Suspension options UK


Mikejbry

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Hey, I have spent the last couple of weeks investigating suspension options for our bikes, mine is a 2016 MT09. pricing seems to have changed a lot since most of the threads were made so I thought I would update my current findings as of this week.

So, I contacted a few different suppliers, including JHS which is local to me here in Bristol.

Here are my findings:

conquestcarbon.com


Andreani front cartridges and Ohlins 335 rear £900
Andreani Advanced Adjustable Fork Cartridge Ohlins Kit Yamaha MT09 | Conquest Carbon


JHS Racing:


Rear
  • K-tech Razor R shock built to riders weight £594
  • Or K-tech Razor R Lite shock built to riders weight £415
  • Nitron R1 £435



Front
  • K-tech 20mm fork cartridge kit £594
  • Fork springs to riders weight £ 85
  • Fork service & Fitting to loose forks £180

Prices include VAT.



Maxton:


Rear

We recommend replacing the unit with a Maxton NON-remote unit. This unit is basically an
RT10 shock without the remote reservoir. The Maxton unit is an alloy bodied high pressure gas
shock with a floating piston to separate the oil and gas. The unit is adjustable for rebound
damping, compression damping, preload and ride height adjustment. The Maxton unit is
built to order so we valve and spring the shock to suit your rider weight and what you are
using the bike for, we also base set the adjusters at a setting that suits you. The preload
adjustment is very quick and easy to get to.

The NR4 Maxton unit costs £460.00 + V.A.T = £552


If you are using the bike on the track or riding the bike very fast then we would recommend
the GP10 unit, this unit has a remote reservoir with high and low speed compression damping
adjusters. This makes it very quick and easy to change the compression damping and also
gives you a much finer range and wider range on the compression damping adjustment.
We have machined a special bracket to hold the GP10 remote reservoir which fits on the
passenger foot rest mounting point. If you needed to you can still use the passenger foot rest
with the GP10 rear shock.

The GP10 rear shock and fitting kit costs £780.00 + V.A.T = £936


Front

GP20
The Maxton GP20 fork cartridges have rebound damping and compression
damping in both legs. To reduce the cost of the cartridges we use the standard fork tops, so
this means even though you have rebound damping and compression damping in both legs
the rebound damping is only altered from one leg. The GP20 cartridges are built to order so
we valve and spring them to suit your rider weight and what you are using the bike for. The
damping inside the forks is progressive, this means the first part of the travel is soft and
compliant but the faster and further the forks move the more support and control the forks
have. This means the forks will absorb small bumps in the road but under heavy braking they
have support and also control when you let go of the brake. We fit springs to the GP20
cartridges to suit your rider weight and what you are using the bike for.

The cost of the GP20 fork cartridges is £405.00 + V.A.T per pair = £486
The cost of servicing the forks with new fork seals and fitting the GP20 cartridges is an extra £155.00 + V.A.T per pair = £186

If you would like adjustable rebound damping in both legs we supply our GP20 fork
cartridges with new Maxton fork tops.
These cartridges cost £555.00 + V.A.T per pair = £666
And an extra £155.00 + V.A.T to fit them with new fork seals = £186

The GP20 quoted in the spec sheet is adjustable for rebound only, it is the most affordable option we offer and it is what most of our MT-09 customers go for. If you are looking for compression adjustment then you would need to go for our SD25 cartridge, details below:


SD25
These are a new cartridge that we have been developing over the last 2 years. We have not launched them yet as we have been developing them over the summer, so they are not yet advertised on our website.

The SD25 cartridges are basically a smaller version of the GP30 fork cartridges. We have been developing the GP30 fork cartridges over the last 9 years and realised that a smaller, more affordable version is needed. The fork tops that the SD25 cartridges come with look very similar to the GP30 fork tops. The principal of the SD25 cartridges is the same as the GP30, they have separate damping in each leg. The right leg has rebound damping, the left leg has compression damping. Both legs have springs fitted. This means all of the adjusters are at the top of the fork. There are two options for the SD25 cartridges :

1. Is a fully adjustable pair of cartridges with rebound damping, compression damping and preload adjustment. This cartridge cost £675.00 + V.A.T per pair plus installation = £810 + £186

2. The second option has less adjustment, to keep the cost down. These cartridges have rebound damping and compression damping adjustment, but no preload adjustment. The preload can still be changed by removing the fork tops and changing the length of the internal spring spacer. This cartridge cost £520.00 + V.A.T per pair plus installation = £624 + £186


Both options of SD25 cartridge are built to order, so we valve the cartridges to suit what you are using the bike for. The SD25 cartridges also come with springs chosen for your rider weight and also what you are using the bike for.



Personally, I am in two minds of what to do, Maxton feels the more bespoke solution, but the lack of compression adjustment with the GP20 after spending £666 leaves me a little cold! So I'm tempted to get a rear shock from somewhere and contemplate my fork options at a later date. I'm close to just getting springs and oil and seeing if this helps with the front end dive!

I'll update as I get more quotes etc, MCT won't quote over email unfortunately.

Cheers
Mike
 
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Locksmith

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Just springs and oil in the front is definitely an upgrade, just depends how desperate you are for proper damping.
 

Mikejbry

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Ordered the Ktech Razor R rear shock today from JHS racing, I weighed myself at 74kg in textiles and 76kg in leathers, I asked them to spring the shock for 80kg, to allow me to gain a few kg's and/or carry a backpack which is how I usually roll. 2-14 day wait, but I should expect it sometime next week with some luck if Ktech have a suitable shock already made up that just needs respringing.

Can't wait!!! Who doesn't love some bling :)
 

Mikejbry

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Picked it up from JHS yesterday and fitted last night.

Went in easy, it looks rather puny compared to the stock unit.... 36mm piston I think. But I believe many high end shocks also use a similarly sized piston, such as the Ohlins ttx36 (think that's the model).

But the first ride is definitely positive, felt great actually, looking forward to finishing work and I'll take a longer route home to try and find a decent road to give it some beans. It didn't try to bounce me out of the seat at all compared to the old one over big bumps.

At my weight, I asked for them to spring it for 80kg (heavier end of my possible weight, i.e back packs etc), they fitted a 9.5kg/mm spring, or maybe 95N/mm, which is a little over 9.5kg. I'll check when I get home.

I was torn between this shock and the Maxton, then my budget consideration was the Nitron.

So far I'm pleased with my choice!
 

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Mikejbry

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The hose runs quite close to the sub frame so I'll be looking for some clear hose to split and wrap around it to keep it protected. But I dont think it will pose that much of an issue, it shouldn't move much there.
 

Mikejbry

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Ok so settings provided by Ktech:

The Ktech shock was set with 32mm static sag (with me on it, without gear, so 6-8kg of extra weight to increase sag slightly. I'll measure later how much of the lower and upper ring threads are showing to get this sag.

Compression: 14 clicks out
Rebound: 16 clicks out
 

Mikejbry

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Bought a head stock stand in case anyone is interested. I read a few things about several of them not lifting the mt09 high enough.

Well I bought one of these:

Motorbike Paddock Stand Front Head Lift Standard Yamaha MT-09 13-16 | eBay

I set it to the highest setting and it lifts the front wheel off the ground by about 10mm.

It comes with the 20mm pin required for the mt09, but what it doesn't advertise is that it comes with a complete set of 5 pins. So it should fit lots of others too.

Ready to remove forks now once I decide what to do!
 

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RussR

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When you come to drop your forks, remove the mudguard before putting it on the headstock stand.

And didn't the horn get in the way of the stand? - I've moved mine to under the l/h dummy intake.
 

Mikejbry

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I had to temporarily remove the horn and unplug the plastic cable clip. Moving the horn sounds like a sensible idea!

I take it the mudguard is a nightmare to remove on a stand like this!?
 

RussR

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I wouldn't say it's a nightmare, it's possible that it will come off when it's on the stand but having had a go I thought I'd likely damage the finish or crack it trying to get it off so it was easier to just take it off before puting it on the stand.
 
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I used my AbbaStand with front lift arm to drop my fork legs before i took them to Maxton.

It raises the whole bike off the floor. I removed callipers first - zip-tied them to the radiator sides out of the way, then remove the mudguard - watch for the metal inserts falling out and finding their way into the nearest hole(!) then pull the axle and drop the front wheel - you'll need a big 14mm allen key socket for this.

It took me about half an hour, and that's being careful, making sure the bits were stored in order and everything wrapped up for protection.

;)
 

RTV

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My MT came (from the previous owner) with YSS shock and springs and have to say that I'm happy out with them, it's the Z-Series and they work just great. Easily adjustable and I think that they have a pretty good value


- YSS Shock Absorbers


Available from wemoto apparently.

Cheers,
Rami
 

Mikejbry

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Little update again!

I decided to go with the Ktech IDS20 fork cartridges and Ktech springs.


Ordered the cartridges from Omniaracing in Italy, Ktech won't sell them to you directly annoyingly, but I want to install them myself instead of paying £180 to JHS! I think I can do it fairly easily, I don't plan to change fork seals (which is what makes up part of the cost with JHS etc), I'll make a tool to hold the stock cartridges if necessary.

Just waiting for things to arrive now.

I plan to use 8.5N/mm springs. I haven't chosen my oil yet, but I want to use 16 to 17cst oil in the rebound leg, and perhaps a lighter ~10cst in the compression leg.

I just need to find something in the UK which has these viscosity levels
 
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Mikejbry

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Ktech IDS20 cartridges are in with 8.5N springs.

9.8cst@40C Belray 2.5w in comp leg
15.9cst@40C Maxima 85/150 5w in reb leg

Pattonme on the Fz09 forum recommends the above oil viscosities for road use.

To make a stock cartridge holding tool you need 28mm OD tube, wall thickness was 1mm I think, I used steel tube from work, using an angle grinder I made 4 prongs to fix into the cup, worked perfectly.

I set it up to the ktech reccomended settings:
140mm air gap/oil level
20 clicks out comp
20 clicks out reb

Very harsh over sharp bumps, I've knocked the comp down significantly and it's better, but I think I'll remove some oil and go with an air gap in the region of 150 to 160mm instead. Hopefully do it one night this week.

If anyone is interested I'll write a "how to" along with what tools you will need.

Cheers
Mike
 

Mikejbry

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I have dropped my oil level to 160mm to help smooth out the harsh bumps, it has helped somewhat.

  • Total stanchion showing at full extension: 141mm
  • Assuming the same fork travel as OEM: 137mm

76kg fully kitted up.
My static sag figures are 41mm, so pretty much spot on, but I'm not using all of my travel.

I knocked the compression adjuster out to 28 clicks from sully seated (out of 32) and I have 28mm of usable travel remaining. I'll do the next trip to work with it fully open, that may get me a few more mm of travel used.

But I was under the impression that I should have 5mm left after a hard and bumpy ride. Leaving 5mm in the kitty for emergency bumps.

My question for the suspension gurus out there is:

Can I happily and safely mix a stock spring (7.5N?) in the compression leg with a KTech 8.5N spring in the rebound leg? In my mind it should not be a problem, forks only move in one axis of movement and you can add the spring stiffnesses together.

This should get me roughly a 8N spring weight, I can adjust the preload equally to get back to the correct sag levels, but I should enable myself to use more travel.

Does this sound like a good way to proceed?

Cheers all.
Mike
 

stevierst

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I’ve been reading up on this topic, and come to the conclusion that I can’t justify spending a fortune on suspension (well SWMBO says Ican’t!)
I’ve fitted a zx6r shock, and it’s made a big difference, but the front end is still rather poor.
I’ve heard that you can fit the adjustable suspension top cap to the rebound leg, adjust oil weights, and make a difference. has anyone on here done it?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Mikejbry

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The forks currently are a massive improvement over stock, that goes without saying, this is just me trying to soften it up slightly.

As for the left leg, you need more than just the top cap. It's a dummy leg, it doesn't have valving etc.

If you do the second RH mod, you'd need to reshim both legs so as not to overdo the compression damping and tailor the rebound damping properly.
 

Mikejbry

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Another way of looking at it is:

Ktech Razor R shock £594
Ktech Ids20 plus springs £680
Assorted tooling I didn't have for fork installation £100

I would think that getting £550 for the fork cartridges, springs and top cap tool should be very easy.

The shock I would hope for near £500 on eBay also.

So the cost of owning these things is rather cheap if you are able to fit them yourself and flog them separately from the bike.

Certainly less than a noisy exhaust system that you'll also have to flash the ECU for. Then as the bike is flashed to that exhaust you will also likely leave it on the bike when you sell it.

That's how I justified it anyway...
 

Dasfergmeister

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Ktech IDS20 cartridges are in with 8.5N springs.

9.8cst@40C Belray 2.5w in comp leg
15.9cst@40C Maxima 85/150 5w in reb leg

Pattonme on the Fz09 forum recommends the above oil viscosities for road use.

To make a stock cartridge holding tool you need 28mm OD tube, wall thickness was 1mm I think, I used steel tube from work, using an angle grinder I made 4 prongs to fix into the cup, worked perfectly.

I set it up to the ktech reccomended settings:
140mm air gap/oil level
20 clicks out comp
20 clicks out reb

Very harsh over sharp bumps, I've knocked the comp down significantly and it's better, but I think I'll remove some oil and go with an air gap in the region of 150 to 160mm instead. Hopefully do it one night this week.

If anyone is interested I'll write a "how to" along with what tools you will need.

Cheers
Mike
Hey mike,

Did you ever write a "how to guide" on how you replaced the front fork cartridges please?
I'd be interested in having a go at doing this myself but any written guidance would help me greatly I think.

Cheers
 
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I’ve been reading up on this topic, and come to the conclusion that I can’t justify spending a fortune on suspension (well SWMBO says Ican’t!)
I’ve fitted a zx6r shock, and it’s made a big difference, but the front end is still rather poor.
I’ve heard that you can fit the adjustable suspension top cap to the rebound leg, adjust oil weights, and make a difference. has anyone on here done it?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Can I fit the shock without removing the tank?
 


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