Suspension Mods Gen1
- Thread starter omc1984
- Start date
RedBull
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omc1984
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Meanwhile the WP-Shock is build and I will post some pictures tomorrow.
Still I haven't a spring. I will order a 140N/mm Spring tomorrow and mount it @8mm preload.
I am quiet unhappy with the way the nitrogen is charged at the WP-Shocks. So I mounted a nitrogen charging bolt to charge the nitrogen via needle. How ever...I am also thinking about converting the reservoir to bladder. But I think this is lower priority. The shock is working now properly.
I have to take a rest for the end of this weekend, because as I broke the reservoir cap loose from Loctite I heart by shoulder badly.
WP and I: Hate and Love Relationship!
if you look into the fork postings: the fork compression piston works absolutely stunning. The ugly truth is that I was setting up the shim stack wrong and didn't noticed it on the paper. So I reworked them.
As the fork compression pistons are looking a bit "wild"...I contacted a machinery and they build a new set of fork pistons for the busa. Simple right?
A 46mm shock piston for the WP Shock is also incoming
Still I haven't a spring. I will order a 140N/mm Spring tomorrow and mount it @8mm preload.
I am quiet unhappy with the way the nitrogen is charged at the WP-Shocks. So I mounted a nitrogen charging bolt to charge the nitrogen via needle. How ever...I am also thinking about converting the reservoir to bladder. But I think this is lower priority. The shock is working now properly.
I have to take a rest for the end of this weekend, because as I broke the reservoir cap loose from Loctite I heart by shoulder badly.
WP and I: Hate and Love Relationship!
if you look into the fork postings: the fork compression piston works absolutely stunning. The ugly truth is that I was setting up the shim stack wrong and didn't noticed it on the paper. So I reworked them.
As the fork compression pistons are looking a bit "wild"...I contacted a machinery and they build a new set of fork pistons for the busa. Simple right?
A 46mm shock piston for the WP Shock is also incoming
omc1984
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Finally the Spring arrived from Eibach:
...and I can finish the shock this afternoon.
As the OEM Shock has not a lot of mileage I am playing with the idea to rebuild the oem and revalve the stock piston or fit a K-Tech Piston System on it and combine it with the new Eibach Spring.
...and I can finish the shock this afternoon.
As the OEM Shock has not a lot of mileage I am playing with the idea to rebuild the oem and revalve the stock piston or fit a K-Tech Piston System on it and combine it with the new Eibach Spring.
bigoltool
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Now you need to write up a "Suspension setup for Neophyte Hayabusa drivers" thread. I'd read it!
c10
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Maybe I missed it somewhere , but looking at your avatar photo i'm assuming many track days planned for all this great suspension parts we see ? I envy the parts / abilities . I recently upgraded the wife's ride with some nice parts in the suspension . It makes a big difference 
Need to do my own bird , but waiting to see how many miles I can stand stock suspension . Currently 28,000 miles , but feel after reading your thread it might not make 30,000 .
Need to do my own bird , but waiting to see how many miles I can stand stock suspension . Currently 28,000 miles , but feel after reading your thread it might not make 30,000 .
omc1984
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Got Link?
Maybe I missed it somewhere , but looking at your avatar photo i'm assuming many track days planned for all this great suspension parts we see ? I envy the parts / abilities . I recently upgraded the wife's ride with some nice parts in the suspension . It makes a big difference
You don't have to make any changes or service to the suspension. But you might have to think about it. The oils and parts wear out of a lot of thousand miles. This means that propably will not recognize how bad your suspension works.
However. Suspension Hardware Setup and Settings is as unique as you. So making your suspension fitting especially to you iis a huge benefit in safety, comfort and also performance.
So please post us some data and we will find a setup advice here in a public environment? How does this sound?
I have PM'd you re info on the cartridge shim stack data, thanks.
I wish I knew a little about suspension setups to be able to make a decision as far as what to do with mine. All the options and internal parts make my head spin. I keep looking at the ohlins TTX shock, the old 406, the Penske double or triple adjustable and also the upgrades that can be done to the stock shock and can’t decide what to do, because I don’t know how the would compare to each other.
omc1984
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just tell us something about the way you ride, weight, and so on and we could have a deeper look into the options with pros and cons
Well, I’m between 200lbs and 210lbs without safety gear on and live in Florida, which is pretty flat and straight, but I want to take a few trips to the Georgia and carolina’S mountains next year, as well as a track day or 2. My main issue is not knowing how good the OEM can be made for a couple of hundred dollars and How that would compare to the rest. If I can get 70-80% of the performance of an ohlins with a properly setup OEM and at a fraction of the cost, I would be happy (I think?). I have to admit that I’m clueless as far as suspension goes and have never experienced any of the high end stuff, but I can tell that this OEM shock feels harsh and stiff, even though recetech says that I need a 14.3kg spring for my weight and the gen2 stocker is 14.5. My bike doesn’t have 15k miles yet, but maybe I need to service this thing? Maybe I need to listen to @sixpack577 and get my suspension professionally setup, instead of doing it myself? Front forks feel better now, after going to 1kg springs and putting 7w oil in them, but I wouldn’t mind getting some ak-20 cartridges. Only thing I don’t like about those components is the price. Lol
omc1984
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Alright...you are doing pretty everything with the bike. the hayabusa shoudl get the fork oil change every 5000miles and the shock at 10000miles. I know that there are different opinions in regards to that. but these intervals work very well for street rider. Track riding is a different and needs way more servicing.
however it is time to do something. I would not recommend going to the track with this setup - especially unserviced.
In regards to the shock...at least get them revalved and the true spring rate checked. the oem spring rate differ around +/-10%. Try to set sag and free sag. Pull the shock out and look for the preload the spring has. If there is more then 12mm preload on the spring...it feels harsh and needs changing to a stiffer (real) spring.
A proper revalve is a nice goodie. K-Tech or a GPSuspension Partner is my advice. If revalve, shock service/rebuild and a new spring is necessary...it might be better you go with a new shock. TTX are the best but needs a lot of servicing. same for ktech dds. Penske and Nitron are more durable. Make sure that you get a shock spring that allows you to ride with correct sag within 8 to 10mm preload on the spring.
The forks are a different story. You should think about at least a revalve from k-tech and use a spring of at least 10.5N/mm. 11N/mm would be better...again running low in real preload on the spring.
If you consider a Cartridge....go with an open cartridge from gpsuspension or ohlins....this will make things cheaper in service.
any further questions?
Thanks for all the info. If I go with Penske, do you think it would be worth in the long run to get the triple adjustable, over the double adjustable?
Ok, here we go . . .
Today I made a start on my original OEM '99 Busa forks at home in my garage, with help and the good info from omc1984 I will be disassembling the cartridges, thoroughly cleaning all components in the Ultrasonic cleaning tank at work, modifying the compression and rebound pistons as per our European friends specs, and reshimming the shim stack with specs he has sent me specific to my weight and riding style etc.
It's gonna be a mission, but it will be all worth it I reckon . . .
Here's some pics . . .
Below is the inside bore of the aluminum slider, on close inspection I noticed a wear area at the top of the slider (visible ring of wear about 10 mm in length and about 4 thou" in depth) which would explain the 'clonk' noise I was having at slow speeds over bumps.
The slider is basically junk now because of this wear, dammit.
Below, if you look carefully you can see the lip showing the depth of the wear.
Below, is my home made spacer tube compression tool, still attached to the spacer tube, and also the slide in plate to sit between the spacer tube and the damper rod nut, to allow access to the nut with a 17mm open end spanner to remove the fork cap.
Here's my messy bench lol
I'm posting this up in the hope that it will inspire some of more technically savvy Busa peeps to have a go, and do the work on your forks yourself.
It's awesome that our new member omc1984 is willing to help with the free flow of the necessary info to get our bikes working better and easier and safer to ride! What a guy!!
I will keep posting as I progress through this work, it will motivate me to keep working on it too.
Today I made a start on my original OEM '99 Busa forks at home in my garage, with help and the good info from omc1984 I will be disassembling the cartridges, thoroughly cleaning all components in the Ultrasonic cleaning tank at work, modifying the compression and rebound pistons as per our European friends specs, and reshimming the shim stack with specs he has sent me specific to my weight and riding style etc.
It's gonna be a mission, but it will be all worth it I reckon . . .
Here's some pics . . .
Below is the inside bore of the aluminum slider, on close inspection I noticed a wear area at the top of the slider (visible ring of wear about 10 mm in length and about 4 thou" in depth) which would explain the 'clonk' noise I was having at slow speeds over bumps.
The slider is basically junk now because of this wear, dammit.
Below, if you look carefully you can see the lip showing the depth of the wear.
Below, is my home made spacer tube compression tool, still attached to the spacer tube, and also the slide in plate to sit between the spacer tube and the damper rod nut, to allow access to the nut with a 17mm open end spanner to remove the fork cap.
Here's my messy bench lol
I'm posting this up in the hope that it will inspire some of more technically savvy Busa peeps to have a go, and do the work on your forks yourself.
It's awesome that our new member omc1984 is willing to help with the free flow of the necessary info to get our bikes working better and easier and safer to ride! What a guy!!
I will keep posting as I progress through this work, it will motivate me to keep working on it too.
Here's a racetech gold valve kit, but the time it arrives on my doorstep I'm paying double the price!
https://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/race-tech-suzuki-gsx1300r-hayabusa-99-07-gold-valve-fork-kits/
So that's why I'm doing my own mods as per omc1984's instructions.
https://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/race-tech-suzuki-gsx1300r-hayabusa-99-07-gold-valve-fork-kits/
So that's why I'm doing my own mods as per omc1984's instructions.
omc1984
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Honestly...the more you want to do with the bike...the more adjustability you need. You might start thinking about looking suspension videos. I recommend videos from dave moss. Start with stuff about setting sag (and free sag in the rear) for street and track!
The bushings don't look very bad at all. But I might have overlooked a damage!?
Damaged bushings are caused by 3 things:
1. they wear out of time and usage. especially if the lubrication is gone (bad and dirty oil)
2. the lower yoke/triple clamp has been tightend way to much. sometimes the torque given in the workshopmanual is too much.
3. always allign your forks -> this video explains how to do this. this also eliminates a lot of stiction
By the way, try this:
@Kiwi Rider You will get fantastic results with the racetech gold valve also. If you have the kit...you don't have to mod the oem priston. just be aware that it is a good idea to have the rebound piston revalved also!
Ok @omc1984, you got me motivated. I’m sure I’ll have some questions. Racetech chart shows that the stock gen2 spring rate is the correct one for my weight, so I’ll keep that spring. I want to see how good I can make this stocker on the cheap. I did spend some money on an fairly new shock out of a 2017 bike with less than 100miles on the clock. I just didn’t want to take my bike apart to experiment with its shock, so I’ll set up the one I just bought and then just do a quick swap on the bike. Do you think the Racetech “rebound separator nut” is worth doing? I read the info on their site, but not sure is worth it. We’ll see if I end up with a big grin and 1k dollars saved or crying and a couple of hundred wasted. Lol
omc1984
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I'am happy that I could motivate you.
In regards to your Shopping list...there are some Things to mention.
You don't have to use the racetech oil. You can also use Silkolene RSF, Maxima Shock Fluid, Redline or Motul VI400. What ever is available for you and cheap. The mentioned oils are all from high Quality.
The Bladder is not necessary to buy. You can reuse the OEM Bladder and Bladder Cap. Also...you could fit a Shrader Valve into the OEM Bladder Cap. So there is no Need to spent the Money on These parts.
The Gold valve is very good and Terms of Options on the valving a very nice kit. You could also contact a Ktechsuspension dealer and buy the Piston kit for the shock from him. It might be a cheaper...but also works very well.
But if you are using the Gold valve....you should also buy the Rebound separator. It minimizes the influences between the hydraulic adjusters. So for example, if you add some Rebound damping, you will not add compression.
Pay Special Attention to the spring. Check the free length and write it down. Set sag and free sag later and remove the shock from the bike again...hopefully the preload on the spring is between 8 and 12mm. then everything is perfect.
In regards to your Shopping list...there are some Things to mention.
You don't have to use the racetech oil. You can also use Silkolene RSF, Maxima Shock Fluid, Redline or Motul VI400. What ever is available for you and cheap. The mentioned oils are all from high Quality.
The Bladder is not necessary to buy. You can reuse the OEM Bladder and Bladder Cap. Also...you could fit a Shrader Valve into the OEM Bladder Cap. So there is no Need to spent the Money on These parts.
The Gold valve is very good and Terms of Options on the valving a very nice kit. You could also contact a Ktechsuspension dealer and buy the Piston kit for the shock from him. It might be a cheaper...but also works very well.
But if you are using the Gold valve....you should also buy the Rebound separator. It minimizes the influences between the hydraulic adjusters. So for example, if you add some Rebound damping, you will not add compression.
Pay Special Attention to the spring. Check the free length and write it down. Set sag and free sag later and remove the shock from the bike again...hopefully the preload on the spring is between 8 and 12mm. then everything is perfect.
Yeah, I saw other oil options cheaper, including amsoil “light” shock oil, but figured I would try this one and see. As for the bladder, I bought the cap, to make it easier next time I service it, since I’ve never tried installing a shrader valve on a shock. I will look into the separator valve and order it.
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