02-11-2014, 07:18 AM
Rear suspension could certainly use a bit more travel. I noticed pretty early on that bumping up the ride height in the rear improved the handling substantially. Those of us with zero intention of giving up our 2013's for a few new gimmicks (heh heh) can quite easily increase the rear wheel travel by spec'ing out a new replacement shock with more travel than the original. I've held off on doing anything but tires but when I inevitably order up some shocks, I'll spec them at a half-inch longer than the stockers. The BT45 150/70 gave me a third of an inch increase in ride height, which was very beneficial to handling for my weight and setup. Lengthening the shocks to increase ride height is a good move, I suspect that is how Honda went about things.
The front forks reduction in travel might be OK, if they get the spring rates and damping right. I like to see about 5.0" of suspension motion in a road bike at both ends to get good compliance and allow for two-up or touring weights. But this is not a bad move, 4.5" or so up front is not unacceptable.
Any mods needed to revise the suspension on the '13 to match the '14 -- if desired -- would be chump change compared to taking a bath on a trade in. I'm even considering going with Racetech Gold Valves in the forks and Works Performance shocks on this thing, to my specs. It's very much worth it.
To echo Deanohh's remarks re: trail...if the fork was redesigned, the reduction in effective trail (trail being dynamic whilst riding) is most likely due to a slight change in the front end geometry with respect to the wheel/fork. Increased ride height alone in the rear reduces both rake and trail, too.
I don't know about this info. Looking at the images of both years closely, there is nothing that would indicate any increase in rear suspension travel. A full inch is huge, requiring some significant redesign if seat height is to be retained. The seat height is actually lower on the 2014, according to the specs. Now, if we increase the suspension in the ass end, the seat height is also going to increase by the same amount, roughly, unless the seat has been cut down, and here again the images don't support that notion. I think we are dealing with misprints.
The front forks reduction in travel might be OK, if they get the spring rates and damping right. I like to see about 5.0" of suspension motion in a road bike at both ends to get good compliance and allow for two-up or touring weights. But this is not a bad move, 4.5" or so up front is not unacceptable.
Any mods needed to revise the suspension on the '13 to match the '14 -- if desired -- would be chump change compared to taking a bath on a trade in. I'm even considering going with Racetech Gold Valves in the forks and Works Performance shocks on this thing, to my specs. It's very much worth it.
To echo Deanohh's remarks re: trail...if the fork was redesigned, the reduction in effective trail (trail being dynamic whilst riding) is most likely due to a slight change in the front end geometry with respect to the wheel/fork. Increased ride height alone in the rear reduces both rake and trail, too.
I don't know about this info. Looking at the images of both years closely, there is nothing that would indicate any increase in rear suspension travel. A full inch is huge, requiring some significant redesign if seat height is to be retained. The seat height is actually lower on the 2014, according to the specs. Now, if we increase the suspension in the ass end, the seat height is also going to increase by the same amount, roughly, unless the seat has been cut down, and here again the images don't support that notion. I think we are dealing with misprints.