Maxton Suspension opinions?

[GHollis]

Hi guys n girls

I was wondering if any one had dealt with Maxton suspension in Cheshire.

If so what was your thoughts, what did you have done and what effects did it have on your bike?

Many thanks
G


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[maviczap]

Loads of peeps have & everyone I know only has positive things to say if I remember

Good shocks, they get busy during the racing season

[NedSVS]

I have Maxton cartridge fork conversion on front and Maxton rear shock too on my 2001 SV650S. The front was a real transformation for me as I weigh nearly 13st. The rear is good too but it is the front I like best. They are really nice people to deal with and do a lot of work for racing, especially road racing, where track biased suspension is to harsh. It's not cheap though and you need to consider how long you intend to keep your bike to make it worth the cost - I had my forks done about 9 years (and about 35k miles) ago and have had the rear shock for about eight years, so I guess I have had reasonable value for money.

[GHollis]

I may drop them an email then as I feel my front end is way to soft especially under braking, I'm not on the light side tipping the scales at 15st.

I think I could warrant the cost as I'm thinking of converting it to a track bike when I move on to something a little different.

One question would you say for now it's only worth getting the front sorted and stick with the rear OEM shock?


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bluepete]

I fitted their bespoke rear shock on my Tiger. Excellent service, great product, very durable.

Visit them for a weigh-in and shock set up. Plus, the tour of the shop and the bling of the in-house CNC'd products is worth any amount of fuel.

Pete ;)

[GHollis]

I may do that as they are only around 30miles from me.


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Runako]

One question would you say for now it's only worth getting the front sorted and stick with the rear OEM shock?
SV650 K9 and lovin it,


Do not stick with the OEM shock. It is only good for leisurely riding and once its starts going it cannot be serviced (its not worth it anyway). There is a wealth of info on here about the why's and how's and alternatives. But Maxton amongst others can provide a far superior rear shock. If you improve the front it will make the rear feel far worse. Makes sense right?

[GHollis]

Sent them an email and within 24h I got a reply with a options list for the SV which I though I would share with you.

FRONT
The front forks on the SV650 have two problems. One is that the springs are too soft, so the front dives under braking. The other problem is there is not enough damping to control the original Suzuki springs. This means that when you let go of the brake or accelerate, the front of the bike extends very quickly, causing the bike to run wide. We carry out two options for modifying the SV650 forks :
Option 1 – We throw everything inside the forks away and start again with our own Maxton Cartridge damping system. The cartridge damping system is designed like any modern fork internal; it has separate rebound and compression damping pistons, with shim stacks valved to suit the SV650 and what you use the bike for. This damping system gives a very progressive action that supports the bike under braking with the springs, without making the ride too harsh. The cartridge is adjustable for rebound damping to. We also fit a spring to the cartridge; the spring is chosen to suit your rider weight. The Maxton cartridge costs £340.00 + V.A.T. To
install the cartridge costs £115.00 + V.A.T, plus the new seals which cost £25.00 + V.A.T a pair.
We also manufacture a cartridge that is adjustable for rebound damping and preload. This costs £440.00 + V.A.T
Option 2 – For customers who do not want to spend as much money on their bike, but still want to improve the handling we supply harder springs with a higher viscosity oil. The harder springs reduce the dive under braking. The higher viscosity oil is added to try to control the springs and stop the forks returning too quickly. The harder springs cost £85.00 + V.A.T and the oil is £10.00 + V.A.T. If you wanted us to fit the oil and springs, we would recommend a service to the forks, which costs £140.00 + V.A.T, this includes the cost of new fork seals and oil.
We also machine a cartridge conversion to suit the regulations for the Racing Mini Twins class. This cartridge is the same as the one above, but we modify the original fork tops to take our cartridge. We do this so the forks appear the same, but after the conversion the forks are easily adjustable for damping by removing the preload adjuster.
REAR
The rear shock is a fairly cheap unit but is O.K for what most people use the bike for. The spring on it is on the hard side and the the unit also has a lot of damping inside it making it kick off bumps, this makes the front feel softer than it actually is. We have tried fitting a softer spring to the unit but it only makes the bike handle worse, as you end up riding on the damping.
We supply a Maxton replacement unit which is a fully adjustable, alloy bodied, high pressure gas unit that adjusts via shim stack system, it has a spring to suit your rider weight and to suit what type of riding you do. The unit costs £415.00 but we also make a piggyback remote reservoir unit that has a second compression adjuster and ride height adjuster which costs £580.00. ALL PRICES EXCLUDE V.A.T.


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

if you think its worth spending better part of £1k on your bike then go for it as it will transform the bike.

[GHollis]

That's the dilemma I'm in, is it worth it?

I know I will one day want a bigger bike like a gsxr1000 or Zx10R, the only way I could kind of justify it is that I want to learn how to ride a bike correctly, not just someone that powers up to a bend slows right down like their back on a 50cc scooter and once up right hit the power agin thinking that they are quick riders. I see it all the time when I'm out and about and it makes me laugh.




SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[yorkie_chris]

Hmmm £440+£115 + VAT... 666. I could do a revalved and sprung GSXR cartridge conversion for a less than that.

[Nobbylad]

Or, for £2,750 - you can buy my K 8 with GSXR front end and a Penske 3-way adjustable rear shock :D

[Bibio]

i think you will be very surprised at just how well the SV takes to good bouncy bits.

if you keep all the old parts then when it comes time to sell put them back in then offer up the good bits on here as i'm sure someone will want them. i don't think you will get full whack for them but you would recoup a fair chunk of what you paid then someone else will get the pleasure from them as well.

[GHollis]

A very good idea, I also thought that maybe the SV would make a nice track bike if I ever get a new toy as parts are very easy to come by and relatively cheap, does anyone have a SV as a track only bike?


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

don't know about a track bike but its a very popular race bike in it's class (minitwins) so that might tell you something.

[yorkie_chris]

Heard of quite a few. Remember if you go minitwins you'd have to go with maxtons minitwin friendly fork as you aren't allowed to add more external adjustments.

[Runako]

A very good idea, I also thought that maybe the SV would make a nice track bike if I ever get a new toy as parts are very easy to come by and relatively cheap, does anyone have a SV as a track only bike?


It makes a good trike bike to an extent. If you want to improve your riding technique on the track, a sorted SV is more capable of doing that. The only real problem is it will run out of power. On the plus side, its easy to track and inexpensive.

Back to the suspension, the beauty of this site & SV rider is they're so many ideas that you realise just how modifiable SV's are (i.e. mods that work). The most popular are suspension. So why not consider going with the cheaper but tried an tested mods before contemplating the brand new aftermarket?

Of course if we could all afford Ohlins you would never see a thread on GSXR/ZXr shock conversions or GSXR front end swaps. But in reality these are far less expensive ways to achieve mostly the same outcome.

All it requires is a bit of patience to find the right parts, a bit of know how if you're willing to do the work yourself and a bit of perseverance to sell the stock bits (if you wish). But to achieve much improved suspension for less than a few hundred pounds (if you factor selling the OEM bits) is definitely worth it.

Ronnie

[GHollis]

I agree 100%, ther are so many options with the SV and I have been looking around now for a good month, It's just weighing up all the pros and cons to them all not to mention the cost.

Especially when you coincided that you can pick up a GSXR600 or a ZX6R for around 4k,

I don't really want to change my bike to a 600supersport as I think it's an unnecessary move from the SV if you know how to ride correctly.





SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

as a happy owner of a fully sorted SV i can tell you i wont be changing my bike any time soon. i don't care about the stigma of it being a 'girls bike' or a 'learners bike' i'm pretty past all that willy waving bull shizz that goes on in the press and glossy bike mags. i just want a bike that does as its told without scaring the carp out of me with usable power and good fuel economy. guess what... the SV fits the bill perfect :-) the only thing that lets mine down is the seat and could be doing with a tad more comfort.

[GHollis]

as a happy owner of a fully sorted SV i can tell you i wont be changing my bike any time soon. i don't care about the stigma of it being a 'girls bike' or a 'learners bike' i'm pretty past all that willy waving bull shizz that goes on in the press and glossy bike mags. i just want a bike that does as its told without scaring the carp out of me with usable power and good fuel economy. guess what... the SV fits the bill perfect :-) the only thing that lets mine down is the seat and could be doing with a tad more comfort.

When you say fully sorted what have you done to yours.




SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

the usual. GSXR front end and a Nitron shock.

http://i49.tinypic.com/aw2ipv.jpg

[GHollis]

I do like your front end, when doing that mod what parts are you changing.

brake, disks wheel?? Also which gsxr our yours from.


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

the whole front end from a GSXR. you basically drop the complete front end out. then take a complete GSXR front end put it in where the SV one was.

so yes you change the whole lot on the front end apart from the controls, leavers and ignition switch which get transferred over.

only problem is depending on your weight you still need the forks re-sprung.

[GHollis]

Cool will have a deeper look into it, as your also upgrading the brakes at the same time.


SV650 K9 and lovin it,

[Bibio]

aaahhhh. word of warning. the SV engine braking coupled with GSXR brakes is a lethal combination. the braking works a lot better as well due to having more control in the forks.

yes it stop very very quick if needs be and are too good sometimes.

[Runako]

No such thing as too good ;)

[wideguy]

Like the Maxton guy said, the rear shock is OK for what most people use it for. If you reach a plateau with the bike on track, then is maybe a good time to invest in a rear shock, which isn't guaranteed to lower your lap times, but might.
There is a selection of cartridge emulators available, relatively cheap and not too hard to install. A set of these, along with proper rate springs for your weight, will make the front end work really well.
Adding some four piston brake calipers to the front makes the brakes most excellent too, for lots cheaper and easier than a front end swap.

[yorkie_chris]

My opinion is that track riding is a lot "easier" on suspension than the road. For a start, if you bin it on track, no big deal.

Want to do 120 between 2 dry stone walls on a bumpy road you've never ridden before... welllll personally I don't like the stock shock for that. Is it frothy? Is it working? Is it going to give me any rebound damping (no!). Compared to a nice smooth race track you get to try every corner on repeatedly.

[Runako]

My opinion is that track riding is a lot "easier" on suspension than the road. For a start, if you bin it on track, no big deal.

Want to do 120 between 2 dry stone walls on a bumpy road you've never ridden before... welllll personally I don't like the stock shock for that. Is it frothy? Is it working? Is it going to give me any rebound damping (no!). Compared to a nice smooth race track you get to try every corner on repeatedly.

^^ Exactly!