New suspension arrived - yay!

[Blackbird]

PM sent explaining the compelling reason for going offshore.

Geoff

[Robert Taylor]

PM sent explaining the compelling reason for going offshore.

Geoff

Thanks, it makes sense

[vifferman]

So... is it fitted yet?
Or are you still drinking beer working on your deck?

[Blackbird]

So... is it fitted yet?
Or are you still drinking beer>> working on your deck?

Smart arse No time for drinking! Labouring for the builder is on hold whilst he has the week off with his grandkids so I'm labouring for SWMBO trying to find space for the contents of our other house which has just sold. I know what side my bread is buttered on.

Hope to tackle it later this week.

[Blackbird]

Well, I’ve just got back from the maiden test ride with the new Penske shock in place of the OEM Honda unit. For a cynical bastard like me, the difference came as rather a shock and was pretty profound! Gurus like Robert Taylor would say that this is stating the bleedin’ obvious but sometimes, something like this simply has to be experienced!!

It might sound contradictory but the most noticeable difference was that you simply didn’t notice the suspension doing its job and maybe that’s the biggest compliment that it’s possible to give. On the OEM unit, rear wheel chatter over the Coro Hill was really noticeable and with the wheel not having constant contact, the impact on handling was way less than optimal in terms of grip, rate of turn-in and a whole load of other factors. With the new unit, the chatter had completely disappeared and I was able to corner with greater confidence because the bike felt much more stable.

As I previously mentioned, the shock was set up specifically for me in the USA and I haven’t played with ride height, sag, preload or any of the damping options. I don’t doubt that that a god like Robert Taylor could extract even more performance from it, but I’m leaving well alone for a while! Top suspension units like Penske and Ohlins are always going to outshine OEM units by a country mile but I’m also wondering how much of the improvement has been due to that imperceptible performance decline of the OEM unit over time which is very difficult to detect when you ride regularly.

If there is a downside to fitting the new unit, it’s because it’s magnified just how crap my stock front fork setup is! Fortunately, the new internals arrived from the UK yesterday so I hope to address that shortly.

Good suspension doesn’t only give benefit to good riders but clearly applies to the whole spectrum of abilities and type of bike; conferring increased grip, quicker handling and probably a significant increase in tyre life which is another thing I’ll try and monitor. Again, it’s probably stating the bleedin’ obvious but from my experience today; I’d opt for good suspension way before aftermarket cans, Power Commanders or any other form of tweak!

Save your pennies and go for the best suspension you can afford - you won't be disappointed!

[vifferman]

So, I take it the install went well then, Geoff?
You can probably leave the settings alone if you're happy with them, but you might want to at least check the sag, and adjust the preload if it's not right.

The Elka was OK to install, once I worked out there was a mistake in the instructions, which were writtne for a '99 VFR, not a 2000/2001 (which have the catcon). I had to remove the top mount and bolt it to the shock once it was in place. The preload and compression adjustments were fine from the factory (sag was exactly right), but I had to adjust the rebound setting, as there are a series of ripples on my homeward commute that the rear wheel felt like it was responding a bit slow.

Anyway, it's great that you're so pleased with the Penske - I'm sure you'll be even more pleased once you've got a correspondingly good front end (something I don't yet have - damping needs some attention).