Suspension Upgrades

Hey, what projects are you planning or preparing for? CBX, other motos, workshop, WHATEVAH!
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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by Syscrush »

Those lines are beautiful, I looked at them last winter when I was having the brakes done. My one hangup about them is the prominence of the logo, but at least they give you options on the color of that logo.
Phil in Toronto
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wyly
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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Syscrush wrote:
Those lines are beautiful, I looked at them last winter when I was having the brakes done. My one hangup about them is the prominence of the logo, but at least they give you options on the color of that logo.
the logo spins around so you can turn them to face inward and the logo isn't visible. I don't have a problem with the logo as it's quite small and they gave me a discount so I can give them a bit of advertising.

I chose to stick with the standard three lines up front but they can do a two line system as well. Some people say it's easier to bleed the two lines system but I didn't have a problem bleeding them.
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage

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Jeff Bennetts
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by Jeff Bennetts »

Love the bike Phil, Dr. Detail would be proud!

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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by NobleHops »

Jeff Bennetts wrote:Love the bike Phil, Dr. Detail would be proud!
Seriously, no stone left unturned. Phil's opus! :-)
Nils Menten
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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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wyly wrote:I chose to stick with the standard three lines up front but they can do a two line system as well. Some people say it's easier to bleed the two lines system but I didn't have a problem bleeding them.
I like 2-line setups because of ease of bleeding, but the stock setup is more tidy and there's no question that you can get a 3-line + splitter bled just fine with some patience.
Phil in Toronto
A cool guy deserves a cool bike, a dork needs a cool bike...
Pics of Perry, my '79.

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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The master cyl came yesterday. I'm gonna leave it on the shelf until the motor is going back together, but I'm still excited about it. :-)
Phil in Toronto
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Pics of Perry, my '79.

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wyly
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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Syscrush wrote:
wyly wrote:I chose to stick with the standard three lines up front but they can do a two line system as well. Some people say it's easier to bleed the two lines system but I didn't have a problem bleeding them.
I like 2-line setups because of ease of bleeding, but the stock setup is more tidy and there's no question that you can get a 3-line + splitter bled just fine with some patience.
the trick bleeding the front is to bleed the left side first, I got it done in one go....after repeated failed attempts starting on the right :oops: ...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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I am very pleased with the look and the function of my SpeedHut gauges, but I have had 2 issues with them:

1. Moisture was appearing inside the gauges, despite the fact that I had specified that they were for motorcycle use and thus should be sealed (as recommended by their website).

2. In direct sun, there's an awful lot of glare off the glass.


After I sent photos of the gauges with the moisture inside them, SpeedHut agreed something is wrong, and asked me to send them in to re-seal and to inspect the circuitry to make sure that there was no damage from the moisture. This week I removed them, and found that the sealant was not applied. So I'm confident that once they're sealed up, they should work just great in all weather.

I also hunted around for and found some anti-reflective film that can be applied to the glass cover of the gauges. I'm looking forward to seeing how much of a difference this makes once applied.
Phil in Toronto
A cool guy deserves a cool bike, a dork needs a cool bike...
Pics of Perry, my '79.

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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Syscrush wrote:I also hunted around for and found some anti-reflective film that can be applied to the glass cover of the gauges. I'm looking forward to seeing how much of a difference this makes once applied.
My anti-glare film is supposed to arrive from Japan today. I can't wait to fit it and see how well it works!
Phil in Toronto
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Pics of Perry, my '79.

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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by wyly »

Syscrush wrote:
Syscrush wrote:I also hunted around for and found some anti-reflective film that can be applied to the glass cover of the gauges. I'm looking forward to seeing how much of a difference this makes once applied.
My anti-glare film is supposed to arrive from Japan today. I can't wait to fit it and see how well it works!
does speed hut not have anti glare?
are you happy with your gps speedo? any problems?
does your tach require a cable?
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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wyly wrote:does speed hut not have anti glare?
are you happy with your gps speedo? any problems?
does your tach require a cable?
SpeedHut gauges don't have anti-glare. They're very shiny, at least when new.

I have the speedo with electronic pickup, not the GPS one. I'm generally happy with it, love the looks and it works well overall. My issues with it are that they neglected to seal it despite my request, and while the calibration procedure is easy, it's not super-accurate so it takes some trial and error to dial it in. This would be a non-issue with the GPS speedo.

The tach is electronic, so the mech tach cable is not used - just a signal wire from one of the coils.
Phil in Toronto
A cool guy deserves a cool bike, a dork needs a cool bike...
Pics of Perry, my '79.

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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I have another update on what it's like to ride this bike with the changes that have been made.

My goal in upgrading suspension & brakes and changing the geometry and ergos was to get it handling like a bike that's NOT generally considered a pig. :lol: My thinking was that it would never handle like a modern sportbike, but I could at least get it into Bandit 1200 or CB550 territory.

Well, last night I rode a very nice CB550 for the first time - and I've ridden Bandit 1200's plenty of times. My honest (although probably biased) opinion is that turn-in on this bike now is much closer to my wife's Monster 620 than to something like the CB or Bandit. I would really like to ride it back-to-back against a modern super naked like a Tuono or FZ10. Those bikes should slaughter it in terms of all-out grip and max lean angle, but I'm starting to suspect that for 6/10ths riding on public roads these mods would have the CBX in similar territory to those bikes.
Phil in Toronto
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Pics of Perry, my '79.

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wyly
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by wyly »

handling seems to come down to how much cash you want to put into the suspension...you're familiar with Lionel Brancquart's CBX, it'll reportedly handles as well as any super bike with a cbx frame(382 lb dry weight certianly helps :shock: ) ...and $35K for the GP front end alone why wouldn't it...

I upgraded my spindly 35mm's with Race Tech emulators and springs and the handling and comfort gain was significant, I can't even begin imagine how much better your ride handles vs mine...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage

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Syscrush
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Re: Suspension Upgrades

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wyly wrote:handling seems to come down to how much cash you want to put into the suspension...you're familiar with Lionel Brancquart's CBX, it'll reportedly handles as well as any super bike with a cbx frame(382 lb dry weight certianly helps :shock: ) ...and $35K for the GP front end alone why wouldn't it...
Yeah, I lust after that bike. :o

Bucks help but aren't everything. You could spend a lot on a setup that doesn't work right, you could invest a ton in high-spec components and then tune them wrong, or you can make a lower-spec setup work as well as it possibly can by paying attention to the little details (working seals, fresh oil of the right weight and level, correctly set sag, etc).

And sometimes what you thought would be the less expensive option ends up with a larger total lifetime cost, and vice-versa.

Ultimately, the best approach is to set your goals and budget, and make your best guess about how to compromise between the two.
I upgraded my spindly 35mm's with Race Tech emulators and springs and the handling and comfort gain was significant, I can't even begin imagine how much better your ride handles vs mine...
What you've done is definitely the best bang for buck mod available for these front ends - I've used RTCE's in a few different bikes and have never been disappointed. For highway cruising on mostly-smooth pavement, it would be very hard to tell a difference between your mods and mine.

Where the difference in damping becomes clear is when doing something like trail-braking on rough, frost-heaved or potholed pavement.

Where the difference in geometry becomes clear is in any steering transition. With the reduced rake & trail and the wide Superbike bend bars, it's remarkable how well the bike turns in now - or transitions from left-to-right or vice-versa.
Phil in Toronto
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Pics of Perry, my '79.

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Re: Suspension Upgrades

Post by wyly »

Syscrush wrote:I upgraded my spindly 35mm's with Race Tech emulators and springs and the handling and comfort gain was significant, I can't even begin imagine how much better your ride handles vs mine...
What you've done is definitely the best bang for buck mod available for these front ends - I've used RTCE's in a few different bikes and have never been disappointed. For highway cruising on mostly-smooth pavement, it would be very hard to tell a difference between your mods and mine.

Where the difference in damping becomes clear is when doing something like trail-braking on rough, frost-heaved or potholed pavement.[/quote]which is what I found when took out a BMW R1200R for test ride, I expected something much better than my RaceTech equipped CBX but no, on smooth to moderate pavement the I found little difference...I wasn't allowed to test the R1200R on really rough roads and aggressive riding but I fully expect that's where it's superior suspension will become evident...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage

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