last of the upgrades?

[tdbru]

let's see, I've added a scottoiler, heated grips, fork gaiters, power port, custom seat, paint matched retro racing cowl from chic design, LEDs all around.  done?  nope.  one last thing.  

Sent the forks off to racetech for their spa treatment (custom springs, GVEs, reworked internals, etc) and ordered a set of their G3S rear shocks for my 2014 std model.  Got them installed this AM.  went for a 1.5 hour ride this afternoon.  as expected, night and day difference.  Before when I had the preload set enough to get 1/4 travel in sag, the suspension was so stiff that it felt like riding on an old wagon.  felt every tar snake.  and the wheels bounced, which didn't give a feeling of being planted.  corners had too much suspense to be comfortable.  now the ride is firm but compliant.  both high/low speed dampening setup inside.  feels well planted on the road with no, absolutely no bouncing.  small road imperfections the tires simply go over, staying on the road and I don't feel them.  bigger bumps are correctly damped.  caught myself going faster through the corners on this route before I realized it.  bike was so well planted the corners were effortless and low adrenaline.  both the forks and shocks came presetup for the bike + my weight + my riding style from racetech.  All I had to do was to install.  ride was way less fatiguing with the better suspension.  The rear G3S shocks I ordered were the blacked out versions.  Since the shocks were behind my side bags anyway I wasn't too concerned about the looks.  less chrome than factory (none actually) but if you like the blacked out look, there it is.  Shock preload linearly adjustable with the preload collar and the lock collar.  rebound adjustable too.  but that came setup for me from racetech so I didn't have to bother my neighbor with helping me to measure sag.

put a big wide smile on my face.  Highly recommended if you're frustrated with the stock suspension.  One really doesn't realize how bargain basement the stock suspension is until you've ridden other bikes where they have top line adjustable suspension.  It spoils you.

I think I'm done now with modifications.  bike getting an oil change after the ride.  letting it drain while adding this thread.  Only thing left to do now is to add miles & smiles.
-tdbru

[Uncle Sixer]

Sounds great. I have the kit to install the cartridge-emulators or whatever they call it in the front this winter, but the rear is really a bigger problem with way too much compression damping (my opinion) I have the shocks on the softest preload and the rear is still horribly harsh on certain bumps.

Glad to hear what a success you had with the suspension upgrade!

[tdbru]

Uncle Sixer,
I'd highly recommend the suspension upgrade.  made a day and night difference.  I agree with you, that before I did the suspension upgrade, the compression damping was very harsh.  I felt every tar snake on the road.  Now with the GVEs and the other internal upgrades to the forks, and the G3S shocks in back, firm ride but compliant.  seems to have both high and low speed dampening now.  tires stay stuck to the road.  but all the small road irregularities are not being transmitted to the sprung weight.  Good luck with the fork internals this winter.  I decided by the time I bought all the specialty tools to do the forks myself, I'd have over half the upgrade price into just all the tools.  So I got lazy and just sent the forks off to RaceTech and they had them turned pretty quickly.
Best to you,
-tdbru

[dino2000]

Just off the phone w/ RaceTech, shocks on order. Did they ask you to fill out a Swingarm Geometry Form? If so, do you still have it? I'd like something to compare my measurements to and we have the same bike. Thanks either way!

[tdbru]

Dino2000,
they said they had the CB1100 on file so I didn't have to fill out the swingarm geometry form. the person I talked with at RaceTech was Sydney Ruge.

Good luck!!

-tdbru