1986 VFR 750 Race Tech springs and cartridge fork emulators

Alright guys. I pulled the trigger on a RaceTech front end upgrade for my 86 VFR 750. After everything goes in next week I'll do a little write up, maybe post some pictures of the installation.

 

please do and take a lot of pics...oh and congrats

 

Yes please, pics and a thorough write up would be greatly appreciated.
I am thinking of doing this upgrade.

 

I have done this to my bike,emulators using original springs 12.5wt oil (@ 140mm) complete with fork brace.If you need any help give a shout.

If I have time (this week)will do a write up as well

 

Please tell me about how the front end responds now. By the way, when I talked to Racetech they told me the current recommendation is to use 20 weight oil with their emulator. Or lighter oil if you want a quicker rebound.

 

Done approx 13 k miles with the emulators.Last 5k miles with final set up.
I weigh 168 lbs with full riding gear & carry a pillion (missus) 50% of the time.
O.E. wheels & tires sizes, with BT45 tires, forks at stock height in yoke, Sag & rider sag at stock height.
Using a Wilbers shock on rear set up for correct static & rider sag etc.

After a lot of experimentation with different settings on the emulators, oil levels, progressive springs, stiffer springs 0.9kg racetech.

Come to a final compromise of using following set up :-
· o.e. springs which are linear
· 140 oil from top of tube
· oil weight 12.5wt (use different weights to tune rebound- I found that 15 & 20 wt was way to slow on rebound. 10wt was a bit too quick 12.5 wt was bang on.)
· emulator at 2 turns (using 64lb spring which comes already installed)
· Fork Brace.
This set-up gives me a very comfortable & compliant ride when I want to just cruise & its firm enough for fast riding, equal if not better than a Honda VFR750 FV & CBR600 (1998),both with cartridge forks that I used to own. Rough bumpy roads are very easy to ride on no po-going etc, on smooth tarmac its excellent, no excessive diving when on the brakes & no bottoming or topping out of forks. (Take note the emulator installation disables the anti dive)

All in all I would have to say it is a 90 % improvement over stock to get the other 10% maybe fit 17" wheels with radial tires. But why go to all that extra expense, when for the price of emulators, new oil & about 4hrs of your own workshop time you have a bike which still looks as it came from the factory, but handles much better than stock.
Don't worry about the bias tires and their width. This bikes handles very well, just trust the tires. You will find your limit way before these will give up. And do not be tempted to get a wider rear tire, I tried a 140*70*18, when fitted it was actually narrower than the 130*80*18 by 3mm and only used 65% of profile.complete waste of money & never felt safe on it.

I decided to fit a Telefix fork brace & have to say that while there’s a slight improvement on fast sweeping bends & slow speed manoeuvres on normal road conditions, it’s not essential. It comes in to its own when on a track day for example with the emulator set at 5 & bias tires the bike handles very well for 24 year old, gives the newer bikes a run for their money.

Hope this helps, remember to remove all anti dive valves etc from inside forks when you have it apart, if you do not it will still partially operate the system dispite what race tech say.
Any more questions, do not hesitate to ask.
Cheers

 

installed

Hey guys. The new .95 Racetech springs and cartridge fork emulators are installed. I had worked on the forks last summer for new seals so I had a bit of experience already. Everything else on the bike is stock.

The added height of the spring and emulator produced an extra 22 mm of preload height. I cut off that amount from the plastic spacers to end up with 20 mm of preload. Contrary to some advice here I did not remove any of the guts of the anti dive per Racetech's suggestion. Also, they're was a giant burr in one of the damper fork plungers which kept the emulator from seating. Looked like a manufacturing flaw. Cut off the burr on a lathe.

The emulator came with the heavier yellow spring and was pre adjusted to three turns of the screw. I left that as is. Ended up using 15 weight fork oil.

I went for a short 15 minute test ride and the ride is better. Seems like the forks have a bit more travel now, but there is more firmness and a more linear type of resistance as Racetech promoted. Not sure if the anti dive is still functioning but I can't feel it and I'm not sure if it ever did anything anyway. At this point I wouldn't say that the front end feels quite as solid as some mid nineties sport bikes I've ridden. Maybe I could stiffen the ride some more, but with how it's set up now the emulators do make a difference I can feel.

If you feel confidant working on your forks it's a do it yourself job. Thumbs up.