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Rogue_Biker

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I upgraded my suspension recently and it was done by Daugherty Motorsports.  I went for the full rebuild/re-valve/re-spring for both front forks and OEM rear shock.  Today I just returned from a 200 mile ride in the mountains to test it out.  It's hard to contain my enthusiasm but I will try.  The transformation was phenomenal!  Let me try to explain as best as I can.

 

My bike has over 42k miles on its stock suspension.  I consider myself a semi-aggressive rider in the twisties of SoCal, and I mostly ride for sport, commuting, with the occasional touring.  But most times I'm pretty much riding at a brisk pace.  I'm not an expert rider but I'm well beyond intermediate. 

 

So here is my assessment BEFORE the upgrade:

The last 20k miles my '07's suspension has been pretty vague and bouncy.  There has been very little front end feedback when cornering.  If I hit a medium size bump, the bike sort of changed its line.  Bigger bumps had the suspension cycling up and down a couple of times before it settled.  There was plenty of brake dive, and even backing off the throttle has the front fork diving.  I've been able to "ride through them" so to speak because I know the bike so well.  But knowing how it reacted to aggressive riding, road imperfections, and fore and aft movement from braking or decelerating/acceleration, I ended up backing off the pace because the bike just didn't give me ANY confidence when road conditions were less than ideal. 

 

AFTER the upgrade:

First thing I noticed was how firm the suspension was.  The next thing I noticed was how it was able to absorb bumps, dips, or sharp road imperfections without being jarring!  Brake dive from deceleration is now notably absent.   Slowing into a corner and accelerating out of a corner, the bike was stable as a rock and went where I pointed it.  Turn in is much smoother and accurate and took less effort.  I took the bike on the most bumpy and twisty road I know, while chasing down OOTV and a couple of other pretty fast guys.  It was like riding a totally different bike as far as ride and handling was concerned!  Thanks to that accurate steering, I could place the bike exactly where I want and flick it into a turn.  Bumps, dips, or sharp potholes never upset the bike.  I hit some pretty nasty pavement while leaned over and I was halfway expecting the bike to go squirmy under me but nope!  Never did.  At the end of the ride I realized I was going much faster with less effort and less worry.  I scrubbed the edges of my rear tire and didn't even realize I had done so!  In a word:  confidence inspiring!  By the way, this after a straight up install.  I haven't even fiddled much with the spring preload and rebound damping!  The BEST modification I've ever done on any bike!

 

If you're on the fence on doing this suspension mod on your VFR, I highly recommend getting off that fence and just do it!  You have no idea how crappy that stock suspension is on your VFR until you experience a high quality suspension upgrade!  LOL!  I knew mine wasn't great and it just got worse and worse with mileage.  I had no idea how good it could be on my VFR until now.

 

Daugherty Motorsports is located in Indiana, USA: http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/vfr800.html

 

 

 

 

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I took the same route and completely echo your comments.  My 6th gen is a mindreader now - I think it and it just does it.  No muss, no fuss, no drama. 

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Auggius, I did pretty much everything on that website link on mine.  I believe most of the internals are new:  springs, valves, the complete fork kit, seals, etc.  I sent my rear shock and front forks to Jaime and he did everything for me.  I simply bolted the parts back on my bike.

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Rogue, can I ask.  How the heck do you ship this stuff to Jamie?  I ask as the forks are long and with the rear shock there's weight there for the shipping cost.  I am asking as this is something I am keen to do also. :-)   Great review too!  

 

Thanks 

 

Dave

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13 minutes ago, Rogue_Biker said:

Auggius, I did pretty much everything on that website link on mine.  I believe most of the internals are new:  springs, valves, the complete fork kit, seals, etc.  I sent my rear shock and front forks to Jaime and he did everything for me.  I simply bolted the parts back on my bike.

I've got an Ohlins shock plus Race Tech springs & gold valves in the forks but I don't have the bump absorbing properties while leaned over. There's always a couple cycles of up/down before the chassis settles down. Like you, I've learned to ride through it. Sometimes it's better that I don't know about what's coming so I don't "do" anything about it. Guess I better start saving my $$.

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18 minutes ago, dgordon said:

Rogue, can I ask.  How the heck do you ship this stuff to Jamie?  I ask as the forks are long and with the rear shock there's weight there for the shipping cost.  I am asking as this is something I am keen to do also. :-)   Great review too!  

 

Thanks 

 

Dave

You just have to use a box that is long enough to house the forks with some room at the top and bottom for cushioning material (foam or large bubble wrap or both), and wide enough to put the shock in between them.  You wrap all three items in thick bubble wrap, line the ends with foam or lots of paper, tape it up and you're set.  UPS charged me $40 with insurance to ship from Southern California to Indiana, USA.  Most important is that none of them move around inside that box and they have a good amount of cushioning material.  My package weighed about 30 lbs. 

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11 minutes ago, auggius said:

I've got an Ohlins shock plus Race Tech springs & gold valves in the forks but I don't have the bump absorbing properties while leaned over. There's always a couple cycles of up/down before the chassis settles down. Like you, I've learned to ride through it. Sometimes it's better that I don't know about what's coming so I don't "do" anything about it. Guess I better start saving my $$.

Auggius, it's that up and down cycling of the suspension that I do NOT miss at all. 

 

Flick the bike into a corner and it's settled immediately.  Hit bumps while leaned over, you feel the bumps and imperfections, but the bike maintains your chosen line and it never got jarring or harsh.  The result is I see the bumps before they hit but I kind of say:  Bring it on!  LOL!  That's how it felt today and trust me, I purposely took the bike on this one road that everyone know is crap full of bumps, dips, cracks, and tar snakes because it hadn't been repaved in 15+ years!  On my old suspension I would go down this same road and just cringed knowing where the worst of the surface was.

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I've just installed my DMr rear shock on my 6th gen and am very happy to have it in.; well worth the money. I went away on a non-motorcycle holiday shortly after getting it installed but I plan on putting some real miles on it now.

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It cost me a total of $1k for everything.  Front and rear, DMr's labor to put the suspension together, and shipping in both directions.

 

I looked around and compared to what's available out there.  I priced out a full Racetech "conversion" using their parts and having a local shop do the work.  With their parts & labor (excluding suspension installation on my bike) came out to just $1k.  That's rebuilding my existing suspension only. 

 

But what that price does NOT include is the experience working with VFR suspension that DMr has.  Then there are the actual real world experience of VFR owners who have used DMr's products and services who are 100% happy.  I could not match that at any price locally here in Southern California.  I honestly was afraid they would screw something up or have the wrong spring rates, etc. because they were not familiar with VFR's.

 

I'd like to actually ride someone's 6th Gen with a Racetech conversion just to see if there's a difference!

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I need my wife to read this. I am dying to redo my suspension and DMr is what I have been looking into. I rarely ride solo anymore. It's almost all 2 up commuting and touring with some spirited weekend day rides. The stock suspension can keep up with 2 of us and the gear we bring. I have known that for a while. Wife looks at it as a performance upgrade but I see it as a safety upgrade.


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Just now, vulgar1 said:

I need my wife to read this. I am dying to redo my suspension and DMr is what I have been looking into. I rarely ride solo anymore. It's almost all 2 up commuting and touring with some spirited weekend day rides. The stock suspension can keep up with 2 of us and the gear we bring. I have known that for a while. Wife looks at it as a performance upgrade but I see it as a safety upgrade.


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I just did it and then told the wife why I did it! I actually bought a used ABS model OEM shock and had it rebuilt by DMr, so that way I can adjust the sag when either solo or with pillion and not have to break out the tool kit. I think what helped with the lack of "flack" I received about doing it, is that when we took a trip with the stock suspension and having a "bouncy" ride and then she got on again after the upgrade, she was actually very happy I did it. 

 

So maybe, set your bike up so that the ride is horrible and then take her for a ride (being cognizant that you can't push it) and maybe she'll agree that it's time to up date. Then it'll be a joint decision. Win, win for everyone!

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On 8/25/2016 at 9:13 AM, vulgar1 said:

I need my wife to read this. I am dying to redo my suspension and DMr is what I have been looking into... Wife looks at it as a performance upgrade but I see it as a safety upgrade.

 

This is making me laugh a little bit because I'm in a similar situation. I have committed myself to doing the full Daugherty suspension upgrade this winter but, like you, have a strong sense that dropping yet another $1K on the bike is likely to meet with problematic levels of spousal displeasure.

 

It looks like you're committed to the high road: making an honest pitch on safety merits. Myself, I'm strongly leaning toward the low road: attempting to bury the expense in an inky cloud of transactional noise and then hoping she doesn't notice. I'm thinking of asking JD if I can make small weekly payments (like layaway days of old) in order to avoid having a four-alarm, quarrel-triggering shop bill hit the credit card. Also, I'm going to ask JD to set up a shell company and then bill those weekly installments as either [OREGON ORGANIC LUNCHES] or maybe [GOODHUSBAND.COM - ONLINE COURSEWORK].

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I laid it all out for her this morning. I softened her up with a foot massage and some sex, and then after breakfast I started. "I need to do some maintenance on the motorcycle". Then I explained all the reasons it was necessary and she just said "okay, I guess if we need to do it then do it". Freaking awesome!

I already completed the work order form. Can't wait!


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