Race Tech fork mods 05 Sprint ST

Have any of you guys in the States had their 05/06 ST forks fitted with Race Tech emulators and stiffer springs? I'm wanting to upgrade the forks and theres not a lot you can do to improve the standard damping arrangement. I find they are too soft and dive too much during hard breaking when brain is in 'sports' mode.

[Whisperinsmith]

i'm not that advanced yet, so i can't help you with your fork issue. but i'm awfully curious about how you chose "floormat" as a nickname. i'll bet if you check with your friends, they don't think of you like that. i'll bet you're an okay guy.

PS check the post for "long distant tours". ST posted something about the Race Tech issue.

[ This message was edited by: Whisperinsmith on 2006-01-10 14:19 ]

[rodneybrown]

Why emulate a cartridge when you have one???? Changing springs if you are a larger rider makes sense but not emulators. I thought the 05 and 06 already had great suspensions????

[AZWildcat]

I have left a couple of messages for the service department at Race Tech regarding my 05. I spoke to a sales guy who told me that they currently had not worked on an 05/06 but would be willing to R&D for me. I have not had a call back from the service dept. so maybe they are not at this time.

I spoke to a Triumph dealer in Brea who said he had a suspension guy who would do they work I want and he is supposed to get back to me this week with prices.

[DaveM]

fllormat,

Suspender specialists will usually recommend a heavier spring if you are a heavier build and possiblky racetech valves.
Some here have been happy with using a heavier grade fork oil which is much cheaper.
I weigh 100 kilos and have been recommended by specialists to use a heavier spring. To get a specialist to do this and valves is not all that cheap. Perhaps you should try the fork oil first and see if that changes it enough.
It is when very hard cornering is taking place that your suspension is at it's most compressed and some of us scrape the fairing doing this. I raised this question a while back and there is a thread somewhere.

Good luck what ever you do.

Davem

[triomf-ST]

On 2006-01-10 15:31, rodneybrown wrote:
I thought the 05 and 06 already had great suspensions????

Well at least mine, with Hyperpro front springs and a complete new rear shock
There has been a quite long thread about this and ,ahum, not everybody had the same opinion about the ST suspension.

[rodneybrown]

Funny how there are lots of opinions on that suspension stuff. Amazing how lots of folks are buying stuff before they even ride the bike. You always here about the front end dive on braking. If you have normal forks, they all do. On the <05's the forks are very harsh right out of the box. I found the hyperpro's fixed that. I put in RT emulators because of the "tremendous difference" they made. There was no tremendous difference from what the springs did. I guess I would feel a "tremendous difference" if I put a $1000 shock in, I better :-D I have a hyperpro spring on my shock and it is much better than stock, but I don't know if a Penske or Ohlin unit would make me a Rossi or not. What do you think? :wink:

[ST-ern]

Why go for race-tech valving when you already have a cartridge fork? Cos apart from preload, which only changes the height of the front end, springing and damping can only be changed by means of diff spring rates and damping characteristics. You'd do this if you want the bike set up optimally for your weight, riding style and road conditions.

Jap sport bikes are setup for smooth blacktop and a rider weight of 60kg. Change those and they handle rather differently. I don't know what parameters Triumph use but on my '04 Sprint riding C grade roads hard and weighing in at 80kg, the setup was hopeless. With firmer springs, cartridge emulators, lighter oil and good rubber, the handling was transformed. I can now brake deep into a bend without the bike virtually standing right up as before. Cheap insurance.

The Showa forks are a budget buy; keeps the ST cheap which suits most people. The S3 steering geometry and suspenders make it a more sporting bike than the Sprint but for more $$.

[ps: race-tech aren't the only guys in this game either, and a pro can offer an emulator with anti-dive damping as well as changeable high and low speed damping characteristics].

[ This message was edited by: ST-ern on 2006-01-11 13:49 ]

Sorry for not respondinding sooner but sods law prevailed when my modem expired last night. Anyway I'm back up and running.
My own thoughts are to fit stiffer springs and 15 or 20 weight oil and give it a go. I had read up on the Race Tech site about the emulators as fitted to pre 05 ST's and wondered if they improved the damping. The 05 ST'S do not have cartridge internals with shim stacks, so they cannot be revalved. Thanks for the interest and response.

Whisperinsmith,
I use the name 'Floormat' in one of my e-mail addresses and just used it when recently registering on this site. I'm 6'2" and 16 stone and so far no body has ever tried to " wipe their feet" on me. Glad to see you have bought an 06 ST, best all round bike i've ever owned in 45 years of riding