valve emulators, 83-83 650

[genespleen]

Hi All,

I've written Race Tech on this, but they're not talking to me. So I ask the forum: has anyone installed valve emulators in their forks?

I believe that a set is available for the post-91 750, and for the 700s, but do not know if Race Tech makes a set for the 650.

best,
David

[Laminar]

I haven't heard of anyone doing these on a Nighthawk here. I'm planning on a set for my Sabre first thing this spring, gotta keep up with the lighter, nimbler bikes in North Carolina. Your best bet may be to get the three important measurements (fork spring ID, damping rod upper ID, and upper fork tube ID and match those measurements up to the spreadsheet from their site here.

For those unfamiliar with cartridge valve emulators, essentially they eliminate the damping action due to your stock damping rods and replace it with a simple valve system that allows you to tune high speed compression damping, low speed compression damping, and rebound damping separately. This eliminates the need for Honda's TRAC system by allowing you to tune low speed damping separately and it allows you to have great handling but maintain a smooth, comfortable ride.



More from their site:

http://www.race-tech.com/HTML_FILES/DampingRodForks.HTML

They run around $170 for a pair. I thought about making my own for a while but 1 ft. of appropriately-sized brass rod alone would run me $100. eMachineShop looked viable except that for anything resembling a reasonable price I'd need to order 10 of each machined piece, putting my initial investment in a prototype at over $600.

[LOKi]

I have them on my bike. It helped in the dive and made everything a little more stable up front. It's hard to say if this was due to the emulator or the new springs because I upgraded to Progressive springs at the same time. While they do allow a lot of fine tuning they are a pain to get to . They live at the bottom of your forks so if you do want to adjust them you have to pull everything apart.

Remember to check the fluid levels suggested with the emulator. They take up more volume so the level is different when filling the forks.

[Laminar]

I didn't know you had 'em! Did you drill out the holes in your damping rods? I'm pretty sure the Sabre uses the same part number as the Nighthawk, they both have 41mm forks.

[LOKi]

Yes I did drill them out.