This can also be titled one guy's opinion of Gold Valves.
I have been unhappy with the way my ST handles bumps, specifically freeway blacktop expansion heaves that occur every 50(?) feet or so. These are not the concrete expansion joints. I also thought it was a bit harsh going over shallow potholes and everyday road irregularities. These jolts traveled right up through he handlebars and sometimes knocked my GPS into a sagged position.
Reading other threads on this site, and looking around the internet showed me that the Gold Valves seem to have a big following and everything I've heard is positive. I decided to go with the valves ($400) and not the caps that allow adjustments from the outside. Once dialed in, there would be no need to change the settings and I did not want t spend the extra $150 (which can be done at a later date should I feel the need).
Finished putting the bike together Tuesday, and went for our club's Wednesday ride. First impression: the bike is smoother - I noticed this going over the bump from my driveway to the street. Riding down the freeway to breakfast I started looking for bumps and damaged road surfaces. The impacts seemed to be spread out, as if I were taking the bumps in slow motion, and many were barely felt. The rear shock is still stock (though I did fill up the preload adjuster and turn it to the stock setting). The same bumps that were now missing in the front were felt clearly in the seat of the bike.
I've tossed around the word compliant a lot. My Gold Valve forks simply absorbed bumps without transmitting as much of the shock as they had with the stock valves.
The group ride was just under 200 miles long - the return trip on interstates. I found that I no longer need to stand up on the pegs when going over RR tracks, and one recessed manhole cover that I realized I could not dodge felt insignificant. Some of those expansion bumps were found on the trip home. I can only say they felt as if someone had ironed them down. Yes I felt them and they jarred the bike, but the severity was greatly reduced.
Our ride on Ohio State routes was mostly smooth with sweeper curves and few ‘twisties'. The bike felt planted but today's was an easy ride without pushing it. I'll know more in the coming weeks. Other changes that probably did not affect the feel as much as the new valving were a new set of tires and increased front fork preload. I used the stock springs. All of the replaceable parts in the forks (bushings, seals, etc) were renewed. The bike has 36k miles on the clock, and the original fork oil was dark but not thick soup. I came back with RT's suggested 5 wt oil.
Race Tech's customer service was great. I pestered their inside Tech Support guys with questions and they patiently answered everything. Mike Crow - their outside Tech man was over the top. He returned my call, was more than friendly, emailed me the custom valving instructions, and was every company's dream Tech Support guy.
One thing you should know. The damping is handled by a stack of shims atop a small aluminum disk (a tiny puck) with holes machined through it. When you hit a bump the oil forces the shims to bend and the oil squirts through the holes. Stiffer forks have a thicker stack of shims (less bending, less oil flow). Plush valving has fewer shims. Race Tech specifies four levels of damping for the compression and four for the rebound valves. The difference between any one of the levels is one 17 mm dia x .1.5mm thick shim. If #1 is used for the softest (plush) valving, and #4 for the stiffest, my ‘custom' setup was Level 2 compression and Level 3 rebound. RT suggests Level 3 Comp as standard.
So, was this worth $400? I went into this hoping for an improvement, and figuring if there was none to my liking it was worth the investment. Short answer is yes. Longer answer is in the 3rd paragraph above. A smoother ride will let me enjoy the bike more and not wear me out as quickly on long rides.
Now for the elephant in the room. Does anyone have recommendations for rear shocks that might match my improved ride up front? I've read about several people who have had problems with RT rebuilt shocks, but no complaints about Honda's stock rear shock. Are any aftermarket rear shocks as durable as the OEM? And as compliant as the Gold Valves?
I have been unhappy with the way my ST handles bumps, specifically freeway blacktop expansion heaves that occur every 50(?) feet or so. These are not the concrete expansion joints. I also thought it was a bit harsh going over shallow potholes and everyday road irregularities. These jolts traveled right up through he handlebars and sometimes knocked my GPS into a sagged position.
Reading other threads on this site, and looking around the internet showed me that the Gold Valves seem to have a big following and everything I've heard is positive. I decided to go with the valves ($400) and not the caps that allow adjustments from the outside. Once dialed in, there would be no need to change the settings and I did not want t spend the extra $150 (which can be done at a later date should I feel the need).
Finished putting the bike together Tuesday, and went for our club's Wednesday ride. First impression: the bike is smoother - I noticed this going over the bump from my driveway to the street. Riding down the freeway to breakfast I started looking for bumps and damaged road surfaces. The impacts seemed to be spread out, as if I were taking the bumps in slow motion, and many were barely felt. The rear shock is still stock (though I did fill up the preload adjuster and turn it to the stock setting). The same bumps that were now missing in the front were felt clearly in the seat of the bike.
I've tossed around the word compliant a lot. My Gold Valve forks simply absorbed bumps without transmitting as much of the shock as they had with the stock valves.
The group ride was just under 200 miles long - the return trip on interstates. I found that I no longer need to stand up on the pegs when going over RR tracks, and one recessed manhole cover that I realized I could not dodge felt insignificant. Some of those expansion bumps were found on the trip home. I can only say they felt as if someone had ironed them down. Yes I felt them and they jarred the bike, but the severity was greatly reduced.
Our ride on Ohio State routes was mostly smooth with sweeper curves and few ‘twisties'. The bike felt planted but today's was an easy ride without pushing it. I'll know more in the coming weeks. Other changes that probably did not affect the feel as much as the new valving were a new set of tires and increased front fork preload. I used the stock springs. All of the replaceable parts in the forks (bushings, seals, etc) were renewed. The bike has 36k miles on the clock, and the original fork oil was dark but not thick soup. I came back with RT's suggested 5 wt oil.
Race Tech's customer service was great. I pestered their inside Tech Support guys with questions and they patiently answered everything. Mike Crow - their outside Tech man was over the top. He returned my call, was more than friendly, emailed me the custom valving instructions, and was every company's dream Tech Support guy.
One thing you should know. The damping is handled by a stack of shims atop a small aluminum disk (a tiny puck) with holes machined through it. When you hit a bump the oil forces the shims to bend and the oil squirts through the holes. Stiffer forks have a thicker stack of shims (less bending, less oil flow). Plush valving has fewer shims. Race Tech specifies four levels of damping for the compression and four for the rebound valves. The difference between any one of the levels is one 17 mm dia x .1.5mm thick shim. If #1 is used for the softest (plush) valving, and #4 for the stiffest, my ‘custom' setup was Level 2 compression and Level 3 rebound. RT suggests Level 3 Comp as standard.
So, was this worth $400? I went into this hoping for an improvement, and figuring if there was none to my liking it was worth the investment. Short answer is yes. Longer answer is in the 3rd paragraph above. A smoother ride will let me enjoy the bike more and not wear me out as quickly on long rides.
Now for the elephant in the room. Does anyone have recommendations for rear shocks that might match my improved ride up front? I've read about several people who have had problems with RT rebuilt shocks, but no complaints about Honda's stock rear shock. Are any aftermarket rear shocks as durable as the OEM? And as compliant as the Gold Valves?