which fork tube is which

John OoSTerhuis

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Bettendorf, Iowa
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1991 SSMST1100
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1058
.... I think because of the antidive mechanism, there is not enough clearance for the oil lock piece to fit in the left leg....
Hmmm... The anti-dive is external, on the outside of the left fork slider controlling suspension fluid movement through the holes in the slider. Nothing protrudes into the ID of the slider. If the oil lock piece from the right side won’t fit, is that somehow related to the left fork tube length or end shape?

I think I’ll just leave my forks “as is”...

John
 
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2005 ST1300
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8901
Hmmm... The anti-dive is external, on the outside of the left fork slider controlling suspension fluid movement through the holes in the slider. Nothing protrudes into the ID of the slider. If the oil lock piece from the right side won’t fit, is that somehow related to the left fork tube length or end shape?

I think I’ll just leave my forks “as is”...

John
And I'm absolutely fine with that John. I'm a tinkerer.

The oil lock happily passes through the end of the tube, but won't sit low enough in the leg to allow the socket bolt to reach the thread in the cartridge end; the leg may be machined to a different diameter right down low. It doesn't matter anyway.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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1991 SSMST1100
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1058
Race Tech is a good US company that has worked with ST1100 and ST1300 owners and developed a setup for our bikes (scroll down):
http://www.racetech.com/page/id/129
Their support for DIY’ers is by all accounts great. Detailed instructions are available:
http://www.racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/Honda/ST1100/1991-94
A nice example: http://www.racetech.com/download/InstructPDF/IP FMGV S2054C 1C1REMU ST1100.pdf
Does that setup look good to you, Terry?

Race Tech has been to quite a few WeSTOCs providing seminars and wonderful prizes. Good folks!

I’ve semi-seriously considered this over the years, I think I’m quite capable of DIY’g, but to date have only installed a set of Progressive Suspension springs, a SuperBrace fork brace (free with stipulations), and 10wt Pro Honda suspension fluid, all long ago. Oh yeah, and OEM replacement shocks every 50K or so. I suppose it’s one of those “don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it*” things, even though I’m very happy with the way my ‘91 rides; but for the amount of twisties I get to ride in a year, the HUGE PRICE of something like the Race Tech upgrade $$$$$ is a quite problematic experiment for my small Social Security and meager soldier’s pension budget. Gas, tires, oil and routine maintenance all add up...

*anybody want to let me ride their souped up suspension ST1100 for a comparo...?

Anyway, thanks for all the info guys, and for listening.

Regards, John
 
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John, if you can get to New Zealand then you are welcome to take my ST for a spin. Just keep on the correct side of the road!

The combination of a cartridge emulator on the modified damper rod, and Gold Valves in the cartridge and some stiffer springs would be very good. I have used the CE's before (1986 VFR750) and found them to work pretty well. RaceTech have a justifiably prominent position in the suspension world, and I have invested in the technical book written by Paul Thede which provides some more understanding on the details. Their standard recipes are in my experience very close to optimum, and anyone who puts their products in will see a massive improvement.

I have had a lot of experience with modifying the cartridges and springs in my RF900, VFR800 and VTR1000, and I've spent quite some time disassembling, changing shims and reassembling to get a reasonable feel for what works and what doesn't to suit my riding style and conditions. Sticking a second cartridge in the ST kept me on the known path, and was also a means to keep expenditure reasonable as I did not buy RaceTech parts, but went to an independent specialist (Daugherty Motorsports) with whom I've worked in the past.

It is quite true that you don't know what you don't know, and until you ride other, differently set-up bikes you have no real basis for knowing whether what you have is good or bad or whether some other set-up might suit you better. This is however a slippery slope and if you are like me you will keep wondering whether just one more change would make things even better....How and where you ride makes a big difference to what might be your preferred set-up. If I rode a lot of freeway miles and few twisty roads, then I would probably have kept the bike closer to stock, but I don't live there (and I'm not sorry):). It does make for a hefty tyre bill however as local riders get less than half the mileage reported elsewhere.

 
OP
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Sounds like you guys have figured it out, and Terry you sound like a smart dude, everything you mentioned is spot on. With me living in the desert and the fun way back is through a 200 mile long series of backroads and twisties, it will pay for itself to get my suspension set up to the way i like to ride. Yeah i might not get the mileage for fuel and tires that i should but it will keep me from killing myself on those decreasing radius turns and switchbacks that are in my area. I'm used to riding more uncomfortable bikes than this (1998 cb750sc, 1994 cb1000, 1971 cb750k) and have racked the mileage on all those bikes, i'm pretty sure i will be able to ride this one and still be more comfortable. One more thing John if i don't end up using both cartridge side forks i will have a extra gold valve kit i can toss your way, as both the sets of forks i have had a kit in them.
 

John OoSTerhuis

Life Is Good!
Joined
May 10, 2005
Messages
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Location
Bettendorf, Iowa
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1991 SSMST1100
STOC #
1058
John, if you can get to New Zealand then you are welcome to take my ST for a spin. Just keep on the correct side of the road....
Wow, a tempting offer, Terry. I’ll look into a Space A flight to your neck of the woods. :)

OK, it’s a “cartridge.” I got it now...

.... One more thing John if i don't end up using both cartridge side forks i will have a extra gold valve kit i can toss your way, as both the sets of forks i have had a kit in them.
Thanks! Keep me in mind, David, I’m not going anywhere, nor is my classic 1991 SSMST1100. :)

John
 
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OP
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It's not a problem John, the parts bike i got had a lot of useful parts on it and with the way things are going i won't be able to get the forks back together before january. The forks i took off the parts bike had bad bushings and money's tight as i'm trying to get into school. This bikes been apart since mid summer and as i'm rebuilding it more and more things are being found to fix, but i WILL get this one done, eventually.
 
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