1100 Evo or 1000 DS?

makemdan · 16-09-2020, 08:23 PM

15t sprocket,14 tooth sprocket ordered
rexxer flash on hold till end of season because.....

Well, 100 miles on the twisties in Northumberland yesterday, on roads that I know proved to be a bit challenging if not a little scary. the front suspension is pretty agricultural alm ost felt like it was bottoming out but I wasn`t going fast enough. Every bump was a boneshaker
So I need to return comp and reb to stock,wind in the sag and start from there. I note ChrisP`s K Tech upgrade seems to be the way to go but I can't afford that just yet.

When I had the S2R with knackered forks I bought Capo`s originals from his S4 when he upgraded to ohlins (was great to meet him and so sad not to be able to now) and I just wondered if there are any suitable forks from other bikes
that would be suitable

Luddite · 16-09-2020, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makemdan

the front suspension is pretty agricultural alm ost felt like it was bottoming out but I wasn`t going fast enough. Every bump was a boneshaker
So I need to return comp and reb to stock,wind in the sag and start from there. I note ChrisP`s K Tech upgrade seems to be the way to go but I can't afford that just yet.

Your experience with the Evo forks is pretty typical. Agricultural is the perfect description. You say you weren't going fast enough to bottom the forks but don't rule it out. The Evo has progressive springs and the first part of the stroke is pretty soft and gets compressed quite easily leaving only a reduced firmer part of the stroke to deal with bigger bumps or hard braking. Try slipping a cable tie round the stantion to see exactly how much travel you're actually using - you might be surprised.

Because of the progressive springs and ineffective damping, it's unlikely that you'll see much improvement simply by adjusting them. I carried out the same K-tech mods as Chris but the lightest springs they could fit were 8.5N/mm and I really wanted 7.5N/mm. I subsequently sent the forks to Maxton, who made a different spring spacer and fitted the 7.5N/mm I wanted.

If you don't want to commit to a full upgrade, you could consider just fitting single rate springs tailored to your weight with different fork oil. Crawsue did this - I sold him my 8.5N/mm springs. I believe he needed to modify the fork tops slightly to accommodate the springs so you could PM him to see what exactly was involved, what it cost and whether it was worth it.

I think I'd recommended tuning your current forks rather than fitting some from another model - even if you pick them up cheap, you're still likely to have to change their springing and damping to suit the Evo.

It's definitely worth the effort though - roads that were 'challenging' on standard springs are now a joy with the uprated suspension.

Ron1000 · 16-09-2020, 09:34 PM

i found the forks too jarring, everything else about them was fine for me. However that jarring is difficult to deal with on even slightly bumpy roads. So I went the self tune route (done it on my street triple years back so no biggie); my forks feel pretty good now. Although it took about two seasons to dial them to my liking…compared to about a half season on my streety.

makemdan · 16-09-2020, 09:53 PM

thanks I`ll ask him about replacement springs. Funny, I used to replace standard springs with progressives on Bandits and Fazers

Luddite · 17-09-2020, 11:36 AM

Although this won't affect the symptoms you describe, while you're looking at the forks, you could also check the position of the tubes in the yokes. If they've ever been removed, they may not have been replaced at the correct height. This is from the manual:

If you do need to adjust them, the torque is 24Nm for the top yoke and 22Nm for the lower. Apply moly grease and tighten the lower yoke screws 1-2-1.

crawsue · 23-09-2020, 04:13 PM

As Vince says ,I traded up to his K-tech springs, had to do some modest machining of the top caps, obviously did an oil change and noticed quite difference. The re-flash is a given, after that it's sparkly trinkets to bling it up!
But I've enjoyed my 2 summer's of ownership, I've had (and currently have) other stuff....most is a bit faster than the Evo.....but NOTHING is as involving.... Enjoy the ride.

makemdan · 23-09-2020, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crawsue

As Vince says ,I traded up to his K-tech springs, had to do some modest machining of the top caps, obviously did an oil change and noticed quite difference. The re-flash is a given, after that it's sparkly trinkets to bling it up!
But I've enjoyed my 2 summer's of ownership, I've had (and currently have) other stuff....most is a bit faster than the Evo.....but NOTHING is as involving.... Enjoy the ride.

Thanks, is machining of the top caps always required or is it dependant on the rider weight? I don't have access to a lathe but my brother-in-law was a turner and has a lathe so it's not a show stopper. We have a k-tech specialist locally so I may decide to go down that road, depending on how much it costs

16-09-2020, 08:23 PM	#1
makemdan Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West Boldon Bike: M1100evo Posts: 55	15t sprocket,14 tooth sprocket ordered rexxer flash on hold till end of season because..... Well, 100 miles on the twisties in Northumberland yesterday, on roads that I know proved to be a bit challenging if not a little scary. the front suspension is pretty agricultural alm ost felt like it was bottoming out but I wasn`t going fast enough. Every bump was a boneshaker So I need to return comp and reb to stock,wind in the sag and start from there. I note ChrisP`s K Tech upgrade seems to be the way to go but I can't afford that just yet. When I had the S2R with knackered forks I bought Capo`s originals from his S4 when he upgraded to ohlins (was great to meet him and so sad not to be able to now) and I just wondered if there are any suitable forks from other bikes that would be suitable

16-09-2020, 09:34 PM	#3
Ron1000 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Livingston Bike: M1100evo Posts: 863	i found the forks too jarring, everything else about them was fine for me. However that jarring is difficult to deal with on even slightly bumpy roads. So I went the self tune route (done it on my street triple years back so no biggie); my forks feel pretty good now. Although it took about two seasons to dial them to my liking…compared to about a half season on my streety.

16-09-2020, 09:53 PM	#4
makemdan Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West Boldon Bike: M1100evo Posts: 55	thanks I`ll ask him about replacement springs. Funny, I used to replace standard springs with progressives on Bandits and Fazers

17-09-2020, 11:36 AM	#5
Luddite Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Southampton Bike: M1100evo Posts: 2,465	Although this won't affect the symptoms you describe, while you're looking at the forks, you could also check the position of the tubes in the yokes. If they've ever been removed, they may not have been replaced at the correct height. This is from the manual: If you do need to adjust them, the torque is 24Nm for the top yoke and 22Nm for the lower. Apply moly grease and tighten the lower yoke screws 1-2-1.

23-09-2020, 04:13 PM	#6
crawsue Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Glasgow Bike: M1100evo Posts: 258	As Vince says ,I traded up to his K-tech springs, had to do some modest machining of the top caps, obviously did an oil change and noticed quite difference. The re-flash is a given, after that it's sparkly trinkets to bling it up! But I've enjoyed my 2 summer's of ownership, I've had (and currently have) other stuff....most is a bit faster than the Evo.....but NOTHING is as involving.... Enjoy the ride.