Racetech Cartridge Emmulators?

[Hondo64d]

Anybody installed the Racetech Cartridge Emmulator themselves? The seller backed out on the R6S forks (at least I got my money back), so I'm back to thinking about going with RT springs and the cartridge emmulator. I have looked at the install instructions, and while generic, it doesn't seem like anything too complex. Is there anything in particular I should be aware of?

Thanks,

John

 

[reiobard]

i think Hellgate had them and did the work himself before he did his R6 fork swap, but i am also sure that if you talk to him that he will advise that the R6 swap is 1000 times better and you would be happier to just find another set of r6 forks.

 

[Hellgate]

Nope, I didn't have them, only the RT springs. Wolfman had a set before he got his R6 forks however. He did like them and they are a simpler mod as you don't need the shims.

 

[tuningfork]

hardest part of installing them is finding/making a suitable tool to hold the damper rod so you can undo the lower retainer bolts. The other downside is you should really replace all bushings and seals when you separate the fork upper from the lower, the bushings bang into each other during separation and can get damaged. I would suggest using OEM parts here (at least for the oil seals)...I used some seals from racetech on my FZR600 and they did not hold up well.

Have you tried adjusting preload, oil viscosity, and oil height first? You might be able to dial in the forks as-is to your riding needs for a lot less $$ and time. :thumbup:

 

[Wonger]

I installed them on my '04 Suzuki SV650. I didn't buy their replacement dampner rod set, just modified my own, which is fine. Their instructions for the SV said to increase the size of the holes in the rod and that was it, however they work much better if you braise or weld the small 1/16'' hole as well. The replacement rods they sell do not have this hole either. I didn't have any problem removing the rods, although I heard other people have issues with them on the forum. Socalsvriders.org is the forum I used to frequent that has a lot of great info on the cartridge emulators. They did work great and made a huge difference in the compliance over bumps in corners. I went with a .95 spring and 15wt oil. I weigh right at 190-200 and used to run it on the track as well. Going with just the springs won't do them justice. Spend the extra cash and do the entire set. I only used hand tools and a front stand and finsihed the job in a couple hours. The hardest part for me was cutting the spacers with my hacksaw. Don't do this, its a PITA. Use a band saw. If you have any more questions, please let me know. I'm not an expert, but I am very familiar with these.

 

[Hondo64d]

I appreciate everyone's replies. Wonger, I'll probably be in touch....

John