Racetech Gold valve question

Rhubarbray

Rhubarbray

Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
195
Age
58
Location
Ottawa, ON
Bike
'04 ST1300,
For those who have the Gold Valves in their forks, I currently have the forks apart and I'm looking at the shim choices. For rebound, Racetech is recommending the r19 stack and for compression the c34 sack. But they're saying those are for a "sporting" ride. Do they mean if I want to take it to the track and set it up like a racebike? I'm being a little sarcastic but it's a little hard to know when someone else is trying to describe a feel.
I'm looking for something that handles well but isn't going to pound me over the bumps. They are recommending a r17/c32 stack for a " plusher/ softer " ride.
Am thinking of the setup in between but would like to hear from guys ( and ladies ) who have a similar setup.

Yes, I have already contacted Racetech but they're closed for the holidays.
 
On my St100 I did the r19 or whatever the equivalent is for the bikes sporting set up.
It handled great. I felt that I could give up some sport for some comfort though, however, not enough for me to change it at that time.
When I did my St1300 I did the r18. It is a touch more comfortable on the hard edge bumps and I don’t feel that I’ve lost anything in the sporting department.
 
Rhubarbray said:
For rebound, Racetech is recommending the r19 stack and for compression the c34 sack.

They are recommending a r17/c32 stack for a " plusher/ softer " ride.
Click to expand...
The compromise looks obvious: R18 and C33.

My only expedience with non-stock suspension is the Traxxion Dynamics forks and Progressive shock/spring that was put on by the PO. I have no idea what the set-up of the forks is, but I did raise the rear in response to my greater weight, which greatly improved handling due to the steeper steering geometry..

I can tell you that the bike handles mountain twisties very well.
 
sirbike said:
When I did my St1300 I did the r18. It is a touch more comfortable on the hard edge bumps and I don’t feel that I’ve lost anything in the sporting department.
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking of doing and just wanted to hear from someone who had done it.

thanks guys.
 
I put the 17c stack in for the plusher ride. My reasoning was this: The interstate that is 5 minutes from my house, and that I ride regularly has bumps that I think are due to expansion/contraction of the blacktop over the underlying concrete slab. They occur at regular intervals of around 100(?) feet. These bumps sent a shock up the front end and bounced the bike before I installed the Gold valves. The jolt over RR tracks was also significant. Afterward, the best way to describe the impact was it was spread out and much more gentle - sort of like a push as opposed to a jolt. The difference was so great up front, that I characterized the rear wheel's response to these bumps (and RR tracks) as a kick in the glutes. I sent the rear shock off to RT for their Gold Valve the following winter. I'm not an aggressive rider, but I can keep up with the ST guys in our OHSTOC rides, and found that the bike felt much more 'planted' in the curves. I suspect the stiffer valving makes a difference for higher speed riding than I usually do. Btw, I weigh 150#, 169 w/ all the gear.
 
I have been messing with Gold Valves on a number of my bikes over the last 15 years or so, and have been fine-tuning my GV-equipped 1300 since I bought it in March. Ride comfort is mainly down to the compression stack, and on the heavier 1300 I have gone with C33 as a decent compromise. C32 is a bit light and squishy and C34 a bit harsh. The compression damping absorbs the shock of hitting a bump, the stiffer you make this the more jolt will be transmitted to the chassis, but the more feel of control you will have. For rebound you need to match up to the spring rate, my bike has 1.0kg/mm springs and in my opinion rH19 is just enough but could be higher, and I'm planning on increasing the stack next time I'm working on the forks.
 
Good to know and for confirming what I was thinking of doing. I know shim stackup is part art, part science but it's still amazing how changing one shim has such a dramatic effect. Just wondering, what do you weigh? I also have the 1.0 springs downstairs and weigh 220 lbs or 100 kg. I understand springs are changed to compensate for the weight of the rider but does shim stack change due to rider weight?
 
The short answer is no. With a bit of a caveat. If you put on a few pounds, your bike will sit lower, so you need to add preload. Your springs support the bike and the rider, and the ride attitude needs to remain reasonably constant (sag needs to remain w/in certain limits) or handling will change. Within this range of variation, nobody except pro racers will fine tune the damping of the shock and thus the shim stack*. If you change the rider's weight enough to require different springs, then yes, adjusting the shim stack will fine tune the suspension.

*I should add, and those who have bikes with high tech shocks with adjustable compression and rebound damping on the top of the fork.
 
When I did the gold valves on my ST1300, I followed the instructions for the sportier ride. What I discovered after installation is that the bike rode much less harshly than the OEM setup. I think this is due to the better compression damping set up, even with choosing the sporting option.
 
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Some of the ride quality is the oil used .5W or 7.5 is not the same for all brands . Use a high quality fork oil ,local shop may be usefull here and follow their recomendations .
 
This web page contains a table of suspension oils that contains the viscosity ratings (in centistokes, CSt) so you can more accurately compare oil characteristics. I don't know how old this webpage, or its technical content, is.
 
And here I thought a centistoke was 100 of the guys who shoveled coal into steam engines........
 
I installed these on my bike and several other member's bikes. I used either Honda Pro fork oil, or Bel-Ray. The sportier shim stack will not be too rough unless you are looking for a Goldwing ride. This is a Sport Touring bike and responds well to RT Gold Valves. I still have my ST, but I also own a BMW K1600. I wish the suspension on the K1600 matched the RT suspension on the ST. This will be addressed next year. The ST really responds to having the front and rear addressed. It will become a totally different bike. As others have said, don't be afaid of the sportier settings as the Gold Valves handle the suspension in a much composed manner. Meaning that sharp edges are still fit, but they don't hammer the bike like the stock suspension. The adjustable caps help with the fine tuning, but I didn't run mine adjusted much from the stock position. The biggest thing is to make sure you get the sag set correctly. 36-38MM Rider sag on the front gives a nice relaxed but responsive suspension. A little less sag will help tighten things up, where more sag will loosen things up. Suspension set up is a Black Art and you will hear a lot of advice. I spent many months chasing my tail, and then finally follower RaceTech's recommendations. This gave me a good starting point from which I didn't stray to far.
 
One thing I was a little surprised at was what came out with the oil. When I bought the bike it only had 12k miles on it. When I dumped the first fork, the first bit of oil was surprisingly clean, then came the sludgy looking crap and when I looked in the pan I was a little surprised to see some fairly large flecks of aluminum mixed in with shimmering-metallic-paint-looking oil. Hopefully this is the "break-in" remnants and they will be good for a while.
 
My experience from fitting Gold Valves in the past is that the oil will be somewhat contaminated on the first change; I can only put that down to the material used for the rebound piston seal. Certainly the grungiest fluid accumulates right at the bottom of the fork leg and to some extent within the cartridge.
 
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