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90 R 100 GSPD suspension upgrade

thank you again for the info. I tore the forks apart this afternoon, that went pretty smooth I think. I have one concern when I removed the right side valve the ring with the tabs was jammed up in the fork tube and I had to carefully pry it out. I tried to put it back together and it got stuck again. tomorrow I will clean and thoroughly inspect everything. I will wait til Monday to reassemble so I can talk to someone at the Race Tech hotline, here are a few pics
 

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hello, I just called the RACE TECH, tech line and it is disconnected. so I e-mailed them on their tech e-mail, we'll see how that goes. after cleaning and looking at things yesterday, I realized Anton is right, it appears to me you would have to drill holes in the compression damping rod, and restrict the oil flowing past the valve, for the gold valve to be effective.so I guess I will load up a few parts and go to the shop and see what they say.
 
good morning, no reply from RACE TECH , hmmm, maybe my shop knows how to get a hold of them. my shop was closed yesterday, so today I will have some news. I am going to go out on a limb and lay out what I think is going to happen. keep in mind that I had never even thought about what my forks were doing til last week. first I will drill three sets of holes, in the damping rod, the same as the other side. then take the damping rod to a machine shop and have them cut off the washer that rests the damping rod on top of the short springs in the bottom of the fork tube, and reweld a larger diameter one in its place. I think that would restrict the flow enough to redirect it through the gold valve. I also think I need some steel washers for the race tech spacers to sit on since they don't fit the spring seat very good. RACE TECH says to remove the spring seat on the right side but I can't see how it comes apart. after looking at the attached pic, maybe the right size washer between the spacer and the spring seat would do the trick, and I wouldn't have to go to the machine shop. any thoughts on all that? thanks Chuck
 

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Race Tech lives, I fat fingered the number yesterday, I am now waiting for a call from Louie, suspension expert at Race Tech.
 
all right, we have action. I talked with Matthew Wiley vintage specialist at race tech, I sent him my proposal, he said he will research it and advise. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear something. as far as Matthew, and Louie at race tech knew no one has put a gold valve on the left side. I hope to have more soon.
 
all right, we have action. I talked with Matthew Wiley vintage specialist at race tech, I sent him my proposal, he said he will research it and advise. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear something. as far as Matthew, and Louie at race tech knew no one has put a gold valve on the left side. I hope to have more soon.

Way to challenge! Breaking new ground:lurk
 
good morning, I started this thread to find out how to best improve my bike, I stated I had no experience with this area. however I think now is a good time for some backpedaling ( crawfishin as we say down at the pool room ). I went to my local shop, told them I wanted to upgrade, and asked their recommendation, they were very sure of themselves and told me what to get. when I questioned why there were 2 valves, they said that was correct, they were very sure of themselves. I have made some posts based on this information, anything I said about Race Tech was based on reading the instructions that came with my valves. now that I have actually talked to Race Tech I realize my shop didn't know how to do this job off the top of their head.so I am sorry if I put out any incorrect information up to this point. ok my updated plan involves drilling the same holes in the left damping rod as are in the right, then have a machine shop make a spacer that sits on top of the damping rod and under the gold valve, that also restricts flow, redirecting oil through the gold valve. I am sure I am in way over my head now but it is fun. oh well like most things in my life " it seemed like a good idea at the time "
 
good morning, I started this thread to find out how to best improve my bike, I stated I had no experience with this area. however I think now is a good time for some backpedaling ( crawfishin as we say down at the pool room ). I went to my local shop, told them I wanted to upgrade, and asked their recommendation, they were very sure of themselves and told me what to get. when I questioned why there were 2 valves, they said that was correct, they were very sure of themselves. I have made some posts based on this information, anything I said about Race Tech was based on reading the instructions that came with my valves. now that I have actually talked to Race Tech I realize my shop didn't know how to do this job off the top of their head.so I am sorry if I put out any incorrect information up to this point. ok my updated plan involves drilling the same holes in the left damping rod as are in the right, then have a machine shop make a spacer that sits on top of the damping rod and under the gold valve, that also restricts flow, redirecting oil through the gold valve. I am sure I am in way over my head now but it is fun. oh well like most things in my life " it seemed like a good idea at the time "

Only way to over come not knowing what to do is doing it:laugh

I look forward to the learnings you bring us all.
 
morning everyone, here is what I sent to Race Tech, I hope to hear from them soon, I can't wait to try it out!
 

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maybe I should have said , the springs on top are the old springs and spacers I need to make new spacers for the Race Tech springs.
 
good morning, here is plan revision #3 , I came up with it while riding my bicycle yesterday, and e-mailed it to Matt Wiley of Race Tech as soon as I got home. I want to purchase another right side ( rebound ) damping rod and check valve assembly , modify it per Race Tech's recommendations and install it in the left side, with a gold valve on top. Matt e-mailed me back yesterday and said this will work !!! he said they have done similar conversions, which I take to mean not a R 100 GS . anyway there you have it Matt says it will work great if I don't mind spending the dough ! so its off to the dealer to order up, they told me yesterday $169.25 for what I need. unfortunately the parts are coming from Germany so it will take 3 weeks to get them. so as near as I can tell I will have the first R 100 GS with compression and rebound damping in both forks, cool. all because my local shop told me " the kit comes with 2, of course you use them both " serendipity ! how about that? now all I have to do is figure out how to get the spring seat off the end of the damping rod ( per race tech's instructions ) , it looks like it is pressed on. I will e-mail Matt on Monday and ask his recommendation.
 

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..so as near as I can tell I will have the first R 100 GS with compression and rebound damping in both forks, cool.

Not if I find time first... :) Which means you are probably correct. Although someone else may have done it; the idea has been on my website for a while now. But you might be the first to write about it. Remember you will have double the damping unless you drastically lighten the spring. I don't think loosening the adjuster will have the same effect.

I think the spring seat just pries off the top of the right damping rod.
 
thank you, I got most of my information, and certainly the best, from your website. I will ask Matt Wiley's recommendation for adjustment when I put it together. since the GV came with 2 springs ( blue 40 lb/in, yellow 64 lb/in ) I thought I would start with the yellow at 1 turn preload (?) since that would seem to be just higher than the middle of your overall adjustment range. thanks again for the great info
 
I was too busy looking at the spring seat part , I didn't process the other part, at first. I sent Matt Wiley all my info GV kit, new race tech springs ( gave him the part # ), weight, riding style, expected terrain , new Ohlins in back, and anything else I might have thought of. he seemed to think everything I was doing would work well together, I will use his recommendations to set it up and let everyone know what happens. thanks
 
so here it is, right side modified and ready for re assembly. another right side damping rod and check valve on the way from Germany.
 

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morning everyone, I am back with some great news! it is best summarized like this, WOW!!! so here is the final set up, 17 mm preload, on new Race Tech springs, 450 cc 10 wt fork fluid, new right side internal parts on the left side, a gold valve on both sides set to 2 turns of pre load ( yellow spring 64 pound/inch ). WOW!!! I went right out and filled the tank ( 9.25 gal us ), amazing ! then I went to my new tire road, it is a rutted gravel road that gains almost 2000 feet of elevation in about 3 miles. WOW!!! it was like butter ! this has totally transformed my bike, it is amazing. the WABDR southern end is 30 miles from my house, I guess I will be headed there soon, here are some pictures, see you in Salem
 
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That's great news.

Just to clarify: are you using the stock rebound valving on both sides, with extra holes in the bottom of each damper rod? And what are you using to seat the GV into the top of the rod?

I heard from someone else who is modifying his forks. The impression I got was that he drilled holes in the tapered damper rod and seemed to lose nearly all of his rebound damping. Maybe he will post here about it.
 
good morning all, yes I am using the stock right side damping rod and valve assy in the left side also. I tried to attach some pictures yesterday that will make things more clear. I will try again today. the gold valve sits on top of a spacer provided by Race Tech. I followed Race Techs instructions for modification. when I assembled the forks you could feel the rebound working, you cant make the GV pop off ( by hand ) , but the rebound feels great.
 

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BTW, if anyone would like, I could e-mail pictures that you could see in greater detail. just send me a PM.
 
morning all, here is a brief update on my new setup. I have a little over 300 miles now, I am amazed at the difference in the handling. when I rolled off the centerstand before, it felt like a log being thrown in a lake, now it feels like a skateboard shooting off a rail, making a soft landing and rolling down the bowl! this setup might be a little stiff for some people, but for what I wanted I think I have hit a home run. I haven't done much gravel yet, but on the road this bike rivals the feeling I get on my R 1200 GS ( just not as quick ). in fact I am most impressed with how much faster my R 100 feels, I carry way more speed into the corners without even trying. well that is it for now, I have some more testing to do. see you down the road
 
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