[ST] More Fork Questions

[David Earl <dlearl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rick-Allow me to put in my 2c
"I had one question as to the 1 kg/m spring rate.  While I don't doubt
it improves
handling, how much penalty do you pay on general comfort?  By this I
mean for the "touring" side of the
comfort equation, say 500 mile days, day after day?"

I just finished the first leg (1200 miles) of an extended trip to the
Pacific Northwest following the installation of Race Tech Valves and 1
Kg Springs.  The ride, touring, is vastly superior to the stock setup.
To describe the results of the Valve/Springs as "firmer" is an over
simplification. The cartridge emulating characteristic of the valves
allow progressive (or regressive?) damping, which makes up for the extra
stiffness of the spring at speed. If there is any degradation in ride,
it's at low speed around town, but it doesn't bother me in the least.
The increased handling more than makes up for it. Touring, the equation
is that the increased handling makes it easier to ride long distance
because you're not fighting a wallowy front end. My bike also seems more
stable at speed, especially in crosswinds. One note. I cranked my shock
up to the "stiff" settings in the manual, as the Ohlins I intended to
install was back ordered until late August.

"The only negative is that this is a slippery slope, in that once
started, it takes a
substantial amount of time to test ride the bike, make changes, test it
again, etc."

My first Race Tech install took 4 tries to get it right as I was flying
blind as to settings. (BMW F650) The good news is that you get better
each time your remove the forks and change the settings. By the last
time I did it in 45 minutes.
On the ST, supplied with the excellent info from this board, it took two
tries, only because I misread the tech tip and put the recommended 5 wt
oil in and had to change it to 15 wt. It's the best 5 hours I spent for
my bike.

David
'99ST


     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=