Fork Revalve vs. Drop-in Cartridges

[betoney]

10 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

What price breakdown?

if your over 190 in ATGATT your springs should be .90 or even .95, and Matt would have set the washer stack, compression bottom bolt office (be should have provided a fixed and adjustable compression bolt, my adjustable bolt''s needle net's O-ring kept leaking) and porting accordingly. I believe Matt recommended 16 cst @ 40C. Now I'll have to check my rebound to verify how much I have, I recall 8 clicks are available.  Again, a refresh with slightly heavier fluid before full disassembly is recommended given you have adjustable compression.

It was in the 3rd post down,

"Fork cartridges modified with rebound and compression pistons in each leg + new springs + rebound fork cap for 2nd leg + packaging and shipping across the country for less than $500."

He sent me .95kg/mm springs and I am using Bel Ray 5w rated at 15.8cst.

I checked the range on the fork caps and counted 17 full clicks of rebound adjustment.

[fr8dog]

@betoney - What cartridges are you considering?

[betoney]

2 minutes ago, fr8dog said:

@betoney - What cartridges are you considering?

Like @2and3cylinders mentioned, it 'might' just be an assembly issue not allowing it to be adjusted further, because with the adjusters fully closed the forks should be very slow and dead feeling.

I live within an hour of a few suspension shops who deal with all of the big brands, Ohlins, K-Tech, Nitron, Race Tech and GP Suspension.  I have also considered Traxxion Dynamics, I ordered my Penske shock from them - it is amazing and I don't know of anyone who has a bad thing to say about their AK-20 cartridges.  'IF' I decide to go with cartridges, Traxxion would probably be my first choice, just because I have used them before and ridden on their product.  They spec out their shocks to be built from Penske but the fork pieces are made - and their cartridges are built to order - in house.  As a bonus, you can re-use them on your next bike!

"the kit is completely modular in construction, and can be retrofitted to future bikes you may buy."

AK-20 Axxion Motorcycle Fork Cartridge Kit - Traxxion Dynamics

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The AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit is a complete bolt-in upgrade that replaces...

 

[2and3cylinders]

Ouch! 1,100 kissers!  I'd do a lot to make what we have work before going that route. I guess you could sell Matt's cartridges and the Sonic springs, unless you want to keep the Traxxion cartridges for another bike. I recall my kit from Matt was a fair amount less than 500 after deducting the 135 core charge for the oem cartridge exchange.

[betoney]

29 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Ouch! 1,100 kissers!  I'd do a lot to make what we have work before going that route. I guess you could sell Matt's cartridges and the Sonic springs, unless you want to keep the Traxxion cartridges for another bike. I recall my kit from Matt was a fair amount less than 500 after deducting the 135 core charge for the oem cartridge exchange.

I never did the core exchange, in addition to taking over 3 months to get them built and shipped, there was never any follow through with core exchange/ credit due to how far back logged he became.  He originally said he would buy my oem cartridges back but after the sale I never heard back from him.

As far as adapting the Traxxion cartridges, I believe I read it was around $150-$200 which is a pretty attractive feature depending on if you change bikes or resale to another rider.

[riding_tall]

I was debating on re-valve vs full cartridges for a while and ended up going with the AK-20's .. made it into a new bike. I have not tried the re-valve to compare but I am sure it is still far better than stock.  For me the full cartridges were worth it . The FJ is my daily transportation and my main bike. The difference was so dramatic that I replaced the rear shock. Now have AK-20's up front and a penske double clicker in the back. I'm very happy with the setup.

[betoney]

On 6/1/2020 at 1:27 AM, 2and3cylinders said:

Are you sure you adjusted the rebound rod seat contact when you assembled the fork cap?  It is a very delicate and precise setting. I have the same set up from Matt and have enough rebound.

@2and3cylinders - You were correct about the adjustment, both caps were too far up the damper rod.  When I removed the caps, I set them to 14 clicks in and reseated them, I had to lower the jamb nut 5-8mm on each leg so that the cap could thread on enough to bottom.  Now my comfortable rebound setting has gone from fully seated to 4 clicks out and just to verify, I fully closed each leg and the rebound became very slow and harsh as expected.

[2and3cylinders]

Glad I could help.  Usually I set the rod so where it feels best for commuting is in the middle of the click range.  So setting the cap at 10~12 clicks in would bring you out about 2 or 4 more clicks (unless I've got it backwards).

So are you going to just do a flush (I use cheap ATF as a flushing fluid) and refill, or are you also replacing bushings and seals? When I rebuild forks I also polish the sliders.  If you've got less than 18,000 miles on the bushings and seals, I'd wait another 18,000 to replace the bushings and seals if there's no leaks.  I inspect and clean my sliders with a microfiber towel torn into a 2" wide strip and some Honda spray cleaner / polish after every ride.

Ride safe all!

[betoney]

21 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

So are you going to just do a flush (I use cheap ATF as a flushing fluid) and refill, or are you also replacing bushings and seals? When I rebuild forks I also polish the sliders.  If you've got less than 18,000 miles on the bushings and seals, I'd wait another 18,000 to replace the bushings and seals if there's no leaks.

The forks aren't due for service until the end of the year (I do it every other year during winter hibernation so as not to interrupt riding season).  That includes seals, bushings and fluid.