Phew thanks for that Colin!, I was starting to have second thoughts! TBH I like to do most of the work myself but being chrimbo and the kids having birthdays my time at the mo is priceless
I'm the same mate. I always like to do as much as I can and only let the very tricky stuff go to those better in the know. I've been meaning to get mine done for the last few months but work has got in the way lately. The nearest place that I would trust is a good 100 miles away so its a case of I must take the forks off and get them sent away.
BTW 'well jel' of your HPK callipers, if you waited any longer to buy they would have been mine! Now I have been 'forced' to upgrade the forks the callipers and rotors will have to wait. Soon as my forks are sorted I will fit my RCS 19, - hopefully that will be awesome too!
That's my next plan also once the suspension is sorted. Master cylinder, braided hoses and upgraded calipers.
Can't put a price on trust and service. Worth a few quid every time IMO. Don't get the online bargain culture tbh, for the sake of a small saving, you lose a lot IMO. Nice knowing if you have a problem you can take it back and look the dude in the eye!
I fitted hoses recently there was an improvement but very little ( I have an ABS, I like to live on the edge! ). I've had sitting in my kitchen an RCS19 MC and associated goodness and was due to fit myself this weekend but my new MC banjo has gone walkies somewhere in the royal mail networkI,ve had some T drive rotors and M4 on the budget for next quarter but my leaky forks blew that so they will have to wait!,but I think they will come second to a shock upgrade, see the reply from PDQ when I ask their opinion if I needed revalving for the forks over just a seal replacement 'Revalving the forks is a dramatic improvement to the way the bike rides both on the street & particularly on the track. Beware though 'cos once you start improving suspension you'll realise what you've been missing & then be banging on my door for a new shock!!' feck I might as well give them a blank cheque!
Mine is an ABS model also. I already have the 2012 shock fitted that has been revalved and re-sprung to suit, which is a improvement over the 08- shock. By the time the season starts I will have the front suspension and brakes sorted.
Mate, I think you've got it the right way round!, the brakes will only work as well as the suspension. I've found the OEM suspension is too hard from my weight, (I'm 65-68kg naked!). On heavy braking the suspension is too stiff causing the ABS to kick in way too early.
Lol. I'm the opposite end of the scales at 100-103kg. No matter what the standard suspension is, once you feel the difference of upgraded suspension there's no going back. I just wish I did it sooner.
Looking forward to reading how those goodies improve your bike. I've been looking to do the same and K-Tech have quoted for the same kit as you. They can also do a re-valve and service of the rear shock which is a huge saving over a replacement of any make. My problem is living in Guernsey Channel Islands I have to take my bike OR the forks and shock to the UK to get the work done, there's a K-Tech dealer in Wimborne near Poole though so not too difficult, just adds to the cost for me.
Yeah I had been thinking of doing calipers during the off season and wasn't going to wait around for another set to show up! Ive kept my standards and would prob sell separately unless I got the right price selling the lot so maybe a big splitting session if I change bike at any point
O.M.F.G!!!! Just to start off thanks to Larry and the guys at PDQ, awesome service!! I wasn't expecting one, but they even gave me a courtesy bike. Your one stop performance shop I'm no racer and even less articulate so hopefully my review will help those considering this upgrade, but just to note I am 67kg ish so if you are are heavier/lighter you might not experience the same. Today when I picked up the Blade it was raining proper hard but even though the new suspension shone through, I could just feel what the fronts were doing. The roads round me are pretty rough and the OEM setup would skip around what-ever I did with the comp and rebound. In the dry not really a problem but in the wet you need to take it easy - not now, the fronts were just planted just gave me more confidence to push even harder!, it was like riding on 'air' but you feel the grip that was available. The bumps were just soaked up. Just as an illustration ride at speed on cats eyes, OEM fronts were OK but these just smooth it out, my OEM rears however remind you they're still there, it like 'what cat's eye, there it is, what cat's eye, there it is!! Braking - I've got an ABS, slam on the anchors at 70mph and the blade just digs up the asphalt. You can hear the tyres squirming and the pads 'shoosing'? The dive is much more controlled, On panic braking OEM you can feel the ABS take control, K-techs provide the tyre with so much more grip ABS kicks in a lot later, I think in the short test run I was able to modulate the brakes on the limit of grip before the ABS kicked in. Slamming on the anchors at load speed also no dramas, just a nice controlled dive toward Oz! All this in the wet! but I just wait to use in anger on the track Is it worth it hell yes!, the only con it highlights the deficiency of the rear shock, I will be returning to PDQ to get a Nitron track shock fitted in the new year!
Awesome news! Welcome to the wonderful world of ktech forks. I never rode with standard internals in my race bike but as you said, you can feel every bit of grip !
Hey Slick thanks for the write up, that's convinced me this is a good upgrade and well worth the money. Have you thought about a revalve of the standard shock? K-tech quoted me around £150 + VAT to revalve & service my standard rear shock + spring if you need/want a different rate spring, might be worth doing that rather than a new Nitron/K-Tech/Ohlins shock which is gonna cost way more
Its well worth it IMO. It allows you go faster without any increase of BHP and helps you stop quicker without any brake mods - no brainer really, just wish I did it earlier not just with the Blade but all my previous bikes! I might well do a rear re-valve, where did you get that quote (direct from K-tech?) as I can not see the rear shock kit for sale anywhere. I think however it is not worth doing this to my current shock as the preload is seized up. If I did go this route I would probably buy a newer shock, or even a 12+ then re-valve that. Need to invest in a hugger to protect it though.
Yep direct from Chris Taylor at K-Tech, [email protected] the following is what he said in his e-mail to me; Shock wise we can revalve you standard unit which gives it better damping control and adjustment range, we also have optional rate springs available if needed. The cost of a shock revalve is £145.00 + VAT which includes a service with all service parts. He did advise that while K-Tech could do the shock work at their workshop some dealers may not be able to do the shock service (or charge a different price) so it would be a good idea to check with PDQ to make sure they can do the work and at what cost
I just bought the King Carbon hugger for my bike mate. It's the ABS model with a 12- shock fitted. I'll let you know how it goes with fitting, but should be ok as I got the 2012 ABS model hugger.
I've been looking at upgrade options for the 2012 rear shock - Ktech don't carry any replacement springs (higher or lower rate) yet (2008 2011 are OK). I need a lighter spring but I guess no problems with a revalve if your weight is suited to the stock spring.
