wondering which way to go

[jetmechmarty]

Traxxion Dynamics will sell you the Race-Tech emulators for cheaper than Race-Tech, and if they have your forks, the price includes the damper drilling. I suggest you call them and speak to a tech rep. I got a tour of the place and I was impressed with the whole operation. I also got positive feedback on Traxxion from the Race-Tech tech rep. To do it over, I'd give my forks to Traxxion. I will do just that with the next bike I do.

[bcknblkbird]

this is good stuff. thanks to all !

[jetmechmarty]

If you are committed to riding the XS11, and can afford it, the emulators are the way to go. (short of swapping the front end) To make it all come together, new straight rate springs and new shocks will be in order as well. The rep from Race-Tech suggested YSS shocks as good and cost effective. The rep at Traxxion Dynamics told me they had economical options as well. We all understand most of us aren't working on a $10K bike, so $2K in suspension upgrades may be ridiculous. The folks at Traxxion and Race-Tech understand that, and they are willing to help.

[crazy steve]

I'll be the devil's advocate here (sorry Marty! ) and point out that these 'hi-performance' suspensions, while great for wringing out every last bit of handling capability in the XS, can also be a bit hard to live with on a daily basis if you value riding comfort. I've installed a full RaceTech suspension on another bike, and removed it when it proved to be too harsh for my tastes as well as lacking good enough compliance for some of the rough roads I travel. While the emulators alone can offer an upgrade, they can be a bit difficult to set-up (a very messy process) and you can 'tune' the stock suspension to approach them in performance by changing the fork oil weight and amount of oil. You may need only new springs after properly rebuilding the forks...

I'm a fan of Progressive Suspension springs (which Marty hates), but have found them to be the best compromise in terms of handling/comfort for me....

YMMV....

[jetmechmarty]

Steve,

I have been disappointed by the ride too. I was happy to learn that I'm not properly tuned. I will report back on that once I have it straightened out. I won't get home again until 7 Nov. You are not the only opinion I respect, who likes progressive wound springs. I'm not going to knock it as we all know how I feel about them. I have another friend riding a hopped up XS650 cafe with Race-Tech emulators and new Progressive springs. Last I saw him, he told me the springs have to go. Suffice it to say emulators will perform best with straight rate springs. I think mixing the technologies won't yield the best results.

[crazy steve]

Marty, I won't deny that if performance is your main goal, straight-rate springs is the preferred path to it. But every suspension is a compromise, you have to find what makes you happy. The XS suspension does have inherent flaws that you'll never totally eliminate, you can only mitigate them.

And I don't dislike emulators (I've installed a set in the FJ forks I'm putting on my 'modder' bike; I'm not looking forward to the set-up process...), but feel that for a 'average' rider they're a rather expensive, difficult-to-install bit that won't show much for the rider. As to them working with progressive springs, I had no beef with them. I did have to readjust them a bit, but they still eliminated brake dive nicely (which was the main reason I fitted them in the first place). I did end up replacing them with some aftermarket dampers that gave very nearly the same performance but banished the last of the 'harshness' that I couldn't quite eliminate, but the swap was done mainly because I liked the 'no moving parts' operation of the new ones.

FWIW, when I rebuilt the '81 standard forks that I installed on the SG I rebuilt and sold, I installed a used set of slightly long/heavier '78 standard springs, used 10W oil, and added more oil (250cc total in each fork). This worked out very nicely, as the forks were firmer than stock, much less dive, and only a trace of harshness. A low-buck solution....

[jetmechmarty]

bcknblkbird,

It looks like you have as many options now as when you first posted. Good luck with whatever direction you decide to take.