Suspension mods started

[TINK_imp]

ohiorider,

I put Ikon rear shocks on my 2014 Deluxe. Love them.
Not sure what spring rate they are (bought them used from a CB1100 Forum member) but they seem to work for my 200+ lbs.

I put Race Tech (linear wound) springs and a lighter weight oil in forks. Much improved over OEM.
Did not do any dampening mods on the forks, e.g. Gold Valves, just the oil weight change.

Some photos of my fork rebuild: http://www.photosbytink.com/cb1100forksprings/

TINK

[ohiorider_imp]

ohiorider,

I put Ikon rear shocks on my 2014 Deluxe. Love them.
Not sure what spring rate they are (bought them used from a CB1100 Forum member) but they seem to work for my 200+ lbs.

I put Race Tech (linear wound) springs and a lighter weight oil in forks. Much improved over OEM.
Did not do any dampening mods on the forks, e.g. Gold Valves, just the oil weight change.

Some photos of my fork rebuild: http://www.photosbytink.com/cb1100forksprings/

TINK

Tink, I haven't installed the Traxxion Dynamics fork kit yet. Thanks for the very informative info re you installation. A good time to install the gaitors!

I am putting some miles on the CB, now that I've installed the Ikons.

Bob

[TINK_imp]

[/quote]
...A good time to install the gaitors!

[/quote]

Be sure to buy the high quality 2001-2002 W650 Kawasaki gaiters, 49006-1335.
I put cheap gaiters on at first, six months later they were trashed.

[venturer434_imp]

Tink,

Great Pictures with brief write up, I am sure it will help the forum members... Hope you are enjoying your mod..

[spacetiger_imp]

Ohiorider,

Good on you to have posted the results of your project.

Tink, on your observation on the springs, I would say each oem spring is a 2 rate spring - but the rates are different from left and right side. So, overall there are 4 different rates involved. You can see this by the spacing between coil winding; there are 4 different size gaps. 2 gap sizes in the left and 2 in the right spring (the bottom and top of each spring has different gap sizes). When you put the 2 spring curves together, you get a 4 slope spring curve. On the Racetech rating of the oem spring, I have found they use an average value of a 2 rate spring, so a 0.75 Kg/mm would tell you probably have a 0.5 Kg/mm initial rate and 1.0 Kg/mm (or something like that).

I did not see any mention of the oem oil fill amount. I suspect the left fork takes less oil than the right. You can see this as the left fork has the longer spring, so the volume the spring takes up will leave less remaining volume to set the air volume to a target amount. The right fork has a shorter spring, so less spring volume means the oil level will be higher than the left fork. By swapping to the RT springs, the spring volume will be equal on both sides so the oil fill will be the same (?), likely to be closer to the oil fill level on the right side. The oil fill level sets the volume of the air chamber creating an air spring that adds to the steel spring rates. I'd guess the total net spring curve (steel and air) is a nice smooth[er] progressive (2nd order polynomial curve) rate set up vs a historical steeper rate in the last 1-2" of suspension compression for typical Honda damper rod oem setups.

Ohiorider - Did you go with RT GVE's since you had the fork open?

Jerry

[ohiorider_imp]

Jerry - I haven't yet installed the fork kit. I believe your abbreviation (RT GVE) is shorthand for RaceTech Gold Valve Emulators. I think I can install the kit without separating the fork stantions from the fork sliders. Here's a copy and paste from the Traxxion Dynamics invoice for the kit, which retails for $300.00.

Year, Make, Model: 2014 Honda CB1100 (standard)
Rider/Passenger Weight: 165 -170 lbs.
Track, Street, Touring: street/light touring looking for plush ride
FRP-TDR-S2-K Fork Valve Kit and Springs for '09 Showa 41 mm

Kit consists of:
- springs
- spacers
- new damper rods drilled to accommodate Race Tech emulators (Gold Valves)
- RaceTech Gold valves adjusted by Traxxion Dynamics for my weight and type of riding.

I want to contact Dan at Traxxion Dynamics prior to installation to confirm fork oil weight, oil distance from top of fork, and that a sticker on the RT valves indicate they've been adjusted for my weight and riding preference.

Bob

[spacetiger_imp]

Most excellent then.

I am curious about the new bending fork damping setup which should be on the 2017 model. The way it is described it makes me think of a RaceTech Gold Valve Emulators (RT GVE). That is, it is a different way to get better damping short of going with a cartridge set up. It should be cheaper for them, better for the rider that might otherwise get a damper rod suspension.

Perhaps I will one day get a 2017 CB1100 and findout vs just another lurker on the site :-)

Jerry

[ohiorider_imp]

Getting closer to getting the front fork modified. I have the Traxxion Dynamics kit.

I stopped by one of my favorite small bike shops, and talked with Perry, head mechanic who I would trust with anything made in Japan. Perry builds and races turbo drag bikes based on Kaw KZ engines (formerly) and lately Suzuki engines.

I'm going to pull the forks and take them to their shop to have the kit installed. He (Perry) suggested as a safeguard, to have a new fork seal kit available.

So, in about 2 weeks, my 2014 CB1100 should be rolling on:
- Ikon rear shocks with light springs, 3 or 4 preload positions, and 4 rebound damping settings.
- Front fork with Traxxion Dynamics kit, based on Race Tech Gold emulators.

I think I may be getting used to the 4 cylinder turbine feel, after years of riding vertical and v twins. At first I missed the 2 cylinder throb, but think I may get used to (and actually enjoy) the sound and feel of a wonderful Japanese 4 cyl dohc engine that belts out low-end torque.

Bob

[4 Paws_imp]

Traxion builds excellent stuff! Keep us informed.

[ohiorider_imp]

Traxion builds excellent stuff! Keep us informed.

A good riding buddy and I removed the forks this morning. Once the Honda fork seals and wipers arrive, the fork legs are off to to my independent dealer to have the kit installed. I could probably install it, but even after doing engine top end work, pulling trannys, etc, I've never replaced fork seals. So, for approx. an hour' labor, I'll have someone install the kit who has probably rebuild several hundred forks over the past 30 years.

I hope all this expense works to make the bike more rideable for me. The Ikon shocks are a wonderful improvement for my 160# weight, and from what I've read, the Traxxion Dynamics kit is a good modification.

I'd like to do pics ..... but I may have to drop a series of pix in a Photobucket folder, and post the link, since PB no longer permits inserting an IMG file into a doc (unless one want to pay them a king's ransom.)

Bob