[ST] Suspension-Miscellaneous Ramblings

[David Earl <dlearl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just finished the Race Tech install and re-tire (Mac 100's) and here's a

few thoughts I'd like to share. A lot of current topics came up.
The 5 wt oil is definitely too thin, it felt nice compared to the stock
marshmallow fork, but once you've had the forks off, it's a snap to redo

the oil. The 15 wt is much nicer. Also I could bottom the front end with

hard FRONT braking with the 5 wt. (Sorry, I couldn't resist)   Might I
suggest we change the Tech Tip to reflect this information? For whoever
doubted the validity of the Emulators, here is my take. Simply changing
the viscosity of the fork oil stiffens or loosens the fork. It still
dampens like a damping rod fork, that is linearly. The emulator mimics a

cartridge fork in that it dampens exponentially (or variably?). The
effect of this is that overall the fork is firmer, yet when situations
call for less damping (potholes for instance) the spring and shims allow

this to happen. I've put them on two bikes now and while the ST was
vastly improved, my F650 was TRANSFORMED by the emulators. (Soft Showa
Fork as well).  A little side note here. When I cut my spacers, I cut in

from both ends, assuming it would be good to leave a "factory" edge on
one end. Boy was I surprised to find that both spacers were 1 mm longer
on one side. The thin wall tubing supplied by Race Tech was cut at an
angle!  I would advise anyone doing it yourself to cut an inch or so
off, then measure and cut from there.
    The jury's still out on the Mac's. I know I've just barely worn the
skin off em, but while I like the ride and handling, they seem  to take
forever to heat up.  Last night coming home from work, I locked up the
rear braking to a stop light using only moderate rear braking, along
with pretty heavy front. The stock Bridgestones (lasted 8500, no front
cupping, could have actually put a new rear on and left it at that for
another 2-3K I think.)  seemed to be up to temp a lot quicker. If this
translates into higher mileage, great. I got the Macs so I wouldn't have

to worry about tires on a 5K trip coming up.
    To add to the loose bolts thread last week, of the the torx bolts
holding the rear front mudguard on, two were only finger tight and the
other two were so tight they had pulled the wellnuts almost through the
mudguard. Also, when I took my front wheel off, the axle spindle was
showing a surprising amount of corrosion for a bike that's been on the
road for 1 year and never in winter salt and almost never in rain. If my

front tire had lasted another year, I would have had a real problem
getting the axle out. I think it would benefit everyone to pull theirs
out and put a bit of grease on it.
    And lastly, for the rear brake and it's function, I wonder if the
problems that plagued our front brakes a while back can affect the rear
as well. While I had my front end apart I thoroughly cleaned the
calipers and boy what a difference. The front brake works as new again.
BTW I found an 11/16 socket fit perfectly between each pair of pistons,
allowing greater travel on the other pair for cleaning.  And speaking of

sockets, when I found that out tool kits do not contain a 24 mm wrench
for the front axle or the fork top cap it was off to the hardware store.

Lowes is the closest (although I've always favored Craftsmen) so I
checked there.  They carry a brand called "Kobal" which has radius' in
the corners of the sockets which allows the tool to contact the flats of

a bolt instead of the corners. (Nice on the fork top caps, as even
looking at them too hard will mar them)  To my knowledge this is the
first time this design has been available in a relatively low cost line
(24 mm socket=$4.95) The Snap-On version is about $15.00.

    Now all I have to do is wait for Ohlins to be back in stock!
David
'99ST  Miscellaneous


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