Race Tech Emulators and YSS PD valves

[Paul552]

I had racetech fitted to my yz125d and it cost me like 900 bucks and they where harsh as.
I emailed racetech and they told me to change the emulator spring and they were heaps better.
I would like to fit some to the cr125re I am building but not sure what machining is needed.
I will stear clear of the Yss so thanks for the tip.

Was that just for the emulators? Most of their late 70's yz125 kits are listed for under 200

Yep and the machining!

I will do them myself this time .

Does anyone know if you need to machine the top of the rod on a 84 cr???

[FourstrokeForever]

I leaning towards the Race Tech emulators but will wait until I ridden the completed bike before taking the plunge. After looking at the Race Tech website I states that I need adaptors that sit between the damping rod and emulator. This appears to add about 40 mm+/- on top of the damping rod (combined height of emulator and adaptor). Those that have fitted them did you have to alter the length of the fork springs? I also looked at the Race Tech springs and unless Im reading the info wrong it states that they are 375mm long where the originals are 575mm. At any rate I have the part numbers for the emulators and adaptors so will buy locally and they can then supply springs so if I get wrong ones they are easily returned!!

You have to make an adaptor for the emulator to sit in. It's basically like a socket that gets welded (bronzed) to the end of the dampening rod. To fit it properly, you need to make sure that the top of the socket the emulator valve sits in is the same original total length of the dampening rod. Spring length should remain the same unless you are after more/less preload. Not sure about the '84 CR's, but I'd imagine you need to do the same thing as above.

[kenny5000]

Race Tech have adaptors to suit my application (75 250GP) listed on their website thankfully!

[euro bikes]

It takes away why you ride old bikes if you put things that were not available in the day.

[screamin62]

It takes away why you ride old bikes if you put things that were not available in the day.

I disagree completely. The charm of the old bikes is still there with better suspension, the only thing missing is the pain the next day. Don't get me wrong, I love period correct vintage bikes but they are best for display not regular riding. Just my opinion....
Wow, did I really just open that can of worms?

[FourstrokeForever]

It doesn't matter what you do to 7 and 4 suspension. All it does is hold the bike up  Seriously, I wouldn't race a stock 7 and 4 travel bike. The original suspension components are usually stuffed for a start and will cost a small fortune to rebuild them or replace if you can find the parts, which might be worthwhile if you are doing a 100% correct resto. There are better options for racing so why not use them?

[Nathan S]

It takes away why you ride old bikes if you put things that were not available in the day.

If you're trying to compete with people who have considerably better suspension, then you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Maybe the rules could be changed to mandate old spec stuff only, but the hassle of checking and enforcing compliance would outweigh any possible benefit.

[Vintmxman]

I have been installing Racetech emulators(176.00) new seals , oil etc...for 250.00 that includes my time...900 bucks is a total rip off unless your not telling us something big ! The emulators are simple to install...

[davidmc]

They are similar, one is a copy of the other, must take care how they are fitted and like anything away from standard, then need to be set up to get the best from them.

[kenny5000]

So if I fitted the emulators (with race tech adaptors) myself what would i need to look out for. From all the info I can see online they basically sit on top of the damping rods and are held in place by fork spring. Tuning aside which will take time after riding what else needs to be done. Race Tech say to resurface the head of the damping rod, how extreme is the resurface?? Any other issues in fitting?

Cheers

[Lozza]

So if I fitted the emulators (with race tech adaptors) myself what would i need to look out for.

Cheers

First would be someone who wants to charge $900. Next would be anyone who said how hard it is to fit them. My experience was
Measure damper rod piston ID(not tube)
Measure PD valve OD
No machining required.
Set damper rods in V block
Drilled new holes at 90 deg to the existing holes
Debured and radiused new and existing holes
Reassembled forks
Set air gap to 190mm (spring out fully compressed) with 10wt oil
Installed spring, top cap and put back on bike
 Not touched since.

[kenny5000]

Cheers Lozza,

What bike was the above for?

[JohnnyO]

So if I fitted the emulators (with race tech adaptors) myself what would i need to look out for.

Cheers

Set air gap to 190mm (spring out fully compressed) with 10wt

190 air gap? that's huge. Is that what they recommend with the PD valves?

[Lozza]

My  TS400 forks, 190mm air gap was a generic figure I remembered/read on the net/was told/plucked out of my arse, end up withe good high and low speed damping, progreesive damping with stroke and  no more blown seals. Mind this was 5 or 6 yrs ago I did that might have been 90mm

[kenny5000]

Can anyone suggest a supplier in OZ??? Shock treatment have them in stock and ready to ship. Who else is gooD for pricing??