I'm getting ready to upgrade my fork springs to a set of racetechs and was wondering if the valve assembly in the forks are adjustable or if I would need to buy a gold valve for adjustability also looking for recommendations on oil weight
01 St1100 non abs model fork valve adjustment
- Thread starter jsitz97
- Start date
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
Buy the gold valve
wjbertrand
Ventura Highway
Not adjustable, unless you know exactly what combination stack of shims to use (assuming that’s the technology used). Evening if you did know I don’t think you can buy them anywhere. Gold valve for the win.
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The gold valve I installed on my 1300 was not adjustable beyond selecting the shims before assembling and installing the valve. I know the 1100 is different, but don't know if you have the capability to adjust damping after the forks are assembled.
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
AFAIK, no ability to adjust after assembly on the ST1100 - unless you disassemble the forks to do it ...
I will have to do a front suspension overhaul on my -92 built ST1100 after the packing (or something else) failed yesterday. I might install a set of Gold Valves at the same time and see if the front gets better. The rear shock has been replaced a couple of years back and it made a huge difference.
Do you remember which model of the Gold Valves is the correct one?
Do you remember which model of the Gold Valves is the correct one?
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
Or you well out some serious cash...AFAIK, no ability to adjust after assembly on the ST1100 - unless you disassemble the forks to do it ...
AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit (AK20H-ST1100) - Traxxion Dynamics
**Due to the very difficult installation and/or modifications required to the forks of this application this is an In-House install only. We require the forks be sent to our facility for this application. Traxxion Dynamics is proud to introduce the next revolution in motorcycle suspension! The...
traxxion.com
Ahh, I am getting better at replying to myself
"FMGV S2054C", it says so directly on their web page. No problems.
Gold valves are not externally adjustable. You may want to download and read the installation instructions before your purchase, as it takes some drilling and such. You will also want to replace the bushings, seals and wipers while at it.
I rebuilt my forks last year with the Gold valves. The process called for 2 different fork oil weights, as one tube is for compression, the other for rebound. Front end feels much more planted and compliant now!
I rebuilt my forks last year with the Gold valves. The process called for 2 different fork oil weights, as one tube is for compression, the other for rebound. Front end feels much more planted and compliant now!
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
Stateside, I had Computrac Atlanta do the 'gold treatment' on all four of my sets as I just didn't want to fool with it.
They were great to work with and very honest!
They were great to work with and very honest!
Back to the original question; are the stock forks adjustable?
The left and right fork are physically different with a damper rod in the left leg and a cartridge damper in the right.
For the damper rod you are limited to oil weight as an adjustment and you will always have the compromise between heavier oil to improve low speed control but lose high-speed compliance, or lighter oil to keep high speed compliance but be a bit floaty at lower speed (and by speed I refer to the speed of fork movement, not vehicle speed). The RT Catridge Emulator is a great upgrade in this regard as it takes much of the compromise away. The emulator has adjustability through different spring weight and preload and also bleed hole size, in conjunction with oil weight. Fitting the emulator requires some basic drilling of the stock damper rod to move the compression damping function solely to the emulator.
In the cartridge side there is some ability to tinker with shims but there are also fixed low speed bleeds cut into the OEM valve faces which provide a plush feel but not do a lot for low speed control. The rest of the valves are pretty decent for flow and a reshim if so desired but will never match what you can get with the Gold Valve with a correctly sized fixed bleed. RT will provide a recommended recipe for the shim stacks, my experience is they are a bit heavy on the compression side if you want to keep the best bump absorption. Fitting the Gold Valves requires the cartridge to be disassembled fully (no special tools required); the only irreversible step is some manual filing to remove peened-over thread ends on the bolts that retain the valves.
Beyond that there is always adjustability in the oil height in the forks, which can affect the bottoming resistance (smaller airgap = more pressure when compressed = more resistance to bottoming).
Because I like to tinker I actually replaced the left damper rod with a right cartridge and fork cap and put Gold Valves in both sides. This worked well although I was unable to fit the stock bottoming cone into the left fork leg, but correct springing and damping meant that was a non-issue in the 30,000km that I kept the bike for.
The left and right fork are physically different with a damper rod in the left leg and a cartridge damper in the right.
For the damper rod you are limited to oil weight as an adjustment and you will always have the compromise between heavier oil to improve low speed control but lose high-speed compliance, or lighter oil to keep high speed compliance but be a bit floaty at lower speed (and by speed I refer to the speed of fork movement, not vehicle speed). The RT Catridge Emulator is a great upgrade in this regard as it takes much of the compromise away. The emulator has adjustability through different spring weight and preload and also bleed hole size, in conjunction with oil weight. Fitting the emulator requires some basic drilling of the stock damper rod to move the compression damping function solely to the emulator.
In the cartridge side there is some ability to tinker with shims but there are also fixed low speed bleeds cut into the OEM valve faces which provide a plush feel but not do a lot for low speed control. The rest of the valves are pretty decent for flow and a reshim if so desired but will never match what you can get with the Gold Valve with a correctly sized fixed bleed. RT will provide a recommended recipe for the shim stacks, my experience is they are a bit heavy on the compression side if you want to keep the best bump absorption. Fitting the Gold Valves requires the cartridge to be disassembled fully (no special tools required); the only irreversible step is some manual filing to remove peened-over thread ends on the bolts that retain the valves.
Beyond that there is always adjustability in the oil height in the forks, which can affect the bottoming resistance (smaller airgap = more pressure when compressed = more resistance to bottoming).
Because I like to tinker I actually replaced the left damper rod with a right cartridge and fork cap and put Gold Valves in both sides. This worked well although I was unable to fit the stock bottoming cone into the left fork leg, but correct springing and damping meant that was a non-issue in the 30,000km that I kept the bike for.
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ST1100Y
Site Supporter
Full manual gives more insight:
You'll also need to register at their site for valving/shim calculation/suggestion...
RT give out a one-time code for access to their shim suggestions when you buy their products now, but 'twas not aways so. The instructions supplied with Gold Valves (attached) back in the day (90's I think) used to contain all sorts of useful information. As far as I can tell, the shim recipes are the same as their current recommendations.
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I don't want to 'override' the GoldValve discussion, but after looking around, it seems that GoldValves are not easily available in Europe. And shipping from the US will get expensive, with custom duties, transport etc.
Does anyone have experience with these YSS front valves? Prices are tolerable.
https://www.biketeile-service.de/en...twheelforks/forkvalvekit/forkvalveyss310.html
Does anyone have experience with these YSS front valves? Prices are tolerable.
https://www.biketeile-service.de/en...twheelforks/forkvalvekit/forkvalveyss310.html