Ohlins for FXR

[Robert Taylor]

any bike shop that deals with whites powersports should be able to get a yss. im not sure how it works with shops/importers but there aim was that people could walk in to a bike shop and purchase the shock. Im not 100% sure on the facts to do with it though

Yes indeed anyone can supposedly walk into a bikeshop and buy a shock. But how many bike shops have suspension experts in the truest sense? Im not ''knocking'' bike shops per se, its just that to get the very best out of suspension this has very much become a specialist field, a trade in its own right.

[Buckets4Me]

Off to a witty early start , I see, B4M . "Gold" valves do sound expensive . I'm serious about trying #10 oil topped up a bit more than standard as it is easy for me to do and if (when?) it does not improve things I might investigate those good options. Has anyone found modern upside-down adjustable forks that fit?

yep witty and stupid (cant stand it when people want everything for free)

I priced up fixing the suspention on my bike and splashed out on an rs frame instead
can you see why (specialy since it came with all the fruit and spare wheels) for about the same price as a rear shock

[Robert Taylor]

you may need to try stiffer springs,fit air valves to fork caps or if they are damper rod forks weld and re-drill the holes smaller.if you need this work done phone chris 09 817 9500 RMS eng

Chris with all respect thats a 70s ''solution''. If you reduce the size of those fixed orifice damping holes sure its going to give you more initial low speed compression hold but its going to make the abrupt bump compliance even worse. That increases the risk of crashing while cornering if you strike an abrupt bump whilst leaned over ( it happens ), overloads the tyre more and often takes away edge grip.

Race Tech brand emulators turn the suspension from crummy old 50s style fixed orifice damping into speed sensitive damping. Race Tech and not the crummy rip off copies that are made of lower longevity materials and have less tuning options.

[Damien_Toman]

yep ......splashed out on an rs frame instead
can you see why (specialy since it came with all the fruit and spare wheels) for about the same price as a rear shock

RS frame? Honda or Aprilia?

[jasonu]

Chris thats a 70s ''solution''. If you reduce the size of those fixed orifice damping holes sure its going to give you more initial low speed compression hold but its going to make the abrupt bump compliance even worse. That increases the risk of crashing while cornering if you strike an abrupt bump whilst leaned over ( it happens ), overloads the tyre more and often takes away edge grip.

Race Tech brand emulators turn the suspension from crummy old 50s style fixed orifice damping into speed sensitive damping. Race Tech and not the crummy rip off copies that are made of lower longevity materials and have less tuning options.

Robert, you are totally correct when you say modding the damper rods ect. is old hat. But I think what Chris is trying to put forward is a cheap way of noticeably improving the standard equipment for not a lot of money. I did the same thing to some TZR50 forks ( a long time ago) and got a good improvement.

[speedpro]

Agree with that. I've gone the emulator route, but damper rods can be tuned to be a lot closer to what we want than how they come. Jim Steadman's bike is a good example I'm familiar with, it's good enough to wear the sidestand tang on left corners and still feels planted at bucket racing speeds on a kart track.

[Robert Taylor]

Certainly going for smaller holes in the damper rods does improve ride height and brake pitch control and translate into faster lap times. But in terms of fluid dynamics its still very very crude, because its still fixed orifice damping from the earlier part of the 20th century!!!. If you ride over something abrupt ( and Im led to believe this happens from time to time ) the holes are now so small that they will not pass enough fluid and the suspension will go into hydraulic lock. That will overload the tyre and shorten its life. It will also cause more crashing than is prudent unless you guys race on tracks that are ''billiard table'' smooth and / or never run off line?
Race Tech emulators whilst still crude at least provide some modicum of speed sensitive flow modulation. There is the small low speed orifice that provides decent ride height and brake pitch control and at higher suspension shaft velocities ( abrupt bumps / seal lip changes etc ) the poppet opens against poppett spring pressure to allow more flow so the suspension actually moves! Even race track bikes should absorb nasty bumps.....
Even emulators are crude and they will momentarily pop off their seats under certain circumstances of load as all that is holding them in place is spring force. Ideally they should be positively secured to the top of the damper rods.
At the risk of being maligned I thought we were now in the 21st century?

[speedpro]

....Even emulators are crude and they will momentarily pop off their seats under certain circumstances of load as all that is holding them in place is spring force. Ideally they should be positively secured to the top of the damper rods.

Interesting. I have wondered about that, given the near "0" preload on the springs there is very little to hold them seated at full extension. Being able to thread them into the top of the damper rods would seem a good idea.

[F5 Dave]

Mt wgtn has some pretty nasty sections of stutter bumps, my old forks were particularly prone to skating across them.

[Yow Ling]

Interesting. I have wondered about that, given the near "0" preload on the springs there is very little to hold them seated at full extension. Being able to thread them into the top of the damper rods would seem a good idea.

Give em a wee zap wit the mig , that should stop them moving round

[Robert Taylor]

Give em a wee zap wit the mig , that should stop them moving round

The scary thing is someone may believe what you have just posted