front shocks

[Rod]

Has any one got any recommendations for uprating the front springs on an 06 Tiger? Tried and tested?
 Hagon (as Triumph supply), or Wilbers, or whatever.....

Thanks

Rod..

[Bruincounselor]

Forget springs. Get Race Tech Emulators. Best suspension upgrade for the $$.

Seriously.

[jaak]

I have been thinking about the emulators. Please give us more detail!
First, what model year is your bike? Since pre 04, 05 and 06 all have different springs, it's imprtant!
As I understand you kept the stock springs and installed emulators. How about fork oil weight?
Did you do the installation yourself or had it done by a mechanic?

Also, yesterday I posted a similar topic on the RAT
http://www.triumphrat.net/showthread.php?t=68470

I haven't measured my fork static sag due to the lack of two assistance in my garage. If anyone has measured theirs, please post your bike year, fork mods done, bodyweight and the measured sag.

By eyeballing the sag, it seems to be too small. Thus, the 06 seems to have too soft springs with too much preload. REsult is worst of both worlds - harsh over bumps due to excessive preload and nose dive because of soft spring rate.

thanks!

jaak

[Rod]

you've got there.. What are Race Tech emulators...?

Rod

[Bruincounselor]

What are Race Tech emulators...?

Rod

http://www.racetech.com/

From the website: Damping rod forks are notorious for being both too harsh and too easy to bottom. This is the nature of damping rod fixed orifice forks. Until now, all you could do is change spring rate, oil viscosity and damping hole size. The best available was a serious compromise.

The Gold Valve Cartridge Emulator is another one of the outstanding inventions from Race Techís Paul Thede. Simply put; Emulators make damping rod forks perform like well-tuned cartridge forks. Emulators are tunable valves that sit on top of the damping rods and are held in place with the main springs. This makes them both simple to install and completely tunable for all conditions and rider preferences.

I don't recall what oil was used, I have it written down and can get it if you want. It's an 885i and the springs were left as stock. No more bottoming when braking, much better control, and no loss of plushness.

Race  Tech did the work as it had not been done before on a Tiger and they wanted to see what the spring rate was - they recommended stock springs.

[Bruincounselor]

Looking at the Race Tech site it appears they recommend 10w oil for 885i; but 3.5-5w for 955's.

Seems odd?

[jaak]

Hey Bruincounselor, what year Tiger did you install the emulators to? racetech website only lists them for 02. I called them to check whether they fit into 06 and they asked me for damping rod and spring measurements. I am way too lazy to pull the front apart, measure the rods, put it back together to ride, when the emulators arrive, tear it apart again..  Please help!

thanks,

jaak

[Rod]

Is it really worth going  "extreme" by putting emulators on a Tiger. I want to stop it diving under heavy braking but I don't want to turn it into a race bike otherwise I'd be riding an R1,GSX or similar..Is 'nt this sort of thing more useful for that sort of bike?.

Excuse my ignorance of these things if I'm being stupid .....

Rod

[zombie]

I got emulators on mine and it's the best solution to the diving under braking problem. Relatively easy install and really gives nice feedback thru all sorts of riding. Its not an extreme fix  just sensible mod.

[jaak]

Is it really worth going  "extreme" by putting emulators on a Tiger. I want to stop it diving under heavy braking but I don't want to turn it into a race bike otherwise I'd be riding an R1,GSX or similar..Is 'nt this sort of thing more useful for that sort of bike?.

Excuse my ignorance of these things if I'm being stupid .....

Rod

The bikes you named don't need cartridge emulators, since they already have cartridge-type forks. Our Tiger, which we all love, has a few decades old technology - the damping-rod. It has lots of resistance under rapid compression - hence fear the harsh bumps, yet provides little compression resistance under slow push - so we all nose dive and blame the springs (erroneously in many cases). Cartridge forks have been out for decades now and are really worth it.

[FullMonte]

I can live with the on road feel of the Girly, its the dirt road performance that's lacking.  Rocks and bumps feel extremely harsh.  Will the emulators help with bump absorption and off road feedback?

[fano]

Air down your tires for off road. It will do wonders. :idea:

[FullMonte]

Air down your tires for off road. It will do wonders. :idea:

Thanks for the tip fano.  Mine's an 05 with the alloy rims and I was worried about dinging them as the roads were rocky.  Any suggestions on what psi to run?  BTW, your Youtube Tiger dirtroad vid was very well put together.

[fano]

Thanks for the compliment on the video. Friend of mine made it.
I probably run air pressure in my knobbies little lower then most, but it feels the best for me and I never had any problems with rims yet. Front 18 psi and rear 22 psi when off road.  :D