Racetech Fork Valves

[sckego]

I'm thinking about upgrading my boingers and have been doing a bit of research on what I want to do (btw, anyone have an Elka from the group buy that they've decided they don't want anymore? Lemme know!) For the fronts, it looks like Race Tech is pretty highly regarded. OK, springs I kind of understand, but what's up with these valving kits? There are four listed on their website: Two compression kits, and two rebound kits. What's the difference between these? Which one should I be looking at getting? Do I even need to get a $170 valving kit, or will new springs and fork oil do just fine as a complement to a new rear shock?

For reference, a year's riding for me consists of roughly 12K of freeway commuting, 5K of sport-riding (incl several trackdays), and 5K of two-up sport-touring.

[SEBSPEED]

There are 2 different part numbers for comp&rebound because RaceTech came out with a new style of valve last year.

Doing springs and oil only will get you close and is a great complement to a new rear shock, the valving is icing on the cake for commuting.

Sport riding, on the other hand, you'll see more of the benefits from doing the upgrade, but just respringing the forks to match will transform the bike. :blush:

[Guest]

Get the newer valves - I think they are referred to as the G2R series.

[motogpfan]

Get the newer valves - I think they are referred to as the G2R series.

I recall that vfrd members recieve a 15% discount from racetech.which is a great upgrade.

[JamieDaugherty]

The RaceTech valves really make a noticeable improvement in the forks. It's not just a racing thing either, having the valving setup properly just makes the bike ride better overall. Some performance guys will call me up with concerns that their bike isn't setup right because the ride is so comfortable. When your suspension is working good it's better all around.

Let me know if/when you are ready for the upgrade. Because I've been doing a lot of this work lately I've been able to get better pricing on RaceTech valves and Sonic springs. I can get you the valving kits for $150, which would also include installation. For the street I'd suggest going with only the compression valves. As a forum 'bonus' I'll also swap in a new shim stack on the rebound side as well, you'd get all of the benefits without the cost of a kit. Springs are $75 if you are interested in that as well. Shoot me a PM if you are interested. I probably won't be able to maintain these prices forever though!

[Guest]

The RaceTech valves really make a noticeable improvement in the forks. It's not just a racing thing either, having the valving setup properly just makes the bike ride better overall. Some performance guys will call me up with concerns that their bike isn't setup right because the ride is so comfortable. When your suspension is working good it's better all around.

Let me know if/when you are ready for the upgrade. Because I've been doing a lot of this work lately I've been able to get better pricing on RaceTech valves and Sonic springs. I can get you the valving kits for $150, which would also include installation. For the street I'd suggest going with only the compression valves. As a forum 'bonus' I'll also swap in a new shim stack on the rebound side as well, you'd get all of the benefits without the cost of a kit. Springs are $75 if you are interested in that as well. Shoot me a PM if you are interested. I probably won't be able to maintain these prices forever though!

Sad the economy and my desire to squirrel away some extra cash I have decided to wait until next season to redo the suspension and brakes. Any bulk discounts if I send it both the front and rear to be upgraded/rebuilt?

[JamieDaugherty]

The RaceTech valves really make a noticeable improvement in the forks. It's not just a racing thing either, having the valving setup properly just makes the bike ride better overall. Some performance guys will call me up with concerns that their bike isn't setup right because the ride is so comfortable. When your suspension is working good it's better all around.

Let me know if/when you are ready for the upgrade. Because I've been doing a lot of this work lately I've been able to get better pricing on RaceTech valves and Sonic springs. I can get you the valving kits for $150, which would also include installation. For the street I'd suggest going with only the compression valves. As a forum 'bonus' I'll also swap in a new shim stack on the rebound side as well, you'd get all of the benefits without the cost of a kit. Springs are $75 if you are interested in that as well. Shoot me a PM if you are interested. I probably won't be able to maintain these prices forever though!

Sad the economy and my desire to squirrel away some extra cash I have decided to wait until next season to redo the suspension and brakes. Any bulk discounts if I send it both the front and rear to be upgraded/rebuilt?

I might be able to help you out there. Shoot me a PM with what you are looking to do and I'll put together a price for you!

[arrow]

I am also thinking about doing a suspension upgrade and I have been looking at Racetech's products. I tried their gold valves on my 2000 ZX6R before and I was quite satisfied. Now I am looking at their products for VFR VTEC.

I see that there are 4 items available:

- Type 1 Gold Valve Kit – Standard Type 1 Compression Kit

- G2-R Gold Valve Kit - G2-R Next Generation Compression Kit

- Fork Rebound Gold Valve Kit

- Fork Rebound HFR Gold Valve Kit-Racing (Hi-Frequency Response Race Rebound Gold Valve)

As far as I can understand (and also stated here), G2-R Gold Valve Kit is the new version of Type 1 Gold Valve Kit . I am kind of confused with the other two though. Do Fork Rebound Gold Valve kits enable rebound adjustability for VFR Forks? Are they used in conjunction with the Gold Valve Kits?

[SEBSPEED]

The rebound valves for the VFR are adjustable, both OEM and Racetech are. The problem for us is, they are not adjustable from the outside of the fork. You have to spill its guts and change the shim stacks, then reassemble and test.

Racetech gives a good start by including specs for your weight and riding style when you buy their parts.

[JamieDaugherty]

I am also thinking about doing a suspension upgrade and I have been looking at Racetech's products. I tried their gold valves on my 2000 ZX6R before and I was quite satisfied. Now I am looking at their products for VFR VTEC.

I see that there are 4 items available:

- Type 1 Gold Valve Kit – Standard Type 1 Compression Kit

- G2-R Gold Valve Kit - G2-R Next Generation Compression Kit

- Fork Rebound Gold Valve Kit

- Fork Rebound HFR Gold Valve Kit-Racing (Hi-Frequency Response Race Rebound Gold Valve)

As far as I can understand (and also stated here), G2-R Gold Valve Kit is the new version of Type 1 Gold Valve Kit . I am kind of confused with the other two though. Do Fork Rebound Gold Valve kits enable rebound adjustability for VFR Forks? Are they used in conjunction with the Gold Valve Kits?

The G2R valves are primarily for racing applications. For street riders I still suggest going with the Type 1 valve. When I revalve forks I typically only get the compression gold valve and, if desired, I make my own adjustments to rebound shim stack. For the majority of riders this is a great setup and keeps the costs down as much as possible.

The adjustability that has been discussed is what I can assume to be the external adjustment screws. Please keep in mind that these control only the low speed damping and not the high speed portion. The valve piston and shim stack control the high speed damping characteristics of the forks. The high speed is where most of your performance will be gained. With a properly setup bleed hole on the gold valve you don't need an external adjustment.

[arrow]

Yes, I meant external adjustability. Thanks for pointing that out. I plan to get the Torocharger for 6th gen. when it comes out and I plan to do suspension upgrades before that. The general state of the roads here, while by no means third world spec, are worse than Western Europe and the US (bumps, ripples and occasional holes etc) so I am guessing may be I'd need both the compression & rebound valves and spring set for forks. I am looking for better comfort and control but I also look for good performance for the occasional track day. I realize the VFR is no race rep, I just mean to say that I am trying to find the best comprimise in the country I live in and I felt that I needed some external adjustment for that. After reading your comments I realize this not necessarily so.