Fork mod options...or none

[1.21GW]

It's time to get my forks serviced.  FTR: 2001 M900Sie, which means Showa adjustables.

I am the 4th owner and, looking at maintenance records I've inherited, this may be the first time the forks have been serviced.  They currently are 1/2-1" from bottoming out on big bumps, so basically they are wet noodles.  I'm planning to just have them serviced which, depending on condition, may require new seals, springs, whatever.  So I'm thinking that if things are pricey, it may be worth some upgrade.

1) Obvious option is the common GXR fork swap.  Seems like a bit of a project (I'd buy some on ebay and have a shop do it) that I'm not sure I want to get into, especially since riding season starts soon (fingers crossed).  But I'd like some opinions on this option versus Showa adjustables.  It would be nice aesthetically to have gold forks vs current silver.

2) Other option is some kind of Ohlins insert to the existing forks.  This was suggested by the suspension tech I met with on my first track day last year.  Said fork service is usually 250-300, though if I went for the Ohlins inserts, it'd include the service and be around 500.  I tried to find more info but haven't come up with any, so maybe I was mislead.

3) Something else.  [insert idea]

4) Nothing.  Just get them serviced and ride.

[Speeddog]

Plan A: Oil, seals, Ohlins or RaceTech valves, and re-sprung for your weight.

Plan B: Oil, seals, and re-sprung for your weight.

[1.21GW]

What do the Ohlins/ Ractech cartridges offer that my Showas don't?

[Skybarney]

What do the Ohlins/ Ractech cartridges offer that my Showas don't?

Silk vs Sluge.  A well tuned Ohlins is oh so comfy.

[Howie]

Assuming the forks on your bike have never been modified the two biggest problems with the forks are the progressive springs and the valving.  The springs go from too soft to too hard and the high speed valving is way too harsh for our North Eastern roads.  Race Tech valves and proper springs for your weight will be a big improvement.  From there depends on budget and expectations.  The GXR forks are better, but they would still need to be set up for you.  

My (non adjustable) Showas have Race Teck valves and springs with an Ohlins on the back and I am quite pleased.  Proper tuning is the key, meaning shims, oil level and oil viscosity.  Mine were done by Eric, who is owns Club House Motorsports and is one of our sponsors.  Back then He worked for the famous Ducati dealer BCM.  I would recommend either Eric or (closer to home) European Cycle Services.  Steve, the owner is both Showa and Ohlins certified.

http://www.clubhousemotorsports.com
http://europeancycleservices.com/

[1.21GW]

Plan A: Oil, seals, Ohlins or RaceTech valves, and re-sprung for your weight.

Likely do this, but need to research cost a bit.  Why just the values?  From what I see, I can go for a value upgrade, spring upgrade, or whole new cartridge (spring, value, and some other things I assume).


Howie:
Would love to use Eric, but NH is a bit far.  I've met Steve at a NY Desmo Owners event last year and found him to be smart and nice and personable.  So I tried ECS for something last year and didn't love the customer service---really soured the experience.  Makes me hesitant to go back.  Heard many good things about Brooklyn Moto and was planning to use them, though I'm not set on it.  Hopefully, I'll have time to remove the forks this weekend and can get them serviced in the next few weeks before the service rush starts, wherever I decide to go!

[edit: changed 'hated' to 'didn't love', because I don't hate anybody.  Except maybe Hitler and King Joffrey]

[Speeddog]

Likely do this, but need to research cost a bit.  Why just the values?  From what I see, I can go for a value upgrade, spring upgrade, or whole new cartridge (spring, value, and some other things I assume).

~~~SNIP~~~

You can do a cartridge kit, for sure.
Usually they start at about $1k.

[Howie]

1.21GW, I sent you a PM.

[ducpainter]

Ship the tubes to Eric.

You won't be  disappointed, and  you won't have to drive.

[1.21GW]

I thought about that, DP.  Shipping my tank to you proved much better than finding a place around here, so I have a 100% satisfaction rate with shipping-to-NH-mechanics so far.     What's holding me back is that I don't have a NYC area mechanic I know/like/trust yet, so I thought forks is a good project to test a new guy out on.  As noted, BK moto is highly recommended, and Howie gave me the name of a independent Duc tech he liked.

In any case, I'll make a call on all this once I get the forks off this weekend.  See how much effort I plan to put in then---I get lazy quickly.  Also, $1k+ for cartridges is too much given I just spent $3k on new wheels, tires, sprockets, etc.  I may just do the values as Speeddog suggests or just basic service.  I guess I'm back at square one.  But at least 0.000001% smarter.  Thanks all. 

[ducpainter]

I thought about that, DP.  Shipping my tank to you proved much better than finding a place around here, so I have a 100% satisfaction rate with shipping-to-NH-mechanics so far.     What's holding me back is that I don't have a NYC area mechanic I know/like/trust yet, so I thought forks is a good project to test a new guy out on.  As noted, BK moto is highly recommended, and Howie gave me the name of a independent Duc tech he liked.

In any case, I'll make a call on all this once I get the forks off this weekend.  See how much effort I plan to put in then---I get lazy quickly.  Also, $1k+ for cartridges is too much given I just spent $3k on new wheels, tires, sprockets, etc.  I may just do the values as Speeddog suggests or just basic service.  I guess I'm back at square one.  But at least 0.000001% smarter.  Thanks all. 

It's obviously your call, but Eric can do your forks for far less than the cost of cartridges. There are a lot of great techs that don't have suspension mojo. Just a thought.

[DRKWNG]

Eric set up the forks on my SC.  Never had a complaint with them.

[MonsterHPD]

Well, risking to sound like I´m trying to promote myself, or like a record stuck in a groove, I´d still like to point you in the direction of my "Showa Blues" thread in the Tutorials section. personally, I would never spend money on the Showa "adjustables" on the Monsters, St´s etc. without modifying the internal hydraulics to a normal cartridge fork lay-out.

You could also check the January 2014 issue of Performance Bikes, where we tested "all" possible set-ups of these forks on the shock dyno at Reactive Suspension in York, UK. The results verified what I´ve felt thru all the work I´ve done on these forks: as they come, they are uncurable (thouh maybe not "unimprovable"); modify them to normal cartridge fork lay-out and they are just as good as anything else, including Öhlins R&T (which I also have on my M900).

The GSXr Showas are a little better than the Duc Showas, since they have a cartridge with 12 mm cartridge rod vs. 10 mm, increasing the working volume of the oil. I have adapted a set of GSXR cartridges to my Duc Showa, and with improved shim set-up and proper springs they are just as good as my Öhlins.       

[1.21GW]

Well, risking to sound like I´m trying to promote myself, or like a record stuck in a groove, I´d still like to point you in the direction of my "Showa Blues" thread in the Tutorials section. personally, I would never spend money on the Showa "adjustables" on the Monsters, St´s etc. without modifying the internal hydraulics to a normal cartridge fork lay-out.       

Just read your Showa Blues thread.  Thanks.  Also: way over my head, but the point regarding Showas was well made regardless.

[MonsterHPD]

Just read your Showa Blues thread.  Thanks.  Also: way over my head, but the point regarding Showas was well made regardless.

Thanks. It may look a bit daunting, but not over most peoples head, provided you farm out parts of it where you don´t have the necessary tools etc. I had the Duc workshop warning "don´t dismantle the cartridge" ringing in my head the first time I took the cartridges apart; I had no idea about these forks then.
It seems K-tech is the only company manufacturing the required holders, needles etc, the pistons in the K-tech kit are almost identical to the Öhlins kit for the 20 mm cartridges and best suited for tracks, but still much better than stock. It´s well worth doing.