Front Suspension (Forks) ST

[dr nosh]

I am going to embark on a project for improving the ride of my ST. (Read 'plusher' ride)

First Up. Forks.

I have been looking at these items:

http://www.racetech.com/page/title/Emulators

They are fitted into the fork and with different springs. Supposedly fully adjustable, , with the emulator controlling the compression damping and rebound dictated by fork oil weight.

Looks like each adjustment will require removing stanchion top nut and spring, fishing the device out, oh and on the ST, also removing the black rubber instrument panel surround and handlebars.

Pricey at about £275 for an emulator + spring set.

Having mentioned oil weight, what does this mean?

Am I old fashioned by only understanding oil in SAE terms?

By weight, do they mean viscosity?

Can oils specified with the same SAE number, actually have different viscosities? ie Brand A SAE10, could have the same viscosity as brand B SAE20?

Or, should I just clean the fork sliders out and use Motobins https://www.motobins.co.uk/bmw-parts.php?model=R Series 2 valve Twin&bikeref=R90-6

So may questions, so little time to ride the damm thing anyway.

 

[Bubb]

Dr Nosh

When I rebuilt my ST, I put Hyperpro progressive springs (and the oil that came with them) in my forks, and apart from the fact they dive a little too much, I think they are great.
I intend to put a small amount of extra oil in the forks to firm them up, and stop them diving like a premiership footballer in the penalty box.... the oil weight (SAE) seems to be right, I just need less air gap I think....

All in all, I believe you should try the hyperpro springs before you spend a massive amount on the emulator thingies...

Bubb

 

[solidstate100]

Having literally just been down the extremely unrewarding road of upgrading the standard front forks on my G/S (yes different bike and forks but mostly cosmetic - and as far as I am aware only the slider is different, the internals are pretty much the same) my advice would be - dont waste you money on the emulators (or for that matter hyperpro or any other "progressive" spring) as the cost far outweighs the return. These are basic simple forks and have their limitations.

If i were to do it all again I doubt I would do more than visit a suspension specialist, fit a set of new optimised for my weight linear rate springs, freshen/play about with the oil weight, and take time to get the front and rear sag correctly set and probably leave it at that.

I had a devil of a job to get the hyperpro progressive spings and oil to work properly (much experimentation needed as WAY to stiff, unless you weigh about 50 stones) and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with Hyperpro I am still not wholly convinced about the set up but its just about tolerable.

 

[Bubb]

my hyperpro are fine...certainly not too stiff, and I only weight 13 stone (even with my bike gear on.... Im not the average Tosser size!)

They seem to work fine in my ST, giving a nice supple ride. The only complaint is the way they dive on braking, so a little more oil required....I will add a little at a time, keeping a note of how much, so I know how much to replace when/if I have to put new oil in.

Ride safe all
Bubb

 

[jackassdave]

excellent guys you do all the hard work then when i get mine on the road it saves me a lot of experimenting and saves me money so i know whats best ...............first class those chaps

 

[Bubb]

JADave

We are only happy to help !

Bubb