The rehabilitation of Sir Gustave Sabastian (‘Gus’)

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

A what?

Linky

[Box'a'bits]

Met Mark_S (KLR), Stormtrooper (KLR), Steve (F650GS) & Steve (EXC520 Motard) at Rimutex. Unfortunately we miss timed our exit - & consequently had to follow Mr. Policeman across the Rimutakas. Have to say he wasn’t hanging around. He caught & passed Stormtrooper, but not Mark.

Regrouped at Featherston, then headed towards Martinborough looking forward to a Latte. But Mark’s KLR decided the thrashing he gave it over the Rimutaka’s was too much, dumped it coolant over his right boot. Mark later limped home – it turned out the water pump impeller has shit the bed. Here Mark is looking relaxed as he waits for it to cool down. The bike panels are off on the right side



Caught the other guys at Tui’s (Toppy’s) where EXC Steve & Stormtrooper were chowing on down to a big brunch.





On the gravel rd on the way to the Aorangi Forest Park.



The mudhole between the track & the Carpark was almost dried out. Someone had created a new entrance to the left.



Dunno. Don't think full leathers works well as an ADV riding suit. Extra points for riding skill taking a Motard in there though...



The track itself had more mudpuddles & bogs than I remembered on the way to the first stream crossing, & all the stream crossings seemed rougher with a lot of the silt & sand washed away. The track wasn’t getting any wind at all & it was bloody hot going in.

Stormtrooper had issues with a non functioning radiator fan (2nd cooling issue for the KLRs) & I discovered that the rise from the new triples had caused the chokes to stay partially on (need longer cables). I resolved this by disconnecting the cable.

Sutherlands Hutt itself had an amazing number of blow flies – fortunately none landing.



Steve found the F650GS a handful, & dropped it a few times, including one when I rudely barged passed thru a bog (he was teetering on the edge).

Once we were out it was decided to head to Martinborough for more water (& the possibility of a coffee top up). Tui’s was closed & the group split with EXC Steve & Stormtrooper heading for home, & the 2 GS’s heading for Ocean Beach.



By this time the wind was coming up. Have to say that Stormtrooper & EXC Steve missed the best part of the day. That ride was superb IMHO. For your enjoyment, here are some snaps.















Good day guys. Home about 6.45pm

[Box'a'bits]

So this was the first biggish offroad ride I'd done with the forks

As mentioned before they feel quite firm, & not as supple as I would like. I do feel some of the small irregularities in the road that I think these should just soak up. I may switch to 2.5w fork oil (using 5w, and no adjustment).

The forks definitely help give the bike a more planted feel on the road when cornering - you drop into the corner & it feels like it holds its line a lot better. This may be a combination of the narrower rim, & more rigidity in thie front.

There is far less deflection on gravel, especially crossing the middle heaps between wheel tracks. This is also apparent when on rough ground. Where on the stock front end you had a sphincter clenching moment, these just roll across.

I need to change the handlebars / risers - things are slightly too high at present, and are causiing issues with the throttle & choke cables.

I'll add to this as I consider the differences.

[Padmei]

Great writeup Nutso & awesome pics. Ilove the ones of the baches - It'sad to think they don't make them like that anymore
It's a good feeling getting them out of the workshops isn't it.

Interesting your review of the new forks. I tried to take a very objective assessment of mine yesterday & apart from those butt clenching crossings of the built up gravel in the middle of the road they performed really well.
On the seal I could have easily scraped the valve covers if I wanted. They sucked up the dips & bumps of the irregular tarseal during braking without any adverse feedback. Accelerating out of corners they held their line & obeyed obediently when turning in later. On the gravel the slight bumps of rocks & were noticeable & this is where I wondered if the new shocks would be better - Do you stilll get the "bur dit dit dit dit " effect on gravel or is it smoothed out?
I haven't taken it really offroad with big dips etc & unsure how offroad I will take it.
These are stock shocks with probably the original fork oil in them.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by Padmei

These are stock shocks with probably the original fork oil in them.

Measure up the insides and git some Nators in there.

They're almost 50% off at the moment.

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Padmei

I haven't taken it really offroad with big dips etc & unsure how offroad I will take it.
These are stock shocks with probably the original fork oil in them.

Its worthwhile doing some challenging sections just to see how capable they are. They are just a big tractor.

When we did the 42nd MarkS noticed a big difference in how the BMW forks performed compared to how his KLR handled. No real compression damping for the 1st portion of the fork stroke. It was probably about then that I decided to do the swap.

One other things to bear in mind is that I sometimes also carry a pillion. Nice to have some external adjustability to cope with that.

Changing fork oils on the stock forks made a noticeable difference. Not hard to do, And not hard to change if you get it too firm. Here's my link 1 & link 2 to that.

Not sure that a Racetech or Intimator valve set up is the way to go. Phreaky Phil investigated that with CTK Technical, and didn't proceed.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by BMWRSNUT

Not sure that a Racetech or Intimator valve set up is the way to go. Phreaky Phil investigated that with CTK Technical, and didn't proceed.

You're not going to get much love from Dr Bob on the Emulator/Intiminator front

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

You're not going to get much love from Dr Bob on the Emulator/Intiminator front

As I understand the issue:

1. The stock BMW 41mm Marzocchis separate the rebound & compression damping functions;
2. You can only instal one Emulator on the right hand side (rebound damping). Emulators do rebound & compression damping functions. You need to disable the damping on the right leg by drilling out the holes that control the damping on that the fork leg. Once drilled you can't go back;
3. The compression damping in the left leg is controlled by a taper on that leg. That is why there is no compression damping at the start of the stroke, but this rises steeply as the leg compresses. This would be in addition to what the emulator would do - difficult to fine tune;
4. The situation is often compounded by people putting in progressive fork springs, which makes 'tuning' the suspension almost impossible - as the fork compresses you get varying interactions between increasing spring rate, compression damping etc.

Dr Bob is a Racetech retailer. He could do this if you want, but...

Here's a link to Anton Largiaders write up on the forks

Just made an agreement to sell a further $430.00 of parts from the bike. I've added that into the previous post where I itemised parts sold recently.

[Padmei]

Fricking heck. Most of the value of my bike is packed up in banana boxes

[Eddieb]

Sweet, so your ahead then. The bank manager will be pleased.

You'll be able to afford more farkles ;)

Edit: hey, where did that post go I replied to?

[Box'a'bits]

The Other Bank Manager is never pleased. She tends to take a more global view, rather than concentrating on the detail. The global view is still that I spend far to much (time &) money on this hobby.

I'm a tidy kiwi, & have filed the contents of the missing post with the other 'financial disclosures' re the fork conversion.

[Phreaky Phil]

Originally Posted by BMWRSNUT

As I understand the issue:

1. The stock BMW 41mm Marzocchis separate the rebound & compression damping functions;
2. You can only instal one Emulator on the right hand side (rebound damping). Emulators do rebound & compression damping functions. You need to disable the damping on the right leg by drilling out the holes that control the damping on that the fork leg. Once drilled you can't go back;
3. The compression damping in the left leg is controlled by a taper on that leg. That is why there is no compression damping at the start of the stroke, but this rises steeply as the leg compresses. This would be in addition to what the emulator would do - difficult to fine tune;
4. The situation is often compounded by people putting in progressive fork springs, which makes 'tuning' the suspension almost impossible - as the fork compresses you get varying interactions between increasing spring rate, compression damping etc.

Dr Bob is a Racetech retailer. He could do this if you want, but...

Here's a link to Anton Largiaders write up on the forks

Just made an agreement to sell a further $430.00 of parts from the bike. I've added that into the previous post where I itemised parts sold recently.

What Rob has done a few of, is to toss the compression side damper rod away and fit another rebound leg damper rod, then fit 2 emulators. Very sucessful I hear.

[Box'a'bits]

Originally Posted by Phreaky Phil

What Rob has done a few of, is to toss the compression side damper rod away and fit another rebound leg damper rod, then fit 2 emulators. Very sucessful I hear.

What have you done with your bike's forks Phil?

I'm guessing we've all seen Kokopelli is looking for expressions of interest in cartridge fork internals to fit the stock GS forks? Hoping for a group discount but only EUR700 at present.

[advNZer?]

Originally Posted by bmwrsnut

what have you done with your bike's forks phil?

I'm guessing we've all seen kokopelli is looking for expressions of interest in cartridge fork internals to fit the stock gs forks? Hoping for a group discount but only eur700 at present.

only?

[Kokopelli]

Originally Posted by advNZer?

only?

I will ring these guys tonight, as I haven't had a response yet. Keep in mind that Germany has a GST rate of 19%. The current price is is about NZ $1019. Plus freight and plus what ever duty they'll sting you for.