Front Suspension Options

[cblais19_imp]

So I’m about 95% sure I’m going to be picking a ‘14 DLX up later this week from another member here, and am pretty sure I’ll want to do something to the front prior to riding season truly setting in on this coast. If my research is correct, my options are the following, in increasing price order:

-Springs / oil (RT generally?).
-Traxxion damper kit / RT valving (~$400 each way I think)
-SDBV forks from the ‘17 (~$800)
-Full cartridge (Traxxion / Andreani ~$700-1k and the latter requires modifications)

Has anybody had the opportunity to compare two or more of these options against each other? Obviously the after market kits require setup.

As far as I can tell, the biggest different in the Showa forks is a different valve setup. I haven’t disassembled the forks myself obviously, but is there a reason why the solution has been bolting the entire fork assembly on vice switching internals? The parts fiche looks identical between the two, and the EX is the same 41MM tube size as the ‘13/‘14s.

Thanks!