| Author | Message | ||
     Kruizen |
So this winter it's going to be time to upgrade the suspension. Running decent A pace with NESBA and am starting to race next week. I have an 09 1125 that I haven't touched the suspension on(except for getting a baseline setup). So here are the questions: Rear: EBR offers the Showa and ohlins rear- how is the Showa? Is the ohlins worth 2x the price? Front: -should I just get new valves/refresh? $? -Showa big piston? Heard good reviews.$1250 -really upgrade the internals to the ak20? $1800 Best bang for the buck? An option I've missed? | ||
| Peeweesp |
That is a good question, i was kinda wondering the same thing. Im sure there are other internal kits floating around that are pretty good and may cost a little less. At the very least get them refreshed and re-sprung for your riding level and weight. | ||
| B2tomtom |
I purchased the showa big pistons and the showa race shock. They were definitely worth the money. Not sure how much better the Ohlins rear is. I guess it all really depends on your intentions with the bike. | ||
| Gbackus |
penske shock, traxxion ak-gas cartridges | ||
| Jdugger |
AK-GAS Cartridges in the front and a Penske Triple are definitely the premium route, and I have that on my race bike. If you can afford it, it's the best option. I have the EBR/Showa "race" shock and a set of the BPF forks on my teach/B bike. I like them both a lot, and they work well. I would say they are an excellent, if not the best value, even if they aren't the very best performance. They are VERY good, though, highly recommended. AK-20s are another excellent choice, but they should cost more like $1200 installed, not $1800. I would say they are a smidge better than the BPF forks, partly because you can add an extra 5mm of travel if your suspension tech knows what he's doing. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
Department of Redundancy Department asks that you just call it a BPF. BPF fork (big piston fork fork) is redundant.  /Grammar Nazi The cheapest upgrade for the fork is to dump the stock fluid and run some 10wt. I've been satisfied with that, at least for street riding. The nice thing about doing the BPF is that if you sell the bike, you can swap the stock fork back on and sell the BPF separately. Theoretically you could remove the AK20s and sell them separately, but that's a bit more work, and not convenient if you're having someone else do the suspension work for you. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I would also look at what your local suspension tuners use and know. Having someone that knows the system very well is key for getting the most our of your investment. There should be some trackside vendors that will be extremely helpful when you are at the track, pick their brain, see what they think and what they can get you. Those relationships are worth every penny when you need suspension support between races. | ||
| Kruizen |
Am going to go with the plug and play option of BPF and the Showa rear. Had a great response from Michael at EBR regarding initial settings. | ||
| Sprintst |
Are you happy with the front brake? If not, then swapping out the front end might make the most sense. | ||
| Kruizen |
Brakes were upgraded a while ago. I do like the idea of keeping the original forks, then later I can sell the bpf and upgrade the originals to gas. | ||
| Kruizen |
For those of you who track/race and have changed to the Showa rear and bpf front: was there a long learning curve in getting used to the new suspension? Mine gets here Thursday and I'm racing on Sunday, so I could probably get in 2 practice sessions prior to the races. | ||
| Jdugger |
> was there a long learning curve in getting used to the new suspension? Biggest thing is getting the geometry right. They are different than stock. What tires are you running? | ||
| Kruizen |
Going to be running the pirelli supercorsa sc 120/70 180/60. Any help wih geometry would be appreciated. | ||
| General_tso |
Kruizen, The Showa Rear, when adjusted to the shortest length, is approx 5~ 8mm longer than the stock shock. I recommend measuring rear ride height before you remove the stock shock and after you install the race shock to determine the impact. You'll need that information to determine how much to drop the forks in the triples to maintain the stock geometry. As a starting point I would drop the forks by the same amount as the increase in the rear and you can adjust from there to try and dial it in. This is what I did when I first installed the race rear and it worked pretty well. Note: A few of the mag tests recommend dropping the forks to increase trail so as you get the bike dialed in you may find that you will want to drop the forks a little further. I recommend measuring and recording the fork position before disassembly so you know where to put the BPFs unless they have circlip like to stockers do. I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the changes after your first practice. | ||
| Jdugger |
General's advice is good; let me add some specifics. 1. Always measure ride height with the shock removed, and loose-in-hand. Use a caliper with centering cones and measure from eye-to-eye. 2. Measure front fork height from the center of the axle to the bottom of the lower triple clamp or bottom of the upper triple clamp. Using the "amount of tube" above the triple clamp is only useful when removing the same forks for service or making a relative change. It's not accurate when the forks or fork internals are changed. On those Pirelli tires, start here and adjust to taste: Front Suspension: * Front axle center to top of triple: 692mm Rear Suspension: * Free Length 325-328 of shock in hand | ||
| Kruizen |
Thanks Jim, Stephen. Excited to get the new rubber and suspension on. | ||
| Kruizen |
Front fork should be measured when on the bike? Is that measurement "top of triple" with EBR top triple clamp? Can you give me the measurement from middle of axle to bottom of lower triple. | ||
| Jdugger |
To bottom of top triple clamp. Those numbers are a couple of years old, I run Michelin 190 slicks now, and the numbers are quite different. | ||
| Kruizen |
Ok, thanks it's a start | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
Coming from SV land, the Traxxion internals have a fantastic reputation. | ||
| Kruizen |
With the belt set up I don't see how you can go to a 190 tire?? Just mounted a 180/60 supercorsa and can barely get the warmers on. Have the rear suspension off just waiting for the ups guy. | ||
| Jdugger |
190 requires non stock exhaust... | ||
| Kruizen |
I have a drummer-moved as far forward as possible. No issue with tire expansion when hot and rubbing on the swing arm? That's where my tire warmers are snug. Are you running a 190/55 or 190/60? | ||
| Mackja |
25mm cartridge kit from GP suspension is vary close to the Ohlins 25mm kit (some say even better) which is no longer available. My 2009 1125r is in the process of being track prepped with this kit along with the Showa rear race shock. Initial run will be at Road Atlanta on the 18th will post my impressions then. I am running Dunlop slicks 190 rear, no problem with clearance. | ||
| Jdugger |
> That's where my tire warmers are snug. I think the drummer runs long compared to the Buell race exhaust or the Keda, what I have on my two bikes. It's likely the warmers will rub on the belly pan, honestly. If you are running the belt drive this bike doesn't have a lot of space left, and a 180/60 is close to the same as a 190/55 in terms of total height. That's been the trend with the supersport tires -- to really get them tall so you have huge side grip. Get your bike up on TALL jack stands, completely unload the rear shock, and take a close look at where clearances are and where you have risk. > Are you running a 190/55 or 190/60? Slicks. I think it's a 190/65. It's the new Michelin and they are AMAZING. Huge grip. I run the B front and the A or B rear, usually. The A front is too soft for the way the Buell loads the front, IMHO. I like a hard front tire and a soft rear. Although, word in the paddock around here is the new SC0 Pirelli is really something, too. | ||
| Kruizen |
Weird no issue with belly pan, but that's all I have on for body work, so that alignment could change when I finally get sides. Taking care of drummer tip today, don't need to do much for that. I have it suspended from the ceiling now in order to get full extension. The tire vendors around here don't stock many michelins, mostly pirelli and dunlops, and after destroying a set of the ones(commercials) in less than 2 track days at vir I wasnt impressed. Trying out the sc2 and sc1 this weekend. | ||
| Jdugger |
Dunlop American-made tires suck ass. They are horrible, finicky, tear easily, etc. They are really hard to get set-up just right on our bikes, and then if you go and find a couple of seconds or you are off the pace, all your pressure numbers are worthless. However, the UK Dunlops, and especially the UK slicks are very wonderful tires. They are expensive, but last so long they are a decent value. The SC1 will probably work better. The Buell is really hard on rear tires. Strangely enough, a softer rear often outlasts a hard one... | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
VIR will eat some damned tires.... and compared to my SV the Buell seems really easy on rears...of course I'm not riding nearly as hard as dugger, or even as hard as I used to, but I find it interesting that tire wear seems to fluctuate wildly on these bikes, at least in the forum here. I'm getting great wear on my rear and some guys are talking 2500 miles... I think I may get 6-8K out of a Diablo, which is what I used to get out of a Strada on the SV. I never got over 4000 on a Diablo, and that was running it down to cords. | ||
| Kruizen |
Ok everything is on and I've buttoned her back up. Can anyone give me some basline settings for comp and rebound. Won't be able to set sag until tomorrow night. Thinking 25-30 for sag A little confused about where the preload is for the bpf. | ||
| Jdugger |
Preload is on the bottom of the fork leg. it's a little hex drive clicker. comp/reb is on top. Base settings? Ha! Push on it. |
