Rpm fork valves

[Bones]

 Finally installed the fork valves and fork rebuild kit that has been sitting under a certain tree for a few weeks now. Straight forward fitting apart from forgetting the big washer that goes under the seal on one leg and having to pull it apart again to fit.

First impressions when pushing off centre stand and hitting the brakes and bouncing up and down was Mmmm.. Firm. Took it for a spin around the block before it got dark and was thinking I must have put something together wrong because the ride seemed a bit rough, plus you could hear the springs creak going over speed bumps and jumping the curb to go up the driveway, but after getting back home checked the instructions again to verify everything was done correctly which it was.

Next morning I went straight to the servo to check tyre pressures to find 34psi in the front, so pumped it up to the maximum as per instructions and tried again. It was better, still a bit firm compared to what I was used to but better than the previous day.

The ride before the upgrade I thought was pretty good, nice and smooth soaking up all the bumps, until you got to the twistys that is, and that's where it fell short, it would bottom out on rough corners, start wallowing and just didn't make you feel confident about pushing it too much so you'd back off.

And that's where the RPM valves came into their own, gone was the wallowing, the front end felt more planted, and it seemed to feel better the faster I went. I actually had to turn the damping up on the rear Hagon because it felt like the arse was bouncing around, something I never noticed before.

I took a screwdriver with me trying the different preload settings on the forks over a variety of surfaces before finally settling on the lowest setting, so while still a little bit firm to what I'm used to,(soft, worn out) it's compliant, handles great, and once fitted with a fork brace that's due any day now,  a front end that's rock solid.

I had the handlebar risers off so I could adjust the preload, and it didn't take long before my elbows started getting sore again from my weight on the bars, so was glad to put them back on.

Thanks Randy, All the upgrades you develop for these bikes are fantastic.

                                                           Tony.

[roverfj1200]