valve emulators install help

Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
418
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
Bike
1994 ST1100
Yesterday I've received fork valve emulators and new springs but those instructions I cannot comprehend. Does anyone installed them before and can help me with this?

Mark
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
2,211
Location
West Michigan
Bike
'98 ST1100
STOC #
8470
give RaceTech a call. They will help you.

The emulator goes in the left fork - the left fork has the piston damper. The piston has to have the existing holes enlarged and extra holes drilled in it. So the forks have to be disassembled to remove the piston. The emulator drops in on top of the piston. Make sure it's sitting flush on top of the piston and not cocked.

I assume you got a Gold Valve & Emulator kit .....

The new gold valve replaces the stock valve in the right fork. Installing that is more tricky than installing the emulator, IMHO.

Like I said before, give RaceTech a call ( or send the the forks and let them do the job ). Good Luck !
 
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maximark
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
418
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
Bike
1994 ST1100
Thanks Jim. Good thing is that I have a spare forks so I can take my time with it. But I will call them. I found some articles so I'll read thru that.

Mark
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
2,211
Location
West Michigan
Bike
'98 ST1100
STOC #
8470
Thanks Jim. Good thing is that I have a spare forks so I can take my time with it. But I will call them. I found some articles so I'll read thru that.

Mark

Mark :

The tricky thing about installing the Gold Valve ( if I remember everything - it's been about two years since I did mine ) is selecting the right spring disks to build the Gold Valve assembly. They send you more than you will need. They specify which disks to use for the ST1100. So you will need a dial caliper or mike to identify each disk.

The directions were fairly good. You might find some downloads at the RaceTech site that will give you more info. And RaceTech has a really good suspension book available. You can get it cheaper from Amazon than directly from RaceTech.

You will also need to replace the stock springs - way, way too soft per RT for the kit. They have a spring rate calculator at their website. It says the stock springs are just perfect for a rider of zero lbs !!!

RaceTech also says Honda stock springs in general are way too soft if you are using the GV & Emulator kit because ( basically ) the stock damping ( for high fork velocities ) is way too harsh and Honda compensates by using soft springs. The RT GV & Emulator kit is designed to yield " plush but firm " damping. Sounds good to me !!
 
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maximark
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
418
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
Bike
1994 ST1100
In the forks on the bike I have progressive springs installed. With RT emulators bought springs 0.95 kg.

Mark
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
2,211
Location
West Michigan
Bike
'98 ST1100
STOC #
8470
In the forks on the bike I have progressive springs installed. With RT emulators bought springs 0.95 kg.

Mark
Mark:

I'm using the .95 springs too.

Did you notice at the RaceTech website that they recommend 15 wt in the left fork and 5 wt in the right fork when using the GV & Emulators ?
 
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maximark
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
418
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
Bike
1994 ST1100
No I didn't. To be honest, these two weeks are tough on me timewise since my mom's visiting until this friday and whenever I have a moment, I'm trying to finish up wiring to get the bike on road.
I've looked briefly on RT website and it will take a little more looking around to find there what I need. For some reason it's not "clicking" with me same as Android OS. I just don't get it. So I need to spend some time on their website.

Mark

P.S. right now I'm using 10W and It's a little too harsh for me.
 
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maximark
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
418
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
Bike
1994 ST1100
I'm not sure. That's why I wanna try RT with GVs. From what I've read it should be much much better.

Mark
 
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