Front Fork Springs?
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,871
Likes: 4
depending on your budget if you want the best imo go with race tech with there gold maj, i have a wideglide and i lowered it a inch in front you can keep stock height or lower more, its unbelievable the difference i also have prog,11 inch, on back they suck but sure looks good
Tourer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 270
Likes: 1
From:
Mush and Clunk
+1 on bigdaddy33. I have Racetech gold cartridge emulators and solved much of the mush and clunk that the OEM Showa's bring with them. But more improvements are possible. I'm also going t looki into the Ohlins drop-ins when my wallet permits. Suspension is one of the weak links in the Harley DNA, and there are many after market options. Take a look at MotorcycleMetal.com website for some ideas. Great product and great customer service, too.
Good luck. Jay
06 StreetBob
Excel aluminum rims, Metzler 880's, dual front brembos, Racetech cartridge emulators, True-trac stabilizer, Ohlins 13.5" fully adjustable shocks, Stage 1.
Good luck. Jay
06 StreetBob
Excel aluminum rims, Metzler 880's, dual front brembos, Racetech cartridge emulators, True-trac stabilizer, Ohlins 13.5" fully adjustable shocks, Stage 1.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,562
Likes: 11
From: Palm Harbor fl.
I have progressive lowering kit on my bike. To make these not so great spring work for me, I installed intiminators from Ricor, and spent lots of time tuning the forks to my liking. The front rides superb now, I still have 3.5" of front end, but it feels like 6" and the bike is much more compliant on any bump and while cornering. Way better than the mushy stock front, or when I was running just the lowering springs and they rode like crap.
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 838
Likes: 35
From: Northern California
I ordered the Works spring kit. Couple of questions -
- what big *** wrench did you use for the fork nuts?
- what fork oil did you use? The shop manual calls out HDxxxxxx; doesn't say 10W or whatever
- what did you do about the pre-load spacer? Did you use the PVC tube that came with the kit, if so, what is a good starting length to trim it to?
- what big *** wrench did you use for the fork nuts?
- what fork oil did you use? The shop manual calls out HDxxxxxx; doesn't say 10W or whatever
- what did you do about the pre-load spacer? Did you use the PVC tube that came with the kit, if so, what is a good starting length to trim it to?
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,919
Likes: 23
From: Seattle, WA
I was going to try to install my Race Tech street performance kit last weekend, but a couple of things came up ... had visiting family and needed to make an emergent repair to my Jeep ....
The Race Tech kit provides stiffer springs and includes Gold Valve cartridge emulators .... You select your required spring stiffness using a calculator on their website ... I got the 1.0 kg/mm springs ... whereas stock springs are 0.573 kg/mm ....
I talked to a factory certified Ducati mechanic who works on the front ends (also does a lot of installations of this kit in Harleys) who confirmed my inclination to go with the stiffer springs (I was closer to 0.95 kg/mm on the Race Tech calculator, but 'rounded' up) ... he also recommended not going with any 'heavier' than 10 wt oil in the forks ...
He said the cartridge emulator and the stiffer springs will greatly assist in front end dive and bottoming, but said if I went with heavier oil, the forks wouldn't absorb as much of the 'road feel' and smaller bumps ... I bought some 10 wt fork oil from his shop ....
Will post impressions once I get a chance to install the kit ....
R/
'Chop
The Race Tech kit provides stiffer springs and includes Gold Valve cartridge emulators .... You select your required spring stiffness using a calculator on their website ... I got the 1.0 kg/mm springs ... whereas stock springs are 0.573 kg/mm ....
I talked to a factory certified Ducati mechanic who works on the front ends (also does a lot of installations of this kit in Harleys) who confirmed my inclination to go with the stiffer springs (I was closer to 0.95 kg/mm on the Race Tech calculator, but 'rounded' up) ... he also recommended not going with any 'heavier' than 10 wt oil in the forks ...
He said the cartridge emulator and the stiffer springs will greatly assist in front end dive and bottoming, but said if I went with heavier oil, the forks wouldn't absorb as much of the 'road feel' and smaller bumps ... I bought some 10 wt fork oil from his shop ....
Will post impressions once I get a chance to install the kit ....
R/
'Chop
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 4
From: NC
Average Joe
Ok, So I have never tore down a set of Harley forks. My question is if I just get the proper kg spring for my weight and change the oil on my forks will they be say alot better than stock? I dont ride fast anymore and really dont want to buy the gold valves,emulators and so on. What can I expect out of just springs and oil (correct for my weight) As opposed to doing the emulators as well. I weigh 265 and can easily bottom out the front end well under the speed limits,but my major issue is currently is that the forks seem like the oil is way too light and springs collapse on cornering and cause dragging way to early in the MPH.
I am gonna do some 11.5 430s once I get the forks dialed in a little better.
I am gonna do some 11.5 430s once I get the forks dialed in a little better.
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 838
Likes: 35
From: Northern California
Ok, So I have never tore down a set of Harley forks. My question is if I just get the proper kg spring for my weight and change the oil on my forks will they be say alot better than stock? I dont ride fast anymore and really dont want to buy the gold valves,emulators and so on. What can I expect out of just springs and oil (correct for my weight) As opposed to doing the emulators as well. I weigh 265 and can easily bottom out the front end well under the speed limits,but my major issue is currently is that the forks seem like the oil is way too light and springs collapse on cornering and cause dragging way to early in the MPH.
I am gonna do some 11.5 430s once I get the forks dialed in a little better.
I am gonna do some 11.5 430s once I get the forks dialed in a little better.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 4
From: NC
uh ok
I am referring to using standard height appropriate springs for my weight and thicker oil. I am also asking for differences between just doing this and as opposed to adding emulators. Can anybody shed light on this for me?