Race Tech make the bold claim that their:

"Emulators make damping rod forks perform like well-tuned cartridge forks."

If only!

I have them in my 2011 SuperLow and to be honest I cannot feel any benefit from them. They may as well not be in there, so there is a gulf between RT's claim and my experience! Have any of you found a way of setting these darned things which makes them actually work as advertised and genuinely improves ride quality? I also have Race Tech single-rate springs, which are fine.

The instructions do nothing to help understanding of how to identify what needs to be done to improve them, bearing in mind that making adjustments is a right pain, as the forks have to be part dismantled to get the valves out. Another statement of RT's is especially unhelpful:

"There is no ‘right or wrong’ setup....."

Well they certainly weren't right as supplied, so any hints and tips from happy Emulator owners are very welcome, especially those of you who have got them to work well with the short version of our Sporty forks!

 

You might read "the seven pages of suspension" over on xlf, and maybe PM member XLXR (I think that's the one). He's an expert on Intiminators, or Emulators, aren't they the same thing? Please let us know, I have been considering a front suspension upgrade on my '91 XLH soon.

John

 

Hi John, I have spent a while over there, with no success so far. Intiminators are made by Ricor and XLXR makes a big fuss about them, while Emulators are made by Race Tech. While they are both bolt-in damper devices and installed in the same way they are not identical. They both get differing reviews, according to my researches to date!

 

Are they just drop in valves with no possibility of adjustment to the valves themselves? In which case i cant see there is anything you can do other than change the oil thickness?

I seem to recall reading about folks enlarging the holes in damping rods by drilling them, but that wasn't on Harleys?

I have intiminators with 5wt amsoil shock therapy oil but they haven't given me the front end I was hoping for, better than standard but still not what I want. For me I think it needs new springs and hope the new springs will compliment the damping?

 

Emulators are adjustable, but they have to be removed to do that, which with no useful info on what to do means the possibility of repeatedly experimenting to see if they can be improved. Intiminators are also adjustable. Part of the installation process of Emulators is drilling the damper rod, which means they cannot simply be removed, as the bike will then have no fork damping! Intiminators can at least be removed, restoring the bike to stock condition. Emulators and Intiminators are otherwise both installed in the same way.

 

So what is it doing or not doing that you dislike? Can you not tell RT that and ask for adjustment advice?

My intiminators have to much comp damping and I was going to try porgressive springs to counter it as i hadn't realised they were adjustable!!. I'll have to look to see if I can adjust them for that then.

 

What I'm unhappy about is simply that they don't ride "like well-tuned cartridge forks." Having installed Race Tech springs I have more fork travel, which is good, but hitting a pothole or other rough patches of road seems unchanged, as if the damping is no different to stock.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'progressive springs'. There are progressive-rate springs, also a company called Progressive Suspension. If you are going to get new springs then buy single-rate ones, matched to your weight. Progressive-rate springs are a compromise.

I'm hoping an Emulator expert will pass by before too long!

 

I meant progressive rate springs. Hagon do them. I've fitted them to bikes before and like the way they soak up the smaller bumps like cats eyes and tar snakes but still tighten up nicely for serious work. I dont find them a compromise at all for road use, in fact for road use I find straight rates to be the compromise. But I guess its down to rider preference.

Having a quick google it seems you need adjust the shims in the valves to adjust the damping. I would expect someone like Race Tech to be able to advise you on this and sell or give you the correct shims? Have you contacted them?

What wt oil are you using? Might be worth going lighter and seeing if that hits the spot?

 

I'm a fan of Hagon myself; improving our American bikes with a bit of British quality! I've also used mostly Avons on my Harleys over the years.

Emulators come with comprehensive instructions, however making sense of them isn't easy, which is where I started this thread! I haven't contacted them direct.

I used the oil recommended by Race Tech (don't recall brand without checking). Changing fork oil means dismantling the forks from the bottom, just as adjusting the Emulators involves dismantling them from the top. I'm looking to shorten the odds of getting a decent set-up, if that is possible!

 

grbrown,
Did you get an extra set of springs for the valves in your kit? When I bought my RT Emulators the kit came with two sets of springs. One yellow and one blue. I think the yellow one was installed. I didn't like it. Not enough compression damping. so I installed the blue one and set it with 3 turns of pre-load.
It suits me fine.

2010 FLHTCUI

Joe