Initial Impression: Race Tech ST1300 Suspension Upgrade Kit... Front and Rear
Executive Summary:
- Big improvement in the suspension and the ride quality
- Excellent handling, adjustable range from single to two up riding.
- Nice red spring to replace the old black spring.
- Just buy it.
Bike Specs:
- ST1300 ? 2004 NON ABS Model
- Suspension: Stock, no changes or upgrades
- Mileage: 6500mi at time of change.
Rider Specs:
- 20+ Year riding experience
- 3 years current racing/track days on sport bikes.
- Skill level: Above average.
- Weight: To much (The far far side of 275lbs)
- Passenger: Good sized wife (Not going to share her weight or size)
What was changed?
Front:
Upgraded springs from stock to 1.2kg/mm springs
Damping upgraded with Type 1 Gold Valve Kit ? Standard Type 1 Compression Kit (FMGV S2052C)
Rear:
Upgraded the rear spring from 16.1kg/mm to 28.6kg/mm.
Damping upgraded with Shock Gold Valve Kit - Standard Type 1 (P/N: Not Available)
Review: Matt over at Race Tech upgraded my ST1300 suspension during the month of September. I was able to pick up the bike on the 10th of October and ride it back from Ontario, CA to Phoenix, AZ. I have only put about 500 miles on the current setup, so this is my initial impression.
Lets jump into the WayBack machine and start from what kind of suspension I wanted from my race tech upgrade. First, I like the OEM shock?s hydraulic pre-load adjustment, as my goal was to be able to switch the pre-load based on one or two riders on the bike. I have a personal feeling that I do not need to change a lot of settings for the street. Once the bike is setup, I don?t feel the need to change settings all the time. In general a good base setup of static sag, dampening, etc should be enough for the street.
Because of this, I wanted to keep the front fork stock as much as possible. I was not interested in changing the cartridges from 20mm to 25mm is not that important to me. Just because the fork flows more fluid does not means the suspension will be better. I did not have a desire to have external adjustments, as I feel for street usage all these changes are a bit of overkill on a sport touring bike.
Out back, I was not interested in a remote reservoir rear shock. I like the OEM?s pre-load adjuster and if I am riding on the street hard enough to require a remote reservoir, then I am going a bit to fast. Again to me keeping the OEM body with an internal upgrade to the valving and a bigger spring would be best. I also wanted to have the bike setup so that when I am riding SOLO, that the pre-load adjuster was set to 0mm. When I ride two up I wanted to be able to dial in the pre-load adjuster to compensate for the passenger.
When I showed up on the 10th, Matt and the Race Tech crew went over all the changes. Front springs had been upgraded, the rear spring is nearly double the OEM rate and race tech was very happy with the final outcome. So after putting all my gear on and checking the air pressure, I was off to ride back to Phoenix.
The first section was a ride up the 91 freeway over to the 60 freeway going east. From the first turn I could feel the bike was ?Standing up? on its suspension. The bike felt a bit taller and the reach to the ground was much better. The bike just slightly sank under my weight when I bounced down on the seat. From the first V-Ditch crossing the street found the bike using its full suspension travel without hitting the bump stop.
Once on the 91 freeway, I went and found the worst choppy ride lane and rode for a bit. The choppy ride on the bike was much better with more suspension motion and less touching off the bump stop. Their is improved front feel though the handlebars and much better feedback on the road surface. The 91 freeway is under construction and some of the pavement is less than the best, and the new setup took the bumps well.
Moving onto the 60 freeway to the I-10 going west, I got a few miles of smoother pavement. At this point the suspension glided over any little imperfections, while at the same time a big bump would take the bike though the full suspension travel in a controlled way. This is a big improvement as I like to feel the bikes suspension moving though and over a bump than kicking me in the backside as we cross over that bump.
Running on the I-10 to Banning, some of the worst choppy ride I know of is on this freeway. The suspension took this well with a firm and controlled ride. There is a ton of feedback though the bars and the pegs while the bike is not bouncing around at the same time.
I took a quick stop in Banning to get some fuel and Run the bike up to Idyllwild via highway 243 and back down to Palm Desert via highway 74. The ride up 243 I was able to keep up a good pace and ride along at about 50% above the recommended corner speeds. The bike cornered very well with a light bar feeling, suggesting reduced trail due to the higher rear suspension setting. I was able to enter turns and then not have to add any bar pressure, which is a bit strange for the ST1300 for me. The bike changed direction easily mid turn and was not upset by a light brake pressure or change in throttle position.
Highway 74 is smooth and again the Race Tech suspension provided a great deal of feedback and smooth handling. I never opened the ST1300 up, but the bike was smooth, level and in control. As we changed pavement for the ride down the mountain to Palm Desert, the bike handled the pavement well and provided a ton of feedback. Traffic was heavy and the bike could not make a fast run down the hill, but turn to turn transitions were nice and quick.
The fun part of the ride was over, and now I had a 150 mile run from Palm Spring to my gas stop in Arizona. I slammed the 150 miles out in a bit less than 2hrs and with hardly any discomfort. This is a big deal as I tend to get uncomfortable around the 60 mile point and I am thinking of stopping at the 100 mile point. I crossed the 100 mile point and did not even think for a second to stop.
After a 15min brake I got back on for the 90 miles left back to home. Normally this is when I would be thinking about resting, but I did the whole run non stop without an issue. This is a big upgrade for me as I have not put serious miles on a bike in a while and my backside is not in the shape it was at one time.
Two days later, the wife and I go for a 60 mile ride on a mixed freeway, city street and super tight twisty road run. Changing the preload to maximum finds the bike with almost no static sag with just me on it. Putting the wife the sag feels good and the bike has almost the same feeling as being one up.
Did the whole ride and both the wife and I never felt a single bottoming of the bike. We did all the tight turns and the bike did well the whole time. Lots of feedback and a good controlled ride.
Overall Judgment: Go out and get this, it?s the best upgrade I can imagine for the ST
Executive Summary:
- Big improvement in the suspension and the ride quality
- Excellent handling, adjustable range from single to two up riding.
- Nice red spring to replace the old black spring.
- Just buy it.
Bike Specs:
- ST1300 ? 2004 NON ABS Model
- Suspension: Stock, no changes or upgrades
- Mileage: 6500mi at time of change.
Rider Specs:
- 20+ Year riding experience
- 3 years current racing/track days on sport bikes.
- Skill level: Above average.
- Weight: To much (The far far side of 275lbs)
- Passenger: Good sized wife (Not going to share her weight or size)
What was changed?
Front:
Upgraded springs from stock to 1.2kg/mm springs
Damping upgraded with Type 1 Gold Valve Kit ? Standard Type 1 Compression Kit (FMGV S2052C)
Rear:
Upgraded the rear spring from 16.1kg/mm to 28.6kg/mm.
Damping upgraded with Shock Gold Valve Kit - Standard Type 1 (P/N: Not Available)
Review: Matt over at Race Tech upgraded my ST1300 suspension during the month of September. I was able to pick up the bike on the 10th of October and ride it back from Ontario, CA to Phoenix, AZ. I have only put about 500 miles on the current setup, so this is my initial impression.
Lets jump into the WayBack machine and start from what kind of suspension I wanted from my race tech upgrade. First, I like the OEM shock?s hydraulic pre-load adjustment, as my goal was to be able to switch the pre-load based on one or two riders on the bike. I have a personal feeling that I do not need to change a lot of settings for the street. Once the bike is setup, I don?t feel the need to change settings all the time. In general a good base setup of static sag, dampening, etc should be enough for the street.
Because of this, I wanted to keep the front fork stock as much as possible. I was not interested in changing the cartridges from 20mm to 25mm is not that important to me. Just because the fork flows more fluid does not means the suspension will be better. I did not have a desire to have external adjustments, as I feel for street usage all these changes are a bit of overkill on a sport touring bike.
Out back, I was not interested in a remote reservoir rear shock. I like the OEM?s pre-load adjuster and if I am riding on the street hard enough to require a remote reservoir, then I am going a bit to fast. Again to me keeping the OEM body with an internal upgrade to the valving and a bigger spring would be best. I also wanted to have the bike setup so that when I am riding SOLO, that the pre-load adjuster was set to 0mm. When I ride two up I wanted to be able to dial in the pre-load adjuster to compensate for the passenger.
When I showed up on the 10th, Matt and the Race Tech crew went over all the changes. Front springs had been upgraded, the rear spring is nearly double the OEM rate and race tech was very happy with the final outcome. So after putting all my gear on and checking the air pressure, I was off to ride back to Phoenix.
The first section was a ride up the 91 freeway over to the 60 freeway going east. From the first turn I could feel the bike was ?Standing up? on its suspension. The bike felt a bit taller and the reach to the ground was much better. The bike just slightly sank under my weight when I bounced down on the seat. From the first V-Ditch crossing the street found the bike using its full suspension travel without hitting the bump stop.
Once on the 91 freeway, I went and found the worst choppy ride lane and rode for a bit. The choppy ride on the bike was much better with more suspension motion and less touching off the bump stop. Their is improved front feel though the handlebars and much better feedback on the road surface. The 91 freeway is under construction and some of the pavement is less than the best, and the new setup took the bumps well.
Moving onto the 60 freeway to the I-10 going west, I got a few miles of smoother pavement. At this point the suspension glided over any little imperfections, while at the same time a big bump would take the bike though the full suspension travel in a controlled way. This is a big improvement as I like to feel the bikes suspension moving though and over a bump than kicking me in the backside as we cross over that bump.
Running on the I-10 to Banning, some of the worst choppy ride I know of is on this freeway. The suspension took this well with a firm and controlled ride. There is a ton of feedback though the bars and the pegs while the bike is not bouncing around at the same time.
I took a quick stop in Banning to get some fuel and Run the bike up to Idyllwild via highway 243 and back down to Palm Desert via highway 74. The ride up 243 I was able to keep up a good pace and ride along at about 50% above the recommended corner speeds. The bike cornered very well with a light bar feeling, suggesting reduced trail due to the higher rear suspension setting. I was able to enter turns and then not have to add any bar pressure, which is a bit strange for the ST1300 for me. The bike changed direction easily mid turn and was not upset by a light brake pressure or change in throttle position.
Highway 74 is smooth and again the Race Tech suspension provided a great deal of feedback and smooth handling. I never opened the ST1300 up, but the bike was smooth, level and in control. As we changed pavement for the ride down the mountain to Palm Desert, the bike handled the pavement well and provided a ton of feedback. Traffic was heavy and the bike could not make a fast run down the hill, but turn to turn transitions were nice and quick.
The fun part of the ride was over, and now I had a 150 mile run from Palm Spring to my gas stop in Arizona. I slammed the 150 miles out in a bit less than 2hrs and with hardly any discomfort. This is a big deal as I tend to get uncomfortable around the 60 mile point and I am thinking of stopping at the 100 mile point. I crossed the 100 mile point and did not even think for a second to stop.
After a 15min brake I got back on for the 90 miles left back to home. Normally this is when I would be thinking about resting, but I did the whole run non stop without an issue. This is a big upgrade for me as I have not put serious miles on a bike in a while and my backside is not in the shape it was at one time.
Two days later, the wife and I go for a 60 mile ride on a mixed freeway, city street and super tight twisty road run. Changing the preload to maximum finds the bike with almost no static sag with just me on it. Putting the wife the sag feels good and the bike has almost the same feeling as being one up.
Did the whole ride and both the wife and I never felt a single bottoming of the bike. We did all the tight turns and the bike did well the whole time. Lots of feedback and a good controlled ride.
Overall Judgment: Go out and get this, it?s the best upgrade I can imagine for the ST
