Not Happy!

On Thursday the week before last I ordered a fork conversion kit from
Maxton Suspension.

Richard was very helpful on the phone and said he'd try and get the spacers machined up that day and sent out for fitment on Monday.

Monday came and went and no kit. So did Tuesday and Wednesday. No problem I thought, still plenty of time to get the kit in for the camping trip at the weekend.

Thursday came and still no kit so I decided to phone up and see where it was. Nice lady on the phone said that Richard had been over at the Manx GP and that the spacers hadn't been made, but they would make them up and get the kit out that day. No problem I thought, Still plenty of time to get the lit in for the camping trip at the weekend and the Manx mush be important for them as a company, so I understand.

But to make sure I had plenty of time, the bike had been stripped down on Wednesday nigth and was sitting, everything set out ready to drop the kit in, get the forks back in the bike and get away camping. About an hours job.

Friday came and no kit arrived. The nerves were shreaded by this point. So I phoned again.

The kit hadn't gone out. The spacers hadn't been made yet.

After a fairly brief conversation, Maxton agreed to ship special delivery for delivery saturday which although would delay my trip, we could be away within an hour of the post man coming.

Saturday morning... Hurrah! the kit arrived! I ripped it open to find no Oil in there! Panic! Jumped in the car and did a 40 mile round trip at a rather brisker rate than I usually would to get some 15 grade.

Got back with the car screaming for mercy and the brakes smelling a little warm.

OK, time to get the kit in. I'd made a tool on Wednesday (so there's be plenty of time to get out on the trip) that would suck out the oil leaving the perfect 104mm gap.

I put the kit into the left leg and it was 18mm too short! "Strange" I thought. Took it back out and measured it up against the old spring and spacer and sure enough it was 18mm shorter! Bugger!

Phoned Maxton. "Hello, there's no one here to take your call at the moment"

Bugger!
OK, the local Engineering shop is open till 1 pm on a Saturday so I'll fly down there (more smoking brakes from the audi) and get some spacer washers till next week when Maxtons open again. At least I can get on my trip!

Engineering shop closed because it's a bank holiday. @*&^()Y!
OK, don't panic! Scrap yard! ... Closed because it's a bank holiday! Double @*&^()Y!

Race home and raid the shed! Nothing. Spy the Washing rotunda! Maybe that's the same Outside diameter and I can take two 18mm sections off that! Too Small!

Phone Maxtons just in case they were on a break. Closed.

Mates have been sitting drinking coffee, Bikes fully loaded and ready to ride since 8.30 in the garden and are cooking in their leathers.

12.45 pm, Give up!

Mates waved off to have a great time in the lakes whist I sit here, having a reluctant coffee and try to calm down. The Girlfriend and kids dissappeared about an hour ago because they sensed it wasn't really going to plan

I sit here now with two options and a complete lack of confidense in the kit now sitting unfitted on newspaper by the bike.

1) Call it a day and refit the original suspension (all be it with 15 weight instead of 10 weight oil) and return the Maxton kit with a letter explaining how "great" my long weekend has been with a cancelled trip.

or

2) Cut the Maxton Spacers to use as gap fillers with the original spacers with the Maxton Springs (meaning I can't return the kit I've now lost complete confidence in) and spend an hour getting them perfect at 18mm.

I bet the road to Penrith is fantastic today. @#*&^*)I*&@:~ and I'm siting here looking at an invoice for Oil that hasn't arrived, spacers that don't fit and they've even charged me VAT on the Royal mail shipping (which is VAT free)!


I've had better days,

Carl

Well, Nearly 4pm and the jobs finally done.

And as in all situations like this there was something to learn

In true james Bond-esque "You've got 20 minutes to disarm the bomb"! stylee, I got in the car and set off for "spacers" whatever they happened to be.

With the thought " There's always a way" firmly in the front of my mind, (which is usually reserved for Nicole Kidman) I set off determined not to be beaten and I had to get it done before Nicole noticed her place was filled.

45 miles and several fruitless stops later, I found myself in a lawnmower shop.

"Got anything 18mm long and 25 mm external diameter please"?

"I'll just have a look" said the very nice man in the lawnmower shop.

"Will these do"? and he placed on the counter a series of 6mm thick disks with a perfect 25mm diameter. He even got a Vernier out to measure them.

"Will they do?" I said! I could have kissed him! (but testosterone and Nicole wouldn't let me)

Three would make up the differenced perfectly.

It turns out they are spacers for hover-mowers so you can get the cut height right

On the way home, I pondered the difference between 18mm of preload with a 0.7kg/cm spring rate versus the same of 0.95kg/cm spring rate.

I decided that I can always add or remove them by the side of the road if required so ended up putting 2 discs (12mm) in each side and give it a test ride.

So much for a ready to fit kit! I could have made it from scratch in not much more time!

So Ms. Kidman is reclined smoulderingly in my frontal lobes again and I'm off for a blast to try them.

I'll report back later on how they are...

Carl

Where do you live?
Somebody might have had some bits that could have helped you out.

[Sid Squid]

Plastic pipe from A.N.other DIY shop = equals preload spacer.

If pipe too great a diameter, slit it, cut section out, bingo.

I'm just ouside of Ripon. Not a lot of shop choice for bits and bobs.

Back from a longer than expected Test ride. Decided to go for Fish and chips in Scarborough along the fabulous A170

Played with the preloads a bit and decided that 12mm was great for all round riding and scraching, track day would be the 18mm and for gentle (luggage less) touring the single 6mm.

I have to say that despite the agro of getting it all fitted the forks are massively improved. They don't bottom out under heavy braking any more, don't jar your wrists on sunken manhole covers and give a very smooth ride. There's also a lot less dive when you have to grab a handful of brake when a bend suddenly tightens.

If I had to sum it up in one word it would be "Composure". The bike is a lot more composed everywhere. I also played with the tyre pressures today and may have gone too far at 36 front and 42 rear (I was running 34 front and 38 rear). But I presume this is just due to the profile of wear on the front tyre and the pressures. New tyres could probably cope with the higher pressures.

I'm going to have to tweek the lights a bit because they are a bit high now and the preload on the rear might need a little fiddling with too so they match (maybe one click up on the rear).

Basically, if you haven't upgraded your forks, consider it because it's definitely worth it. Just don't plan a camping trip within two weeks of ordering the parts! Murphy will be watching

Carl

[Wideboy]

what a bummer of a week end then, wish i'd gone away camping now

Well, I have to give Maxton their due.

I missed my camping trip but they were on the phone to me yesterday and gave me a discount for the inconvenience.

They appologised and said it was due to the Manx and Cadwell falling on consecutive weekend. I can understand that.

And as an update the forks are now stunning. So stunning in fact, that they now show up the weaknesses of the rear shock!

Interestingly, they explained the difference between the progressive springs on the market and the linear ones they supplied to me. With progressive springs the damping should also ramp up as the spring rate does so when the forks are compressed and the progressive part starts, the forks tend to be underdamped for the spring load. I didn't realise that. The damping rate is steady for a linear spring.

Cheers,
Carl

[SoulKiss]

I really dont understand why you didnt just go on your trip with the old fork set up and sort it all out after a geed weekend away.

Were the forks on your bike THAT messed up pre the conversion?

Sorry to hear about the weekend! On a rant-unrelated note, did you just go for a springs and oil kit, or the full cartridge conversion kit? They quoted me about 400 for the full kit I think which seems steep but matris seems the only alternative which is almost as much.

SoulKiss.
By the time I'd admitted defeat, my mates had already left and I was running out of 15 weight Oil. Even putting the originals back in the bike, would have taken another hour. Not fair on the lads. I'd already taken half their day off them.

Jonboy,
I just did the springs/spacers and Oil. Didn't do the cartridges. As it turned out, just going up to 15 weight and using 0.95kg/cm springs was good enough. Maybe if you're putting it on the track the full conversion would be required but the standard cartridges are working well. Very well!

Cheers,
Carl