Front Fork Spring and Emulator Installation

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by NakedStorm

Going from bone stock on a budget... Would just swapping springs and going to 15wt oil give me a solid improvement, or am I crazy to not bite the bullet and go with emulators too?

One thing I hate with the stock suspension is the lack of proper high speed damping, going anything over 70 kmh on bumper roads made the front end somewhat twitchy and it was tiring on the arms (and the whole body!).

That's something springs and oil weight won't change much from my research. So it's about what you want really. Emulators provides high speed damping settings.

[RichDesmond]

Originally Posted by NakedStorm

Going from bone stock on a budget... Would just swapping springs and going to 15wt oil give me a solid improvement, or am I crazy to not bite the bullet and go with emulators too?

If money's a little tight just do the springs and oil first. That's the biggest part of the improvement and you can always add the emulators later.

[thetruck454]

I noticed you did not take out the bottom out cone. In my instructions it is recommended to take it out. Any reason why you didn't?

[gtada]

Can I use emulators for a 1st gen or 2nd gen on the Gladius? Springs too?

[Jennifer Elise]

[Jennifer Elise]

[DrPsyc]

Originally Posted by RichDesmond

If money's a little tight just do the springs and oil first. That's the biggest part of the improvement and you can always add the emulators later.

but if your going to take it in to the shop to do it and you really want the emulator wait because if you do them separately you will get charged double between $150-250 a visit depending on where you live, i just bought the correct springs for my wight," heavy" redline shock oil, the emulators listed on the 1st or second page (only like $50 compaired to RT's $150) and new seals. there going on this weekend and i will say how i feel after a week of riding...

[DrPsyc]

ok so i had this done... i used .9 kb race tech springs ( the recommended for my weight) the cheaper 41mm emulators posted on the 1st or 2nd page, redline "heavyweight" oil ( says 30w on the bottle but if you read further their 30w is like other brands 15-20w and from reading around the net i found for most 10w is too light) and of course new seals. when they opened up the fork yet another of the many unknown problems from the POS lemon i bought popped up ( ive so far had to re wire the whole bike, fix the exhaust, carb jetting, and a few other fixes) apparently the previous owner had already did some work on the forks and when they put them back together whoever the idiot was that did it placed the "rebound" or "top out" spring on the wrong side it is suppose to sit on top of a tube in between it and the "oil lock" well they had placed it on TOP of the oil lock so it was not only worthless but was destroyed. i obviously didnt have extra and couldnt wait for new ones to get in so i had to sit there in the shop and rebuild the spring while they did the rest of the work, no its not perfect and yes i will replace them soon. but its better then the nothing they were before.

anyways all my pandering put behind us the improvement was immediately noticed, ALOT stiffer and smoother ride and im already taking corners harder then i even mean to ive had to pull out a little almost each corner i hit because im taking them too sharp now. it might be a little stiffer than i want but hey thats what the emulator is for im going to put a few hundred miles on them and if it dosnt feel right when i open them back up to replace the rebound springs ill fish out the emulator and loosen them up.

but all in all i definitely recommend this upgrade to anyone who wants to get more out of their bike i can already tell this will help me in the twisties and make getting my knee down easier and feel safer.

[DrPsyc]

anyone else who has done this install themselves please check out http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthr...555&highlight= and help me out...

[pattonme]

Originally Posted by Rayme

One thing I hate with the stock suspension is the lack of proper high speed damping, going anything over 70 kmh on bumper roads made the front end somewhat twitchy and it was tiring on the arms (and the whole body!).

Not to take anything away from the fine writeup, but emulators are a pitiful improvement compared to what can be achieved (for about same to 1.5x money) with full-on cartridges. Suspension instability has everything to do with lack of rebound control, not compression. If you hit potholes on a regular basis the Emulators do help soften the blow and help with bump-induced fatigue. The 30w oil is a backhanded way to address the leakage of the damper rod seal and the oversized oil hole.

If your budget is $100, do springs. I've done 3 different bikes with the GVEs and the value for performance just isn't there. Just skip it and get a cartridge solution for ~$300.