First ride of the season tonight. Was so good to get out and get some rocks on the face.

Two major performance mods this past off season I want to provide a review on.

SE 204 cams: I put these into my stock 96" , no headwork or other engine mods other than my stage 1. After a new tune from FM, bike ran great with these cams. The Cam really encourages you to push your bike through the rpm range to hold the torque - you almost don't want to up shift. If you like to get on it and stay on it, it is an awesome cam choice. I also really noticed on the highway in 6th at 125km/hr, the bike cruised with less effort. While on the hwy when I went to pass, I find myself dropping to 4th rather than 5th. The top end of 4th was taking me to 135-140km/hr before asking for an upshift - it was smile enducing.

They also have a great lope at idle and rip saw/chop sound at mid range. They really woke up my TH. They aren't stump pullers out of the hole, but that's not want I wanted. Super happy here.

New progressive suspension: I'm about 280 and ride 2 up frequently. I opted for the heavy duty progressive drop in springs up front and 444 heavy duty 12" in the rear (300lb spring rate). I know a lot of you run some pretty advanced systems up front, and my drop ins are far from advanced. I can tell you they were 100% worth the $120 I spent. Nose dive drastically reduced, much firmer and much more controlled front end without sacrificing comfort.

I'm not sure I'm as happy with the 444's, but they are a huge improvement over stock. It took a minute for me to realize my daily highway with usually causes a lot of suspension jitter was noticeably smoother. I felt like the 444's did an amazing job on evening out any of the small variances on an uneven highway and making it feel super smooth. They were less accomplished on the big bumps - definitely reduced bounce and rider transfer but I guess not as good as I had hoped. They do feel like they do a nice job of keeping you in touch with the road.

Overall the suspension mod was awesome. As a a big guy, the stock suspension didn't let me ride as aggressively as I wanted to. The move to upgrade the suspension to fit me was well worth it. I feel like I can really attack corners, brake hard and approach less than ideal roads without backing off the throttle.

Hope this helps any of you thinking about the same mods. Ride safe everyone.

 

Thanks for the review. Have you had a chance to ride with a passenger yet?

 

Nope. Slipped one past the goalie and the OL has one in the oven. I'm riding solo for a while.

 

Haha, you ole' hockey player you

Congratulations on the little hockey player and the good work on the cams, wakes that engine right up don't it!

 

What weight oil you running up front? I haven't got my springs installed yet but got the same ones waiting.

 

SE heavy which is 15wt I think. Super happy with the front end mod.

 

Haha, thanks suede. Even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut.

 

I'm happy with my 444's on the back. Good quality at a fair price. I've kept my front fork springs stock, but replaced the oil with SE, which gave me more feel for the front tire. I'm thinking about getting the progressive springs. If I do, I may go back to stock fork oil. A cam would be nice, but I'm no longer a speed demon, so it's a "nice to have," but "not necessarily needed" item.