Triumphrat

triunphgreg · 07-13-2009, 01:47 PM

Hi All,

Has anyone yet compared using the stock fork springs with Intiminators vs aftermarket "progressive" springs?

I have mine installed with Progressive Sups. Springs, spacer cut down to compensate for the Ricor valve, 5W Amsoil, set to factory oil height.

I believe that i'll need to reduce the amount of oil as the Progressives displace more oil than the stock springs due to their longer length. My inital test ride results were good (control/bump absorbtion was excellent), but I was hoping for a bit more of a "plusher" ride quality.

Has anyone yet compared stock vs. aftermarket for ride quality, etc?

Thanks/Regards....

ohiorider · 07-13-2009, 08:12 PM

You may be correct about the additional displacement of the longer Progressive springs. The Bonnie specs call for 120mm below top of fork tube with springs out/fully compressed. The instructions that came with the 11-1126 Progressives provided a much wider range than that ...... they showed anywhere from 140 to 190mm below top of fork (as I recall). I have not run the Intiminators with the Progressives .... I've been working with the stock springs and Thruxton adjustable preload caps for the past week.

When I was using the Progressives without Intiminators, I ended up using 10w oil, and 165mm below the top of the fork. This seemed to be controlled .... for me it handled beautifully, but I just couldn't seem to dial the front end in so that it didn't hammer my wrists over our frost-heaved Ohio roads. But I'm not selling the Progressives .... I may give them another shot sometime in the future.

In the meantime, the Intiminator front end is doing a nice job of cushioning the ride.

Bob

triunphgreg · 07-14-2009, 01:03 PM

Thanks Bob,

I'm going to try dropping the oil level while leaving in the Progressives, then if I get the time, I'll swap out to the stock springs to do a back to back comparison.

This will have to wait as I'll be out of province for a while.

Cheers...Greg

Streeple · 11-09-2009, 04:36 PM

Hi Greg, How easy is it to dismantle those forks? Is it a job for an ocassional weekend mechanic? Where abouts in Ontario are you.

Aussiematt · 11-09-2009, 04:48 PM

I am running intimators with Progressive brand progressive springs with 3 inch PVC spavers and 5 w oil. I am 210 lbs in weight. I have a steering damper and a fork brace, GT501 tyres and Ikons on the rear. The front handles very well - controlled over poor roads and lots of feedback. Sorry I can't remember the amount of oil I used but it would have been based on feedback on this forum

ivar · 11-10-2009, 05:40 AM

opened up one of my fork legs last night. Before I pulled the endcap, I was puzzled by how easy it compressed just by pushing down with one hand. No wonder I had a lot of brake dive....

When opening the fork leg, the spring looks much wimpier than I'd expect, much thinner wire gauge than the Ikon progressive springs I bought but never got around to install. (But also shorter/less coils)

Will put in oil and intiminators today, and will have to research a bit on how much to cut the spacer, and what oil level to use.
(From the soft feeling of the fork, I suspect that I can use a little more preload than I had)

Streeple,
I never worked on forks before, but it was pretty straightforward. Put the bike on a lift, pull the front wheel, brake caliper etc. then loosen the upper clamp , this to loosen the top cap while fork leg still held in place by the lower clamp. Then loosen the lower clamp and pull out the fork leg. Unscrew the top cap, pull the spacer and put the leg upside down to empty the oil in a container. pump the leg to get all out.
As far as I understand, no further disassembly required if you 're only swapping springs, replacing oil, or adding intiminators.

agro · 11-10-2009, 06:45 AM

Feels very complient and stable over bumps and ridges, very stable under brakes with controlled dive...

My Thruxton set up is Progressive Suspension #11-1145 springs, rated @ 0.71/1.16 kg/mm;Intiminators; 40mm spacers; 5W oil set@135mm down; preload adjusters set @ 4 bars out; my riding weight is 110 kg kitted up.
The Pro.Sus.# 11-1145 are the springs recommended for the Speedmaster/America, The Thruxton,Bonney and Scrambler are recommended the #11-1126 spring which has a rate of 0.63/0.89 kg/mm.
Another spring #11-1122 could be used, but note this is 50mm longer that the other 2 springs I have quoted, therefore no or a very small spring spacer would be required if these springs are used with an intiminator,also might have to use stock Bonney fork caps instead of Thrux adjustable fork caps...all depends on the static sag availabel.
Another reason I used the # 11-1145 spring,was because it was the same rate and length as the Ikon Thruxton progressive spring, but at a cheaper price.....

Hagon make progressive springs @ stock spring lengths but do not know much about them....

Still not satisfied with the rate of fork dive and rebound with 5W oil, when I get around to it, I'll try 10w oil again or 7.5W oil.

Cheers..........Agro

ivar · 11-10-2009, 06:53 AM

thanks,
I guess I'll have to try a couple different spacer/oil level settings to find what works best for me.
Think I'll start with stock lenght spacers, 135mm oil first.
(And will put in thrux preload adjusters later too)

propforward · 11-11-2009, 06:49 PM

It seems to make sense to me that combining the intiminator - essentially a damping mechanism - with a better spring, would be the way to go.

I might have to have a play with these.

Streeple · 11-12-2009, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivar

Streeple,
I never worked on forks before, but it was pretty straightforward. Put the bike on a lift, pull the front wheel, brake caliper etc. then loosen the upper clamp , this to loosen the top cap while fork leg still held in place by the lower clamp. Then loosen the lower clamp and pull out the fork leg. Unscrew the top cap, pull the spacer and put the leg upside down to empty the oil in a container. pump the leg to get all out.
As far as I understand, no further disassembly required if you 're only swapping springs, replacing oil, or adding intiminators.

Still seems like an intimidating procedure to me. Any reason why I can't just unscrew the top cap and siphon off the oil with a long tube and pull out the springs?