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Inexpensive Fork Emulators?

connie_rider

Member
Member
In another discussion about Race Tech Emulators someone posted these "damper valves" as an inexpensive alternative to Emulators.
The guy, "said" they will fit in the C-10's, he installed some, and they work the same as Race Tech.. 
  {Trying to find his posting again}..

Has anyone used them or know anything about them?

Did a little research: I think their a Chinese copy of the Race Tech's, but they are not sold as coming from China?
                              The spring in these is compatible {in force} to the Race Tech {Blue Spring} and the Dampers seem to be a similar
                                design to the Emulators.

NOTE:  The original Ebay posting had these in the $49 range {plus shipping}.
            I found them for $39 {plus shipping}.

Original posting;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/41mm-Fork-Damper-Valve-For-Harley-Davidson/232561612278?epid=671622052&hash=item3625c095f6:g:7BoAAOSw6VRaCsDu:rk:6:pf:0

$39 Posting;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/41mm-Fork-Damper-Valves-TC-88-Softail-Touring-Dyna-FXST-FLST-FXDWG-FLT-2000-UP/172661938134?epid=671622052&hash=item28337417d6:g:q48AAOSw2GlXD-PA:rk:8:pf:0

If you own a Harley in GB $96;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/41mm-Fork-Damper-Valve-For-Harley-Davidson/232871663568?epid=9010350188&hash=item36383b97d0:g:J9EAAOSwoVNaIUnh:rk:9:pf:0

Ride safe, Ted

PS: Ignore the Harley part.  :rotflmao:
 
have used them in an rz350 and an rd, and a kawi triple. no complaints at all. have real racetech gold valves in another bike, cant tell the difference performance wise one bit from original to knockoff. 
 
Thanks for the replies.
George, over the years I have made similar changes to my C-10's as you did.
M in SC, your reply goes a long ways in making me feel the inexpensive version is worth pursuing.

Last night I read this as I wanted to {really} understand how Emulators work.
Takes a bit of thought to understand the details of each phase,, but makes sense.
http://www.racetech.com/HTML_FILES/DampingRodForks.HTML

Ride safe, Ted

 
The Damper valves {Emulators} arrived last night.
Unfortunately they did not supply any instructions at all, so I sent a note requesting some..

It's an EZ install, so I'm using the knowledge I gained here to do the install.
ie; Drilled additional 3 holes in the disc and set the pre-load to 2 turns. {per Steve Sefsick's settings}
              Came with 1 hole and 3 turn setting.
Hope to do the actual install tomorrow.

Ride safe, Ted
 
Ahh, "now" I understand. 
  You ordered a pair of these to install in a V65 Sabre.

The holidays slowed me down.  My forks are apart and mods made, Emulators are drilled and adjusted.
  Will put it all back together sooner or later.

Ride safe, Ted

 
Decided to post an update.

The inexpensive {$50} emulators I bought ended up being almost identical to the real deal.
Installation was EZ, but a little time consuming.
I've  done some rides with them and can feel the improvement.

Bottom line; The project worked out great...
                    I'm pretty impressed by these as they are set now..
                    But {being me}; I still have in mind doing some adjusting to see if I can get an even better ride.
                    In all honesty though, I'm not sure I have the sensitivity to feel any little bit of improvement I might get.

Ride safe, Ted



 
Mine which arrived a few weeks ago but not yet installed on the V65 sabre only came with the installed spring.
The original emulators of which I installed in a Connie several years ago came with three springs of different weight ratings.
 
The spring on these are the same as the 40* blue spring.

I added 3 additional holes in the piston {ie; now have 4} and my emulator spring preload is set at 2 turns.
Also increased size and number of holes in lower damper rod.
Fork oil is ATF {approx. 15 wt}.  Oil level set at 6 1/4".

NOTE: Steve S. posted these settings when he installed Gold Valve Emulators on his bike.

Ride safe, Ted
 
Sorry. Will not be a video from me. Computer illiterate...

Weather was great, so we went on a 200 mile ride yesterday.
The front springs of my bike have been cut 4" to stiffen them, and preload is set on them at about 35mm.
Replaced that 4" with a PVC Spacer.  {I later cut 3/4" from that spacer to allow for length of the Emulator body}
Even with these stiff settings, the front end absorbed the small bumps better than ever..
I think I'm going to increase my preload on the emulator's to 3 turns in. {to prevent front end dive under hard braking}

Ride safe, Ted

 
OK, I got my cheap Taiwanese gold emulators, sonic 1.2 springs,seals etc. Do you still reccomend drilling the 3 extra holes on the emulator valve(mine only has one hole currently),did you go to 3 turns in on the spring?,are you still using ATF or have you changed to 30-40w? Thx
 
Son of a gun, I guess I've offended someone else, so I'll answer my own question now that I'm done. Man these emulators and 1.2 sonic's give the ole c10 a newer more fit personality.If a 150 dollar investment in your bike is not overly rich,it is well worth the time and money, especially if your pulling forks for seals and bushings anyway. I did go with 4 holes in the emulators,6 holes in the dampeners,drain holes and 20w, along with gaiters.Quite the pleasant surprise now when you grab a handful of brake at 70mph, no more feeling like she's trying to buck you off over the handlebars. Thx again coggers for another great idea.
 
Ray, I don't think you offended anyone.  Ted just hasn't been around much lately.  Don't know what he's been up to.  Maybe he's busy with over the pond.  Or maybe  >:D  Harry is working him over with the flog-o-matic! ;D
flog_header.png
 
Yupp, I've been away. Sorry for the late reply. Stupid computer!!!  :33:

bajasam said:
OK, I got my cheap Taiwanese gold emulators, sonic 1.2 springs,seals etc. Do you still reccomend drilling the 3 extra holes on the emulator valve(mine only has one hole currently),did you go to 3 turns in on the spring?,are you still using ATF or have you changed to 30-40w? Thx

Yes: I added 3 holes to the valve.
          Don't recall exact size, but slightly smaller than the original 1 hole.
      Original 2 holes in the dampner rod are now 6 (5/16" dia) holes.
      I used ATF {10-14wt}, set level at 6 1/4" from top {with forks collapsed}.
        Spring preload is still set at 2 turns.
        {Bike still dives a bit more than I want during hard braking.
                Think I will eventually change to 3 turns, or increase fluid wt to improve that}.

      Will try to find my other posts and attach here...
          NOTE: I used settings recommended by Steve Sefsick.

Ride safe, Ted
 
connie_rider said:
Bajasam, did you ever complete your install?

Ride safe, Ted
Yessiree, finished it a few days before you had responded,  followed your basic recipe and it made a huge improvement for the better. I also used the cheap 37 dollar emulators you recommended from ebay, they came from some small Harley shop and had made in taiwan on the package but were seemingly exact copies of the racetech's.
 
Great!

Others, go back and read thru this discussion if your wanting to improve your C-10's front suspension on the cheap.
It works......

Ride safe, Ted
 
Now I have to find a c14 shock and try to bring the back end up to the same performance level the front is at..........it never ends does it.
 
No, it never stops.
"Luckily", I love to tinker and learn.
and MOB enjoys correcting me when I err.

I have a C-14 shock on mine and had to add a lowering link to get the rear down to the stock height.

I think a ZZR shock {shorter} does the same without the need of a lowering link and has the same adjustments.
May actually work better as the longer C-14 shock and lowering link change the geometry)
  {But the spring may be softer}

Ride safe, Ted
 
bajasam said:
Now I have to find a c14 shock and try to bring the back end up to the same performance level the front is at..........it never ends does it.
Nope.  One thing leads to another.
 
If anyone wants to inexpensively add emulators to your C-10, here is a neat/inexpensive trick.
Read thru the post above..

Ride safe, Ted
 
I want to do this mod and need a little advise. I weight 225, currently have Sonic 1.1 springs, 10 weight oil and original dampening rods. When I take trips I usually carry an additional 40-50 pounds.  The ride is firm and confident but could definitely be improved (brake dive, cornering on rough roads and overall feel).

How much do you weight or how much total weight including baggage, etc are you setup for? 

I still have my OEM springs and they are in great shape and measured the full length per the manual.  Since the originals are progressive, would I get a better ride by cutting and using them?  Would they be as strong as my Sonics?  How much should I cut to get something close to the Sonic 1.1 rating? 

Would you suggest any changes to these settings?
Sonic 1.1 or cut OEM originals springs?
6 holes (5/16) in dampener rod
4 holes in emulators a little smaller than the original
10 or 20 weight oil ? (can’t find 15 weight fork oil).
2 or 3 turns of the valve?
Oil level?

Thanks
Paul
 
Wantabeach said:
I want to do this mod and need a little advise. I weight 225, currently have Sonic 1.1 springs, 10 weight oil and original dampening rods. When I take trips I usually carry an additional 40-50 pounds.  The ride is firm and confident but could definitely be improved (brake dive, cornering on rough roads and overall feel).

How much do you weight or how much total weight including baggage, etc are you setup for? 

I still have my OEM springs and they are in great shape and measured the full length per the manual.  Since the originals are progressive, would I get a better ride by cutting and using them?  Would they be as strong as my Sonics?  How much should I cut to get something close to the Sonic 1.1 rating? 

Would you suggest any changes to these settings?
Sonic 1.1 or cut OEM originals springs?
6 holes (5/16) in dampener rod
4 holes in emulators a little smaller than the original
10 or 20 weight oil ? (can’t find 15 weight fork oil).
2 or 3 turns of the valve?
Oil level?

Thanks
Paul

Oil level:  Dependant on the springs you choose.
Turns of the valve:  Start with two.  It was right for me.... it's a personal thing.
No 15 weight?  Go 20 weight.  A little more viscosity will only help.
4 holes in emulators, 6 holes (total) in damping rods... 
Sonic 1.2s recommended by weight.... I used 1.1s and got good results (220 lbs) though.
I preferred the straight rate springs over the OEM.  No experience with cut OEMs.

My front end had Original Gold valve emulators... which had two sets of springs.
Not sure if the set mentioned has two sets... 
Hope someone will chime in on that.

Good luck!  (Of course... YMMV)
 
We recently took 2 C-10's out for a ride {that were set up with these emulators} and they worked great.
If anyone is interested, they can still be purchased for $37.50 + $8.50 shipping.


Ride safe, Ted
 
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