| Author | Message | ||
     Rogue_biker |
For the past six months I've been suffering on board my 1125R. My forks developed a leak due to a blown fork seal so I had them fixed at an independent shop. However, I did not specify to the shop what fork fluid weight to use and what fluid level. I thought they would know better (after all, these are Showa forks). But noooooo....  When I got the forks back they were as stiff as can be. The damping was simply too harsh in both compression and rebound. I tried to compensate for it by dialing back the spring preload (with damping dialed all the way back), much to the detriment of handling. The ride was horrible. Every time I hit a bump the whole front of the bike would jump up, then down, making me jerk the throttle! Small bumps were the worse! Uneven freeway was torture! It was like riding a bucking bronco! It was tiring to ride the bike for long periods unless the road was perfectly smooth. I could not accelerate or shift while going over bumps because I would jerk the throttle! It was that bad. I waited this long because I just didn't have the time to remove the forks until recently (travel, work, holidays, etc). I finally got my forks back from the shop and I just installed them. This time, I instructed the shop to put in 5 weight fork oil in it, and told them to make sure to measure the level at 94mm per the service manual. Once I got it installed, I returned the suspension settings (front and rear) per the owner's manual to my weight. Holy crap! What a difference! The same bumpy roads that would make me cringe, my 1125R would now glide over. No more "hobby-horsing". I can now relax as the suspension moves up and down instead of my arms being the suspension! I can shift and work the throttle while going over bumps! Even with this "base setting" I still have adjustment left over to turn the compression damping down if I want to make it even more compliant! I'm so happy!  BTW, with settings by the book and fresh BT016 tires, the bike turns in beautifully and holds a steady arc through the turn. I'm not really sure why some owners are having issues with handling on this bike because when set up as Buell intended, everything works! Thanks all for your input on my fork questions. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
What brand of 5wt was used? One brand's 5wt might be equivalent 2.5wt or 10wt from another brand. I've got Spectro 10wt in my fork and am happy with it. I don't remember what oil level I set, though. | ||
| Rogue_biker |
I don't know what brand fork oil as I didn't ask. I figure 5wt from brand to brand is close enough. I think what matters more is the consistency in fluid level and weight, not brand. | ||
| 1324 |
I must have missed the back story here. What oil weight and level did the offending shop originally use? I presume some combination of heavier and higher... | ||
| Rogue_biker |
The shop manager guessed they used 7.5wt (it was done 6 mos ago). The shop is your old fashioned, family run, high performance shop--no computers; all hand written and memory retention. LOL! It's a good shop and they regularly work on race bikes for a variety of local racers. But you do have to be specific on what you want. The shop was a bit resistant to putting lighter weight fork oil on it because they advised me that it could lead to loss of control (due to too little damping). I can understand that. I told them of the history and what I wanted, along with my present experience (getting beat up on the street due to stiff damping) so they worked with me. | ||
| 1324 |
That's nice. The Showa forks Buell uses have closely related compression/rebound circuitry; one adjustment has an affect over the other. Combined with more viscosity, this makes sense. Glad you got it straightened out. I know what it's like to ride a bike with effectively infinite damping. It sucks. | ||
| Xodot |
1324 - What does this mean??? The Showa forks Buell uses have closely related compression/rebound circuitry; one adjustment has an affect over the other Thanks, XO. | ||
| 1324 |
Based on my experiences, the adjustments on the Buell Showa forks seem to be more intertwined than other forks. In other words, changing your rebound settings will have a bit of an affect over your compression and vice versa. Unless the fork legs are completely dedicated to either compression or rebound like some models, most fork adjustments will fall into this category. The Buell stuff is just more finicky. Don't read this to be bad, though. For my money, the Buell OE suspensions are top notch once dialed in. |
