My Personal Suspension Thread

[RacerXnh10]

Yep, another suspension thread.

I'm looking to put some $$ into the suspension of my '10 Daytona. Bike is used for spirited riding with some commuting and will soon be doing a few track days a year now that the GSXR is gone.

With that said I don't have the budget or need for all brand new top of the line stuff, and I'll probably end up either doing the front end or the back end now and the other come spring time.

If you were going to either toss a different shock and spring in the back or setup the forks with the right springs / oil / valves etc which would you do first? Or maybe you have a completely different suggestion?

Also, there is a 2 way Elka on the Triumph board already sprung for my weight. Asking price is $525. He has 20-25 weekends on it. Do you think that would be worth pursuing?

Thanks for in input.

[Ductard]

I'm a bit of a noob so I'm interested to see what people have to say, but I'd bet the front is a bunch more important than the rear.

That's your direct connection to the tires through the bars, also the most compressed during hard braking (where a little bump is more likely to bother you than when you're under hard acceleration).

[Paul_E_D]

THe Elka is a no brainer as long as it has ride height adjustment. This bike wants the tail higher.

You don't mention your weight, so I don't know if you need springs. Unfortunatley, the front end of this bike needs one thing more than suspension upgrades... Triple clamps... Chaching!

[union]

20-25 just cruising weekends or 20-25 race weekends. At 20-25 weekends I would considering rebuilding it. If its 20-25 race weekends it certainly needs to be rebuilt so consider that into the price equation.

[RacerXnh10]

In gear I'm about 200 lbs ... though on my way down.

The Elka has 20-25 track weekends on it, a mix of open days and race weekends. It does not have ride height.

The other option is I can get the Ohlins from the 675 R, doesn't have ride height or hydraulic preload, for $600 or the MKII for $850 ... but $850 is more than I wanted to spend. Either of those are brand new.

[CBR929RE]

20-25 just cruising weekends or 20-25 race weekends. At 20-25 weekends I would considering rebuilding it. If its 20-25 race weekends it certainly needs to be rebuilt so consider that into the price equation.

I'd rebuild anyway. still a no brainer.

[RacerXnh10]

Well the Elka will be out. Now the question is front end or back end first. Leaning towards front but if I come across a great deal on a shock I may start there.

[MFChop]

He might be a bit far from you but contact Jonn Dixon at Advanced Traction.... He'll point you in the right direction :

https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedTraction

[Gecko]

Well the Elka will be out. Now the question is front end or back end first. Leaning towards front but if I come across a great deal on a shock I may start there.

I'd kind of lean towards the front end too. However, whenever I had these types of questions, I gave Peter Kates at GMD Boston a call and sought his sage advice (or you can post in the GMD Computrack Boston sub-forum on this site). He'll get a sense of what you want to get done, figure out some options and let you know what you can do for what kind of money. Who knows, maybe he'll even be able to get you were you want to be on both the front and rear for what you want to spend now.

[CEO]

The front end on the daytona is the area that needs the money spent... do that first if you have to only do one.

Or just keep your eyes out for stuff on the wera boards.

[RacerXnh10]

I agree the front needs to be done, but I'm really leaning towards that MKII since its a $1500 shock and I can get it brand new with the correct spring for $850. That leaves me all winter to yank the forks and work with them.

I can also install a shock in an afternoon where I don't have the tools or know how to tear into the forks so it will leave the bike unrideable on a front stand for at least a week or two while I send them out.

I appreciate the insight, and if anybody thinks this is a terrible plan its not a done deal yet so talk me out of it!

[CEO]

They are selling TTX MKII sprung to your weight on hardracing for 975 on a blowout, brand new. Usually they have the best prices for ohlins. So if you're getting it less than that, you know it's a good deal. http://hardracing.com/OhlinsShocks.htm

[island boyeee]

interested to see what you decided. I'm currently mulling over the options of rebuilding my front forks, since they randomly started leaking. I've decided to just do an oil and seal change, since the springs are right for my weight (150ish). But I'm not sure if I want to tackle it myself and make some tools of my own, or just have Pete do it.

Also contemplating a new rear shock while I'm at it. But yes, it's crazy money. The Elka 4-way for $795 custom built seems pretty legit.

[RacerXnh10]

I pulled the trigger on the TTX MKII today. Felt like too good a deal to skip out on. I also ordered some of the linkage plates to reduce the extreme rising spring rate. Should have everything installed within the next couple weeks. If I don't feel like I got my money out of it I can probably unload it on the 675 forum for close to what I paid.

I looked into forks when I did the GSXR. Figured it was better to have the pros work them rather than me either buy spring compressor tools or try to work out the homemade ones. Like I said I can get the rear shock done in an afternoon so it beats having my bike out of commission for a couple weeks in the summer. Of course if I had leaking seals it may have been enough to sway me the other direction ...

[island boyeee]

Was that deal a private sale, or are they available for $850 somewhere I'm not seeing?

Are you talking about the MKII flux plates? I have already installed those. Seems like everyone swears by them pretty much.

From all my reading, it seems most people agree that the front springs are fine for riders in the 150 lbs range, and that just an oil change/upgrade is a must. So I'm definitely going to do that, but figure if I can pull it off myself, I will be able to do it in the future, and save myself quite a bit in the long run. So this way I figure I can fork over the extra now to upgrade the rear setup.

Then I will take this all to Pete to have him confirm my work and dial everything in.

[RacerXnh10]

Riders Discount did a big buy with Ohlins and was selling them to 675.net members. I hate to say it but I grabbed the last one, according to him. He still has the TTX without hydraulic preload and ride height adjustment for $600 new. Not a bad deal there either, but still a ton of $$.

Those were the plates I was talking about. Did you notice a difference when you installed them? They also need shims to bring the bike back up to the stock ride height, and may take some tweaking on the other adjustments since you pick up so much more travel with them. My shock will be here Saturday but I'm going to wait until the plates get here and do it all in one shot.

[island boyeee]

No worries. I just jumped on a slightly-to-moderately used TTX, I believe the MKI, since it was purhcased in 2011. It has the hydraulic preload adjustment, which is key for me since I ride with my gf often. $750. another $95 to have the oil changed. I'm going to have my forks all freshened up as well, and then everything will be dialed in again.

I can't remember if I really noticed a difference with the plates. I hadn't had the bike for long, and I hadn't done any track time, so I probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. I just saw enough people swearing by them to convince me to get it. The mod bug is strong with me.



Barring any other unexpected circumstances, it looks like I should be making it to Thompson on the 17th to check it all out!

[RacerXnh10]

Niiiiice. I was wondering if it was you that picked the one off the Triumph classifieds.

I really want to get down to Thompson myself. Trying to build a house this fall too so it may need to wait till spring time, but I started collecting stuff for the Daytona as soon as I sold the GSXR. I have a 2nd set of wheels ready for some takeoffs, a set of track bodywork, a cheap pre rashed tank, and now the shock.

When I think of it like that, all the expensive stuff is done. I'm only behind a couple hundos and the trip down there.... hmmm

[island boyeee]

haha do ittt!! and if not, lend me your body work, and those wheels so I can put the takeoffs I have on them

I'm still contemplating if I want to get track body work and extra wheels before then... but I think I'm spending enough on suspension for this year.

Thanks for your reply on the triumph forum btw

[RacerXnh10]

You can definitely snag the wheels if you want them. You just have to drive up and grab em. The bodywork isn't drilled yet but if I get to mounting it up you're welcome to that too, but I need it all back shortly after because I just won an auction for the 29th.

[island boyeee]

Wow that's very generous of you! I actually just sent payment for an upper and lower fairing tonight, just needs a little fiberglass work and some paint. If you want the takeoffs when I'm done with them, I'd gladly mount them on your wheels, instead of swapping my street tires off and back on my wheels.

[RacerXnh10]

I'll shoot you a PM.

As far as suspension goes I mounted that MKII and it feels pretty good out of the box. The bike feels really settled and rather than driving wide when leaned over and under throttle it really holds the line nice. It was night time so I haven't really flogged it yet. Hopefully today is the day for that.

[island boyeee]

Mine gets to GMD on Friday. If he somehow gets that and my forks done by this weekend, I'll be ecstatic.