer to 25mm to better balance out with the forks but Ray wants to try these settings first. Ray might be out on the bike today and can report on his findings as to these initial settings.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I may or may not be able to do a test run today, got a lot on my plate... however, my initial thinking is the RT initial settings will only be a starting point for tuning. Stock range is 21 clicks, so at 15 or 20, we're almost backed out to minimal damping. I suspect reality will end up being somewhere in the middle based on my preferences, plus tuning takes time over various conditions and as the new springs settle in....... we'll see. I suspect I'll get a better idea at the SE Ohio run in a couple of weeks.

 

[Klunkshift]

Question for yamafitter:

You mention not cutting the preload spacer. What was the free length of the RaceTech springs that were installed. Longer, shorter or the same length as the OEM springs?

Thanks for the info. Good tips on the interaction between the rebound rod adjuster and the needle rebound valves.

Following this procedure gave us plenty of adjustment to set the rebound clicker at 20 out. We set the compression at 15 clicks out as per Race Tech's suggestion. The front sag settings after adjustments were Free Sag (no rider)= 25mm & Rider Sag = 35mm for the forks. Ray installed the 1.0 spring rate Race Tech Springs and we did not cut the preload spacer rods. This gave us two rings showing on the preload adjusters so we are right in the middle of the preload adjustment range.
We ended up at 35mm of Rider Sag on the aftermarket rear shock. I would have liked to have adjusted to bring it closer to 25mm to better balance out with the forks but Ray wants to try these settings first. Ray might be out on the bike today and can report on his findings as to these initial settings.

 

[RaYzerman19]

OEM free length of the springs is 262 mm. Race Tech's are 273 I believe, definitely longer. As well you use 1 - 24mm ID washer on top of the cartridge, which is maybe another 2.5 mm. Since I did not have the upper RT spring guide, I used one 24 mm. up top then the stock washer. If the top of the springs may rub on the side of the tube, and I may end up getting the upper guide. I used 1.0 spring rate, RT's recommendation for my weight was .967. Obviously, if we had to use the preload adjuster down two bands to get 35 mm sag, we're kinda on the money. Of course, this will all be tweaked when I accumulate some mileage. RT gives you extra washers, so if you can't get enough preload, just add in some washers to tweak it if need be, or use smaller ID washers that fit the damping rod.

I left the Gold Valve assembly at C34 as shipped. Their recommendation was C35 which added in a shim or two.

Bottom line, you tweak your settings based on your weight and preferences regardless of where RT tells you to start. No one can give you one formula that suits all.

 

[900gc]

For anybody that installed Race Tech gold valves, what initial Rebound and Compression settings did you use?I set the sag to 30mm, and am going to try 8 rebound and 10 compression. (I am 180lbs, Aggressive street, no side bags.)

I am very interested in what settings you ended up with.

Thanks,

Lew

Using the stock springs?

For general riding I use 9-10 rebound and 10-12 compression w/.95 springs. For spirited riding; 6-8 rebound, 7-8 comp. and 1-2 turns on pre-load. Can't remember what brand fork oil my tech used. I weigh 180 dressed.

 

[ULEWZ]

For anybody that installed Race Tech gold valves, what initial Rebound and Compression settings did you use?I set the sag to 30mm, and am going to try 8 rebound and 10 compression. (I am 180lbs, Aggressive street, no side bags.)

I am very interested in what settings you ended up with.

Thanks,

Lew

Using the stock springs?

For general riding I use 9-10 rebound and 10-12 compression w/.95 springs. For spirited riding; 6-8 rebound, 7-8 comp. and 1-2 turns on pre-load. Can't remember what brand fork oil my tech used. I weigh 180 dressed.

1.0 Springs. Your Settings mirror mine.Good to know. I Used Sonic Springs and 4 Inch cut spacers that they provided. Three Washers are a must. One under the spring, one on top of the spring, and one on top of the wide provided spacer so it will not go over the preload adjuster.

 

[ULEWZ]

We just finished installing the Race Tech kit in Ray's forks this weekend at Tech Day VI and it is important to install the fork caps correctly to get the maximum number of clicks available. The procedure is with the caps not yet installed on the rod, set the rebound adjuster all the way in (clockwise) and then back off two clicks. You then thread the cap assembly onto the rod until you feel the adjuster make contact with the road and the needle feels bottomed out. You want to do this gently so that the needle is not damaged. You then hold the adjuster nut on the cap and jam the nut on the road into the cap assembly to lock it in place on the rod.
Following this procedure gave us plenty of adjustment to set the rebound clicker at 20 out. We set the compression at 15 clicks out as per Race Tech's suggestion. The front sag settings after adjustments were Free Sag (no rider)= 25mm & Rider Sag = 35mm for the forks. Ray installed the 1.0 spring rate Race Tech Springs and we did not cut the preload spacer rods. This gave us two rings showing on the preload adjusters so we are right in.

I did something similar. I set the rebound adjusters 20 clicks in from all the way out, screwed the cap on the rod until it bottomed out, and tightened the lock nut. My max is now 20 clicks of rebound. I also noticed the gold valve rebound needle springs yield less travel then the stock springs, so I figure the useful rebound settings are something way short of 20 clicks. To much rebound and the needle may float around with no spring force?

 

[ULEWZ]

Tried a few more settihgs, and this is what I am using now:

Preload 35mm, 110mm fork oil height (120-130 may be better if you don't like it as harsh). Compression 11, rebound 7.

Compression of 10 and rebound of 8 was close, but a little harsh on the wash boards.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Flogged mine today on a little local route that has lots of bumps, patches, curves, almost everything. Sag is 35, 110 oil, bike seems more plush with the new 1.0 springs, me 200-205 w/no gear. I don't see any reason to change the sag setup Yamafitter did for me, and would not want more sag. I ended up at compression 7-8, rebound 8. Acutally had to back off the low and high speed compression on the rear shock as it was a bit harsh in comparison. Bike is more balanced feel and more plush than before. I'll leave it for the most part for the trip to Ohio Ramble, may tweak it once I get into that riding. Also a bit rusty. But typically it will take a month or so to get it perfect for me.

 

[ULEWZ]

Flogged mine today on a little local route that has lots of bumps, patches, curves, almost everything. Sag is 35, 110 oil, bike seems more plush with the new 1.0 springs, me 200-205 w/no gear. I don't see any reason to change the sag setup Yamafitter did for me, and would not want more sag. I ended up at compression 7-8, rebound 8. Acutally had to back off the low and high speed compression on the rear shock as it was a bit harsh in comparison. Bike is more balanced feel and more plush than before. I'll leave it for the most part for the trip to Ohio Ramble, may tweak it once I get into that riding. Also a bit rusty. But typically it will take a month or so to get it perfect for me.

Your a little heavier than I am, so those settings sound very comparable to mine.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Update, I got into the roads to/from/at EOM and found that I had to dial in more damping. I did lose a few pounds over the last few months as well, but I don't think that has any real effect. I was getting too much fork dive and a bit too much bounce for my liking. Right now sitting at Compression 5, rebound 6. Added in a touch on the rear as well. Much better! Being that far, I think I'll eventually switch up to 10W fork oil (currently have Amzoil 5W) and/or switch up the gold valves to C35 shim pack as they had recommended.