Semi faithful, ground up restoration project!

[Wolfman]

Ok, have now taken a bit of time to get the suspension set up, and have been able to take the bike for a few decent rides in the Twisties, and i gotta say....this thing handles like it is rails!!! In the tight stuff, it just goes where you point it, changes line without any stress, if needed. It has impressed me with it's ability to carry big corner speed, both coming in, and coming out of corners...from 4000rpm, right through to 9000rpm, it pulls hard, in any gear...

The ability to hold a gear when needed to, is also great.

I gotta say, first impressions are that this bike is probably one of the sweetest handling bikes i have had the pleasure of riding....and this is with OEM suspension...admittedly, fresh rebuilt OEM suspension, with a heavier springs at the front, and a 5mm spacer at the top of the rear shock...but OEM suspenders they are....makes me wonder why you would bother spending big bucks on different forks, shock, etc....cause there aint nothing wrong with OEM stuff, when set up right!

Now i did notice one thing....being a bit of a TRX newb, I put the fork tubes back into the bike, with the tops of the tubes flush with the top of the handlebar holders atop the top triple clamp...

Then i read i my Haynes Manual, and it says that they should stick out above handlebar holders by 18mm! This was after i had assured myself, that the bike is handling beautifully, tipping into corners effortlessly, changing direction with no nastiness, etc...

So i go and look at a lot of photo's of TRX's with OEM forks, and nearly all have the fork tubes coming through to what looks like the recommended 18mm above the handlebar holders....

Now, i was going to adjust my forks to match what is recommended, but then thought, why bother, if i am already happy with the handling???

Am using both front and rear tyres evenly, with both tyres having about a 2mm "chicken strip" at each end, so the bike feels, and from tyre wear, appears to be well balanced....

Am coofused? i guess i will have to try pushing the fork tubes through the top triple the recommended amount, and see what happens???

[schmiffee]

Due to the 5mm spacer on the rear it may have already started to affect the handling as the front fork lowering would do, but it doesn't take very long to do, and if you don't like it it's a easy fix. I'd give it a go and you might be surprised with what you get...

[fung]

quite a few of us have used shorter link plates on the rear to raise the back end by 20mm or more.
Combined with 10 to 15mm more than the std 18mm protrusion gives a lovely turn in and a much lighter feel to the bike.
So how did you space the rear shock by 5mm.
Some pix is always a bonus.
Cheers
Fung

[Wolfman]

quite a few of us have used shorter link plates on the rear to raise the back end by 20mm or more.
Combined with 10 to 15mm more than the std 18mm protrusion gives a lovely turn in and a much lighter feel to the bike.
So how did you space the rear shock by 5mm.
Some pix is always a bonus.
Cheers
Fung

I think i have posted a photo of the rear shock, but basically we put a 5mm spacer on top of the shock spring, and below the threaded cap that holds ithe spring in place....does not increase ride height, but pre-compresses the spring 5mm more at all times...old speedway bike trick i think...

As for the front end, i just took the front end apart, and pulled the fork yubes through by 18.5mm, as per the Hatnes Manual recommendation. I will use this as a starting point, and see how it feels on my next ride...

I will say one thing, it looks sexier! LOL! But if i dont like it, that wont stop me from going back to the starting point i had, which i already thought was pretty bloody great!

If this is better, it's only going to make me even more impressed, with a great handling bike...what an awesome Chassis!

[fung]

by dropping the tubes thru the triple clamps and raising the rear using shorter linkage plates together, you keep the equillibrium of the bike.
i.e. head down ass up
see kayla for some plates yeah.
cheers
fung

[Wolfman]

Well i took the bike for a ride tonight, with fork tubes pulled through 18.5mm on each side...

Did a few laps of my local test track, and the results were good...bike still handled brilliantly, just turned in a bit quicker, and gave me a little bit more feedback from the front hoop. Absolutely no feeling that the bike wanted to tuck when cranked over hard in a bend.

Didnt really affect the weight on my wrists like i thought it might...

Using all of the front tyre now, and about the same on the rear tyre...little 2mm "chicken strip"...

I dont think i will do anything to the rear ride height, i am happy with how the bike feels now, and i like the fact that i am riding right on top of the back wheel, as well as being well over the front wheel at the same time...gives me a good "connection" with both ends of the bike...plus i can push the back wheel around a bit with a bit more weight over it.

I must say i am really impressed with the Dunlop Q2 tyres on the bike...plenty of grip over lots of varied road surfaces, very quick to warm up, very stable under braking, fantastic side grip, ...now running 30psi front, 32 psi rear...

[jonnyboy79]

So the Tighe cams you ended up getting. Where they a regrind of your std ones, or a complete new set?

Cheers

[Rod.s]

So the Tighe cams you ended up getting. Where they a regrind of your std ones, or a complete new set?

Cheers

They have a great web site, and offer new cams as well as regrinds I do think I'll be visiting them for some new cams!!

[QuickDraw]

Mine are a Tighe regrind with increased lift & duration. Really happy, exactly what I wanted. I'd recommend Tighe to anyone.