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Front Fork Emulators On A Vf500F2?


Dutchy

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Ok, I know that the VF's damper ord design is 30+ years old so I should not expect them to behave like a monden cartridge...

but with the back sorted out, my attention moves to the front..

Daugherty and Racetech offer "emulators" for around $165

  • Anyone here ever actually had these on his/her VF500?
  • Worth the expense?
  • any modifications required to the internals? Or is it simply remove sorings, drop in emulators put in springs?
  • I have never taken forks apart so "drop in" sounds good
  • TRAC, the VF has TRAC; does this negate the use of emulators?

The stanchion do "stick" a bit on rebound at the moment.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Noboby to endorse this product after having handed over $165+? :unsure:

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I was currius back in time when I had my -87 VFR750 (has basically same fork as the VF500), but as I never got respond from RaceTech, and I then got a 5th gen, I let it be.

But one this is for sure, the TRAC system has to be eliminated in some way.

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Can't comment on the emulators on the vf dutchy but I can tell you they work well on my wife's FZ6. Made all the difference in the world on that bike. You might email race tech for some advice on the little 500.

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Cheers Guns,

but rather that asking the baker "is your bread tasty?" I rather hear from those that handed over their bread for his bread..... :cool:

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After having great results with RT emulators and springs on my '84 Nighthawk S, I got a set for my VF500F. I haven't installed them yet, though, and probably won't have anything to report until next riding season. If this thread isn't too moldy by the time I get them on I'll post when I do.

I think the VF500F fork design is identical to the NHS, and these did require minor modification, drilling out / adding holes in the inner damper tube. The preload spacer tubes at the top also needed to be replaced or recut, IIRC. I don't know about the F2. I believe RT may have PDFs of their instruction sheet online, so you may be able to get more details there.

I like them very much on the other bike, with the biggest benefit being better control on rough-road curves. They also control brake dive much better than TRAC, which is disabled by the mod.

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Well I'm dredging up information from way back when, but I did have emulators in my 1986 VFR750F (to complement a Fox shock). I also went with stiffer springs at the same time, and I would suggest that you do the same if you are looking to improve a stock front end.

As Poligrafovich states, you do need to modify the damper rods when the emulators are installed, just a matter of drilling a couple of holes in each, and de-burring. The drilled holes eliminates the compression damping from the damper rod (the emulator does the damping for you) and will also render the antidive non-functional for the same reason.

The emulators end up sitting right on top of the damper rod, held down by the fork spring, so the spring sits a little higher. To keep the spring preload the same you need to shorten the spring spacer tube. If you replace the springs you'll be doing this anyway.

The change IIRC was well worth the effort, and made for a more supple, controlled ride. Emulators are also tuneable by adding preload to the emulator spring, or swapping the spring as needed, and with a piece of bent wire you can hook them out from an otherwise assembled fork to make a change.

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I have a set (RaceTech) installed in my 86 VF500F Race Bike. Big improvement in my opinion. You do modify the damper rods and it does eliminate the TRAC. I just put a set in some 91 CBR600F2 forks for my 86 VFR700F Track Bike. I'll post some pics of the modified rods.

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Looking forward to that! :beer:

  • Some mention the spacer, shortening it, but mine (bought 2nd hand) doesnot have any. Nor are any shown on the parts fiches.
  • Drilling holes, ok I can do that. Does one have to completely take apart the forks or can the top chromed stanchion+seals stay in place? Ie wil the damper rod assembly come out after removing the bolt at the bottom?
  • How does one disable TRAC?
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Most aftermarket springs will be shorter than stock and come with a piece of spacer (either metal or pvc) that you cut to length depending on how much preload is required or desired. The thickness of the Gold Valves is not enough to prevent you from re-installing the fork caps with stock springs and would give you a little more preload over stock. But if you are really upgrading the front end, that should include some heavier rate springs over stock. You can't use Progressive brand springs, as the internal diameter is too small for the Race Tech Emulators.

The forks will need to come completely apart to make the modifications. The reason for drilling the extra holes is to ensure there is more than enough oil flow getting to the emulators so they can do what they were designed to do. This is a great time to replace the coated bushings that are usually worn more than you had hoped. You want to make sure you have the drivers to re-install bushings and seals. I've been pretty crafty in the past, but drivers make life easy and they aren't that expensive anymore. Here's some rods out of a CBR600F2 that I modified next to a stock one.

Modified_Rods

It's been a while (16 years) since I did my 500 forks, but I'm pretty sure you remove some circlips, washers and a spring off of the damping rod on the TRAC side. The oil then doesn't get routed through the TRAC system.
There's some instruction downloads you may want to look over before beginning. The stuff about disabling the rebound adjuster and required brazing does not apply to the 500.
Mike.
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Cheers!

giving this some thought now...

As for drivers, I will see what can be borrowed locally.. <hint hint>

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Cheers!

giving this some thought now...

As for drivers, I will see what can be borrowed locally.. <hint hint>

40 mm pvc sewerage pipe perfectly fits around the 37 mm fork tube.

That's what I use. And a washer from another set of disassembled forks as the interface.

41mm CBR forks and 35mm VTR forks gets a little craftier.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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GV+springs ordered from RT :beer:

My friend is staying up the road this week so he can mule them back!

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  • 2 months later...
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Well, this is a first for me.................    Murrican size nuts and bolts....

 

Why RT put non-metric hardware on their $160 product destined for a Japanee/metric bike is beyond me.....

 

 

The bolt head accepts neither 4 or 3 allen key.......   Ok I can grip the head with a set of pliers...

The nut measures 8.5mm....  It "just" grips with a socket nut 9mil,

not with a regular 8 or 9 wrench key

 

 

IMAG3339-768x1358_1.jpg

post-8974-0-60776400-1455547440.jpg

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"Why RT put non-metric hardware on their $160 product destined for a Japanee/metric bike is beyond me."

Because that makes it stronger . :goofy:

Overseas nonsense :goofy: Its just to difficult for them to use metric hardware :laughing6-hehe:

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That's why man invented the adjustable spanner, one size fits all ! And the file, just a smidge to big, great, file 6 times job jobbed, or just dive into your spare stainless fasteners box & replace ! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Nice sunny day, so the "garage" was open.

Fitted the emulators, test ride next week. Can ride again from 1st March when she is road taxed again.

Letting the oil drip off

IMAG3399-800x452.jpg


Sinking money in one's hobby....

IMAG3401-800x452.jpg


Al spaced up....

IMAG3402-800x452.jpg

post-8974-0-21529300-1456579062.jpg

post-8974-0-86499000-1456579099.jpg

post-8974-0-24214500-1456579173.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
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With the sun out and a balmy 9 celcius, took Puma for a more spirited run and I really like the way the front end feel now.

Is it worth the $300+? Time will tell, especially after 2 up riding. Too cold for my wife still.

Next will be dropping the front a tad.....

One question I forgot to ask....

I kinda expected that the emulators would be a very snug fit inside the stanchion, but they were not. Probably a few millimeters play. Is this normal?

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Look at several other sites that install the same emulators and theres was tight.


"Why RT put non-metric hardware on their $160 product destined for a Japanee/metric bike is beyond me."

Because that makes it stronger . :goofy:

Overseas nonsense :goofy: Its just to difficult for them to use metric hardware :laughing6-hehe:

+1

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