Gold Valves and Other Piston Kits - Share Your DVS / Config

[piotrek]

I have pulled my compression valve to remove a face shim or two to soften the ride a bit, and while poking around the various forums, I noticed several where users share their shim stack information. Some users will mod with factory pistons, but most with the Gold Valve pistons. We don't have anything like this here, but I think these data points would be a useful reference / guidance for anyone modding their factory forks with Race Tech Gold Valves. Typical info would include (DVS snippet or a list):

• Bike model / year
• Rider weight
• Springs used
• Shim stack information (compression and rebound)
• Suspension oil used
• Observations

Anyway... I am pulling face shims to reduce damping, per Race Tech guidance. Share your DVS setup (or another) if you have it. Here is mine:

I commented in the past that I found this config a bit on a firm side, and had to reduce oil viscosity to compensate. I am going to try and not have to do that anymore, and stick with something off-the-shelf 15~16 cSt@40C. Will update in the spring.

[piotrek]

Cricket on here I see. 😒

I managed to get Race Tech to re-calc my compression stack based on revised criteria. The 2018 setup was built for street + standard stiffness, while the new one is built for touring + prefers soft. Rider weight remained the same. With this change, the DVS returned a softer spring, one much closer to what is on my bike (0.90), and a two-stage compression stack rather than a single stage in the previous build. Rebound stack remained the same. I will give this a shot in the Spring. New config below.

Thank you @duhs10 for moving the thread!

[betoney]

1 hour ago, piotrek said:

Cricket on here I see. 😒

I don't think you are going to get much input on this topic, I would bet that 99.99% of members here have no clue what a shim stack is let alone what their numerical values are and in what order they are assembled. 

I have a vague idea what you are talking about but still those numbers are just numbers to me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[kilo3]

10 hours ago, betoney said:

I don't think you are going to get much input on this topic, I would bet that 99.99% of members here have no clue what a shim stack is let alone what their numerical values are and in what order they are assembled. 

I have a vague idea what you are talking about but still those numbers are just numbers to me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Correct, I know some of these words.😁

[bwringer]

You might explain a little more about what DVS is and how the whole Race Tech thing works for folks who don't have Gold Valves, and/or aren't interested in rummaging around RT's gawdawful train wreck of a website.

From what I can glean from the scant droppings of actual information on RT's bizarre website, it would seem that every customer gets a custom shim stack in their Gold Valve (the FJ-09 gets just one GV in the right side fork leg), and DVS has something to do with preserving or communicating this info somehow.

Is that about right? 

Edited December 18, 2023 by bwringer

[piotrek]

@bwringer... yes you have that about right. For anyone interested, I have some thoughts on my experience with Race Tech DVS documented here.

This thread is really meant for those who have done mods, either DIY or by a suspension shop, to share valving information... and for those who might be looking for reference data points when planning a project.

Whether you're getting a piston kit in the mail to DIY, or getting a suspension shop do it for you... the kit probably came with a shim stack config. It's that bike/rider-specific information that can be very useful to someone who might fit the criteria, even if at least as a sanity check.

A great intro into how suspension valving works can be found in these two YT videos:

Much of the math and fluid dynamics behind suspension valving/damping is over my head, but the principles and variables aren't hard to understand. Once you have a proper baseline from a pro shop, like say Race Tech or K-tech... some experimentation is possible. Race Tech, for example, had on their DVS sheets a chart with a range of configs based on the user's baseline, from softer to firmer (example below). It basically involved removing or adding a face shim or two (closest to face of piston), and sometimes others. That isn't hard to do.

It's a pretty popular topic on dirt/mx/enduro forums like ThumperTalk, so I figured we could start something like this here, specifically for the Tracer family of bikes. Clearly it might take time to gain traction. 😁

[2and3cylinders]

Years ago when Forks by Matt was still in business, I had him put together a custom set of OEM cartridges with his own shim stack but with rebound in both legs and adjustable compression in the left.

That in conjunction with sonic .90 springs have provided excellent performance for only $350 after his core charge + $80 for the springs and $65 for the second rebound / preload fork cap with the rebound rod. I use 16 cSt fork fluid set at about 5-1\2" or so for the air gap.

I also bought my k-tech razor r shock from him for about 600 bucks including a custom thrust bearing for the spring preload.

I dump & flush with ATF and refill semi-annually.

Also after every ride I use a non-sticky rubber treatment that's compatible with the seals when I wipe off fork tubes with a microfiber towel cut in 2" strips.

[OZVFR]

Many years ago I bought a Racetech kit for my VFR and installed it.

After that I did my own adjusting of the shim stacks until I found what I liked. I redid them 4 times on the VFR including the last time when I swapped out the original forks and installed ones with external rebound adjustment.

Did it again on my Sprint ST with better results as it had a better set up and I knew what I was doing by this stage.

The Tracer however threw the challenge of only one working cartridge, I wasn't sure how to adjust the shim stacks to suit this so I sent it to the Racetech local representative here for a full rebuild and gold valves installation.

The idea was to pull it apart at some later stage to check out what they did and adjust it accordingly to fine-tune it, but it hasn't happened yet (17000km on it since install).

If I keep the bike I think I'll go the way of separate function on each leg, or just get an Andreani kit.

Edited December 21, 2023 by OZVFR