is suspension really worth doing?

[yerwolnahtan]

i am about to graduate from the REAL usc and and know that i will be having a good bit of money coming my way. this presents me with my first real opportunity to get my suspension done right.

but is it really worth doing? i have every mod on my S3 i could possibly want besides suspension. should i take the plunge, or should i save my money?

if i should take the plunge, what should i go with? if I'm gonna do it, i wanna do it right. so i don't want the cheapest/entry level stuff. but at the same time, i don't need the best stuff on the market.

btw, im a fatass. 6' tall and 250~lbs w/o gear

[Coroja]

Is it worth doing? Yes, yes, YES!!!! It will be worth more in riding satisfaction than anything else you do. But only if it is done correctly. Good quality work isn't cheap, but it is a tremendous "bang for the buck".

My advice is find a good suspension shop that serious, successful, racers in your area use repeatedly. Ask around at various regular bike shops who are the racers, then ask them who does their suspension work. Usually there will be only a few specialty shops that the majority of racers in your area respect. Call, or better yet, visit those shops and tell them what you want. I did complete suspension replacement on my Sprint and the difference was far more than I expected. I also had the same shop revalve/spring the Ohlins suspension on my Ducati 999S and the difference was almost as great.

[amrehm]

I replaced my 09 s3 suspension with a fully adjustable hagon shock & new fork springs. Very happy with the result. I weigh 215 w/o gear & the orig shock would always bottom out. Be sure to specify to hagon that you need the heavier weight spring. Prices are very reasonable & they are great to deal with.

alan

[Joemomma]

...the only mod that really matters is the one everyone ignores.
Do It.
..., and, BTW, the bike is way under sprung for your weight, the difference will remarkable.

[yerwolnahtan]

This is from traxxion in Georgia:

"We can revolve the OEM forks using our Axxion valves, and respring them to match your weight and riding style, for around $550 including a full fork rebuild......

The AK20s for your S3 are a conventional cartridge with a rebound piston and a compression piston in each side. The damping quality is much better with the increased piston area provided by 2 pistons. We handle adjustments by having the right fork cap adjust rebound damping, and the left fork adjust compression damping. Since the range of adjustment the AK20s is so large, this arrangement will provide plenty of adjustment. You will never be all the way in or out on the adjusters. The AK20s are $999.95, and installation into your forks is around $200......

For the rear, we can rebuild revalve and respring the stock shock. That is a
full disassembly, replacing of any worn parts, fresh oil and nitrogen,
checking the shock's performance on our dyno, and setting it up to our
baseline settings. A new spring matched to your weight and riding
style, as a custom spacer is required. We also have a Penske style preload collar,
which has holes all around it. You adjust it with a stick, which is much
easier than the knuckle busting spanner on the OEM shock. The total for the
shock would be $385, with all the goodies......

Penske has a new, less expensive shock for your application, the 8975. It is
a street oriented shock, a replacement for their Sport shock. It retails
for $695. It is a double adjustable shock, with spring preload, rebound and
compression damping adjustment. It has no reservoir, and no ride height
adjustment. It does have a floating piston separating the oil and nitrogen
like their higher end models. I can discount that by 10%, so your price
would be $626....."



soooooo including labor:
rebuild of stock shock and revalve of the forks would be $1105.
penske shock and revalve of forks would be $1346.
penske shock and the ak20's it would be $1996.


which option would be the best to go with? is this penske shock the one i should be looking at? i know there is a guy on here who does great work with suspension who has answered my questions, but traxxion is only a couple hours away from me and i wouldn't have to deal with shipping

[thefirerider]

Traxxion is a fantastic company to deal with. They are top notch!
JCIII

[cha0s]

Like you wouldn't believe. It is THE most important mod to do on the bike if you are riding it the way it was meant to be ridden : hard. It's especially important to re-spring for us, hum, gentlemen of greater proportions.

I strongly recommend the Elka shock, see my thread about it : http://www.triumphrat.net/speed-trip...lka-shock.html

Plus, it looks seriously trick

[mnhoulden]

You can gold valve and new springs for your weight, RaceTech, in both the front and rear. Depending on how much dosh you want to really spend.

[bira]

Originally Posted by thefirerider

Traxxion is a fantastic company to deal with. They are top notch!
JCIII

Yes, great company, great products, and great work. Had the forks on my striple done a couple months ago and HUGE difference! Much more stable going in the corners allowing for harder and later braking...well worth it. Saving up for rear upgrade next.

[yerwolnahtan]

Originally Posted by bira

Yes, great company, great products, and great work. Had the forks on my striple done a couple months ago and HUGE difference! Much more stable going in the corners allowing for harder and later braking...well worth it. Saving up for rear upgrade next.

if you don't mind my asking, did you do the revalve or the ask20's?