Fitted cartridge emulators. Here's the verdict...

[Damoulianos Marios]

Here's how the story begins... my typical "sporty" route involves all kinds of turns, from 20mph hairpins to 90mph sweepers (and I mean 90mph at the apex). Previously I had a real problem with the faster turns, especially if road surface wasn't perfectly smooth. The bike shook its head and wobbled to the point of opening its line and giving a vague and insecure feeling to me.
After a bit of searching I realised that the stock SV fork is VERY low tech, perhaps to the point that an SV can hardly can be labelled a "sportsbike". Given that previous owner had already upgraded to WP springs/oils the only solution remaining seemed to be either the technically obscure upgrade to GSXR750 forks or the much-promising cartridge emulator valve upgrade.

I decided to opt for the emulators and ordered the Traxxion kit (this is more expensive than the Racetech because it comes together with rods) mostly because Racetech won't send to Europe. I installed the emulators and here's the verdict:

1. The so much disconcerning headshake on fast turns is completely gone.
2. The steering precision is much improved
3. Better sense of control, more secure feel from the front.
4. The bike has a little bit heavier feeling steering into fast corners but this is only very little and is negligible compared to the benefits.
On the whole, the bike has virtually transformed itself, I regret not soing this upgrade from the beginning.

As a final word, I recommend this upgrade to any SV rider, these little valves really do wonders. I recommend them especially to riders that push the bike and like fast turns :)

Visit

http://www.racetech.com
http://www.traxxion.com

[BillyC]

VERY interesting!

Did you take any pictures? Can you describe the method you used? How long did it take? How much were they? Did you do this as well as a spring modification?

oh... and how much???

Thanks

[Damoulianos Marios]

The full kit (rods and emulators) costs 250$. Take this to 270$ including S/H.

The mod requires you nothing less than to take apart the whole front. You need to replace the damper rods, which unfortunately sit on the bottom of the forks. I wouldn't be afraid to do the job myself, had I had the means to securely hold the bike upright while the forks were removed.
So I was forced to ask my mechanic to do the job and he asked for 70E which is about 45 Pounds. To me the cost is negligible. I was actually thinking of binning (well, selling :)) the SV as these handling problems started to get on my nerves, more so than my mate (with a Ducati Monster 620) started to get the edge over me on bumpy turns. Now his grin is gone... he he he he....

[Damoulianos Marios]

Oh srry, I forgot: The previous owner had installed progressive WP springs, which as the Traxxion guy stated ISN"T the best solution. However as the stock springs were gone I didn't want to give another 100E for springs, which to be honest I think they aren't needed.

Doing the Traxxion mod instead of the Racetech has another benefit: Traxxion give you both valves and rods which means that you can go back to the stock system whenever you like. Putting the racetech valves requires that you drill extra holes to the stock rods which means that they are crap used without any valves, so you can't go back. Racetech and Traxxion valves are the same (this seems a bit strange to me but what the hell...)

[Mike1234]

You can get most RaceTech bits through PDQ in Slough if you need them.

www.pdq1.com I think.

[Ceri JC]

You can get most RaceTech bits through PDQ in Slough if you need them.

www.pdq1.com I think.

Yep, they seem to carry these (scroll down the page a bit):
http://www.pdq1.com/racetech.htm looks like you'd need to ring for the prices though.

Thanks for the info Damoulianos, very interesting.

[Itching 2 go]

You can get most RaceTech bits through PDQ in Slough if you need them.

www.pdq1.com I think.

Yep, they seem to carry these (scroll down the page a bit):
http://www.pdq1.com/racetech.htm looks like you'd need to ring for the prices though.

Thanks for the info Damoulianos, very interesting.Indeed they do, we have an account with them and I have used the racetech products on 2 of my bikes thus far. strongly recomend them.

[madEG]

I decided to opt for the emulators and ordered the Traxxion kit

Are they (somehow) externally adjustable? Or do you have to remove them to adjust the comp/reb damping? This is the only thing holding me back from this mod...

[Damoulianos Marios]

There is no external adjustability. Do NOT be put off by this. The improvement is such that difficult adjustability will be almost forgotten after your first ride. I have started to sound like an advertisement but what I say is true, at last I have fallen in love with my bike...

[northwind]

Plus they're so well tried and tested now that they provide really good setup directions... Most folk are totally happy with the recommended settings.

Oh yeah, one thing is that apparently the Racetech installation directions are really badly flawed in one part, I forget why... The Traxxion ones use a different emulator and different fitting directions.

[Knaapie]

This sounds pretty good! I'm thinking on buying Emulators to by the end of this year, but first I'll have to see how the bike will be handling with the Hyperpro fork springs and the WP 3-way adjustable shock I just bought. :D

I am a little concerned about the comment Traxxion made on the WP springs though. I know a guy here in Holland who also fitted emulators with WP springs and he actually thought the front end was to harsh after fitting! Could be caused by his weight, because he's only a little guy (70 kg).

Would this also be a problem when you're much heavier like me (93 kg)? Another thing is that the Hyperpro springs are progressive instead of lineair and the spring rate is unknown. :?:

[johnnyrod]

I've been banging on about how good these things are for ages...

Don't bother with the Traxxion kit, the emualtors from PDQ are about £110, and once they're in you won't want to take them out. Progressive or linear springs, whatever your choice, but you will need to shorten the spacer tube by the height of the emulator (about 25mm) as they sit between the damper rod and fork spring.

Fitting isn't hard, remove and disassemble the fork legs (damper rod bolts can be stiff), drill a couple of new holes in the damper rods, put it all back together. The emulators have an adjuster bolt which controls compression damping, you need a Total Recall-style long grabber thing to pull them back out of the fork to fiddle with them, a bit messy but at least you can adjust them.

I found them great, but stick with standard weight fork oil unless you're really heavy. A mate of mine has used 15W oil and he weighs about 14-15 stone, and the excess rebound damping is a nightmare. I use 10W oil (Progressive springs and standard air gap) and it's spot on for me (10stone) or him.

He's got some photos from when I fitted them, would have to dig them out, but really, if you can manage to strip and rebuild the forks you won't have a problem.

[northwind]

I mentioned this earlier but there's often said to be a flaw in the Racetech setup instructions... Zoran (TWF off SVRider, a guy who knows SVs like I know talking **** on internet forums) says

"some people follow race tech instruction and drill aditional holes in damper,and screw up their forks.aditional holes end up to high on damping rod and once fork slides over it you lose all of the rebound."

"emulator is good product for what it is,but when it comes to drilling two more holes they have no clue what they talking about.makes me wonder if they ever saw sv forks."

The Traxxion kit doesn't just add the damper rods, they also use a different emulator for what it's worth.

[johnnyrod]

Traxxion use a different emulator, I believe, because it fits the different damper rods they supply, I don't think there is anything too clever as far as I am aware.

The holes drilled aren't related to rebound damping, they are additional compression damping holes so that the damper rod has no control over compression damping, this is left to the emulator. There are to sets of large holes for comp damping, you simply drill a third set near to them. The rebound damping is taken care of by a small single hole at the other end of the rod. People can make mistakes though... Using the emulators does give more compression damping so it could be said that there's no point drilling at all, but to make the thing work best I'd say drill.

[northwind]

Like I say, I've never been intersted enough in the emulators to look into it, but I doubt you'll find anyone more knowledgable on the SV than Zoran... His opinion's backed by the findings of Max at Traxxion, that's why they changed the kit, and Clayton (DucOwner) at SV Race Shop who's one of the other big hitters with SV work, plus dozens of independant opinions. No offence, but I'll take their word over yours...

[johnnyrod]

None taken, I can only go on my own experience, and that doesn't include the Traxxion damper rods. Presumably the whole combo works better than using the stock rods, but it's a bit pricey and for me I'm happy with the stock bits. I can't believe I said that and I've just shelled out for an Ohlins rear....

[northwind]

Tell me about it... I keep on telling people "Try the GSXR rear, it makes more sense. OK, I didn't do that, I bought an Ohlins and it ****ing rules! But you should get a GSXR shock because it makes more sense" :)

[Knaapie]

Northwind do you have any links to topics where Zoran/TWF explains why the race tech mods to the damper rod aren't any good?

[northwind]

All I could find was what I posted up there... But I'll fire up a topic on SV Rider and see if I can get you a better answer.

[northwind]

Point your eyes here:

http://forum.svrider.com/viewtopic.php?p=404568#404568

[Knaapie]

You started a thread especially for me? :oops: :oops: Thanks, that is real good info. :thumbsup:

[northwind]

I had to, I had no idea what I was talking about :)