Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => Accessories and Modifications - C10 => Topic started by: sas mayhem on June 11, 2011, 04:43:43 PM
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what is involved in installed them? Does it require a complete tear down of the forks? special tools? Just wondering so I can can get set up before they arrive.
Cheers
Ron
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yes, basically a full tear down. You have to remove the damper rod and drill it out so it's non - functional. HTH, Steve
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How long does it take about. ... with no issues?
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Emulator write-up
http://web.ncf.ca/ag136/forkUpgrade.htm (http://web.ncf.ca/ag136/forkUpgrade.htm)
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2-3 hours for the first, an additional hour for the second.
Tear down the forks to their component parts. You may need a damper rod holding tool. A 15/16" nut welded on the end of a 24" piece of 1/2" pipe will do. Some have luck with a large broomstick jammed into the top of the damper rod, I don't.
Drill three cross holes in the damper rod (it's actually a stubby tube), one of the holes is just enlarging the existing hole.
Reassemble, adding new fork seals and bushings if required. Since you have the forks apart, it's often wise to do them now ;)
Drop the emulator down the tube, add/adjust oil level, install the fork spring. Keep in mind the emulator adds 1/2" to the spring height, so your preload adjust will be 1/2" higher "pre" emulator.
Rick
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Thanks for the reply's, since I'm at it I might as well install drain holes too.
Cheers
Ron
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I have mine in and the ride is a lot sharper than I want, so, I need to have less pre-load as I never touched the factory settings to decrease compression damping. I have the instructions at home but I'm at work now and was reading up on Race Tech's site. So I lessen pre-load by backing the bolt out of the body and tightening the jack nut? Any ideas how much?
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I just got home from work and took off both forks, it was pretty straight forward. Now I need to get to Lowes and get the tools that George R. Young mentioned in the above link.
Cheers
Ron
Strawboss what do you mean by "sharper"?
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Well I'm back and the dampeners are removed. I was very surprised of the consistency of the fork oil, it was like very hot transmission fluid. Very runny. :-\
Well when I get home from work tomorrow there should be my Race Tech kit waiting for me. :)
Cheers
Ron
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I have mine in and the ride is a lot sharper than I want, so, I need to have less pre-load as I never touched the factory settings to decrease compression damping. I have the instructions at home but I'm at work now and was reading up on Race Tech's site. So I lessen pre-load by backing the bolt out of the body and tightening the jack nut? Any ideas how much?
I found this too, Strawboss, this might answer you question.
also what is the best type of measuring device to put in the proper amount of fork oil?
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I mean the ride is harsh, much more harsh than what I'm hearing, my mirrors droop down on some sharp bumps and the fairing rattles. I measured the oil exactly 4 times and the distance from the top of the fork tubes. Factory settings with straight 15w oil. I went to the site and it looks like maybe 1.0 springs instead of the 1.1's I have and reduce the compression damping. Not sure. Going home tomorrow to read up.
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Try loosening the preload on the emulator spring 1/2 turn. This makes a huge difference in feel. I've used emulators on several older forks and I feel like I've removed 1/2 turn on ever unit.
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OK, I'll do it tomorrow and let you know on Wed what happens. Race Tech also said the emulators take up space and compress the springs a bit already.
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I have emulators in both my bikes, and when you get them right they really help the compliance of the ride.I use 15 wt fork oil, set at 6" with the forks COMPRESSED and springs out. My emulators have 4 holes in the blow-off plate and blue springs with 2 turns preload. WAYYYY better than the stock emulator setup- Steve
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My emulators have 4 holes in the blow-off plate and blue springs with 2 turns preload. WAYYYY better than the stock emulator setup- Steve
What color spring would one use,? Blue or yellow. And how much of a difference would it make? I'm 220 lbs now on my way to 200ish. Would that be a factor?
Cheers
Ron
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OK, took my emulators out, why I did not catch the initial set-up with pre-load is beyond me, it appears from the factory it is set up for heavy riders or race conditions. The manual for the emulators state that you should back out the adjustment to where the washer is just touching the top of the springs of the emulators, this is called "zero pre-load". Then they advise to mind the jam nut and apply 2 turns for "normal" street riding, refer to heavy riders as stated above if applicable. Careful how you adjust the emulator pre-load as its easy to turn the adjustment screw and jam nut simultaneously. I backed mine out 2 full turns and the washer was still against the spring of the emulator. I don't want to say it was like night and day because it wasn't, but it was noticeable in that it was much smoother over bumps at speed.
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I love these set up, Sooooo much more confidence in the turns without any wobble and it really soaks up the bumps. Noooo brake dive either, making low speed maneuvering a breeze . Now I need to invest with a ZZR 1200 rear shock to tie it all together, when I can.
Cheers
Ron
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I'm tellin ya, drill the pop off valve, it makes a ton of difference over small stuff. I can't even feel transitions in the pavement, no bad effects at all - Steve
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I'm tellin ya, drill the pop off valve, it makes a ton of difference over small stuff. I can't even feel transitions in the pavement, no bad effects at all - Steve
So you mean drill 2 more holes the same size?
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I have a total of 4, same dia as the stocker. My emulators came with one hole. I know they started coming with 2 on the newer ones. RT will suggest you drill them and if you don't like it they'll sell you new valves for cheap, like 3.00 ea, so it's not so bad if you don't like it. I did a ride swap with SteveJ last weekend, he's ridden my bike before so he honed in on the handling this time - his first question was about the emulators, as he noticed how smooth riding the front is. Steve
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I'm tellin ya, drill the pop off valve, it makes a ton of difference over small stuff. I can't even feel transitions in the pavement, no bad effects at all - Steve
Steve I'm going to give that a shot, next weekend. 8)
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I'm 220 lbs now on my way to 200ish. Would that be a factor?
Cheers
Ron
I've been lurking this thread to learn and never saw a reply to this question, so I'll try again ...
How much are these tuning suggestions related to rider weight(s)? I've seen pics of a couple of the folks replying and they're a bit more "healthy" than my 175+gear 8). Not sure if y'all are frequent 2-uppers, either?
Blue springs and drilled pop-off still the appropriate starting point for us punier specimens that are strictly solo riders?
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Drill the actual emulators, I never really looked to see how many holes are in mine, they are a year old. Backing out the pre-load really helped though. Guess I got something to do this weekend.
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Blue springs and drilled pop-off still the appropriate starting point for us punier specimens that are strictly solo riders?
ahhhh I got ya by 100, and that's the best setup I've tried - and I do ride 2 up - Steve
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No mention here about the PVC spacers in the forks with the emulators.
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No mention here about the PVC spacers in the forks with the emulators.
My springs came with aluminum spacers to take up the space, since the springs Race Tech springs are a lot shorter. But I have read that people use PVC piping instead of metal.
Cheers
Ron
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You got aluminum spacers? Cool. Just used some stuff laying around with washers on each end, can't remember the length,maybe about 6 inches or so? Not sure if the length would affect the ride.
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You got aluminum spacers? Cool. Just used some stuff laying around with washers on each end, can't remember the length,maybe about 6 inches or so? Not sure if the length would affect the ride.
Yep !!! There where packed with the springs, but I know PCV piping will work. And when everything was said and done the spacers where almost even with the top of the forks. Give and take a few mm.
Cheers
Ron
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Yes, mine too, even with the top.
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Also to add, thee disc that came on the earlier kits had one hole in it. The newer kits have two holes and two indentation to drill two more holes to further tweak. But of course you can drill the earlier disc if need be. The hole size is approx 7/67th. And the disc is pretty soft metal, so a simple cordless drill would make short order of it.
The disc on the left is what I had, two holes and two indentations, and the one on the right is after I added two more holes.
After I get me ZZR shock installed I'll let you all know how it rides.
FYI, I installed the blue spring and went 3 turns on the preload also. I'm 220 lbs, so I split the difference between 2 turns preload and 4 turns preload.
(http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j419/mayhem47/allsorts170.jpg)
Cheers
Ron
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you're going to find the front end smoother over broken pavement, etc... let us know - steve
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After all this palaver, I dug out one of my emulators, it's been a while since they were installed.
Allen key 9/64", nut 5/16", not the most convenient sizes in the metric world
Valve plate 16mm, 1 hole ~3/32 / <3mm
Spring
free length 1 1/16" 28.5mm
OD 3/8" 9.5mm
ID 1/4" 6mm therefore wire dia. = ~1/16"
# active coils 9
No paint on the springs.
Based on these imprecise measurements, it calculates out to 69 lb/in, approx. a yellow 64 lb/in
http://www.racingsuspensionproducts.com/spring%20rate.htm (http://www.racingsuspensionproducts.com/spring%20rate.htm)
I've been using 15W oil, 1.0 Kg/mm springs, 2 turns preload. Sounds like I should try blue springs and a few more holes in the valves?
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That sounds like how mine was setup originally. Those are the first release emulators, the later ones have 2 holes. I'm running 4 holes and 2 turns on the blue springs. 15 wt and cut stock springs w/ spacers. the springs and oil are the same as my original setup, the only difference was to emulator tunig. what a HUGE difference! Give it a try - you won't be disappointed - steve