Simons forks

[mx250]

Bloody hell Marc, you must have an veritable Aladin's cave somewhere .

[Marc.com]

Bloody hell Marc, you must have an veritable Aladin's cave somewhere .

Yeah well Alladin is feeling quite broke at the moment.  Anyway I think actually the trick forks are nice to have but I wouldn't blame anyone for faking them as the price particularly of the Fox ones is out of control.

[Lozza]

Top of the range? WTF When opened up they give the appearence of a run of the mill damper rod fork.

[JohnnyO]

They were top of the range in the day, we're talking the 70's remember, years before cartridge forks with shim stacks. Did you not ever look at what the privateer pro's were running?

[JohnnyO]

Marc i had a set of 44mm Fox forks but compared to CR480 forks i think the Honda forks worked better, but that's comparing '79/'80 technology to '83. Suspension technology was going ahead in leaps and bounds every year back then.

[GMC]

That is what I have found.
CNC triple clamps and alloy swingarms they all weigh more than stock and any noticeable difference could only be felt by someone like Roger De or Bob Hannah.
I guess others are like me and fish,
All attracted to shiny objects.

Ji

Depends on what swingarm & on what bike.
78-79 Honda's are known to flex easily.
My alloy arms come in a bit lighter than stock though I can't find my notes at the moment.
Pretty sure the Novation arm comes in lighter than stock too
The 50 square Fox arms are quite a bit heavier than stock.

XR 75 stock arm comes in at 1.7 Kg
My alloy arm comes in at 1.6 Kg

[Lozza]

   What I mean is why(apart from the bling/psyche out factor) would you bother chasing a set NOW when a pair of $160 PD/Racetech valves will turn a damper rod fork into something very close to the performance of a cartridge fork? I don't hear people say the forks have the ability to absorb both high and low speed bumps and are tunable in any one part of the stroke??

[090]

For me, one word. Trick (to look at). Same as any aftermarket period item. Comes down to what ever blows your hair back, don't it? I have them on my 125 and 250 ra's and they would be an improvement to these bikes being 1980 vintage . They ARE the bikes they were made for after all.

[Ji Gantor]

Hi GMC,
It is always good talking with you, I love what you are doing for our sport.

The CNCed triple clamps and alloy swingarms that I am speaking about are the ones for Maicos ( by Eric Cook) and CZ by (Northwest Maico CZ). I was sent the weights of all these units by a supplier in the States and then I weighed the ones I have and found that the stock ones are lighter. I don't mean that they are miles lighter. Like Lozza I don't understand why this stuff is so highly prized when, for the average rider, won't perform any better. The only reason a company would manufacture a new swingarm or triple clamp is because they are in short supply (which is not the case for CZ or Maico's just yet) or they have improved the original product. For a component on a race bike I would assume that the first design criteria would be weight followed by strength. With work place Health and Safety issues I would believe that all manufactured major components for a bike would have to be designed and certified by an engineer. Is this standard office procedure in parts manufacture? After all no manufacturer would want what happened to Maico in 1982 with their rear hubs. Is there a lab test that the industry uses to test their swingarms that proves that they out perform the stock ones in areas of flex and fatigue?

When I made my statement, I was not throwing a blanket over all after market gear, just the ones I have had some experience with. Marc added to my comment by saying that he had found that DJ heads were very heavy.

I have never seen or read about your products in a test so have no experience with them at all. They sound great and from the image you sent me concerning a CZ muffler system I am impressed by your work.

Ji

[Ji Gantor]

Well Chad Reed agrees with Lozza and me.
If you get a chance go to page 31 of Australasian Dirt Bike magazine April 2009 edition.
Chad states that all the bling add ons like pipes and stuff don't reflect any time reductions in even his lap times.
I know he is talking about modern bikes but it should relate to period bikes and period after market gear too.

But like 090 says it does look cool.

Ji

[Marc.com]

Chad gets the best Showa factory  A spec has to offer in the states but team Suzuki has sponsorship in Australia with local agent of suspension 'tuners', so i am not surprised Chad thinks the bling makes things worse. I have a family member who rode for Suzuki and used pretty much a stock bike on factory B suspension, with the appropriate bling sponsors stickers. BTW the factory B suspension didn't stop me falling off in a flat paddock like a 'passed his use by date fool' .

[Ji Gantor]

Hi Marc,
You will have to read the article.
He states that there is very little lap time difference between his full works bike and a stock show room floor bike.

Ji

[Lozza]

Chad who, WTF would some little spotty Herbet know anyway?

[Ji Gantor]

Okay Lozza, well Chad agrees with me then.

Ji

[Lozza]

That was sarcasm Ji, Chad's lapped the field with YZ 250 that on Friday was sitting in the showroom.Just proves just how close the production bikes are to full factory efforts. Problem is those differences cost a lot of money....................