Hi, I am thinking of a new project for my 07 blade. I do 3 or 4 track day a year and found the standard forks a little wanting. I struggle to set the sag up and somtimes the front bottomes out. I don't realy want to go for full ohlins due to the cost. So a spring and valve DIY fork rework it is. Has anybody done this? I can get the springs for my weight but I was wondering where to get the valve kits form? Is this something an average home spanner man can do? Any advice would be appreciated Ta:yo:
I did this on my old bike mate 07 blade! You want MAXTON its 315 pound +vat for springs re-valve etc for your weight and what a differance it makes! they are based in chesire and you can post to them or drop off! hope that helps!!
Just found the email they sent me interesting read for you! LAUREL BANK KINGSWOOD FRODSHAM CHESHIRE WA6 6HX TEL - 01928 740531 FAX – 01928 740635 EMAIL – [email protected] WEBSITE – Maxton Suspension home page HONDA FIREBLADE 2004 to 2007 FRONT The front forks on this Fireblade have a few problems. For the average rider weight (13 stone) the springs in the forks are too soft, this combined with the new improved brakes makes the front of the bike dive a lot under braking, and maybe bottom the forks out. The other big problem is there is not enough rebound damping inside the forks, even on the maximum setting. This means that when you let go of the brake the forks spring back at quickly, so as you are trying to get down and in to the corner, the forks are coming back at you, making it very difficult to get into the corner. Also when you open the throttle to exit the corner the forks extend to fast, taking too much weight off the front wheel, causing the front tyre to lose grip, run wide and feel a bit "twitchy". We revalve and respring the forks, fitting harder springs to suit your rider weight this stops them diving and bottoming out. The revalve increases the rebound damping to control the harder springs, whilst using the correct weight oil, so the ride does not become too harsh over bumpy roads. We also increase the range of adjustment in the damping screws and fit bump springs to replace the hydraulic bump stops. The hydraulic bumps stops stop the forks bottoming out metal to metal, but they are very hard and harsh themselves. The spring bump stops are very smooth and progressive, so even if you do bottom out in an emergency, you should not notice. The whole fork conversion costs £300.00 + V.A.T and includes a service. Fork seals and bushes are extra, the seals are £24.00 + V.A.T a pair and the bushes cost £12.00 + V.A.T each. We also supply replacement needle valves for the compression damping adjusters. These increase the range of adjustment in the compression damping and also makes the range of adjustment finer. The replacement valves cost £60.00 + V.A.T a pair. If you race your bike we also supply our GP25 cartridge conversion for this model of fork. This costs £835.00 + V.A.T. For more details see the products page of our website – Maxton Suspension home page REAR The standard rear unit on the Fireblade is pretty good for the average rider weight and for most road uses. The problems may arise if you are above the average rider weight, ride the bike very hard or do track days. The rear unit will feel too soft causing the bike to sit down too much when exiting corners, making the bike run wide. The standard unit is also affected by heat as it is buried in the swing arm and runs very close to the exhaust, this means it never gets a chance to cool down. It is not possible to respring the original unit, all we can do is replace the unit. The replacement Maxton unit is a fully adjustable, alloy bodied, high pressure gas unit that adjusts via a shim stack. The unit has a spring to suit your rider weight and to suit what type of riding you do. The unit is suited to high temperatures because it adjusts via the shim stack not via a needle in a hole system. The unit costs £405.00 plus V.A.T but we also make a piggy back remote reservoir unit that has a second compression adjuster and ride height adjustment which costs £550.00 plus V.A.T. For racing we also make a GP7 unit with High, Medium and Low speed compression damping, this costs £670.00 + V.A.T.
You need spring compressors or a jig to remove the rear shock spring. To remove the fork springs, just do em one at a time, undo all the preload and unscrew the fork top nut. There's a little bit of tension still in the spring , but not much. I usually put a rag over the top nut and hold it while turning the top nut just before it comes out. To unload both forks a bit more, you have to put it on the paddock stands.
After doing a bit more reserch it looks like DIY revalving on the front and back is a bit to much for the me. Think I will try changing the fork springs for my weight and putting some fresh 7.5 fork oil in. As for the the back shock I think might look for a cheap Nitron unit.
I put Ohlins linear springs in my RRW forks, but they were too soft. I took the bike to Steve Jordan Racing and he made spacers and set the front end and rear up. Rear is a Nitron Road/Race shock, £250 on eBay. Handling was brilliant after that. Nitron is the best improvement on my bike.
Thanks for that mate. A new Nitro looks the best part of £600 for the road/track one. Keep my eyes open for an ebay bargain me thinks.
Why not send your forks and shock to k tech or mct and get a revalve. Will be in the region of 600 for revLve and spring.
Who me? I have read it and you recommended maxton. I didn't as I've never used them. I recommend mct or Ktech as I have used them. Saying that Ktech won't give you any set up support whatsoever.
