Intiminators installed: I'm underwhelmed.

[NordieBoy]

My bush logic suggests that the units should be a snug fit, to avoid oil bleeding between the fork wall and the seal ?

They got me to measure my TT350 forks very carefully before they would suggest which Intiminator to run.

The forks are 41mm OD but a different wall thickness to the KLR.

Both bikes I'm running them on have vastly reduced brake dive.
The '01 DR is using stock shims and the '86 TT I played with for a few weeks before settling on the shims it's been running for the last few years.

Off road, I'd prefer Emulators as without brake dive, you can't preload the front to bounce it up over logs.
But for my normal adventuring, Intiminators are a hell of a lot better than stock.

[400sm]

So have you viewed firsthand the ratio of shim diameter to clamping? And if so can you explain how there is enough deflection? If any?

There is no credibility here, the way these things ''function'' is fundamentally flawed and criminal.

No. I just want to make sure that it is the correct part.

To chopper: On ricor website, the 41mm and 39mm look very different.

Could you confirm that your valves look correct. Ta.

[husaberg]

I haven't seen a lot of it but Hayden Fitzgerald has bitter memories of it ( If indeed its possible for Hayden to be that way ) He was contracted a few years back to ride an R1 for a British team and was told that they were running Ohlins. When he arrived in the UK it wasn't the good Swedish product at all, it was Ron Maxtons stuff. He struggled with it all season. I think he builds some okay sidecar stuff but the bike stuff is pretty forgettable from what I have evidenced

Wow Robert
It has to be said putting aside Haydens bitter memories...... Rons suspension has won a whole whole lots of IOM's............
have you had a look at his stuff recently......i posted a link in another thread for you...

I looked arround to see if Ron Williams (Maxton)was still doing the modified Konis because One i always wondered what was in them.
and two because i just wondered if it could offer an solution that suited Scott's budget.

What i found was Ron's company is making it seems all their own stuff now.

i seen this in the blurb which pretty much matches what Robert had said re springs and gubins...

Suspension doesn't have a huge effect on handling when your bike is leant over. "Think about it," says Ron. "When a bike hits a bump leant over, the forces aren't barely going through the suspension. What you are feeling is more to do with chassis stiffness and tyre construction.

Compression damping control is far more important than rebound for track riding.

Progressive or dual rate springs don't really work, mainly because they don't rebound back in a linear manner. Variable compression damping is much more effective. The benefit that most people who fit them feel is down to the original springs they replaced being too soft in the first place.

They valve some nice shinny looking kit.
http://www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk/files/products.htm

Prices range from £440 for a pair of twin shocks to £710 for the top-spec GP7. Fork conversions cost between £290 and £915 for the top-spec GP25 cartridge.

Yes from what I have seen they seem to have a good reputation amonst the sidecar guys

I was looking at them as they seem to be the only place so far that I have seen do a cartridge conversion for the older smaller diameter forks, I thought it may be a better option than emulators

There is another company doing small emulators as well (Add later)

http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax-pd-valves.php



PD Fork Valves are available in the following sizes for Motorcycles with Conventional Forks:

OD 17.5 mm
OD 24.8 mm
OD 26.5 mm
OD 29.0 mm
OD 31.0 mm
OD 33.0 mm
OD 36.0 mm
OD 43.0 mm

they sell other stuff as well
inc pistons and shims
http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax...HOCKPISTONKITS

Yes they are likely neither the same quality of Ohlins or Racetech gold valves..........

[400sm]

After spending another 10 mins on the net reading intiminator forums, l have inferred that the seal needs to contact the tube walls.

[Robert Taylor]

After spending another 10 mins on the net reading intiminator forums, l have inferred that the seal needs to contact the tube walls.

Have any of the nuclear physicists that habitate these accursed forums related to looking down the bore of forks right after the springs are removed and the oil is drained? And from a sampling of MANY damper rod forks?

You will find that in many instances ( likely 80% or greater ) the damper rod doesnt assemble totally concentrically through the centreline of the fork. It will always be cocked to one side. That then means by implication that the top hat piston ring will not seal concentrically and will wear unevenly. Uncontrolled bleed will happen at this part of the assembly.

Moreover it then means that the top face of the damper rod will not be perpendicular to the centreline of the fork. So any restriction device ( Intiminators ) or any restriction device with some credible degree of high speed damping modulation ( Race Tech emulator and the Cogent Dynamics offering ) wont have a hope in hell of sitting squarely on top of the damping rod and therefore centralising properly and sealing properly. As the fork springs ''clamp'' the restriction device in place it then by implication means that because the seating surfaces arent flat the sidethrust applied on the springs is further exacerbated. They will rub yet harder on the internal walls of the fork tubes and more readily shaving away chards of metal flakes that always embed themselves into the teflon outer coatings of the fork bushings.

The cheaper and therefore less polish finished and edge finished springs that you purchase the worse this issue becomes.

You get what you pay for and the gullible are at the mercy of the hyped up bullshit that especially American companies are notorious for.

A little honesty wouldnt go amiss, but of course the commercial world doesnt always reward total honesty. Also, people will only hear what they want to hear.

[Robert Taylor]

After spending another 10 mins on the net reading intiminator forums, l have inferred that the seal needs to contact the tube walls.

Yes, but without a means of positive centralisation and the poor alignment issues with damper rods how is that going to happen through the full 360 degrees?

[Robert Taylor]

Wow Robert
It has to be said putting aside Haydens bitter memories...... Rons suspension has won a whole whole lots of IOM's............
have you had a look at his stuff recently......i posted a link in another thread for you...





There is another company doing small emulators as well (Add later)

http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax-pd-valves.php



PD Fork Valves are available in the following sizes for Motorcycles with Conventional Forks:

OD 17.5 mm
OD 24.8 mm
OD 26.5 mm
OD 29.0 mm
OD 31.0 mm
OD 33.0 mm
OD 36.0 mm
OD 43.0 mm

they sell other stuff as well
inc pistons and shims
http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax...HOCKPISTONKITS

Yes they are likely neither the same quality of Ohlins or Racetech gold valves..........

Shaun Harris won his class on that very dangerous circuit a few years back. He ran a stock standard rear Ohlins shock at that time because much like Pukekohe circuit it is a fast road course that favours a setup much closer to a road bike than what is required on a proper closed course and highly technical road race circuit. Had Shaun then raced that bike on the many proper circuits on the UK mainland it then would have required individualised setup changes for each circuit. That is where a true pedigree brand of suspension stands out. And with all respect to the Maxton product that is where their limitations become very apparent

[Robert Taylor]

Wow Robert
It has to be said putting aside Haydens bitter memories...... Rons suspension has won a whole whole lots of IOM's............
have you had a look at his stuff recently......i posted a link in another thread for you...





There is another company doing small emulators as well (Add later)

http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax-pd-valves.php



PD Fork Valves are available in the following sizes for Motorcycles with Conventional Forks:

OD 17.5 mm
OD 24.8 mm
OD 26.5 mm
OD 29.0 mm
OD 31.0 mm
OD 33.0 mm
OD 36.0 mm
OD 43.0 mm

they sell other stuff as well
inc pistons and shims
http://www.suspensionshop.org/promax...HOCKPISTONKITS

Yes they are likely neither the same quality of Ohlins or Racetech gold valves..........

We have removed more than a few of those Thai made ''fork valves''. They wear through the wafer thin anodising very quickly to the soft alloy that then wears off, again contaminating the fork bushings. Its a totally unsuitable material in such an application. There doesnt appear to be any ready availability of alternative poppett spring rates ( thats an essential tuning option ) and you can by no means as easily change the bypass bleed hole size.

Cheap, nasty. Its like comparing a cut price weedeater from Mitre 10 to a professional level Stihl or Husqvarna. You get what you pay for and the cheap rubbish creates unwelcome and ultimately costly issues

[pete-blen]

I made my own for the XR250.... They did work but the spring
for the rebound damping was 2 strong & slowed the return to much..
compression damping was easy to get sort of right...As spring preload could be changed..
finding springs in the right dia / strength for the retun damping was not so easy...



http://imageshack.com/a/img812/2962/ssa41924.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img233/8521/ssa41922.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img140/7093/valvef.jpg

[Night Falcon]

On my bucket list for my new bike is to have the suspension professionally tuned but ride it a bit before so I can then judge the improvement- which people say will be like night and day. Unsure what the bike will be at this stage but its likely to be a KTM 350 - 500 which are pretty good to start with.

[Robert Taylor]

On my bucket list for my new bike is to have the suspension professionally tuned but ride it a bit before so I can then judge the improvement- which people say will be like night and day. Unsure what the bike will be at this stage but its likely to be a KTM 350 - 500 which are pretty good to start with.

Not if they have 4CS forks!

[400sm]

The evidence dictates that intiminators DO work to the satisfaction of their owners,
ChopperT has an anomaly on his hands . . . the cause yet to be determined.

[Robert Taylor]

The evidence dictates that intiminators DO work to the satisfaction of their owners,
ChopperT has an anomaly on his hands . . . the cause yet to be determined.

So how many riders in total have you scientifically surveyed?

[400sm]

Please survey the satisfied respondents to this thread.

Are you watching puke ?

[Robert Taylor]

Please survey the satisfied respondents to this thread.

Are you watching puke ?

Thats hardly conclusive by any stretch of the imagination!

No, working. Sad but true, I need to generate more income to do my bit to keep paying out all of the hungry Iwi's..........

Ive worked out a fix for these things, to follow through the week.