Touratech suspension

Have a '17 f700GSLC and took it in for it's yearly service. Asked them what they would recommend for suspension upgrades. I told them I was looking at Ohlins and Touratech. One of the main reasons was every time I used the front brake, I was looking at the sky in the mirrors. Every bump, small or large, was jarring and I felt the bike was perfect except for this.
Dealer recommended the Touratech Progressive fork springs and heavier oil. WHY THE HELL DID I WAIT THIS LONG???
This is a total transformation! I though it would be a little better. Didn't know if would be like night/day! Bumps are almost non-existent. Expansion joints, small pot holes, broken pavement... nothing will phase it.
This is the FIRST farkle you should buy. Forget handguards, skid plate, crash bars, blah... blah... blah... Touratech Progressive springs are the real deal. Have already scheduled an appointment to change out the rear shock.

Nice!!!


When you get your rear shock upgrade, go the extra step by properly setting your sag.

http://blog.touratech-usa.com/2013/08/06/how-to-setting-suspension-sag/


In a seminar at a rally a while ago, the speaker mentioned that suspension isn't to keep your fillings from rattling out of our teeth, it's to keep the wheels firmly planted on the road. Not a big deal when you're riding straight, but imagine leaned over in a corner going over a road imperfection and loosing traction, even for a split second.

F-series suspension

On my F650GS Twin (akin to today's F700), I've done:

• Fork Valve Enhancement
  I used Ricor's weirdly-named "Intiminator" insert, which provides 2-stage valving and different valve rates for compression and rebound. It works very well. It is designed to work with a very low weight shock oil (5W), so the simplistic stock damper is left in place (and does almost nothing any more, and the Intiminator takes over). This means you haven't damaged or altered the OEM equipment. The Intiminator valving is designed for this low weight oil and does its control job almost by itself.
• Progressive fork springs
  I used HyperPro progressive springs in the forks (about the same thing as you can get from TouraTech) - the variant which leaves the suspension height unchanged. A big improvement: a bit "softer" in riding around town, no bottoming when off-road.
• Touratech rear shock
  When my OEM shock wore out, I found the Touratech to be cheaper than a stock replacement, with better features and very good feel and adjustability - riding by myself or 2-up with wifey.

All of these were incremental improvements, each a noted improvement from the last.

I can certainly 2nd the comment about carefully setting your suspension sag after the change-over.

Anyone have a link to a tutorial on changing the fork and rear springs. I've purchased the touratech / hyper pro progressive spring kit but having trouble finding more details

Fork Renew / Rebuild Instructions

I have a Haynes service manual for the F800/650 GS Twins, and it has a thorough discussion of the fork disassembly and re-assembly instructions. Good photos for guidance, and specs like fork oil fill level, etc.

Note, though: These forks rely on the pressure of the air trapped (by design) in the top of the fork - acting like an air spring added to the spring in the fork tube. Many folks will play around a bit with the oil fill height in the fork - just a little bit. It makes a noticeable difference.

Good to know. I will be adding to this thread soon. I've recently purchased a 'new' 17 800GSA. Normal seat ht, of 35" is a bit taller than me. I will prolly go with the 35mm TT set, take pics, and review.
More to follow