TL7484 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Since I live about 10 minutes from these guys, I took a ride over to check out the place and see what options they had for improving my forks short of a total rebuild. We talked about doing their basic strip down and cleaning and upgrading the springs while everything is apart. They can also do some work on the valving, to improve damping a bit, instead of springing for the new valves. I got to talk to the head technition who said they could tune the forks for either sport touring, which would be a softer ride or tune them towards a more aggressive sport bike type of riding. Has anyone had their forks done by these guys and if so, what upgrade options did you do, short of replacing the cartridges? I have read most of the fork threads, lot of good info there but sometimes I get a little lost in all the technicalities. I just want to improve the ride as much as possible for general riding conditions with a little bit of stability for more aggressive stuff when hitting the mountains and twisties here. I think I need spring/oil/shimming combo that will put me somewhere in between soft and plush and aggressive track settings. Any opinions on your experience/results are appreciated! thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 What year are your forks. I have a 2001 set of forks tubes, that have a revised valving from the earlier, ones, I been saving. tubes are bent, but the rest only had 4k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL7484 Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Bike is a 2003, forks are stock right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 oh well not gonna help you then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lensmanxx Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I'm having the forks upgraded on the SV using their springs, etc, and Race Tech gold valves. They said they can rebuild the rear shock on my Blackbird for a reasonable price. I've looked around for a used one off of a CBR 900 or 954, no luck. As soon as I have a chance, I plan to send it back. What sold me on the Traxxion staff is that they prefer 10W fork oil as opposed to the 20W from Race Tech. I agree with the Traxxion guys that the viscosity difference will be noticeable in colder versus summer weather. From my experience of having worked in an engine oil lab in the past, I think they have the better approach. I'll post again after I get a chance to put the SV through its paces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I'm having the forks upgraded on the SV using their springs, etc, and Race Tech gold valves. They said they can rebuild the rear shock on my Blackbird for a reasonable price. I've looked around for a used one off of a CBR 900 or 954, no luck. As soon as I have a chance, I plan to send it back. What sold me on the Traxxion staff is that they prefer 10W fork oil as opposed to the 20W from Race Tech. I agree with the Traxxion guys that the viscosity difference will be noticeable in colder versus summer weather. From my experience of having worked in an engine oil lab in the past, I think they have the better approach. I'll post again after I get a chance to put the SV through its paces. I think the stock shock on the BB isn't that bad once you get the correct spring for your weight and have a Gold-valve installed. I'd go for the rebuild unless you just have to have more adjustability. I already had Racetech springs and 20W oil in my SV, but it was still not good enough, so I bought the Traxxion modified damper rods with cartridge emulators and used 10W oil. I've only ridden on the street with the new set-up, but WOW, what a difference. Can't wait to get it to the track this spring. Hopefully you have already upgraded the rear shock on your SV. Let us know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John01XX Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 If you want an extra rear shock off my Bird you can have it for the shipping cost to get it to you from 33323. It has been a paper weight in my garage for way to long. Then you will have a spare ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lensmanxx Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 John, I'll contact you on the spare rear shock for the 'Bird. I'm interested in getting it. As for replacing the rear shock on the SV. I don't know what will fit. On SVrider- they're putting on ZX10r shocks, or 636's, but as far as I can tell, they have to cut open the battery box compartment to have it fit. Are there any stockers with rebound adjustment that can just be bolted on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 John, I'll contact you on the spare rear shock for the 'Bird. I'm interested in getting it. As for replacing the rear shock on the SV. I don't know what will fit. On SVrider- they're putting on ZX10r shocks, or 636's, but as far as I can tell, they have to cut open the battery box compartment to have it fit. Are there any stockers with rebound adjustment that can just be bolted on? 2nd gen? S or N? I've got a list of compatible shocks around here somewhere, but the battery box is an issue, I think mostly on the N models. Best bet is to keep an eye out for used aftermarket GSXR/ZX shocks with hose mounted reservoirs- it's the fixed reservoirs that interfere with the battery box. I picked up a Penske triple from an '05 GSXR 1000 on ebay last year for $480. Same length, same mounts....but the reservoir would have interfered on an N model. My experience is all with the SV1000, but I'm pretty sure the same stuff all applies to the 650 as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I have a ZX-14 (same as ZX-10) shock on my S model that the previous owner installed. From all the reading I did on SVRider, the only modification necessary was to remove a seperate part of the battery, but no cutting was required. I've looked at mine and I can't tell that anything is missing. The fit is tight, but you can get to all of the adjustments with out too much trouble including the pre-load rings. Make sure you get the lower mounting bolt with a used shock or you will have to cut one to fit or buy one from Kawasaki for about $12. Search the '03 and later Tech section on SVRider for more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lensmanxx Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Thanks for the info, Jon. My SV is a 2004 naked. The tech section on SVrider didn't give me as much info as I would have liked, so thanks for letting me know what to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Thanks for the info, Jon. My SV is a 2004 naked. The tech section on SVrider didn't give me as much info as I would have liked, so thanks for letting me know what to get. No Problem, any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonslayer Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I'm having the forks upgraded on the SV using their springs, etc, and Race Tech gold valves. They said they can rebuild the rear shock on my Blackbird for a reasonable price. I've looked around for a used one off of a CBR 900 or 954, no luck. As soon as I have a chance, I plan to send it back. What sold me on the Traxxion staff is that they prefer 10W fork oil as opposed to the 20W from Race Tech. I agree with the Traxxion guys that the viscosity difference will be noticeable in colder versus summer weather. From my experience of having worked in an engine oil lab in the past, I think they have the better approach. I'll post again after I get a chance to put the SV through its paces. If you need a stock shock to send to them, make me an offer. I have my stocker off an 03 after switching to an Ohlins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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